Check out GaryJ's review of 2008-12 new-gen 250.
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2
In particular
part 1 - 08 Ninja 250 First 50 Mile Real World Impressions. Where he mentions this comparison with earlier pre-gen bikes:
Quote:
THE CLUTCH:
One of the behaviors I’d gotten used to on the previous generation bike, was the “lurch” that was often experienced when dropping the bike from neutral into 1st gear …. especially when cold. It was an issue where the fiber and metal plates had a habit of wanting to not totally disconnect, despite the clutch being properly adjusted and pulled in fully.
I was pleasantly surprised that the new bike clicked into 1st gear without so much as a nudge; despite the bike being barely warmed up in the garage before heading out. Nice improvement!
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I have both pre-gen and new-gen 250s and do notice this effect. Earlier bikes really do have stickier clutch that drags 1st-gear even with clutch-level all way in. I've tightened cable to reduce this effect, but it causes clutch to not engage and grab completely when lever is released.
OIL makes big difference. I notice if I let too long go between oil-changes, clutch gets grabbier. I find using Mobile-1 4T oil and 5k-mile OCIs seem to work well at keeping clutch from being too grabby. Heck you may even experiment with auto fuel-efficient oils with more moly & other friction-reducers and see if that helps clutch be less grabby, yet not slip. Perhaps 50/50 mix to start?