August 12th, 2020, 08:46 AM | #1 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Paul
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada
Join Date: Jul 2020 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Ninja 250R, 2007 CBR 125R (sold) Posts: 57
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First Impressions - Ninja 250r
I just purchased a 2010 Ninja 250r a couple weeks ago. I wanted to share my first impressions of the bike. The bike has about 20000 km (about 12K mikes), it has a Yoshimura TRC slip on exhaust, fender eliminator, Lightech frames sliders, flush mount front turn signals, and handle bar end caps. As far as I can tell, the rest of the bike is stock. The bike also has cracked fairings on both sides, one side repaired, the other still cracked.
The good: - Bike appears to be mechanically sound as best I can tell. I have no idea on the maintenance history of the bike, as the previous owner was clueless as to what maintenance had been done and what had not. - It starts beautifully and it idles well (after I reduced the idle speed to spec). - The shifts are very smooth and consistent. - The bike has good power pretty well throughout the RPM range, obviously with 9-11K being the sweet spot. - I've had the bike up to 100 mph for a minute or so on a flat highway with little wind. At that speed, it ran smooth. It vibrated but not excessively. I was riding upright, and at that speed, it pretty well ran out of juice. Had I been riding in a racing tuck, I think the bike would easily do 105 maybe 110. - Braking is good on both front and rear. Neither disk appears to be warped. - I haven't pushed the bike through curves or riding on twisty roads so I can't comment yet on handling. - The Yoshimura pipe has a beautiful sound. It's quite loud, likely illegal for street use, but no worse than many of the Harleys on the road. - The bike looks really good, even with some cracks in the fairings (which I plan to repair in the off season). The red colour is brilliant, the fender eliminator cleans up the rear very nicely, and one of the previous owners put some red detailing tape on the rims which makes these stand out nicely. I've had a few comments from strangers about how good the bike looks. The not so good: - The seat is not that comfortable, at least not for long rides. It's pretty hard and lacking some padding in my opinion. - The mirrors don't extend far enough. I'm not a big guy but can see always my arms and shoulders on the inner 1/3 to 1/2 of the mirrors, no matter how wide I try to adjust them. It's livable but unfortunate that Kawasaki didn't make these a couple inches wider. - Rear seat storage is pretty well non-existent - a pack of cigarettes maybe. I can't really fault the bike for that, especially for sport bike. - Fuel economy is not great, but not terrible. I got 60 mpg Imperial or 50 mpg US on my first tank. This was mostly highway driving at about 75 mph. I thought it would do a little better than that but I'm not concerned with it. I bought the bike for fun riding, so I'm not concerned about the fuel economy. All in all, after 2-3 weeks, I'm very pleased with the bike. I didn't pay much for it and it has exceeded my expectations. Not hard to see why this bike was such a large seller and has such a following. |
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August 12th, 2020, 09:40 AM | #2 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Whodat
Location: Ware Is.,MA
Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): I pass the wind! Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Mar '13, Jun '14
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As far as the seat and mirror problem most people just eat more pizza and try to get a bigger ass at the same time don't do any arm exercises and your arms should shrink enough to see in the mirrors. Kawasaki intentionally made the storage area tiny in an effort to get people to stop smoking. The loud exhaust is an excellent choice because Harley riders will think you're one of them when you pass them on the highway.
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If everything seems under control; you're just not going fast enough! |
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August 12th, 2020, 01:25 PM | #3 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: AKA JacRyann
Location: Mesa, AZ
Join Date: Dec 2011 Motorcycle(s): CB125T CBR250R-MC19 CBR250RR-MC22 NSR350R-MC21 VF500F CBR600RR SFV650 VFR750F R1M ST1300PA Valkyrie-F6C Posts: A lot.
MOTY - 2018, MOTM - Nov '17
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Yeah, not much storage compared to earlier pre-gen models. I just have toolbox and registration papers in there and that's it. I actually used that toolkit once on group-ride when I had to remove fairing-panel to tighten radiator hose-clamp. Search for rack or cargo-box here and it may bring up some options. My wife's been bugging me to install top-box for while, might make custom-rack for that soon.
