Nice "Starter bike" dude!

[KikRox]

So yeah, bit of a rant here... every once in a while I meet these people who think that MORE POWER MORE SPEED MORE MORE MORE is THE ONLY way to ride. About once every month some moose knuckle attempts to sully the reputation of my little 2011 250r se.

I'd love to hear some stories from other members who've been trashed by some knuckle dragging ape who rides 24/7 365 blah blah blah mans bike blah blah blah power torque blah blah blah "when you bump up" lol like i intend to graduate to a new bike.

FYI I love my 250r dont disrespect my bike. lol

[DirtyPelican]

I love that mentality. When I used to track I used to love to put those guys in their places. Nothing is worse for their ego than me taking them on the outside of a corner on my 600 while they were on their liter bikes.

I was always taught its more fun to ride a slow bike fast, then a fast bike fast. Anyone can turn a throttle and go. The bike does all the work at that point. Finessing a smaller bike to work for you is much more rewarding. Let em talk.

[csmith12]

We need not comment anything here...

The videos speaks for itself as ridden by ninjette members.

Link to original page on YouTube.

Link to original page on YouTube.

[CaliGrrl]

I just ignore those guys. I love my little bike and I don't care who knows it.

[MLR]

You should hear the lame comments from people about scooters, let alone the little ninja.

I had a couple of scooters for nipping around at work, the comments like "do they make them for men", always made me laugh.

My usual comeback is "Im confident in my manhood, do you need to compensate for something?".

I also like putting stuff on their desks in relation to penile dysfunction.

[MrAtom]

This again.

If someone asks what it is, you reply "Ninja 250," they reply "Oh..." and don't have anything else to say, it's not a knock on you or the bike. They just think your bike's cool and don't know anything about motorcycles and can't carry the conversation well. Half the time it goes, "Yeah my dad rode a Harley!" "Which one?" "I don't know." You'll get the same reaction if you tell them it's the wrong bike; there are a few people who I've told my 250 is a Ducati Monster, Hayabusa, and a Harley Sportster.

I still think that this "250 hate" mentality is mostly imaginary. The only people I've seen actually criticize a smaller bike are people who don't ride, or haven't ridden a bike made past 1979. The most I've ever gotten was an unoriginal comment from someone who doesn't know that they're going for the low-hanging-fruit (Played-out displacement jokes are like Prius jokes; Real car enthusiasts don't usually make jabs at Priuses because they're about as sick of them as Prius owners are).

What I see way more of is 250 riders feeling the need to defend their selves or preemptively getting their feelings hurt before anyone allegedly says anything.

[adouglas]

When someone would ask the first of the two questions people always ask (how big and how fast), I would answer "guess." Most of the time they'd say it was a 600.

If I bothered having a conversation at all, I'd say that my first bike had been the biggest (a Suzuki 650) and every one since had been smaller.... and the 250 was the best of the lot because it's so much fun in the twisties. Any monkey can twist a throttle. Going fast in a straight line isn't he point...

But most often, I'd just smile and walk away. You can't argue with an idiot, and I have nothing to prove to anyone.

[CaliGrrl]

I've met people who do think you need more displacement. One of my friends can't believe I'll take the 250 on a road trip. At highway speed. For a couple of hours at a time. (so far we've done Vegas twice and a 3-day, 600+ mile trip)

Usually it's people who want to replace their own bike, more than disparaging mine.

[cbinker]

i ride "A" group on this "Starter Bike"...

[Timpo]

It still confuses me when people ask me "how big is this bike?"

Like seriously, at first I didn't know that they were referring to the engine displacement.

Some bikes, such as Ducati 1299 Superleggera is lighter than Ninja 250R and very compact. But people would say "wow it's a huge bike, bigger than some of the Harleys!" I'd be like...no, Harley is much bigger (physically).

When you're driving a car, and when people want to know the engine displacement, do they ever ask you "how big is this car?"

