After two years and 8500 miles: some comments

[Sailariel]

I bought my Ninjette in June 08 and have been very happy with the bike. Initially, I had some issues with the cush drive and was able to solve that problem by shimming the drive unit. The suspension needed adjustment because I am a "Clysdale" (bicycling talk for people weighing in at 195-200 lbs.) I still need to do something about the front suspension nose diving precipitously when braking. That`s an area I need to research. I like the way the bike performs. I may consider a smaller sprocket in the rear to decrease RPM and still maintain a reasonable speed on the highway. In the end it really comes down to tailoring the bike to suit your particular needs. My Ninja gets used as transportation beyond 5 miles from home. (bicycles do the 0 to 5 mile runs) I spend a lot of time travelling to the VA in Augusta, ME--a 50 mile trip one way--also visiting my mom in Central New York--a 500 mile trip one way. (that`s where the smaller sprocket would come in handy. On the overall, I think the bike is well made, well engineered, of high quality, and definitely very stylish. I believe that Kawasaki did its homework and gave us a fine bike--definitely a lot of bang for the buck. My only negative comment is that parts are priced in the stratosphere and that the Dunlop and Bridgestone tyres are not available anywhere but at a Kawasaki Dealer (or Richard`s on this forum as long as they last)---a rather miniscule issue compared to all the positives the Ninjette has. I am very happy with the bike and plan to ride it for a long time. I put a 180,000 miles on the last 250 I owned. (56 NSU Special MAX)

[Snake]

+1 here. I bought my bike new in '05 and have enjoyed every minute of it. It has exceeded all my expectations. I have 18,000 miles on it and will be keeping it for a long time
Onother plus to this bike is all the friends I have met here on this forum.

[lockie]

Alex....

Couldn't agree more. I could add that as a 200 lb Old Guy the Ninja was a great re-introduction into riding after more than 20 years of owning a bike. As you say, this machine is a keeper. I don't sell many things. I've got a 23 year Volvo also.

[Sailariel]

Originally Posted by Snake

+1 here. I bought my bike new in '05 and have enjoyed every minute of it. It has exceeded all my expectations. I have 18,000 miles on it and will be keeping it for a long time
Onother plus to this bike is all the friends I have met here on this forum.

This forum is superb. We have no flamers, very few arguements, and a genrally caring atmosphere. I know that after 14 years of no motorcycling, I got woefully behind in what was going on. I hung out on this forum for a few months just copying the mail and decided that the Ninja was the bike for me. The next thing was finding one. Many E-mails and phone calls later I managed to find the last Ninja in the State of Maine. I bought it sight unseen and charged it on my credit card---a thousand dollars to hold the bike. The next day I went to the dealer, bought a helmet, jacket, pants, and gloves (already had boots), did the paper work, and rode off. I have never regretted the choice. The bike was green--which was fine, but it had all these ghastly stickers all over it advertising an energy drink that tastes like dishwater, and a plethora of stuff i never heard of. I guess it was their Special Edition. A hair dryer quickly dispatched the stickers. I got the bike pretty much where I like it--a ZG Touring windscreen, fog lights, brighter head light bulbs,brighter tail light bulb, saddle bags, tank bag, and tail bag, spools on the swing arm to make using the lift easier. I do plan to change sprockets so that the engine does not have to work as hard at speed, and to stiffen up the front end. There is a performance shop not too far away who can do that for me at a reasonable price. I may fabricate a set of hard cases out of fiberglass when I can decide on shape and size. Once I do that, making the mold should be easy and fabricating can begin. I made a set of cases for a BMW and they came out well. I should have kept the mold. Fiberglass is fairly easy to work with. The hardest part is putting down a good gel coat and then not making the cases too thick. You also need good ventilation or you will start seeing things.

[bob706]

Originally Posted by Sailariel

I may fabricate a set of hard cases out of fiberglass when I can decide on shape and size.

[Moto13]

I happen to live about 10 miles south of Sailariel, and bought a 2008 250R as well. We are at different points in life, him with grown up kids and mine very small. He's owned many bikes, and my 250R is my first.