I've got 2008 commuter and 2009 race-bike. Seat on racer has thinner and harder foam. Not sure I notice difference in comfort. But then again, I sat on bare carbon-fibre seat on for 15-years while racing bicycles. Might want to try padded cycling shorts to see if that's more comfortable. Also all sorts of shorts with gel-inserts and padding. Maybe double it up with gel-seat cover too! I'm pretty sure after month of riding, you won't notice it any more. |
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August 12th, 2020, 01:50 PM | #4 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Rob
Location: GTA Southern Ontario
Join Date: Apr 2020 Motorcycle(s): 2011 250R, 2000 ZRX1100C4, 1978 KZ650C2 Posts: 87
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Welcome Paul.
The seat and mirror issues I can relate to. I've bought an AirHawk seat cusion for my ZRX, and have just ordered another for the 250R. Worked well on the 750 km ride the wife and I took to Sudbury and back. Now Lisa thinks she would like to try an AirHawk on the 250R. Have also bought mirror extenders off ebay. They will have to wait until maybe Winter, as I see now the fairing all have to come off to take the mirrors off! Post up some pictures of your 250R. |
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August 13th, 2020, 10:20 PM | #5 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Paul
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada
Join Date: Jul 2020 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Ninja 250R, 2007 CBR 125R (sold) Posts: 57
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Thanks for the replies. Here’s a pic of my Ninja
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1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. |
August 14th, 2020, 04:13 AM | #6 |
The Corner Whisperer
Name: Chris (aka Reactor)
Location: Northern KY
Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2010 250 (track), 1992 250, 2006 R6 (street/track), 2008 R6 (track) Posts: Too much.
MOTY 2015, MOTM - Nov '12, Nov '13
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Welcome!
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Goal: Shake A Million Hands | Look through the corners | Track Day Prep | Closest track? | The Mid-Ohio School |
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August 14th, 2020, 06:09 PM | #7 |
ninjette.org guru
Name: Genesis
Location: Paradise Valley Village, AZ
Join Date: Jan 2014 Motorcycle(s): SC28 Fireblade Posts: 463
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Welcome, a red 250 sure looks good!
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94 900RR 04 BMW Z4 2.5 M Package 01 R170 AMG Sport Package |
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August 17th, 2020, 11:46 PM | #8 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: AKA JacRyann
Location: Mesa, AZ
Join Date: Dec 2011 Motorcycle(s): CB125T CBR250R-MC19 CBR250RR-MC22 NSR350R-MC21 VF500F CBR600RR SFV650 VFR750F R1M ST1300PA Valkyrie-F6C Posts: A lot.
MOTY - 2018, MOTM - Nov '17
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August 18th, 2020, 05:05 PM | #9 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Paul
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada
Join Date: Jul 2020 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Ninja 250R, 2007 CBR 125R (sold) Posts: 57
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Thanks, I think so too!
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August 20th, 2020, 09:42 AM | #10 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Kerry
Location: Ventura, CA
Join Date: Jan 2016 Motorcycle(s): Ninja650 Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Apr '18, Apr '17, Apr '16
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I put a tailpack on mine, and it works really well. I bought a Kriega pack and can change out the bag depending on what I need. Usually I keep the 10L on it but we also have a 30L.
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October 13th, 2020, 12:56 PM | #11 |
ninjette.org newbie
Name: Nigel
Location: San Antonio
Join Date: Oct 2020 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250R Posts: 1
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I too am new to the Ninja world. I have a 2011 with 1980 miles on it. It has sat almost a year--my sister gave it to me. I just had the carbs done and it runs like a charm. In the process of going LED and a fender eliminator kit. this is my first bike and im still learning.
Its a quick little bike no doubt! |
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October 13th, 2020, 03:27 PM | #12 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: AKA JacRyann
Location: Mesa, AZ
Join Date: Dec 2011 Motorcycle(s): CB125T CBR250R-MC19 CBR250RR-MC22 NSR350R-MC21 VF500F CBR600RR SFV650 VFR750F R1M ST1300PA Valkyrie-F6C Posts: A lot.
MOTY - 2018, MOTM - Nov '17
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Hi Nigel and welcome to Ninjette!
You're gonna have so much fun on this bike! |
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October 13th, 2020, 05:11 PM | #13 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Kerry
Location: Ventura, CA
Join Date: Jan 2016 Motorcycle(s): Ninja650 Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Apr '18, Apr '17, Apr '16
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Welcome, Nigel!
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