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Old July 26th, 2021, 05:58 AM   #1
Bob KellyIII
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Final Drive Gearing for the Ninja 250R

Hi All...
I got a question for ya! years ago when changing the sprockets for
top speed , we would go with a larger sprocket on the engine... and a smaller sprocket on the rear wheel
the rule of thumb I've always used was 1 tooth in front is worth 10 Mph ( give or take)
so looking through sprockets for the bike a day or two ago I found a 16 tooth sprocket for the front.. I thought that's the ticket ! and ordered it....
then later that day I found this site and found a discussion on gearing for the street... and it was stated that the 15 tooth sprocket was the best choice because the 16 tooth sprocket has clearance issues... I thought Oh No !
and quickly cancled my order....
....
but my question really is What clearance issues ? is it like a case protrusion that can be ground down or a wire from the alternator re routed ???
can a 16 tooth front sprocket be put on the bike and it actually work ?
or what???
because 2 more teeth on the front would put the RPMs right about where I want them for cruising 1 tooth just isn't enough ( if I can get 2 to fit)
I'll probably go with a 43 tooth on the rear as well.... just for good measure
.... can anyone that has tried to use a 16 tooth front sprocket on their bike
tell me what the problem is ?
thanks....
Bob.....
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Old July 26th, 2021, 06:53 AM   #2
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I've heard that a 16 has problems at least sometimes, but I don't know the specifics, sorry. I'm running 15-42 at the moment, which is about the same as 16-45, and that works fine of course. I'm not sure I like it better than 15-45. I'm still deciding. 15-42 makes 5th gear about where stock 6th was, so it's sort of like a 7th gear, but I downshift more often of course, and acceleration off the line is noticeably less snappy.
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Old July 26th, 2021, 07:07 AM   #3
Bob KellyIII
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thanks triple Jim....
I'm not real concerned about the bottom end , yah no doubt you'll loose some of the grunt.... but I was raised on machines that didn't go over 5,000 RPM
red line was 6k and you did NOT get too close to that....
so cruising at 8k RPM makes me a nervous person .... the bike can handle it ....
but can the owner ? LOL my 30 minute ride the other day taught me that the handle bars are way too low and the gearing far to low to be a relaxing bike to ride... but it sure excels in the corners !
I have a CSC RX4 coming when they get them in that will be my cruiser
this 250R is for the back road twisties and I think it's perfect for that... all except the gearing....
now if I can just get the turn signals working right ! ...LED indeed !
lol.....
Bob......
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Old July 26th, 2021, 07:36 AM   #4
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Old July 26th, 2021, 11:27 AM   #5
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@Bob KellyIII,
I ran the 16 tooth front sprocket on my wifes 2012 NINJA 250. The sprocket is a little too big for the sprocket cover and the chain can rub-especially on over run when you roll off the throttle to slow down. I used an angle grinder and just removed some of the material from where the chain would occasionally hit and no further problems. This 16 tooth sprocket makes 1st gear usable on the street, you no longer have to shift to 2nd within 3 seconds of launching. My wife did not like running the motor up above 10,000 rpm all the time so I made some longer velocity stacks, changed the jetting and added the 16 front sprocket. Made the bike easier for her to ride and it had shift points closer to a big bike. I believe you could hit 25mph in first and 2nd would take you into the low 30's. Even with my 200+lbs on board it would still accel fine and I hit 105 mph indicated with this setup so not a huge difference in top speed if you were worried about the motor pulling higher gear ratio up top. I kept the stock rear sprocket so the larger front cog made the wheel base a little shorter, I fixed this with a 2 link longer chain when I did a refresh
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Old July 26th, 2021, 05:09 PM   #6
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The answer !!!!

AH HA !
Should'a known Ducatti 999 would have the answer... thanks buddy
so the 16 tooth does fit on a 2012 that is what I wanted to know...so I will go ahead and re order the sprocket now THANK YOU VERY MUCH !
