2008 ninja 250r seem to rev slowly at idle, is it normal?

[Shingo]

I just bought a ninja 250r for my wife to learn on. I have 2 motorcycles a fjr 1300 and husqvarna fe 501. They both rev very quickly to the redline in idle. The ninja on the other hand is incredibly slow. Even when warm, it will take a few second to reach the redline while wracking the throttle wide open.

I don’t think it’s normal but I never had such a small displacement Bike before.

Also while riding the bike I had 0-60 time around 7 seconds ( I weight 200lbs) and I reach a top speed of 105mph indicated. So the performance of the bike seem to be around what they should be.

I paid 800usd for the bike and it has 10000miles.

The idea is to let her learn on it, she might drop it a few time and when she’s good enough in a year or two trade to something with a bit more guts like a mt-07 or maybe a ninja 400 without losing a lot of money.

[Triple Jim]

Hi Johathan, welcome to the board. A video of how it responds to throttle would help. You may just be used to engines that rev faster, but maybe there's a problem.

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by Shingo

I just bought a ninja 250r for my wife to learn on. I have 2 motorcycles a fjr 1300 and husqvarna fe 501. They both rev very quickly to the redline in idle. The ninja on the other hand is incredibly slow. Even when warm, it will take a few second to reach the redline while wracking the throttle wide open.

Unless it acts oddly on the road, I wouldn't be concerned.

Revving freely to redline, or not, in the garage doesn't translate very much to how it performs on the road.

You are dealing with CV carbs that take time to lift the slides and pick-up revs - so there's an intentional delay. Check the condition of the air filter.

Check to see if the idle mixture screw caps are off. If they are, check the adjustment. Factory setting is usually lean, and setting them to 2.5 turns out for starters usually helps. You may need to adjust the idle speed after making an adjustment.

Be sure the gas is fresh also. You could add a strong fuel system cleaner like Techron Concentrate (1oz per gal) as well. If the gas is questionable, drain it completely before adding fresh. Use 87 ethanol-free if available.

More info - https://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Ninja250_Howto

Intake/carb info - https://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Intake

[Shingo]

I did a small video after a 15 minutes ride, so the bike was at normal temperature. The issue is more pronounced when the bike is cold.

I’m not sure there’s really an issue, but there’s a delay between the bike starting to rev and when I give it 100% gas.

https://youtu.be/aBVd9JY1hwU

[Triple Jim]

I think that's normal, and partly caused by the CV carbs.

[Shingo]

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

I think that's normal, and partly caused by the CV carbs.

So if I upgrade to a ninja 400 I should see some improvement for the throttle response because of the fi and larger displacement.

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by Shingo

I did a small video after a 15 minutes ride, so the bike was at normal temperature. The issue is more pronounced when the bike is cold.

I’m not sure there’s really an issue, but there’s a delay between the bike starting to rev and when I give it 100% gas.

https://youtu.be/aBVd9JY1hwU

That's 100% normal for an engine with a CV carb.

In normal riding it's not noticeable.

[Shingo]

Originally Posted by jkv45

That's 100% normal for an engine with a CV carb.

In normal riding it's not noticeable.

Well I would say yes except starting from a standstill, you have to start revving in advance to have some power.

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by Shingo

Well I would say yes except starting from a standstill, you have to start revving in advance to have some power.

Not like that you don't...

You are cracking the throttle wide-open as fast as possible.

It's a throttle - not a toggle switch - roll it open smoothly.

[Triple Jim]

Originally Posted by Shingo

So if I upgrade to a ninja 400 I should see some improvement for the throttle response because of the fi and larger displacement.

Bigger-grading is not necessarily upgrading. A person can upgrade from a 1800cc cruiser to a Ninja 250 if his goal is sport style riding.

[Ralgha]

You don't need to rev in advance when starting (unless you're going for orbital insertion), just roll it open smoothly while releasing the clutch smoothly. Like all manual transmissions, it has its own personality and they'll all be slightly different. Once you're used to it, you won't have to think about it anymore.

[Shingo]

Originally Posted by Ralgha

You don't need to rev in advance when starting (unless you're going for orbital insertion), just roll it open smoothly while releasing the clutch smoothly. Like all manual transmissions, it has its own personality and they'll all be slightly different. Once you're used to it, you won't have to think about it anymore.

Then how can you accelerate fast?

I won’t be using the 250 much, since it’s my wife bike.

[Ralgha]

Well, like I said (in a less clear way), if you want a max performance start, you have to rev it first, but normally you just twist the throttle and then start releasing the clutch just after that. You still accelerate fairly quickly, but the revs don't go way high, 6-7kish or so maybe, I don't really pay attention to exactly where they go.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Shingo

Then how can you accelerate fast?

I won’t be using the 250 much, since it’s my wife bike.

The gearing is so short on the 250 that there's just not much advantage to revving it like crazy before engaging the clutch. For race starts there might be the slightest advantage to abuse the clutch, but for every day use the engine is already at 8000 rpm and making decent power (within its own capablities for power) by the time the bike is going 20 mph. Compare that to a typical 600, where more time can be gained by slipping the clutch longer to keep the revs up - it may not be at the same 8000 revs until the bike is over 40 mph. (quick plug for https://www.gearingcommander.com/ to visualize those gearing differences)

Engage the clutch to the point that the bike is moving, and smoothly roll on all the way up to max power as needed once clutch is fully engaged - you'll be within a few tenths of a race start to 60, and the clutch will last forever. If those missing tenths really do matter, this is the wrong bike for the job.