What Did You Do to Your Ninjette Today ??

[Alex]

I was in San Diego today as well. What the )*(@&#)@(# was it doing raining in San Diego? The world is clearly going bananas....

[zircon]

I mounted a new airhorn too, and did some wire management in the process. The previous owner apparently loved long wires and zip ties.

[Top Tomato]

CZroe -- what are your thoughts on that Osio bag? I'm looking for something to use on short overnight trips.

Originally Posted by CZroe

It's been raining pretty hard on and off in the Mira Mesa area today. I got out and rode in it three times already and I still have errands to run.

[KURT]

Originally Posted by Blackwidow

i gave her a hug this morning when leaving for work, i miss riding her so much. its been almost 3 weeks now, damn this unbearable hot weather!!!!

Just walked in, from a trip to Palm Springs, where I got rained on...

What hot weather?

p.s. If you feel the need, you can give me a hug.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by Top Tomato

CZroe -- what are your thoughts on that Osio bag? I'm looking for something to use on short overnight trips.

That was actually from Cuongism's post. I just have a little Bell tank bag.

[ScorpionNinja]

I rode my 250 today, after it crying out to me (gas tank cry), everytime i would get out the 650R over the last week and a half!

MAN, did the 250 feel so tiny and riding IT felt like i was on a "supersport", with the riding postion!

I still love the 250 and i really really can see how easily FLICKABLE its handling is after riding it for 10 miles, after riding the 650 for a week.

Cant beat the 250's MPG either!

I hope that next spring with my tax return, that after i figure out money/bills... i will have enuff money to take the 250 on my first Trackday!!!

[ScorpionNinja]

Originally Posted by KURT

Just walked in, from a trip to Palm Springs, where I got rained on...

What hot weather?

p.s. If you feel the need, you can give me a hug.

You southern people need not QQ about "hot weather" this time of year. You get to ride all year long, for the most part. You're spoiled and im jealous!

Soon us Detroiters need to put ours to bed!

[Cuongism]

Originally Posted by Top Tomato

CZroe -- what are your thoughts on that Osio bag? I'm looking for something to use on short overnight trips.

Honestly, the Ogio bag is not worth the money in my opinion. It's not a tank bag, but a back pack and it's pre-shaped so it always looks big. Even though it looks big, it actually doesn't fit too much. Maybe a pair of pants and a pair of shoes. It is extremely comfortable though with all its cushioning.

[Rosie]

Took her for a little ride, then washed her and polished her

[Liquidtoon]

new grips, new weighted ends, new adjustable levers, new led tail light and a little test ride !

[Top Tomato]

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Cuongism

Honestly, the Ogio bag is not worth the money in my opinion. It's not a tank bag, but a back pack and it's pre-shaped so it always looks big. Even though it looks big, it actually doesn't fit too much. Maybe a pair of pants and a pair of shoes. It is extremely comfortable though with all its cushioning.

[Racer x]

port and polish the head. ready for new valves

[KURT]

Originally Posted by Racer x

port and polish the head. ready for new valves

Are you running larger intake valves, than stock? Any evidence of damage from the NOx?

[spooph]

I spent 8 hours on my ninjette yesterday cleaning and degreasing her. What a dirty little girl she was...

[Racer x]

Originally Posted by KURT

Are you running larger intake valves, than stock? Any evidence of damage from the NOx?

stock everything.Expendable if you know what I mean. But no I cant say damage from N02. I am running and pushing this thing to the limit and I went not to far ,but the wrong way . I learned a lot and I will take the motor down again after the October race.To see what effect the No2 has on the engine.

I spent today adjusting the valves .

[KURT]

We put another 160 miles on the Ninjette, running up to Yarnell for breakfast. Wife loves the new tires...

[Cuongism]

Finally mounted my BT 016's today (110/150). And of course with mother nature's twisted humor, it rained today (I must be living in the twilight zone!). Rain + new tires are a no no in my book so I won't be riding it til tomorrow (unless somehow someway, it rains two days in a row). It does look like the chain guard will rub, so I will have to figure that out tomorrow when I changed my brake pads as well.