....
no doubt the steeper gearing is harder on stuff, like the clutch will take a beating....but that is what it's there for.sounds like the 16 tooth is exactly what I was hoping it would be.... ...
yes I've had issues like the chain barely but occasionally touching things under the sprocket cover before , but as my Step dad used to say "just turn up the radio" LOL.....

thank you very very much !
Bob.........
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Old July 26th, 2021, 05:39 PM   #7
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Thanks Alex !

Duh ! I suppose I should have started this thread down here where it belongs
in the first place... Thanks Alex for moving it !
.... Bob.....
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Old July 26th, 2021, 06:38 PM   #8
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no doubt the steeper gearing is harder on stuff, like the clutch will take a beating...
No, the torque on the clutch comes from the engine, which hasn't changed. I doesn't care much what gear you're in or what the sprocket ratio is.
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Old July 26th, 2021, 06:41 PM   #9
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True but the Load is higher with the 16 tooth
you will be slipping the clutch longer in take offs and such...that is what I mean
....
Bob.....
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Old July 27th, 2021, 08:52 AM   #10
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Hay Ducati999 !
you mentioned that you changed the jetting ? what size of main jets did you go to ? I am at 3800 ASL here in Weed,CA and I am thinking that stock is going to be quite lean at this altitude . maybe I should change the main jets in this Girl eh ?
....
I got the blinkers on the run...just need the diodes now... should be here tomorrow and I can button her back up and put on some miles !
....

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Old July 27th, 2021, 11:00 AM   #11
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Hey Bob, I hear you when you're talking about the rpms this bike likes to sit at: maybe Kawasaki is cool with it, but the rider may not enjoy the sky-high revs! I get it, but I would really encourage you to try it a bit before you max out the tall gearing with sprockets. I found that these 250s excel in the 10k range and you have excellent passing power this way. Other things relative to that high rev-range; not only does the bike stay in the power band better, but I found the fuel economy was the same or slightly better with factory gearing as opposed to the taller aftermarket gearing. I think this has to do with loading the bike taking off from a stop. The last advantage to stock gearing is that it keeps the coolant moving at the rate Kawasaki designed it to. It really does keep the bike cool as opposed to lugging it around in "7th" gear.
Final thoughts: since 250s are extremely low hp engines, maxing out the gearing can actually make 6th virtually unusable unless you're going downhill. Theoretically, you have a higher top speed at lower rpms, but it's often the case that 25-30hp just can't turn those rpms at that mathematical speed. This is actually exagerated with high hp machines like the 1st gen Hayabusa: it was said those bikes had a higher top speed in 5th than 6th suggesting that it was over-geared. I get that this is not your concern, but something to think about. It seems a little mechanically cluttered to take your bike and make a 5 speed out of it ALL OF THIS TO SAY 1 tooth on the front is perfectly fine and I've done it myself on many bikes. I would just steer clear of adding multiple to the front while dropping 3 on the rear etc. just to lower your rpms as much as possible. Either way, it will be fun to ride.
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Old July 27th, 2021, 02:40 PM   #12
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I am at 3800 ASL here in Weed,CA and I am thinking that stock is going to be quite lean at this altitude .
High altitude makes the mixture richer.
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Old July 27th, 2021, 06:33 PM   #13
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the Drewski....
thank you for your comment ...you've given me alot to consider
perhaps it's time for this old man to evolve again and get modernized ! LOL
... I'll do as you sujest and ride it with the stock gearing and see if I can get used to it....
THANK YOU...
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Old July 27th, 2021, 06:37 PM   #14
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Thank you Triple Jim....
this o'l brain ain't as sharp as it used to be !
thinner air sucks more fuel than thick air. more goes through it.
I knew that.... thanks for the reminder ! Sigh !
Bob........
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Old July 28th, 2021, 02:52 PM   #15
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Quote:
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the Drewski....
thank you for your comment ...you've given me alot to consider
perhaps it's time for this old man to evolve again and get modernized ! LOL
... I'll do as you sujest and ride it with the stock gearing and see if I can get used to it....
THANK YOU...
Bob....
Heck, try anything once right? Ninjas love revs, give it a shot.
