Is the Pre-gen 250 still a capable bike? - Page 3

Alex · September 10th, 2011, 04:43 PM

The Dave Moss DVD's are another good suspension resource:

http://www.onthethrottle.com/dvds/

Skippii · September 10th, 2011, 04:52 PM

It's a very well written book--helped me to understand a lot of how stuff works.
Plus, proceeds go to helping Andrew's recovery. He was the main technical writer for Sportbike magazine until he got run over by an SUV on a test ride. Not sure how he's doing these days, but last time I read SB the Editor In Cheif wrote a note saying that Andrew had used up all his sick days and was being forced to start dictating his monthly column from his hospital bed.

Skippii · September 10th, 2011, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlaneGuy

Sportbike Suspension Tuning -- ordered. Thanks for the pointer, Skippii!

That always makes me think of this.

cerberusrex25 · September 10th, 2011, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skippii

Slowly...and with much mockery.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=722423

That is quite the creative and frugal way to do it, I would've mixed food coloring with some casting resin to get the same effect, but that is more expensive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skippii

Yes. Stronger forks and the 17" rim make it a worthwhile, easy swap.

And I put the front of a DR-350 dirt bike on the EX500.

Whoaaaa!!!!, that's an insane and cool project, love the fabbed mufflers.

PlaneGuy · September 10th, 2011, 05:08 PM

Fortunately they are only 32-bit pointers. But if you are lucky and you are in segmented address space ...

andylawcc · November 30th, 2011, 01:06 AM

parts for the conversion...

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?p=409534

PlaneGuy · November 30th, 2011, 08:49 AM

I did the Race Tech fork mods (new springs and cartridge emulators). It makes a HUGE difference.

andylawcc · November 30th, 2011, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlaneGuy

I did the Race Tech fork mods (new springs and cartridge emulators). It makes a HUGE difference.

for me, before I changed out the springs with the correct rates. Adding more fork oil made a huge difference too.

sombo · November 30th, 2011, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlaneGuy

I did the Race Tech fork mods (new springs and cartridge emulators). It makes a HUGE difference.

I also got the new springs on my '94 and it was a night/day difference. The bike felt more planted and even felt smoother, like it was absorbing more of the road bumps. That added with a new-gen rear shock makes the bike a whole new animal that I love.

PlaneGuy · November 30th, 2011, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andylawcc

for me, before I changed out the springs with the correct rates. Adding more fork oil made a huge difference too.

You have to be careful about adding more fork oil. If you have too much you will blow the seals on compression. If you have too little you will have foaming problems with a loss of damping.

Aftermarket springs with the proper spring rate for your bike and body mass tend to have more turns and the spring tends to be shorter. This means that the spring occupies more volume in the fork tube down low where the oil is. Since you fill the fork tube with oil with the spring out, it means you have to adjust the oil level and volume downward from stock. When I refilled mine I put in 10cc less oil than specified in the Kawasaki maintenance manual. So far I can detect no loss of damping when working them hard (foaming) nor have I seen any hint of leakage from my seals (overfilling).

I also went with the 15W synthetic oil recommended by Race Tech. So far I couldn't be happier with the result.

PlaneGuy · November 30th, 2011, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sombo

I also got the new springs on my '94 and it was a night/day difference. The bike felt more planted and even felt smoother, like it was absorbing more of the road bumps. That added with a new-gen rear shock makes the bike a whole new animal that I love.

An improved rear shock is the next item in my program to improve the Ninjette. How did you determine proper spring rate and damping for the rear shock to know that the new gen shock was the right answer? Or did you just by-guess-and-by-god the decision, which then turned out to be a substantial improvement?

(Front forks done. New non-butt-abusing saddle done. Rear shock next.)

andylawcc · November 30th, 2011, 10:12 AM

ah, thanks Planeguy, i know i couldn't simply add more oil to "stiffen" up the ride. I did go with the proper spring weight after all.
But in a pinch, i reduce the AIR level from the stock 180mm to 150mm, and it worked quite well for about 6 months before the new spring went in.

PlaneGuy · November 30th, 2011, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andylawcc

ah, thanks Planeguy, i know i couldn't simply add more oil to "stiffen" up the ride. I did go with the proper spring weight after all.
But in a pinch, i reduce the AIR level from the stock 180mm to 150mm, and it worked quite well for about 6 months before the new spring went in.

