Downgraded. Or upgraded?

[tomazws]

Hi all! I used to own a 1995 ZX6R. I sold the bike last week and just today I got myself a 2007 EX250 with 3000 miles on it. Lil bit of scuff marks but otherwise perfect bike!

Im gonna browse around the 250 communities and see if there's any dirty secrets I need to know about the bike, or if you know any enhancement anything I need to look out for please let me know! Thanks guys!

Old Bike:


New Bike:

[OldGuy]

Welcome TomazWS - nice looking ride and it's hardly broken in yet . A lot of DIY's for you to read over. Most will start with the carbs (full kits or shim the needles and new jets), remove the air box and add a K&N filter set-up, new exhaust ranging from just the can to full kit.

Everything else is sparkles. Have fun and ride safe.

[tomazws]

Thank you! My first impression on this bike..... Although full throttle on this bike is like a quarter throttle on the ZX6R, that is pretty much ALL I NEED. I don't need any faster and this is pretty much perfect.

I might want to stay away with the exhaust, because I do not want to wake everyone up at night with farting noise (Sorry, the ZX6R screams, but this one farts :P) The stock cans are perfect.

I will look into jetting it, but will it enhance life or would it only enhance performance?

Filter, oil change, flush radiator fluid, I should do all the maintenance again. Now I shall hit the web and try to find the Haynes book!

[OldGuy]

No need to find the Haynes. The DIY's will get you through basic maintenance. The Jetting will take care of any stumble you might be experiencing off the start and give you a little more power on the upper end. Although as you've most likely figured out this cat likes to purrr at the high end.

[Grn99Kawi]

Nice bike! The best thing about teh 250 is how flickable it is.. its crazy light even compared to a ZX6R (even the new ones)

You will love it.. and personally.. I agree with the exhaust comment.. I swapped chrome ones for the black ones that came on my 99... the sound was perfect stock... when they have pipe they don't "scream" IMO... so they (to me) sound better quiet.

Welcome.
Adam

[Slabrocks]

I am IN LOVE with the late 90s body 600s, but between insurance and fuel, along with the ability to still be able to be awarded a driving award from a "happy man in a blue shirt", I think you did alright.

[greg737]

and see if there's any dirty secrets I need to know about the bike

The EX-250's dirty little secret, IMHO, is it's cheap suspension. I was surprised to read your first impression of the EX-250 and see that you didn't mention the floppy, wallowing, disconnected feel of the suspension. I figured that after riding your ZX6R it would be the first thing you'd squawk about.

The reason I'd call it a dirty little secret is because the cheap suspension of the EX-250 was done on purpose by Kawasaki in their effort to hit a low enough price point. If they'd put better suspension on it, the price would have crept up toward the 500cc to 600cc bikes and that would've hurt the sales volume.

So Kawasaki used old technology that they already had on hand in their production parts bin from other models. Also, the EX-250 came equipped with what was quite possibly the cheapest POS rear shock ever installed on any Uni Trak Kawasaki (their supplier, Kayaba Industries of Japan, a.k.a. KYB, should be forever ashamed of it).

You mentioned the other main dirty little secret.... the engine's sound.

On the good side, Kawasaki gave the bike a very nice, reliable, high-reving engine with good power for its size. Yes, it doesn't sound pretty, but there's a reason for that. The EX-250's engine has a 180 degree (flat plane) crankshaft, which causes it's two cylinders to fire only 180 degrees apart then nothing for the remaining 540 degrees of the 720 degree 4 stroke engine cycle.

I agree, it sounds farty, but it was a choice the Kawasaki engineers made that put everything else about the engine in the "win" column. A flat plane crank parallel twin configuration gives great throttle response and a high rev-range (it has less rotating mass than almost every other twin, I think only a "boxer" type twin requires less counterweight on the crankshaft). Also, these light internals plus the compact packaging that a parallel twin delivers makes it the lightest 2 cylinder engine you can build.

[tomazws]

Thank you for all the helpful info!

I didn't really ride it until after work I rode it to night school. Well since I had harder aftermarket springs on my ZX6R, I actually LOVED the softness of this EX250 when going over bumpy roads.

Can't really roll the bike off of a complete stop by just slowly letting go of the clutch (like on the ZX6R), I had to gas it a bit to balance out.

Riding position is very comfy compared to the 6. Although I feel more wind hitting my face than the 6, so I had to put my shield down.