I messed around with gearing quite a bit on my SV and the only real advantage I could find was that I could nail the desired rpm in one particular turn of my riding route when I went up 2 in the rear. I messed with -1 front +3+2 rear and variations on that and now I'm all stock. I found it to be useful in a track environment where you may be deciding between two gears and limited on ground clearance given your lean angle, but for the street I couldn't see it beyond dropping my revs in 6th at highway speeds. Now I can see that Suzuki got it right when I'm doing 75 in 6th and have loads of passing power. When I was up a tooth on the front I felt the need to drop to 5th.
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Old July 28th, 2021, 04:15 PM   #16
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I found it to be useful in a track environment where you may be deciding between two gears and limited on ground clearance given your lean angle...
Tweaking where the shift points come in relation to the turns is definitely helpful on a track!
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Old July 28th, 2021, 05:45 PM   #17
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LOL I have no intentions of taking this little monster to the track
I just like to carve mountain roads... so stock may well be better for that
.... if I find I use it more on the freeway I will put the other sprockets on...
thanks for the tip....
One ride isn't really enough to justify changing it I admit, I was going by all my other bikes I've had in the past... problem is this isn't like any of those other bikes the closest would have been the 500 intercepter I had in Reno
and I didn't need to change gearing on it.
Crotch rockets are realy not my thing but they do corner better than other
types of machines .
I was adjusting the chain last night and discovered that the brake caliper was not in it's slot... so I pulled the axle out and fought it for almost an hour and finally got the caliper in the slot and the axle back in....
I knew something wasn't right when I hit the rear brake hard and I heard a clunk back there.... on my first ride.... something I missed on inspection !
....
My diodes are here ! time to get the turn signals fixed and the bike put back together !
later !
Bob.......
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Old July 28th, 2021, 11:54 PM   #18
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well that was a complete bust

I burned up 3 fuzes one new relay and found about 100 bad diodes from the box of diodes I bought... OH Well, that's how it goes "first your money then your clothes ! LOL....
.....
ON the street I have always found in the past steeper final gearing has always been better most of my riding has been freeway and back roads and alot of dirt but I hate getting on the freeway and being limited on speed... I like 70 to 80 mph... up here the traffic travels at 80+ most of the time you do 70 in the slow lane ! speed limit is 75 mph just up the road from here
and town is 20~25 miles away so people usually are at least 5 mph above the speed limit its straight and mostly flat so you can really hang it out to dry
being stuck at 70mph would suck big time so I am leaning toward the steeper gearing.
having a Piston "Turbine" is a new thing for me, 11,k RPM was unheard of in my youth. but I do love that sound !
....
the more I think about that integrated taillight the more I think that is half my problem ...it's an unknown so I may go see just what wires I can un plug from it and have it still work LOL
later !
Bob.......
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Old August 8th, 2021, 01:22 AM   #19
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well, back to the gearing.... I got the 16 tooth sprocket on the shaft of the engine no real issues there....got the stock chain on the sprocket as well...
looks like the new sprockets and old chain will work fine so I don't have to cut off the old chain... I know that's a dumb thing to do ....mix old with new but the old chain is in great shape so I'm going to run it on the new sprockets.
.....
BUT we do have clearance issues ! .... I can't seam to get the cover on....
the bit that sticks down in front of the front sprocket on the cover is barely touching the chain.... I think I'll take my recopicating saw and cut that part off
and see if the cover will go on then.
no doubt there isn't much room now under that cover !
....
my shop stand for the Ninja is working great now that I widened it's base and gave the far upward leg more support... there is hardly any twist in it at all now and it was twisting about 1/2" causing alignment problems.
....
80 ft. lbs. of torque on the sprocket nut ?.... I have a 1/2" torque wrench now ( new click type ! WOOO HOOOO !) but I don't think I can use the 3/4" drive socket because I don't have a 3/4" to 1/2" reducer for the socket.. but I should have a 1/2" socket of that size that will fit it....I hope.
....it'll take getting my Kid out there to stand on the rear brake to tighten that nut... I can't do it myself...