[Riding_Disaster]

I just tell them it's a learner bike and they move on to something else. I guess being a chick they feel the 250 is ok for me, haha. I have however had quite a few ask me if it's a 600, including the service counter lady at the dealership. Must be the styling. LOL

[Triple Jim]

Right Kristy, I've had people try to show their motorcycle knowledge and guess my 250 is a 500. I've also had people try to show their motorcycle knowledge and guess my Moto Guzzi 1000 is a 500.

[DannoXYZ]

I think a lot of it is in your attitude... I pass up a tonne of folks in 600/1000cc bikes at track... and they know they've been schooled. No one asks me about my street 250.

[CrazyCanuckGoat]

I had a ZX12, sold it. That thing was a beast. Still have my 250R though.Too much fun to get rid of. I do the Cannonball touring rides with it and I'm the only "wee" bike in there.

Just to add another element to the mix, I'm a long haired, long bearded guitarist (NON hipster lol) and I don't know how many times I've had people go "Oh you ride! What kind of Harley?" I tell them a Ninja 250, then I can hear the disappointed as they say "ooohhh, you look like a Harley rider" lol.

Life's too short to care what other people think about anything.

[KikRox]

LMFAO awesome replies to many hysterical replies to reply to them individually. i think i'm officiallly home.

What i do for fun is invite them on a road thats 36 km of insane twisties here in ontario called southwood road. It's nuts if you're unfamiliar with the road. Go-kart track tight blind s-bends and hard corners galore. I memorized the road because i work alot in the area so i have a supremely unfair advantage and the right bike for it lol. I guess i enjoy showing them why i chose to ride this bike. (*edit* ugh my phone makes me look like an illiterate idiot..)

[CaliGrrl]

When people ask me what I ride, I used to say a Ninja 250 or a baby Ninja. Now, it's just Ninja. I'll give the displacement if they ask. Most don't.

A lot of people thought I'd go for a cruiser, though, and I'm not sure why. I sat on one and immediately decided it was uncomfortable and I didn't want one.

[VaFish]

At almost 53 years old I've quite caring what other people think. When I started riding again a few years ago the Ninja 250 was a blast.

You want to hear some negative comments. Ride a Harley 883 Sportster with a bunch of Harley guys.

[Zaph42]

Since I've only raced mine at the race track, it's a different mentality. Ironically there are fewer swinging dicks there. It's all about racing and having fun. And reducing my yearly tires expenditures. Man screw those old days on my 675 when I used to burn up $400 worth of Pirellis in 2 days.

My newer road bike is a Z125 Pro. Not compensating for anything, hahah.

[DannoXYZ]

I had opposite experience yesterday at Thunderhill. At lunch, guy comes up to me:

"Hey were you in B-group with me earlier?"
"Yep"
"You were passing me around all the corners!"
"Yep"
"That was really impressive, what kind of bike is that?"
"It's a Ninja 250!"
"Oh? Two-stroke?"
"Nope, four-stroke."
"stock bike?"
"yep"
"..."

... before he blew gasket from confusion, I let him off the hook...

"Yeah I race 250 Production class with AFM"
"Ahhh....very good... I see...OK..."

[CynicalC]

Originally Posted by VaFish

At almost 53 years old I've quite caring what other people think. When I started riding again a few years ago the Ninja 250 was a blast.

You want to hear some negative comments. Ride a Harley 883 Sportster with a bunch of Harley guys.

It's such a shame too, because that's really one of the coolest bikes out of their whole lineup right now.

[Misti]

Best response is to just be silent and then rail around them in the corners :P

I remember at the height of my racing career this creepy guy caught me looking at his flashy sport bike. He saunters up to me and says, so you like the look of these fancy machines do you? And I said, ya, so much so that I own two of them. He looked surprise and said, oh ya? what kind, and I said, "two green ones." and walked off and that's when I heard his friend say, I'm pretty sure that's Misti Hurst, she races AMA. hahaha

Be humble and then surprise the crap out of people, that's the best revenge/medicine EVER!

[Cra1g]

I've had a lot of people constantly ask me "Why do you still ride a starter bike?" and it usually turns into a friendly conversation, so I don't mind it -- gives me the chance to teach other riders about the numerous great qualities of a 250!

