Are these the most reliable of the ninjettes?

[sidekick10121]

Hey all. I was thinking of getting a 08+250, or a 300... Or try and wait till 2015 and possibly the yama if it comes out. But that's a side note haha. Every time I look on forums for the 08+ and the 300 I'm
Reading about a lot of issues yet the 07 back never seem to fail. Is it a quincidence or are the pregens more reliable?

[csmith12]

[Sirref]

It's not that it's more reliable it's that there were no real changes in the pregen for 20 years. Early on they worked out all the glitches and there weren't really any problems since. The reason why the newgen and 300 are considered unreliable in comparison is simply because they are newer bikes and were released with their own glitches. the newgen's glitches were all figured out and fixed. I don't believe that the 300 has gone through all of it's recalls yet but once it has it'll be just as reliable as the newgen 250 which is just as reliable as the pregen 250.

In your shoes how the bike was taken care of by previous owners speaks more to the reliability of your bike than anything else. A bike is as reliable as the owner takes care of it. They may have their glitches and need recalls on parts, maybe some parts need to be flat out upgraded but in the grand scheme of things all of the japanese bikes are fairly reliable. If they weren't they wouldn't be able to sell them and honda would be the only major japanese manufacturer, which they obviously aren't.

[silentIm]

User abuse and neglect is the majority problem any machine has. So a caring user can make a lemon looks more reliable than a careless user with good bike.

[ninjamunky85]

Well given the fact that both the '08-'12 250 and the 300 are both heavily based on the '88-'07 250 I would say no. The 300 engine is still mostly unchanged from the 250 engine. It gets the extra displacement from a longer stroke, same piston size.

What major issues are you talking about? I only know of one person who had a major engine problem with their 300, and kawasaki paid for it to be repaired. Other than that it's been mostly people complaining about fairing gaps, and crappy steering bearings. Not major issues IMO.

There have been a few recalls for the 300 i.e. stalling, abs issues. The latest recall is kind of a joke, only requires bending a bracket. These shouldn't even be a problem with the newer 300s, as kawi is fixing them along the way.

The 300 is such a big upgrade over the pre-gen 250, if you're thinking of getting one don't hesitate. Unless you don't plan on keeping it for long, but then why would you be concerned about reliability? If you just want something to learn on, save some money and get a pre-gen.

[Sirref]

There is no major reliability concern, just a few minor glitches that kawasaki has been picking up on and fixing via recalls. I was just stating that from a new bike standpoint the pregens stopped having those after the first few years, so did the newgens and the 300s probably have 1 more recall left in them before they're done though I have no clue what it might be.

[sidekick10121]

Thanks for the quick info all . I keep reading stuck valves, poor fairings, blower motors, bad shocks. But yea. Pretty minor in the schem of things. I was thinking of getting a 300 because I like the style of them an the size. I was considering a r6 next year. But I couldn't convince myself of one reason I needed I bigger bike other than speed (which I'm not a speed freak).

This is only my second year riding. An when I start thinking about Matinance costs of the 250/ 600+ and insurance trippling it's a no Brainer. Plus if I want to take more people rides I can get a new gen shock and stiffin mine, it goes fast enough for the hwy... Long story short I don't need a 600. Just a want haha

[ninjamunky85]

If you ultimately want a 600 then the 300 isn't going to satisfy that need. If however, like me, you don't want a 600 and just want a more modern bike, then the 300 is a nice upgrade.

[Sirref]

^ that is true, a 300 won't satisfy you if you want a true supersport/superbike. The top speed, while much better than a 250, is still painfully slow and easy to reach even on back roads if you aren't really paying attention to the speedometer. The acceleration isn't really that much to speak for either. The great thing is that you can launch it at every single stop light/sign but the 250 has the same advantage.

[allanoue]

Fuel Injection makes the 300 more reliable IMO

[Sirref]

carbs are only unreliable if you don't ride it often enough.

[allanoue]

and only ride when warmer then 50 degrees.

[Sirref]

you can ride with the choke engaged for a minute and slowly disengage the choke as you go. If you do that then you won't run into any issues riding through the cold, at least I didn't though I never rode my 250 in the same kind of cold that I've taken my 300 through.

[allanoue]

Once on a 28 degree humid morning leaving for work, a mile from home my 250's carburetor froze over and died and would not restart. I walked home and and drove to work.

[jkv45]

They are all a very similar, and proven, design with only slight differences that most people wouldn't notice (with the exception of F.I.).

Most of the issues can be traced to neglect or improper maintenance procedures.

Given the proper maintenance any of the little Ninjas can handle mega-miles between major engine work or sustained high RPM running without damage.

Fuel Injection can make your life easier on a daily basis if you don't want to fiddle with a choke or aren't prepared to stay on top of the age and condition of the fuel in the carb's float bowls. If you don't mind doing those things, the carbs are not a problem (except in unusual situations like noted above).

[alex.s]

i believe the 300 will be very reliable.

[subxero]

Originally Posted by allanoue

and only ride when warmer then 50 degrees.

i have ridden my 250 in sub 32*f temps pretty routinely with never a single hiccup, in fact I thought it ran best in 32-40 degree temps