What we do agree with is how wise of a choice buying this little bike was. I've had no problems with the bike either, and though I don't have 20 years of riding experience as many in these posts do, the bike has handled completely as I expected. I've had no mechanical problems, and have ridden about 8,500 miles as well in the last two years. I can't say enough about how this product fulfills so many needs at once - riding to work, long rides, short corkscrew rides to work, etc. The value is undeniably high.

[sixer]

Originally Posted by Sailariel

definitely a lot of bang for the buck. My only negative comment is that parts are priced in the stratosphere

Was just thinking that today when I got a rumble concept eliminator

Alot of mula for a piece of metal...

[backinthesaddleagain]

The bike itself is great value for the $. Great styling, capable handling and brakes, and fun to rev out. Sure it could use some more "oomph", but its predictable power keeps me out of trouble and reving/shifting is fun.

[Anthony_marr]

Originally Posted by Sailariel

I may consider a smaller sprocket in the rear to decrease RPM and still maintain a reasonable speed on the highway.

It is easier and cheaper to enlarge the front sprocket from the standard 14-teeth to 15, than to shrink the rear one.

[Anthony_marr]

Originally Posted by Sailariel

This forum is superb. We have no flamers, very few arguements, and a genrally caring atmosphere.

Yes, Alex, I've noticed this, and love the forum for it. In fact, I've been wondering if the absence of arrogance in a 250 attracts the naturally humble and considerate people.

[Snake]

Originally Posted by Anthony_marr

Yes, Alex, I've noticed this, and love the forum for it. In fact, I've been wondering if the absence of arrogance in a 250 attracts the naturally humble and considerate people.

I think that you get what you give. If you give respect you will get respect back.

[ninja250]

This does seem to be a pretty good forum!

The bike was green--which was fine, but it had all these ghastly stickers all over it advertising an energy drink that tastes like dishwater,

Ahahaha. I don't know why but I can't stand those monster stickers.

[Sailariel]

Originally Posted by Moto13

I happen to live about 10 miles south of Sailariel, and bought a 2008 250R as well. We are at different points in life, him with grown up kids and mine very small. He's owned many bikes, and my 250R is my first.

What we do agree with is how wise of a choice buying this little bike was. I've had no problems with the bike either, and though I don't have 20 years of riding experience as many in these posts do, the bike has handled completely as I expected. I've had no mechanical problems, and have ridden about 8,500 miles as well in the last two years. I can't say enough about how this product fulfills so many needs at once - riding to work, long rides, short corkscrew rides to work, etc. The value is undeniably high.

Phil and I have gotten together this past summer---rode to an antique/classic motorcycle show and had a blast. Did not see any Ninjettes there. I do read some laments concerning the performance of the Ninjette. Here is where my experience of having ridden many bikes since 1958 comes in: Right now the Ninja is the only 250 on the market that can handle Interstate speeds with ease. This has been the case since 1986 when the Ninja was introduced. The Ninja will outperform some 500cc bikes made today--example Royal Enfield and Buell Blast (no longer in ptoduction). It performs better than 650cc bikes built in the 70`s. I have ridden current 250cc bikes, Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda Rebel. All very nice bikes, but no comparison to the Ninja. Kawasaki has put together a Sport Bike that challenges the novice and expert as well. I have never ridden a bike that is so "flickable". There are also products available that can tailor this bike to suit your riding style---you need not look further than this forum. Even with Kawi`s price hike, this bike is one of the best values around.

[SteveL]

I bought my Ninja new last march, it was my first bike for nearly 40 years and I was a bit worried how I would perform. The day I picked it up it was 2˚C wet roads with snow at the side and I had 40 miles to ride home, after the first 2 or 3 miles it was like I had never been off a bike, handling was excellent with a responsive motor and good brakes, a really good choice for the price. There are one or two problems the major one being the front suspension I am 190 pounds and when braking hard into a bend down hill there is too much dive on the front end. I also had an issue with the performance on the highway although capable of maintaining highway speeds I felt that there was not enough power when pulling out to pass vehicles travelling at 70 + mph but that is just my opinion. It may only have been a problem with my gear box but I found the change very clunky especially when hot, other than that it’s a fantastic bike for the money. You may ask why I changed well for all the reasons mentioned above and if you have a chance to try a Suzuki gear change you will not believe how smooth it is.