You can do that at the risk of blowing your seals. The reduction in air space increases the effective spring rate because the air compresses and acts in tandem with the spring. But the pressure on the seals goes way up. I avoided that route because I have no wish to have to take it all apart to replace the seals anytime soon.

I am waiting to get some miles on my new Corbin saddle before commenting. I figure it is going to take some multi-hour rides to get a real "feel" for the improvement. I am hoping to get to the suspension and saddle to the point where I can tackle an Iron Butt ride on the Ninjette.

sombo · November 30th, 2011, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlaneGuy

An improved rear shock is the next item in my program to improve the Ninjette. How did you determine proper spring rate and damping for the rear shock to know that the new gen shock was the right answer? Or did you just by-guess-and-by-god the decision, which then turned out to be a substantial improvement?

(Front forks done. New non-butt-abusing saddle done. Rear shock next.)

I went by the suggestions of techs and those on sites like ninja250.org on the various springs that would bolt in w/o modification. There aren't really that many choices for rear shocks for the pre-gen. The new-gen shock is the cheapest and smallest upgrade in spring rate and one of the few that has adjustment. The other suggestions were from bikes like the ninja 500 (which some have said to be too much) to some years of zx6, gsxr, and then the $350-$1100 aftermarket shocks. I didn't have it in my budget for a pay nearly half the cost of my whole bike for just one part, and all the others are meant for bigger heavier bikes and would have been too much (many reports of being too stiff to properly compress and keep the wheel on the road and not shatter the rider's spine). So went with what was suggested as the best bang for your buck upgrade and after playing around with the adjustment was totally happy with it.

andylawcc · December 13th, 2011, 01:39 PM

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb...751425493.html

somebody grab this quick, if u wanna do the front/rear conversion for the cheap.

September 10th, 2011, 04:43 PM	#81
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	The Dave Moss DVD's are another good suspension resource: http://www.onthethrottle.com/dvds/ __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

September 10th, 2011, 04:52 PM	#82
Skippii Milkshake Drinker Name: Skippii Location: Richmond, Va Join Date: Aug 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2007 Orange DRZ400-S, 2005 Ninja 250 & Custom Thundercunt Dirt Chopper Posts: A lot.	It's a very well written book--helped me to understand a lot of how stuff works. Plus, proceeds go to helping Andrew's recovery. He was the main technical writer for Sportbike magazine until he got run over by an SUV on a test ride. Not sure how he's doing these days, but last time I read SB the Editor In Cheif wrote a note saying that Andrew had used up all his sick days and was being forced to start dictating his monthly column from his hospital bed. __________________________________________________ "What a sweetheart."- ninja_sleeper to me

September 10th, 2011, 05:08 PM	#85
PlaneGuy Annoying gadfly Name: Brian Location: Cameron Park, CA Join Date: Sep 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2006 Ninja EX250R Posts: 52 Blog Entries: 5	Fortunately they are only 32-bit pointers. But if you are lucky and you are in segmented address space ... __________________________________________________ Brian -- World domination through science!

November 30th, 2011, 08:49 AM	#87
PlaneGuy Annoying gadfly Name: Brian Location: Cameron Park, CA Join Date: Sep 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2006 Ninja EX250R Posts: 52 Blog Entries: 5	I did the Race Tech fork mods (new springs and cartridge emulators). It makes a HUGE difference. __________________________________________________ Brian -- World domination through science!

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November 30th, 2011, 01:06 AM	#86
andylawcc ninjette.org guru Name: andy Location: san gabriel Join Date: Jan 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2007 Ninja 250 faster red Posts: 397	parts for the conversion... http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?p=409534

November 30th, 2011, 10:12 AM	#92
andylawcc ninjette.org guru Name: andy Location: san gabriel Join Date: Jan 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2007 Ninja 250 faster red Posts: 397	ah, thanks Planeguy, i know i couldn't simply add more oil to "stiffen" up the ride. I did go with the proper spring weight after all. But in a pinch, i reduce the AIR level from the stock 180mm to 150mm, and it worked quite well for about 6 months before the new spring went in.

December 13th, 2011, 01:39 PM	#95
andylawcc ninjette.org guru Name: andy Location: san gabriel Join Date: Jan 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2007 Ninja 250 faster red Posts: 397	http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb...751425493.html somebody grab this quick, if u wanna do the front/rear conversion for the cheap.