....
I think I got the pesky air screw on the right cylinder adjusted correctly now
I will try starting it when it's cold to find out. that was when it liked to run on 1 cylinder not 2.
....
then I got fairing to repair and put back on....
then I can test it again....
....
later ! Bob....
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Old August 8th, 2021, 04:17 PM   #20
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ok clearance issue was the part that projects down on the chain/sprocket cover
that goes IN front of the chain on the sprocket... I put the sprocket cover in the vice with a block of wood to help protect the fragile aluminum, and then cut off the 1" or so protrusion that goes down and resides IN front of the sprocket.
I just cut it off flush with the bolt mating surface, nothing fancy, then cleaned it up with a file.... then the cover would go on fine. I then fired it up and spun the rear wheel with it's power and I could hear no rubbing or scraping at all.
so it's good to go.
.... I also started the ninja when it was still fairly cold to see if it would run on 2 cylinders at idle and it did so I will leave the airscrew adjustment as it is for now. ( previously it would drop to 1 cylinder when it was cold at idle , turning the airscrew out just a little bit cured that )
... I'll give it a test run without the fairings on it just to make sure everything is working right. there is a slight sogg.... just off idle that I don't like and I think that may well be jetting as it has an aftermarket exhaust pipe on it.
carburetor synchronization seams to be right on but I have no way to check it...just a carb sync system I made up a few years back to set the XS650's carbs..... it may well work on the Ninja but I haven't tried it yet....
it's a "oil in the line" type vacuum adjuster to get the vacuum adjusted accurately... this type of synchronization setup is tricky to use , you can suck out the oil into the engine if you are heavy handed !...not a good thing.
so you have to remember not to blip the throttle when using it...
... I have pictures and a diagram somewhere if anyone wants to make one up
it should work on any 2 cylinder engine with vacuum lines that go into the throat of the carburetor....
.....
SO YAH ! I did change the final gearing... I now have a 16 tooth front sprocket and a 43 tooth sprocket in the rear... it should be like night and day difference to what it was... but I haven't ridden it yet....... SOON I WILL!
...
Bob....
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Old August 11th, 2021, 11:31 AM   #21
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Ok... final results on the final gearing change.... MUCH BETTER !
it is a tad slower on acceleration , but to tell you the truth it's not very much at all.... I was expecting more of a drop but she still get up and halls A## when I want her too... so that part is ok by me....
at 70MPH I was tacking a solid 8,000 RPM so with a 16 tooth on the front and a 43 tooth on the rear I have dropped the cruse RPM by about 1000 RPM
i think.....
there is really not that much difference in the feel of the bike actually
the gearing is about what it should be I would think for anything other than the track...
....
my right hand mirror folded up at 40 mph so I tightened it when I got home
...
I can zip right up to 70mph very quickly now and if I shift at 10,000 RPM to the next gear the girl keeps accelerating like it had been... that is very impressive !
....
I added 1" block type bar risers to the bike when I had it in the shop
and i THINK it helped... not really sure but I'm not in sever pain right now from the low handle bars so it must have made a big difference !
....
there is no doubt...that thing gets up and goes good ! for a 250cc that will cruse all day at 70mph you can't beat it.... it might help if you were a Hunch back though... sense the handle bars are so low.
....
also sense I let some air out of the tires it was much more softer riding
it has 28p.s.i. in front and rear now and that helped alot....
it was still hard riding on the bumps but not as bas as it was by any means.
.... I found 3 cows out of their fence and standing on the road on my little jaunt... so I beeped the horn to alert the Rancher of their position...
and the cows just looked at me like what the hell is that thing ? LOL
....
all in all I recommend the sprocket upgrade... I think it puts the gears more where they should be ! even a little more wouldn't hurt on the rear I think
....your not going to get a bigger sprocket to fit on the front...that's a given.
but on the rear you could put a smaller sprocket on there if you really wanted to drop the RPM at cruising speed more.... I think a 40 tooth would be as far as I would go though.... No real reason, but I have seen them for sale.
.....
Bob..........