Steve

[Sailariel]

Steve, I agree with you on both points. These issues are not insurmountable. Kelly has a possible solution to the mushy forks we heavier people experience. I plan to try his method with the washers. Passing speeds in the 70mph range can be remedied with some creative sprocket manipulation. Yes, the Suzuki shifts very smoothly. My experience with the Ninja has been that the shifting improved markedly since I changed to full synthetic oil (after break in) and as the miles added up. Manipulating the shift lever (which is adjustable) to conform to your boot size--raising or lowering it, has also helped a great deal.

[littledog]

1500 mi on the 2009 special edition I bought the day after thanksgiving.

Shifting between the lower gears, especially 1st and 2nd, has too much "clunk". And I can easily find neutral instead of 2nd at low speed.

At 8,000 to 9,000 rpm, it sounds like it is going really fast. But there is absolutely NO vibration in the mirrors or foot pegs (or anywhere else). It is eerily smooth.

The riding posture is perfect for me (I am 6' even). I have some back problems; I cannot sit on a cruiser, let alone ride one over bumps. However, the Ninja seat does make my butt hurt after about 2hrs.

I would like more fairing. I would like to hide my head out of the hurricane without some ridiculous contortions. And hands are in the full blast no matter what. The fairing material.... easy to break and easy to fix. (I busted a little triangle dent into the front fairing against a table in my shop, and "fixed" it with sheetrock tape and plumbing supplies)

I have never driven a carburated vehicle that behaved even half as nicely as this one. I see no need to change needles or shim anything. If there was no choke lever I would swear it was a perfectly tuned modern FI.

I object to the soft steel pseudo phillips head screws. Easy to replace these with allen head screws though.

Valve adjustment looks very nasty. Can I just take the fat shims to a diamond lapping plate? (j/k?) Even if I got away with that, it is still a really involved process.

Overall?

Ninja 250 is the best $4200 motorbike. The best small motor motorcycle sold in the USA. I'm glad I took the trouble to find this bike instead of settle for one of the "alternatives".

I love it

[Jerry]

May be remedied by pre-loading the shift lever before pulling the clutch.

This works great on my 07, may work on new-gens.

Just the tiniest bit of pressure on the lever, not a lot, and the gears "snick" much, much nicer. Works shifting up and down.

[ninjabrewer]

Originally Posted by littledog

1500 mi on the 2009 special edition I bought the day after thanksgiving.

Shifting between the lower gears, especially 1st and 2nd, has too much "clunk". And I can easily find neutral instead of 2nd at low speed.

I have that very same problem, usually when I find myself shifting in a hurry. When I do that I pay close attention to shifting and make sure I click it up firmer and the problem goes away, until I get in a hurry again.

Originally Posted by littledog

At 8,000 to 9,000 rpm, it sounds like it is going really fast. But there is absolutely NO vibration in the mirrors or foot pegs (or anywhere else). It is eerily smooth.

The riding posture is perfect for me (I am 6' even). I have some back problems; I cannot sit on a cruiser, let alone ride one over bumps.


However, the Ninja seat does make my butt hurt after about 2hrs.

Ditto, but after a while I adjusted to it and it wasn't as bad. I guess my rearend adapted.

Originally Posted by littledog

Overall?

Ninja 250 is the best $4200 motorbike. The best small motor motorcycle sold in the USA. I'm glad I took the trouble to find this bike instead of settle for one of the "alternatives".

I love it

Ditto, I have really loved my bike. (Although I can't ride it now) Really good gas milage, rode it exclusively for 7 months in socal, used it for fun, transportation to and from work, grocery getter, beach trips and canyon jaunts. I don't think I could have found a better first, or possibly only, bike. (But the Triumph Daytona is still my dream, hopefully next, bike)

nb