I also hate how rain makes the bike so dirty gives me a chance to try lemon pledge

[00NissanNinja]

Raced my bike for the first time. That was a lot of fun. Gotta get rid of those crappy ircs though they gave away a few times

[TonyKZ1]

Rode it to work.. But I do that about everyday so that's probably not too unusual...
Tony

[Nemesis]

Racing season is over for me so I stripped the entire bike (everything but the engine & radiator) and cleaned every possible inch. Drained & replaced oil.

Still have a lot more to do before I store the bike for winter.

[KURT]

Prepped it for a ride this morning.

[dubojr1]

Nothing...

Jax, Florida has went from cold to rainy...

[gfloyd2002]

Did the 600 mile service. Put her up on the rear stand, added Valvoline 20/50 4stroke moto oil (will switch to synthetic at 1200 miles or so), K&N KN401 oil filter. Other than tire air (a pound low), a tiny dial down of idle speed and a bit of tightening up the clutch cable, the rest of the checklist all was fine and required no work. Then I gave her a bath and took her out for a celebratory 20 mile ride.

I did find some engine shavings in the old oil, emphasizing the importance of this first change. If I had it to do over, I'd have changed the oil at 400 despite manual's recommendation to wait 'til 600. As an aside, I learned the hard way it is best not to overfill the oil. It is much easier to underfill and top up than to try to unfill.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by gfloyd2002

Did the 600 mile service. Put her up on the rear stand, added Valvoline 20/50 4stroke moto oil (will switch to synthetic at 1200 miles or so), K&N KN401 oil filter. Other than tire air (a pound low), a tiny dial down of idle speed and a bit of tightening up the clutch cable, the rest of the checklist all was fine and required no work. Then I gave her a bath and took her out for a celebratory 20 mile ride.

I did find some engine shavings in the old oil, emphasizing the importance of this first change. If I had it to do over, I'd have changed the oil at 400 despite manual's recommendation to wait 'til 600. As an aside, I learned the hard way it is best not to overfill the oil. It is much easier to underfill and top up than to try to unfill.

why are you using a 50wt oil?

[arnette]

Finally got my plates in the mail and can ride around with legal pride!

(was legal before but no proof of it on the bike itself)

[MiniCog]

Originally Posted by Raybot

rode about 150 miles. Went to Deals Gap and back.

I wish I could say that!

I did nothing, as I only see my bike on Friday nights, Saturday, and Sunday morning. The rest of the week I have withdraw symptoms!

I will put a new clutch cable on her Friday night, and maybe adjust the valves, too. Maybe the valves will be the weekend AFTER this.

[gfloyd2002]

Originally Posted by kkim

why are you using a 50wt oil?

I'm no oil expert, but I looked into this before making a decision. I would love to get contrary opinions, but there were a few reasons I went with 20/50. First is that it may be too early for synthetic. I'm only at 600 miles on this bike, and while there is debate, I thought I'd play it safe and wait a bit longer using conventional oil. If I'd gone synthetic, I wouldn't have any worries about a 40 weight oil.

But habit has me hesitant about a conventional 40 weight oils. I'm used to running 15/50 or 15/40 deisel oil in motorcycles, because of the higher film strength and the fact that if you use auto oil (like I did in my last bike) 10/40 and 30 weights often have friction modifyers that make the clutch slip. Not directly applicable since I'm using a motorcycle oil this time, but there is some discussion of this in this article by Mike Guillory, a motorcyclist and oil chemist.

Guillory does specifically recommend a 20/50 for warmer weather, " 20w50 is better in warm weather than 10w40, because it gives you a thicker oil cushion between bearing surfaces at operating temperature." It never gets below 75 degrees here, and a 20/50 is rated down to 32 degrees, so I'm fine on the bottom end. It does get up over 100 degrees though, so there is a chance the 10/40 wouldn't cut it during summer. 20/50 is within the ranges recommended by the manual for the weather.

And non-synthetic 40 weight has other problems, too. As discussed in this great article on oil by Mark Lawrence, 10/40 is one of the more unstable oils, so it breaks down more quickly, losing top end capabilities. In one study, after only a few thousand motorcycle miles, 10/40 effectively became 10/25. This has me worried about the hot Caribbean summer, especially because my bike will have a couple thousand extra miles on it just when summer hits.

