March 17th, 2014, 01:08 PM | #1 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
My 2001 Ninja 250 "Cafe racer"
I’ve missed the fun of riding my previous 2003 250 “Café racer”, so I decided to “build” another.
I picked up this 01 Ninja 250 at the beginning of Nov for $750, it was quite beat-on and neglected, but with only 3k miles it was a perfect candidate. It had been crashed a few times, so no upper fairings, it did come with a crashed café headlight though, a leaking gas tank, an extra set of rims and years of filth and grime…..so I got busy. It did not come with the airbox, just some naty looking pods, so I tossed those and went with a single K&N pod filter, after playing with the jetting more times than I can remember, I can now pull into the garage and have the carb on the work bench in 4 minutes. I repaired and bondo’d the leaking gas tank, Lubed all cables, moved/rewired battery and electrical, wired vapor, installed temp sender & speedo sender, cut seat & had it reupholstered, replaced brake fluid, modified rear reservoir, replaced fork oil, made license plate bracket, cut subframe, removed extra parts, painted a lot of things. I still have some finishing touches to do like redo the vapor mount and replace the rashed headlight. In all I’ve spent almost $600 in parts and couldn’t be happier. Bringing it home, the work begins… The usual- strip it down, cut off all extra parts, rewire the battery, clean it up and start replacing parts… Here is my uncle taking it for a spin a while ago, I liked this red/white paint job at first, but it just wasn’t right…. |
1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. |
March 17th, 2014, 01:09 PM | #2 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
The front fender was just too big, so I made it…smaller. So I redid the paint to something very meaningful to me. Here’s the finished paint job, I was unable to find lime green spray paint, this was the best I could do. It’s perfect. |
1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. |
March 17th, 2014, 01:10 PM | #3 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
|
1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. |
March 17th, 2014, 05:04 PM | #4 |
ninjette.org member
Name: really
Location: california
Join Date: Jan 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2007 ninja 250 Posts: 80
|
That looks amazing! I am totally in love with this bike.
Did you buy or fabricate the rear cowl? |
|
March 17th, 2014, 06:12 PM | #5 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Steve
Location: Kekaha, Kauai HI
Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 05 GSX-R 600 2003 EX250: Woodcraft Bars, Levers, Mirrors, Shim'd Mixture, Synthetic, '08 Rear Shock Posts: A lot.
|
mighty fine
__________________________________________________
Remember when sex was safe and motorcycles were dangerous? |
|
March 17th, 2014, 06:44 PM | #6 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
Quote:
I purchased the fiberglass tail from http://www.caferace.com but I'm disappointed it's not currently listed so I can't show you the exact one. I'll get some close up pics with the seat and tail off in a day or two. Last futzed with by Mortifer; March 17th, 2014 at 07:48 PM. |
|
|
March 17th, 2014, 06:56 PM | #7 |
Schönen Tag noch
Name: c
Location: Central Cali
Join Date: Sep 2013 Motorcycle(s): 08 ninja 250 race bike, 02 gixxer 600 telefonica Posts: 184
|
Nice work, seeing your bike gives me some motivation to hurry up and finish my build. What color green is the paint?
|
|
March 17th, 2014, 07:47 PM | #8 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
Quote:
It was the closest I could find to lime green. The paint job (green color and ribbons in the stripe) is in support of my gf who is going through chemo for non hodgkin's lymphoma cancer. She's doing well and it will all be in the past in another month. It's the cancer bike. |
|
|
March 17th, 2014, 08:21 PM | #9 | |
ninjette.org sage
Name: -
Location: -
Join Date: May 2010 Motorcycle(s): - Posts: 591
|
Quote:
Glad to hear she is doing well. It's a great thing when you can say you survived cancer. When you think or say it the first time it really sinks in how lucky we are to live in the golden age of medicine. |
|
|
March 17th, 2014, 10:11 PM | #10 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
Quote:
A few more pics of the "guts". I popped the carbs out and put the stock 40 idle jets back in, the 42's we're bogging it down. I figured since it never pops when releasing full throttle that it's still lean, I was surprised to see I put 118 mains in there, I don't have anything bigger here. Lol. The electrical parts are secured to the metal plate properly, it just looks like a pile. |
|
|
March 17th, 2014, 10:12 PM | #11 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
|
|
March 17th, 2014, 10:20 PM | #12 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
|
|
March 18th, 2014, 05:21 AM | #13 |
pregens for the win!