Riders in my local vintage riding club, on the other hand, are always surprised when I tell them it's a 250. They always think it's bigger -- guess they're used to their 125 thumpers

[DannoXYZ]

Found another video of Ninja 250 vs. Big bikes @ Texas World Speedway.

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Cra1g]

Originally Posted by JacRyann

Found another video of Ninja 250 vs. Big bikes @ Texas World Speedway.

That track looks horrible to ride on. Tar snakes and asphalt patches galore!

[A.J.]

Originally Posted by MrAtom

This again.

If someone asks what it is, you reply "Ninja 250," they reply "Oh..." and don't have anything else to say, it's not a knock on you or the bike. They just think your bike's cool and don't know anything about motorcycles and can't carry the conversation well. Half the time it goes, "Yeah my dad rode a Harley!" "Which one?" "I don't know." You'll get the same reaction if you tell them it's the wrong bike; there are a few people who I've told my 250 is a Ducati Monster, Hayabusa, and a Harley Sportster.

I still think that this "250 hate" mentality is mostly imaginary. The only people I've seen actually criticize a smaller bike are people who don't ride, or haven't ridden a bike made past 1979. The most I've ever gotten was an unoriginal comment from someone who doesn't know that they're going for the low-hanging-fruit (Played-out displacement jokes are like Prius jokes; Real car enthusiasts don't usually make jabs at Priuses because they're about as sick of them as Prius owners are).

What I see way more of is 250 riders feeling the need to defend their selves or preemptively getting their feelings hurt before anyone allegedly says anything.

Have to agree here. I get nothing but compliments and waves on my '06. Met a guy on an R1 the other day at the Hardware store that went nuts over my bike. We talked for a good 20min and 90% of it was about my 250. Also I'm a 36yr old female so what people think of my 250 is irrelevant to me. I would love to own an R6 one day though but that's as high as I'll go. My bike came with a full Muzzy so I could tell people it's whatever and they'd believe it by the way she sounds.

["A"]

Unassuming and underestimated. A rider with a smaller bike needs to know to operate at peak engine performance level to keep up with most larger-displacement engine bikes.

Over two decades of riding motorcycles, I still keep a Ninja 250 in my flock of bikes no matter how many other bikes I have.

1. Cheap to purchase, usually under $1K, mine current one is a 04 model, purchased back in 2013 with 6k miles on it, $850, now it has over 23k mi.

2. Cheap to insure, $35 for liability for the whole year.

3. Cheap to get used parts and plenty available.

4. Good fuel economy, easily get 60-70 mpg, even reving at 10k rpm or above, at sustained highway speed (75+mph).

5. Cheap consumables, tires/chain/sprockets/brake pads/oil filter all are slightly less expensive than most modern Ninja 250 or 300s. Though 16" tires don't have nearly as much choices vs the 17" on newer models.

If you can live with the stigma of riding a small displacement engine and live with reving above 7k rpm for any decent power output; these older Ninja 250s are just about all the bike you need in a busy traffic pattern city living.
Being water-cooled really makes bumper-to-bumper traffic.

And if you know how to operate the Ninja 250, likely you are faster than 99% of vehicles out in traffic anyway... even though who ride liter-class supersports who are most likely never even ridden 50% of its vehicle/engine capacity.

On the track or spirited rides, late braking capability and the speed on the Ninja 250 can be carried through the corners surprise other riders on larger displacement bikes on my rides. Exiting corners the Ninja 250 doesn't have the acceleration, but sometimes the other bikes cannot get around you with a wider line.

[A.J.]

Originally Posted by "A"

Unassuming and underestimated. A rider with a smaller bike needs to know to operate at peak engine performance level to keep up with most larger-displacement engine bikes.

Over two decades of riding motorcycles, I still keep a Ninja 250 in my flock of bikes no matter how many other bikes I have.

1. Cheap to purchase, usually under $1K, mine current one is a 04 model, purchased back in 2013 with 6k miles on it, $850, now it has over 23k mi.