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Old August 11th, 2021, 12:28 PM   #22
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I can zip right up to 70mph very quickly now and if I shift at 10,000 RPM to the next gear the girl keeps accelerating like it had been... that is very impressive !
That's the trick... if you can keep your RPM near the max HP point, you'll be accelerating as much as that HP can do, regardless of the sprocket ratio. The big difference is in 1st gear before you get to the max HP RPM.
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Old August 11th, 2021, 12:53 PM   #23
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Yah ! it's alot better now not having to shift at 5 mph ! LOL
(Yah I exaggerate alot ! )LOL......
....
i really think this is about what it SHOULD be for this machine....
what keeps astonishing me is that it's only a 250cc but acts like a 500cc or more.... that is one fancy engine ! too bad it's not that comfortable to ride.
.... this old man needs something soft and easy to ride...my hard riding days are long over, now I just want to cruse the back country and see the sights !
...
when My RX4 gets here, i am hoping it will fill that need, hard to say buying it without even touching it once was a real leap of faith ... but I did it anyway
....
I am wondering is actual Handle bars could be put on this thing... I would think every cable would be way too short and the wiring to the handle bars would have to be lengthened.... I wonder if it would be worth the effort...
....
the seat isn't bad for a 30 min ride but anything longer than that I think would be painful... needs more cushioning.
....
but then we get away from what the machine was made for... and usually that never turns out very good no matter how hard you try.
....
Bob.......
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Old August 11th, 2021, 01:18 PM   #24
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too bad it's not that comfortable to ride.
That's strange. I wonder if the newgens have a "sportier" riding position than the older ones. I'm 6'2" and find my pregen 250 very comfortable. I have a fairly upright position and I'm pretty well balanced against the wind at normal riding speeds. The bars seem anything but too low.

My 5'3" daughter rides it hundreds of miles in a day and is ready for more.
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Old August 11th, 2021, 07:08 PM   #25
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well, when I sit on the bike I have to bend my back about 5 to 10 degrees just to touch the handle bars... the 1" bar risers helped with that but not that much.
were they worth the money.... probably not... but every little bit helps right ? LOL
at 70mph without the bar risers the lean angle is just about neutral into the wind... with the bar risers at 70mph i can let the wind hold me in that position
... so it is more comfortable in that respect...
I'm 5'10" with my boots on... have a 30" inseam and as long as I lean forward
alot to reach the bars it's fine.... my draw length for a bow and arrow is only 28" which means I have short arms I think most people have longer arms than I do and that alone would make a large difference.
..... we all know it's impossible to make a "one bike fits all" people very in stature so much ! but if there is a 3" riser for the handle bars I would buy it right now !
.... I have been fighting an upset stomach for the last 3 days so I had to force myself to get on the Ninja to test the gearing.... but with that part I am very happy.....
.....
I guess I am supposed to ware a back pack on that bike because there is no real place to strap anything down too.... I don't care for tank bags what I like is a rack on the back, but that isn't going to happen on my Ninja ! LOL
.... Right now I'ed say it is a very useable bike.... it could use some improvements, like seat and storage space. a small duffel bag bungeed to the passengers seat will do the job for that I think... so I can go to the store for the wife and get milk when we run out...LOL
anyone got a link to a good seat ?
.....
Bob........
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Old August 11th, 2021, 07:44 PM   #26
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Originally Posted by Bob KellyIII View Post
I guess I am supposed to ware a back pack on that bike because there is no real place to strap anything down too....
So the newgens don't have four tie-down hooks to put cargo on the passenger seat like the pregens do?

Here's my daughter about to enter a turn on the Dragon, with her tailbag on the back:
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Old August 12th, 2021, 06:21 AM   #27
Bob KellyIII
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all I've seen on this bike is the original licenses plate holder had 2 hooks for bungee cords...there wasn't much left of that but I did salvage enough to keep the 2 places to hook too.... in front of the licenses plate there is nothing to hook to till the passengers foot pegs... this thing has a fender remover thing on it.... I did buy a billet aluminum licenses plate holder for it in Green and it gave me a place for the turn signals to mount to....
