New Member - Story of my 250 and plans

ned883 · March 29th, 2023, 09:55 AM

Hi guys,

My name is Nathan, I'm a new rider from central MA, and I ride a '04ish Ninja 250. I say '04ish because it's a hodgepodge of parts from who knows how many bikes. I bought a mostly complete 250 with a bad carb, a parts bike, and a stack of other parts from a guy last summer for $800. It turned out that the complete bike had a title that was tied up with a previous owner who was going bankrupt, so I moved everything over to the parts bike frame, which surprisingly had a good motor and clean title. Since then, I've learned to ride on it, it's been stolen (only for a joyride, nobody besides me wants to keep this bike) and recovered, and is now safely back in my shed for the winter with a broken ignition and lots of fuel conditioner.

I'm in CA right now, away from my bike in MA, but once I get back this summer I have some big plans for it. I'm going to do some maintenance, rebuild the carb again (last summer I only cleaned it, and it still needs some work), figure out a fix for the ignition, make an anti-theft system, do a 17" wheel conversion, and most importantly, ride the **** out of it! I miss my bike.

For the ignition, I'm thinking about just wiring in a switch without a key and just relying on my anti-theft system. For my anti-theft system, I'm thinking about wiring in an uncommon connector that intercepts the wires from my ECU, so I can disable the bike by removing my "key," which would effectively be a complicated jumper wire. I don't expect anyone to steal my bike with a truck, it's almost worthless. If someone wants my 250 that bad they can have it.

I want to do a 17" wheel conversion because as some of you probably know, the 16" tire selection is very limited. I want a nice performance summer tire, and I'm planning on riding in the winter in Boston to get to class (30 minute walk, 10 minute drive, 5 minute ride

), so I'll need a set of winter tires as well. I've seen in a few places that I might be able to use later gen 250 parts to put 17s on my early gen 250. I'ved got some more research to do, but it looks achievable. I know I could just buy a later gen 250 for the same result, but I like this bike; we've gone through a lot together already.

I also have a '99 miata if anybody here's into them.

Thanks for welcoming me to your forum!

Abu_Mishary · March 29th, 2023, 10:12 AM

ned883! Glad you found us...

Snake · April 3rd, 2023, 04:38 PM

Hell and welcome!

Triple Jim · April 3rd, 2023, 04:55 PM

It's good to meet you, Nathan... Welcome!

CaliGrrl · April 4th, 2023, 09:12 AM

Welcome! What part of CA are you in? I'm on the coast, between LA and Santa Barbara.

DannoXYZ · April 20th, 2023, 06:22 PM

Greetings & Salutations!!!

I've done 17" conversion. Really easy by swapping entire rear-end: swingarm, brakes, sprocket & carrier, shock, linkage, rear-wheel. Completely bolt-on mod, perfect fit. Cheap parts off ebay, about $250 total.

Front, just weld on little brake adapter bracket and slide 17" front wheel in.
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=266182

March 29th, 2023, 09:55 AM	#1
ned883 ninjette.org newbie Name: Nathan Location: Worcester, MA Join Date: Mar 2023 Motorcycle(s): '04 Ninja 250 Posts: 2	New Member - Story of my 250 and plans Hi guys, My name is Nathan, I'm a new rider from central MA, and I ride a '04ish Ninja 250. I say '04ish because it's a hodgepodge of parts from who knows how many bikes. I bought a mostly complete 250 with a bad carb, a parts bike, and a stack of other parts from a guy last summer for $800. It turned out that the complete bike had a title that was tied up with a previous owner who was going bankrupt, so I moved everything over to the parts bike frame, which surprisingly had a good motor and clean title. Since then, I've learned to ride on it, it's been stolen (only for a joyride, nobody besides me wants to keep this bike) and recovered, and is now safely back in my shed for the winter with a broken ignition and lots of fuel conditioner. I'm in CA right now, away from my bike in MA, but once I get back this summer I have some big plans for it. I'm going to do some maintenance, rebuild the carb again (last summer I only cleaned it, and it still needs some work), figure out a fix for the ignition, make an anti-theft system, do a 17" wheel conversion, and most importantly, ride the **** out of it! I miss my bike. For the ignition, I'm thinking about just wiring in a switch without a key and just relying on my anti-theft system. For my anti-theft system, I'm thinking about wiring in an uncommon connector that intercepts the wires from my ECU, so I can disable the bike by removing my "key," which would effectively be a complicated jumper wire. I don't expect anyone to steal my bike with a truck, it's almost worthless. If someone wants my 250 that bad they can have it. I want to do a 17" wheel conversion because as some of you probably know, the 16" tire selection is very limited. I want a nice performance summer tire, and I'm planning on riding in the winter in Boston to get to class (30 minute walk, 10 minute drive, 5 minute ride ), so I'll need a set of winter tires as well. I've seen in a few places that I might be able to use later gen 250 parts to put 17s on my early gen 250. I'ved got some more research to do, but it looks achievable. I know I could just buy a later gen 250 for the same result, but I like this bike; we've gone through a lot together already. I also have a '99 miata if anybody here's into them. Thanks for welcoming me to your forum!

March 29th, 2023, 10:12 AM	#2
Abu_Mishary The Asian Caucasian Name: Abu Mishary Mohd Fairus Location: Malaysia Join Date: Jan 2016 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki Ninja 250 SE 2015 (sold); Honda ADV160 (current) Posts: 796 MOTM - Jan '17	ned883! Glad you found us... __________________________________________________ Losing someone is not painful. They are a part of us all this while and will always be with us. But missing them is.

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April 3rd, 2023, 04:38 PM	#3
Snake ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Rick Location: Alexandria, Louisiana Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 05 Blue Ninja 250 Posts: Too much. MOTY - 2017, MOTM - Jan '19, Oct '16, May '14	Hell and welcome!

April 3rd, 2023, 04:55 PM	#4
Triple Jim Guy Who Enjoys Riding Name: Jim Location: North Carolina Join Date: Jul 2016 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250 Posts: A lot. MOTM - Oct '18, Aug '17, Aug '16	It's good to meet you, Nathan... Welcome!

April 4th, 2023, 09:12 AM	#5
CaliGrrl 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	Welcome! What part of CA are you in? I'm on the coast, between LA and Santa Barbara.

April 20th, 2023, 06:22 PM	#6
DannoXYZ 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	Greetings & Salutations!!! I've done 17" conversion. Really easy by swapping entire rear-end: swingarm, brakes, sprocket & carrier, shock, linkage, rear-wheel. Completely bolt-on mod, perfect fit. Cheap parts off ebay, about $250 total. Front, just weld on little brake adapter bracket and slide 17" front wheel in. https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=266182