2. Cheap to insure, $35 for liability for the whole year.

3. Cheap to get used parts and plenty available.

4. Good fuel economy, easily get 60-70 mpg, even reving at 10k rpm or above, at sustained highway speed (75+mph).

5. Cheap consumables, tires/chain/sprockets/brake pads/oil filter all are slightly less expensive than most modern Ninja 250 or 300s. Though 16" tires don't have nearly as much choices vs the 17" on newer models.

If you can live with the stigma of riding a small displacement engine and live with reving above 7k rpm for any decent power output; these older Ninja 250s are just about all the bike you need in a busy traffic pattern city living.
Being water-cooled really makes bumper-to-bumper traffic.

And if you know how to operate the Ninja 250, likely you are faster than 99% of vehicles out in traffic anyway... even though who ride liter-class supersports who are most likely never even ridden 50% of its vehicle/engine capacity.

On the track or spirited rides, late braking capability and the speed on the Ninja 250 can be carried through the corners surprise other riders on larger displacement bikes on my rides. Exiting corners the Ninja 250 doesn't have the acceleration, but sometimes the other bikes cannot get around you with a wider line.

Parts can be cheap but plastics are not especially if you're lucky enough to find them in good condition.

[CaliGrrl]

[QUOTE="A";1184519]Unassuming and underestimated. A rider with a smaller bike needs to know to operate at peak engine performance level to keep up with most larger-displacement engine bikes. [/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Purple"]Yep. Just know how to manage the gearing/rpm balance and it's fine. I think bigger bikes have more "slop" in gear/speed/rpm combinations compared to the 250 but so far I've found that it's rider lack of skill that's kept me from keeping up with them more than any bike performance issues. [/COLOR]

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by "A"

Over two decades of riding motorcycles, I still keep a Ninja 250 in my flock of bikes no matter how many other bikes I have.

I have room in my wallet and room in my garage for one. Sadly, I do not have room in my marriage for one, or I'd be right there with you.

Originally Posted by "A"

1. Cheap to purchase, usually under $1K, mine current one is a 04 model, purchased back in 2013 with 6k miles on it, $850, now it has over 23k mi.

I find this to be a bit optimistic as a rule. Sure, beaters and great deals exist. They're not all that common, at least not where I live.

Originally Posted by "A"

2. Cheap to insure, $35 for liability for the whole year.

Truth. I was stunned at how cheap insurance is. PS: I just learned from practical experience where the drop-off point on insurance is... about 5 years from new. Between last year and this, the insurance bill on my 2011 GSX-R dropped by 40+ percent.

Originally Posted by "A"

3. Cheap to get used parts and plenty available.

Truth.

Originally Posted by "A"

4. Good fuel economy, easily get 60-70 mpg, even reving at 10k rpm or above, at sustained highway speed (75+mph).

Better than I got, but mine was jetted.

Originally Posted by "A"

5. Cheap consumables, tires/chain/sprockets/brake pads/oil filter all are slightly less expensive than most modern Ninja 250 or 300s. Though 16" tires don't have nearly as much choices vs the 17" on newer models.

... and LOTS less expensive than bigger bikes.

Originally Posted by "A"

If you can live with the stigma of riding a small displacement engine and live with reving above 7k rpm for any decent power output; these older Ninja 250s are just about all the bike you need in a busy traffic pattern city living.
Being water-cooled really makes bumper-to-bumper traffic.

A stigma is such only if you give a crap what other people think. I don't. Stigma? What stigma? And revving over 7k is nothing but music to my ears.

Originally Posted by "A"

And if you know how to operate the Ninja 250, likely you are faster than 99% of vehicles out in traffic anyway... even though who ride liter-class supersports who are most likely never even ridden 50% of its vehicle/engine capacity.

[Pigeonherd]

Just remember that to non-riders even 250 is too much.

"Those Ninjas are crotch-rockets." -woman who is currently boarding our horse

Another favorite is "it is more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow." I wouldn't call the ninjette "slow" per se, but this is good parlance for those Liter Bros.

[DannoXYZ]

I think the most common size in the entire world, is 175cc? All those millions and millions of standard bikes in India, Thailand, China, etc.

