Hey, From Alabama!

[sohcanddohc]

Just a quick hello! And a short story about me and my wifes 05' Ninja 250.

I have been riding a 87' Suzuki Intruder vs700 for a while now. My wife rode with me a few times and was wanting her own bike and loves the sporty looking bikes so the 250 was a easy choice. We found a 05 with 4k miles so we went to test ride the bike. I solo rode knowing that my 6'3 230lbs would be enough to see if the 250 would be enough bike for my wife. Wow I was shocked at how the lack of power was not there. Anywho on my return trip to tell my wife she could buy the bike a 60+lbs dog ran onto the road right into my path. I tried to miss it but no luck. POW! bike went into the grass ditch and I went asphalt surfing down the road. So you ask what kind of gear? well the Bell fullface had a dent on the back side of it, the pants had a few holes at my knee, and the "don't hate me" collared shirt I had on was shredded. My jacket you might ask was safe hanging on the back of my chair in the kitchen.

So I jump up count my fingers and lift both legs off the ground, yep all still there and attached! So I was lucky, I lost the skin on the under side of both arms and left hand (palm and every finger tip were gone, time to rob a bank!!) and banged up my hip and knee. I reach down and my cell is still in its clip so I call the wife and no answer!!! So I call my buddy who is with my wife and tell her to bring the young man down the road a mile and tell her we bought the bike and I am ok. I then go over to the 250 and stand it back up. At this point I think great I have a nice parts bike!! Fast forward a little....... buddy goes to get his truck I hang out on the side of the road, wife is doing her best to hold it together (she is a nurse and has seen some bad stuff at less speed). We load the bike up and pay the young man for the bike and go home. I then cry myself into the shower and get cleaned up before the trip to the ER to get a once over. I call work and take a weeks vacation cause well it hurt!!! 2 days later I feel better and want to look over the parts bike I have.

I start to look it over and other than a little road rash and a bunch of dirt it don't look to bad. The foot peg is half gone (explains the cut on top of my foot). So I help my buddy get it out of the truck the center stand is bent so the wheel wont roll backwards. So that is the first thing we remove. then all the farings come off then we fire it up. Came right to life with no issue. WOW! maybe it is all good? So my buddy gets on it and takes off up the road. He comes back and says all 6 gears are good and it goes straight down he road.

So now 4 weeks later the Ninja 250 is all back together with new pegs and cleaned up fairings. I took it to a good bike shop for a once over to be sure all was straight and in spec. My wife has put about 150 miles on it and I have put 5 on it. I think the reason I went down was poor front shocks (for my weight) really good front brakes and poor rear brakes. I am now in the market for upgrades that her and I can enjoy on her Ninja. I for the most part will stick to my Intruder! Oh, and yes I got another Bell fullface, sold my half helmet and will never ride without my jacket!!!!

Oh and the dog made it just fine!

[Alex]

[austexjg]

Glad your okay and Welcome.

[kkim]

Aloha and welcome, Rob.

Damn an adventure even before purchasing the bike. Glad to hear you're doing better.

If the tires are the original stock tires, you might want to consider changing them before the wife starts her riding career and ending up with the same thing happening to her. They are most likely hard and slippery at this point and they are not the most confidence inspiring tires to begin with. I highly recommend some Pirelli Sport Demons or Bridgestone BT45.

The tires were also not up to riding temp which made them even more slippery during your test ride.... dog didn't help much either.

Gl... have the wife join the forum, too.

[nate-bama]

Welcome Rob

[bob706]

Welcome to the forum

[KJohnson21]

[BlueRaven]

glad that you made it through this ordeal in on piece and good to hear the dog is fine

[lockie]

Wow... Quite the story. Hope it's not hurting anymore and enjoy the bike.

[Snake]

Hello and welcome.

[ninjabrewer]

welcome to club ninjette.

nb

[noche_caliente]

[OldGuy]

Welcome Rob - glad to have you with us. Have fun and ride safe. Hell of a way to start of a new relationship with a bike. Glad to hear you are OK and the Ninja showed how tuff it is.