Yes, in that picture of your Daughter flying low, is the duffle bag thing that I have in mind for mine..... or something like it. i think that is all I would need.
.....
Keep in mind I am used to a bike with hard saddle bags , cursers so to speak
but as long as you can carry rain gear with you, your good to go...
but now I don't have to ride in the rain anymore ...I'm Retired I don't have to ! LOL so I really am not sure how much room I need for stuff to go with me... I do know I need to make up a tool kit.... there isn't a single tool on that bike.... but seeing as how hard it is to work on it what's the point ?
adjusting the rear chain or the clutch is about all you can do on it on the road
.... you can't change the sparkplugs if one dies on a run... you turn around and limp home to the shop so you can take the fairings and tank off to get to the silly spark plugs ! ... a stupid design !
oh well, that's progress for ya' !!! one step forward 2 steps back....
.....
later !
Bob.........
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Old August 12th, 2021, 04:19 PM   #28
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When my wife had a 250r I would always toss a magnetic tank bag on for hauling stuff. Then again, I'm 6'2"~6'3"ish so it was never in my way.

It's a shame the new-gen got away from the four bungee clips like the older bikes. The sheer utilitarian use of the original ninjettes is why I always loved them. I just got word from the company shipping my Dad's old Ninja out: it will arrive tomorrow! Can't wait, I'll be tackling a lot of the same things you are very soon
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Old August 12th, 2021, 06:54 PM   #29
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LOL... well I hope you have small hands because that is what it takes to work on one of these little monsters !
Back in the late 60's early 70's clearance really wasn't much of an issue but then the manufacturers started adding things like you have to remove the engine to adjust the valves...( a Honda CB400 I believe) it didn't take long and everyone was doing it, Yamaha's introduction of the valve Shim was designed strictly to put the Small shop guys out of business as it took $20,000 dollars
of shims for a shop just so you could adjust valves on the Yamaha's !
..I think that came out in the early 1980's I could see the hand righting on the wall when that happened and started looking for another line of work.
this 2012 Ninja is the first Valve Shim bike I've ever owned before this I have shunned bikes like they were a pleg that had valve shims. Yes the shims were actually a marvel at lightening the valve train, but making it where the home owner could not adjust valves was a really dirty trick.... but it worked...in my mind they should be restricted to track bikes only ....but all car manufacturers have done the same as well , there are several things on this 1998 Honda CRV we own that I will not attempt to do.
I don't have the special tools or the inclination to fight built in obsolescence.
Times have changed ! some things good, but most things bad.
....
I gott'a come up with a better parking arrangement for my bikes... the way it is now I park along the side of the CRV... but I have to man handle the bike to turn it around so I can get out again. that little monster is heavy for it's size ! ....i would like to have a drive through arrangement like I had at the Ranch ..but I don't have that kind of room here, the best I think I can manage is nose in and back out in a turn then I can go forward again...
maybe I can just circle the CRV and then park ? LOL....
that just might work !
.....
later !
Bob........
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Old August 13th, 2021, 08:27 AM   #30
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Interesting points Bob, especially coming from someone who was in the industry previously. I never thought about the cost a shop would have to put up to offer valve servicing on shim/bucket engines but it makes sense. Then again, this advancing tech is what makes a high revving small-displacement machine possible on levels we could have only dreamed of decades ago. It is the way of the world. What the Japanese did with 600ccs in the early '90's was revolutionary. Then again, what they did with 500cc two-strokes was as well and it was simpler

My Suzuki is shim and bucket. After 40k+ miles they're all still in spec. I can't argue with that.
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Old August 13th, 2021, 02:11 PM   #31
Bob KellyIII
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Very true the raw horse power by those engines is nothing short of miraculous !
back in the day 75 to 80HP was the max you could hope for, then all of a sudden they hit the market with 102 hp and 120 hp it was like a night and day difference.... that is what actually saved most of the small shops because a person couldn't afford to go to Yamaha or suzuki shop to get a "tune up"
they were so extremely expensive... so people looked for smaller motorcycle shops and that is the only thing that saved the small shop in that time.
