what maintence to do on a 65k mi. 250r

[boto]

I recently received a 08 Kawasaki ninja 250r for free. It runs fine, Engine feels like it's holding back, throttle is sticky, and all blinkers are broken. I would like to know what type of maintenance should I do before making it my daily driver. Would it also be a lost cause to rebuild the engine over buying a new engine and swapping it?

[BoBO]

65k miles that's pretty good! A lot of people will chime in soon, but for now I'll give you a short basic list of maintenance work that might need to be done.

1. Have the valves spec checked
2.Carburetors checked might need to be sync
3.Check air filter, spark plugs, and engine oil
4.Check your cables see if they need to be cleaned, lubed, or replaced. Throttle cleaned or R6 throttle swap.
5.Tires & brake check
6.Detail the bike who knows you might find a leak and may need to replace a gasket or seal


I'm sure someone will chime in if I missed something. The bike will do another 65k if maintained well. Yesterday I met a guy with 90k miles on his Ninja 250.

[DannoXYZ]

Hi Chris and welcome to Ninjette!

What's your riding background? What other bikes have you had?

For maintenance, assume it's never been done and immediately do usual list:

- change oil
- drain and back-flush cooling system, replace thermostat
- verify radiator-fan turns on at proper temperature
- inspect/measure valve-clearances, adjust as necessary
- inspect & replace plugs as necesary
- check side case-gaskets for leaks, replace if needed
- clean and oil air-filter, replace if crumbling
- change brake-fluid, front & rear
- inspect and replace brake-pads & rotor as needed
- remove, clean and lube throttle and clutch cables. Make sure they're not too tight or stickiness is result. Should have about 1-2mm free-play at throttle-tube.
- inspect chain & sprockets, clean & oil if within spec, otherwise replace
- inspect tyres near rim for cracks, replace if needed
- keep tyres at recommended pressures printed on sticker
- inspect & replace wheel-bearings if needed
- inspect & adjust steering-head bearings
- finally after all maintenance done, do compression/leakdown test to determine condition of engine innards

If you buy another engine, make sure it's brand-new 0-miles engine from qualified Kawasaki dealer. Otherwise, you'll have to ensure that all the above maintenance items have been done on proper schedule, otherwise it may be worse than one in bike now.

Remember this is new-gen Ninja 250R, which was re-turned from previous version to have more mid-range with all of 25.6bhp at wheels! You can actually use it in 6-9k RPM-range rather than have to rev it up to 11-14k like pre-gen previous generation. However, that mid-range does remove high-end zip and it may not feel as "sporty" as other bikes which have max-power near redline.

Most likely you have clogged carbs from it sitting for more than 3-months at time. Carby bikes DO NOT like to sit more than 3-months with ethanol gas and will get gummed up. Thorough restoration-job on carbs & petcock will have bike running like brand-new! Search for "clean carbs ducatiman" to see common issues with carbs when bike's been sitting.

[Emu]

I sent my carbs to ducatiman and I am 100% gonna keep doing that. It is well worth the money. Properly cleaned and tuned carbs will make the bike feel brand new.