Name: Andrew
Location: Los Angeles
Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): 07 ninja 250, 07 yamaha r6 Posts: 77
|
What a sweet bike! And for the cost.... Not bad at all! I love it!
|
|
March 18th, 2014, 07:35 PM | #14 |
Motorcycle Hypermiler
Name: Vic
Location: Livermore CA
Join Date: Jan 2012 Motorcycle(s): 1999 & 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 250R's Posts: A lot.
|
Very Nice!
__________________________________________________
235 MPG Hypermotorcycling to a better tomorrow |
|
March 19th, 2014, 06:27 AM | #15 |
Fighting Texas Aggie '05
Name: Neil
Location: Hutto, TX
Join Date: Feb 2009 Motorcycle(s): '07 ZX6R, '08 Versys, '09 250R Track, '93 F2/F3 Track Posts: A lot.
|
Great bike
__________________________________________________
Keep it rubber side down and enjoy the ride Get healthy - Get Fit - Change Your Life Click Here Or PM Me To Find More - Advocare |
|
March 19th, 2014, 12:36 PM | #16 |
ninjette.org guru
Name: Josh
Location: Kern
Join Date: Dec 2013 Motorcycle(s): '04 Ninja 250R Posts: 367
|
look awesome man. ive always like the café racer style.
have you thought about lowering the front end a bit? |
|
March 19th, 2014, 04:18 PM | #17 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
Quote:
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps1eb78098.jpg |
|
|
March 19th, 2014, 06:31 PM | #18 |
ran when parked
Name: Katie
Location: DC/MD
Join Date: Aug 2013 Motorcycle(s): Freeride 250R, KLX250SF, mopeds Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Sep '17, Dec '14
|
this looks fantastic. what mirrors did you buy?
I love the white wheels. |
|
March 19th, 2014, 07:11 PM | #19 |
"scandal!"
Name: Adan
Location: Somewhere
Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2011 250R(Crashed 2/26/2014), 09 ER6n Posts: 660
|
Gorgeous! I like the big ol open space under the seat. Trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my beat up 250. I'd like to cafe it but I'd also like to get plastics for it again too. haha
|
|
March 19th, 2014, 10:10 PM | #20 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
Quote:
I like them for the price, great rear visibility, but if the bike ever tips over it will break right off. http://bit.ly/STloUR Last futzed with by Mortifer; March 20th, 2014 at 06:30 AM. |
|
|
March 19th, 2014, 10:18 PM | #21 |
ran when parked
Name: Katie
Location: DC/MD
Join Date: Aug 2013 Motorcycle(s): Freeride 250R, KLX250SF, mopeds Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Sep '17, Dec '14
|
^cheers, might give these a go, I feel like the pregen stock mirrors make my bike look like it has funny rabbit ears
|
|
March 26th, 2014, 03:14 PM | #22 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Evan
Location: Baltimore
Join Date: Feb 2014 Motorcycle(s): ...like the opposite of a harley Posts: 20
|
What tires/sizes are mounted in those photos?
|
|
March 26th, 2014, 03:23 PM | #23 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
|
|
March 26th, 2014, 03:26 PM | #24 |
Private Joker
Name: Ben
Location: Towson, MD
Join Date: Nov 2012 Motorcycle(s): '99/'01 Ninja 250 "sketchy", '13 Ninja 300 "yoshi", '03 GSXR 600 "merlin" Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Mar '14
|
color me impressed, you did a fantastic job on that build. I'm tempted to make my 250 track bike look something like that since I can.
|
|
March 26th, 2014, 10:37 PM | #25 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Jeff
Location: Utah
Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): EX250 Posts: 24
|
Hey, great looking bike!