I'm actually considering using my wife's CB125T in a gymkhana competition in Sept. It's even more maneuverable than my Ninjette race-bike! Here's some videos from last year's event.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...Tae5dusZ7fTkTb

[jrshooter]

Originally Posted by JacRyann

Found another video of Ninja 250 vs. Big bikes @ Texas World Speedway.

Link to original page on YouTube.

the thing with track days not everybody is trying to get their personel best.
i most certainly am not at race pace most of the time, more so, ill be working on some corners or body position. if your jammed up in the corners with other bikes,
go to A group, suddenly your not passing eveybody in the corners. more than than likly the corners you thought you could rail, you find yourself being passed.
witch wll make you work harder and make you faster.

[KikRox]

Originally Posted by VaFish

At almost 53 years old I've quite caring what other people think. When I started riding again a few years ago the Ninja 250 was a blast.

You want to hear some negative comments. Ride a Harley 883 Sportster with a bunch of Harley guys.

LOL yeah i've seen it a few times. Funny thing is if you took that bike and made it a hard tail tossed the fenders, spanked a small tank on it with white walls and spoked rims they wouldnt bother you. same damn bike... harley ppl are weird..

[Ram Jet]

Originally Posted by KikRox

LOL yeah i've seen it a few times. Funny thing is if you took that bike and made it a hard tail tossed the fenders, spanked a small tank on it with white walls and spoked rims they wouldnt bother you. same damn bike... harley ppl are weird..

Hey easy on Hardleys. You're just jealous because you can't buy a brand new 1937 motorcycle. Don't you get it? You don't ride a Hardley - you wear it. After all, it's Hardley a Davidson.

Bill

[VaFish]

Originally Posted by KikRox

LOL yeah i've seen it a few times. Funny thing is if you took that bike and made it a hard tail tossed the fenders, spanked a small tank on it with white walls and spoked rims they wouldnt bother you. same damn bike... harley ppl are weird..

Yeah but then I could only ride it down the street to the bar and back. (vs my 94 mile round trip commute every day and 1,500 mile camping trips)

And it's only some Harley people that are weird. The majority of them don't care what you ride, many of them actually get out and put some miles on their bikes, but there are a few that have had way too much cool-aide.

[A.J.]

Originally Posted by Misti

Best response is to just be silent and then rail around them in the corners :P

I remember at the height of my racing career this creepy guy caught me looking at his flashy sport bike. He saunters up to me and says, so you like the look of these fancy machines do you? And I said, ya, so much so that I own two of them. He looked surprise and said, oh ya? what kind, and I said, "two green ones." and walked off and that's when I heard his friend say, I'm pretty sure that's Misti Hurst, she races AMA. hahaha

Be humble and then surprise the crap out of people, that's the best revenge/medicine EVER!

@Misti you're my hero.

[A.J.]

Originally Posted by VaFish

Yeah but then I could only ride it down the street to the bar and back. (vs my 94 mile round trip commute every day and 1,500 mile camping trips)

And it's only some Harley people that are weird. The majority of them don't care what you ride, many of them actually get out and put some miles on their bikes, but there are a few that have had way too much cool-aide.

Ok so it's not just me. I see people that have Harley's that would rather hover around their bike with a beer in their hand talking about how beastly it is than actually ride it.

[VaFish]

Originally Posted by A.J.

Ok so it's not just me. I see people that have Harley's that would rather hover around their bike with a beer in their hand talking about how beastly it is than actually ride it.

There are those on sport bikes too. My daughter is 18 now, she has been riding for 2 years. We were at a Sheetz gas station one night and there were 3 guys on sport bikes in full leathers. She went over and started talking to them. She started talking about the rides the two of us went on. The three guys were shocked she actually went on rides. They got dressed up and rode to the Sheetz or local Bike Nights and didn't actually leave town on rides.

[CaliGrrl]

That's weird. Why have a bike if you don't go ride it?

["A"]

Originally Posted by CaliGrrl

That's weird. Why have a bike if you don't go ride it?

When bikers lose sight of their priorities..

Some clean their bikes more than ride them..

Some spend more time modifying than riding..