The power difference is huge. I need to get used to riding it. But so far so good. It's a fun bike and it doesn't have insane acceleration. Perfect for commute locally (haven't brought it onto the freeway yet).

[null0]

Those stock Dunlop K630's aren't actually for riding on...if there's ever another LA riots you already have something to burn.

If you want cheap adjustable levers:

Brake - lever off an EX500
Clutch - perch off an EX500

cost $20-40, they aren't Pazzo's but they also aren't $150.

[Flashmonkey]

Originally Posted by tomazws

The power difference is huge. I need to get used to riding it. But so far so good. It's a fun bike and it doesn't have insane acceleration. Perfect for commute locally (haven't brought it onto the freeway yet).

This bike's strong point is the commute, and regular traffic fighting. It's absolutely wonderful at it.

But ya...if those are the stock tires, change them. I recommend the bridgestones....but really you can't go wrong with anything else.

Edit: Oh and your 95 zx6r is/was beautiful. I have a thing for old bikes heh.

[Snake]

I would not say that your new bike is aan upgrade but I definetly would not call it a downgraade either. Just an all around great bike to ride.

[Banzai]

Originally Posted by Snake

I would not say that your new bike is aan upgrade but I definetly would not call it a downgraade either. Just an all around great bike to ride.

+1. Different products with a different purpose.

[JokerSeven]

I can relate to your story. I went from an '04 R6 to an '09 250R. I made the choice on my own, I was not forced to change. I actually had them both in the garage for 8 months. In the end I decided to keep the 250. It fits my riding style better. I ride alot of country back roads with speed limits 35-55mph. Its no fun to me having a bike that I could not legally get out of 2nd gear. I do miss it at times, yes the power difference is HUGE. But the 250 is 10x more fun to ride and thats what matters to me.

Enjoy!
I love the color, keep the chrome pipes.

[Apex]

Hey you all don't ditch the fart sound! I love sitting on top of a whoopie cushion going down the street. It turns a lot of heads!

My main complaint about the 250, other than the suspension, is the seat. Anything long distance kills you. If I'm in twisties, the problem isn't there because I'm on/off the seat so much. Then again if I am in cruiser mode, sitting there for long periods, forget it. It is super uncomfortable.

[bdavison]

The seat on the old generation 250's is still way more comfortable than the church pew they put on the new generation 250's

[tomazws]

I took it on the freeway yesterday night. 75~mph at 9000RPM is ridiculous! I'm looking at changing to a lower teeth front sprocket right now =)

Btw, this bike is soooooo comfy compared to my old ZX6R =D

[Alex]

Originally Posted by tomazws

I took it on the freeway yesterday night. 75~mph at 9000RPM is ridiculous! I'm looking at changing to a lower teeth front sprocket right now =)

If you want to lower the revs, you need to go larger in the front (or smaller in the back).

[tomazws]

Oh right. 14 to 15 is larger hahahaa

[Grn99Kawi]

that's what I was about to do to my 250 at the end of last season.. but instead, I decided to put it up for sale and go to the CBR...

15tooth is a popular upgrade... I do agree that the higher freeway rpm is the downside of the bike...

Adam

[paterick4o8]

only downgrade I would say is that it's slow going STRAIGHT haha, oh and maybe looks a little bit.

otherwise, UPGRADE indeed!

[Sailariel]

Tomaz, You did well. I do like the Pre-Gens. I guess it is in the eyes of the beholder, but I like the style better than the New-Gens. I use my bike as a "pocket sports touring bike" The overall design of the pre-gen is better for that purpose. I have, however, managed to modify my bike to handle MC Luggage more efficiently. I am cognizant that a 250 is pushing it as a touring bike, but I did do a Trans US voyage in 1966 on a 1956 NSU Special Max 250 with 14HP. I had a blast. Highways now are different and there are different challenges, but I do plan to do another Trans US in the near future on the Ninjette---just for grins and giggles. I think that Americans (even though the US is vast in its size) need to learn that cubic centimeters---the more the better, is not the answer. In Eurupe a 250 is considered a big bike. My sister lives in Austria and rides a Velocette Thruxton 500cc. She is viewed as a "hot rod", for the lack of a better term. Of course her Velo would be blown away by a Ninjette. I think it is a sentimental thing with her--and being an MD makes it affordable.