Finally is the very practical reason. Perhaps because of the local weather, 20/50 is the only weight of motorcycle oil local stores carry. They did have the good heavy duty non-synthetic deisel oil I've used before (Rotella 15/40), but it was more expensive than the moto specific oil, so I stuck with the moto-specific 20/50.

What concerns do you have? I certainly respect your opinion and would love to hear any concerns. It's a fascinating topic.

[kkim]

50wt oil is recommended in the ninjette when temps get over 105*. If your location has that types of temps, I'd fully agree that using a 50wt oil is a good choice. If not, your providing more internal drag for the engine at lower temps. With the small amount of HP these bikes produce, I would think the lightest (proper) oil you can get away with would be the better choice.

I use 40wt in my bike as that's what's recommended.

switch over to a full synth at 1000 miles... you'll be glad you did.

[gfloyd2002]

I agree pretty much. Once I move to synthetic, that is what I'll run. 40wt for the first oil with the bike also makes sense, because you change it out before it has time to break down too much. So I'm totally with you in general.

The interesting question is what to do with the first oil change in a hot weather climate, when the manual calls for 3400 miles before the next change? Non-synthetic 40wt (except for the heavy duty diesel oils) breaks down quickly due to its very high VI values, and it loses its effectiveness in hot weather. The Lawrence article below talks about the chemistry of this. Using the recommend 3400 mile service interval in the manual, a conventional 10w40 could well be unfit for weather above the low 80s before the next oil change.

So I think a 20/50 is a fine choice under the limited circumstance of biding time for a full synthetic, especially when its the only motorcycle oil available locally. The service manual does say that 20/50 is fine for the weather I'm in, so I'm not concerned about that. That said, I concede that since I'm likely going to change to synthetic in another 5 or 600 miles anyway, it wouldn't have mattered if I ran the 40 because it would have no time to break down. Or even better, I could have gone with the local Rotella conventional heavy duty deisel oil. Oh, well.

[kkim]

actually, your next scheduled oil change is at 7,500 miles.

however... at 600 miles, my oil had been changed 3 times, then again at 1000 and I finally switched it out to synthetic at 1900... I could have switched to synth at 1000, IMHO.

[gfloyd2002]

Originally Posted by kkim

actually, your next scheduled oil change is at 7,500 miles.

Good lord, you are right. That just seems irresponsible, probably why I misread it. Man, I just wouldn't feel right . . .

[scotty]

Originally Posted by gfloyd2002

Good lord, you are right. That just seems irresponsible, probably why I misread it. Man, I just wouldn't feel right . . .

Kkim knows all..

[MiniCog]

Originally Posted by gfloyd2002

Good lord, you are right. That just seems irresponsible, probably why I misread it. Man, I just wouldn't feel right . . .

MAN! over 6,000 miles without an oil change is recommended by the factory?

I change mine every 3-3.5k. Better safe than sorry in my opinion. I want my bike to last a really, really, REALLY long time.

[gfloyd2002]

Originally Posted by MiniCog

MAN! over 6,000 miles without an oil change is recommended by the factory?

I change mine every 3-3.5k. Better safe than sorry in my opinion. I want my bike to last a really, really, REALLY long time.

And, they recommend 6000 miles on conventional 10/40, which is the real problem. Someone going through summer on 5000 mile old conventional 10/40 will be really running 10/25 and shorten the life of their engine. Honestly, there are a couple parts of the manual that are pretty thoughtless, and could use a rewrite. The other glaring example is a 4000rpm break in on the ninjette.

[MiniCog]

Ahhhhhhh, the break-in debate. I just ride it like normal and don't go on highways for the first 1000 miles... Change the oil at 300 and 600-700 and then at 3,000. Atleast that's the way I would/do do it.

[V2Neal]

I shoveled a path to mine today.

[KURT]

I moved mine out of the way, so I could get my Jeep out of the garage.

[scotty]

I lowered my front end, and moved my clip on's around. Then I sat on it and made noises! Verroommmm!!!

[MiniCog]

I daydreamed... People must have thought I was crazy when they looked over at me doing this with my eyes closed...

Yes, I'm strange.

[headshrink]

I prayed for it. We have cried together, as she has been up on stands for the last two weeks.