I just bought a ninjette from a guy that cut the seat in a way that looks similar to yours. The part of the seat with the original lock was cut off so I'm wondering, how do you have yours attached? |
|
March 27th, 2014, 09:45 AM | #26 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
Quote:
It's not the best mounting method but it works fine and won't come off. |
|
|
March 27th, 2014, 11:36 AM | #27 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Jeff
Location: Utah
Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): EX250 Posts: 24
|
Cool! I think I'll give that a go, thanks.
|
|
March 29th, 2014, 02:57 PM | #28 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: bob
Location: Earf
Join Date: Apr 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2005 Ninja 250, 2006 SV650N Posts: 642
|
Add some panels to cover all that empty space. Here's my favorite looking cafed ninja. |
|
March 29th, 2014, 05:45 PM | #29 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
Quote:
I really like my clean empty look with those parts located elsewhere. Putting panels there would defeat the purpose of my hard work. |
|
1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. |
March 29th, 2014, 06:19 PM | #30 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mark
Location: WA
Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250r, CBR 500R Posts: 11
|
Awesome stuff Mortifer! Well done!
|
|
March 29th, 2014, 06:41 PM | #31 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Jeff
Location: Utah
Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): EX250 Posts: 24
|
Quote:
Thanks! |
|
|
March 29th, 2014, 06:50 PM | #32 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: bob
Location: Earf
Join Date: Apr 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2005 Ninja 250, 2006 SV650N Posts: 642
|
So plexiglass panels or just something clear. It's cool you have everything in a hidden mount now I just can't get over the empty space or just the look of the frame. It's just preference I know. Could be a cool storage area.
Last futzed with by agentbad; April 1st, 2014 at 05:11 PM. |
0 out of 1 members found this post helpful. |
March 29th, 2014, 09:01 PM | #33 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Jeff
Location: Utah
Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): EX250 Posts: 24
|
|
1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. |
March 29th, 2014, 10:00 PM | #34 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
Quote:
Yes the fuse panel, starter relay and bike computer are all on a metal tray under the back of the gas tank. Only the battery and regulator are under the tail. |
|
|
March 30th, 2014, 01:50 AM | #35 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Jeff
Location: Utah
Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): EX250 Posts: 24
|
Quote:
|
|
|
April 1st, 2014, 10:20 AM | #36 |
ninjette.org newbie
Name: Chane
Location: Bmt. Tx
Join Date: Oct 2013 Motorcycle(s): 06 ninja 250, 98 cb750 Posts: 5
|
Good job. I like it. I like the coolant res idea. I was think of doing my front fender like that
|
|
April 1st, 2014, 10:27 AM | #37 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
Here's a better look at it
|
1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. |
April 1st, 2014, 10:32 AM | #38 |
ninjette.org newbie
Name: Chane
Location: Bmt. Tx
Join Date: Oct 2013 Motorcycle(s): 06 ninja 250, 98 cb750 Posts: 5
|
Sweet. That'll def look beater than my Mnt Dew can.
|
|
April 1st, 2014, 10:35 AM | #39 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Mike
Location: San Jose, CA
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23
|
here's where I got the idea for it- http://forums.ninja250.org/posting.p...&t=71282&tro=1
|
|
April 25th, 2014, 03:49 PM | #40 | |
I'm crazy,your excuse is?
Name: Winston
Location: Connecticut
Join Date: May 2013 Motorcycle(s): 250 2007 ninja Posts: A lot.
|
Quote:
Came out great! I agree that the empty space looks better than panels. I also dig that tank, how much work and how did you mold them ugly dents where the fairings fit into? |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
[roadracingworld.com] - Fourth Season Of "Café Racer" Begins November 6 On Velocity | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | October 29th, 2013 02:40 PM |
[topix.net] - New TV series called "Cafe Racer" shines spotlight on unique culture | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | October 5th, 2010 11:00 AM |
[roadracingworld.com] - New Show "Cafe Racer" Airing Tonight On Discovery HD Theater | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | December 29th, 2009 06:10 PM |
[roadracingworld.com] - New Show "Cafe Racer" Will Beginning Airing Tonight On Discov | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | December 29th, 2009 05:20 PM |
Thread Tools | |
|
|