I wasn't one of them I folded up shop , never paid the $20,000.00 it took to adjust the valves and took my pail and shovel and went home sulking ! LOL
but a few shops that I knew did and they survived. they said it opened up a
larger door for revenue than they had previously had.
I didn't have the money to do it, even if I had wanted to the volume that went through my shop was 3 or 4 bikes a week and that's just enough to keep the doors open... I learned something though if your going to do it you gott'a do it big and get the word out... play for the masses ! but this guy gave up too early.... don't make my mistake !
.....
the Shim innovation really did change the market and the addition of little tweeks along the way produced some of the most powerful motorcycles ever seen .... but forgotten along the way was sirvice-ability... ease of access
and owner fixable..... things you were never told about and expected to get
but found you didn't get it.... times change and we must change with them or be left behind.... LOL
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Old August 14th, 2021, 09:28 AM   #32
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As far as carrying stuff on the Ninjettes, look at the Kriega bags. You attach the straps to the frame, under the back seat, and attach the bag to the loops on the ends of them. You can change bags, take it in with you, they're waterproof. I love mine. Doing a road trip with a camping stop, we put a 30L bag, 2 10L bags, and a CamelBak on my bike. Husband loaded his saddlebags and his tailpack, and put the tent on his back seat.

It was awesome.
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Old August 14th, 2021, 10:07 AM   #33
Bob KellyIII
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thank you for that Caligrrl !
I definitely want a waterproof bag !!!but something I can leave on the bike.
I'll check them out !
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Old August 14th, 2021, 01:40 PM   #34
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I use 16t front-sprocket on both my 2002 pre-gen and 2008 new-gen bikes. Really calms the revs on commute to S.F. and makes for more relaxing ride. It fits no problem on 2008 new-gen.

On 2002 pre-gen, the tall side-plates on chain I had caused it to rub on sprocket cover. Originally, I was going to mill 3mm deep channel inside cover for chain-clearance. Easier solution was just to use 2008+ new-gen sprocket cover.
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Old August 14th, 2021, 02:41 PM   #35
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that is interesting ! on the 2012 250R Ninja I had to cut off the front shield on the sprocket cover as it wanted to touch the chain as it turned...
no big deal, but I wonder WHY they changed it ???? makes no sense !
.... oh well... Yes the 16 tooth front sprocket is the way to go I think.
...
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Old August 23rd, 2021, 09:20 PM   #36
Bob KellyIII
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Well I went ahead and changed the front sprocket to a 16 tooth and the rear sprocket to a 43 tooth.... the end results is cruse at 70mph at 8,000 RPM !
but where it really excels is spreading out the lower gears I no longer have to shift shift and shift just to get to 30mph ...That is silly !
I haven't ridden it enough to give a MPH for the gears yet, but I am guessing at 1st it's about 15 to 20mph 2nd around 30 and so on of course that is using the RPM....not lugging it... it might be higher than that I don't really know, just a guess.
so the addition of the taller gearing in the final drive for me is a real good thing ! I like it much better now....
there isn't as much lugging it to get it going as I thought there would be by any means.... it just acts like that is what it was made for !
so all in all it was a big win !
I recommend the 16 tooth on front ! I did have to cut the chainguard where it does not show, on the inside of it to get it to clear the sprocket better
I just cut off about 3"~4" of the thin plate of the chain guard that was directly in front of the sprocket.... I cut it flush with the bolt protrusions in the chain guard then dressed it with a file... and put it on and it went right on with no problems, before the cutting it would NOT go on at all.
so it's Not seen, and an easy fix , you can fo it with a hack saw if you want.
I used a reciprocating saw because I am lazy ! LOL
...
of note.... when I put the chain guard in the vice to hold it for the cutting I did so by using blocks of wood so I wouldn't mar the finish or crush the chainguard... then I barely tightened down the vice... just enough to hold it.
no more.... or it will crush that flemzy thing !
....
Bob.......
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