My 2001 Ninja 250 "Cafe racer"

Mortifer · March 17th, 2014, 01:08 PM

I’ve missed the fun of riding my previous 2003 250 “Café racer”, so I decided to “build” another.

I picked up this 01 Ninja 250 at the beginning of Nov for $750, it was quite beat-on and neglected, but with only 3k miles it was a perfect candidate. It had been crashed a few times, so no upper fairings, it did come with a crashed café headlight though, a leaking gas tank, an extra set of rims and years of filth and grime…..so I got busy.

It did not come with the airbox, just some naty looking pods, so I tossed those and went with a single K&N pod filter, after playing with the jetting more times than I can remember, I can now pull into the garage and have the carb on the work bench in 4 minutes.

I repaired and bondo’d the leaking gas tank, Lubed all cables, moved/rewired battery and electrical, wired vapor, installed temp sender & speedo sender, cut seat & had it reupholstered, replaced brake fluid, modified rear reservoir, replaced fork oil, made license plate bracket, cut subframe, removed extra parts, painted a lot of things.

I still have some finishing touches to do like redo the vapor mount and replace the rashed headlight.
In all I’ve spent almost $600 in parts and couldn’t be happier.

Bringing it home, the work begins…

The usual- strip it down, cut off all extra parts, rewire the battery, clean it up and start replacing parts…

Here is my uncle taking it for a spin a while ago, I liked this red/white paint job at first, but it just wasn’t right….

Mortifer · March 17th, 2014, 01:09 PM

The front fender was just too big, so I made it…smaller.

So I redid the paint to something very meaningful to me. Here’s the finished paint job, I was unable to find lime green spray paint, this was the best I could do. It’s perfect.

Mortifer · March 17th, 2014, 01:10 PM

New pic with white rims and bigger front tire, looks much better now.

jenkem · March 17th, 2014, 05:04 PM

That looks amazing! I am totally in love with this bike.
Did you buy or fabricate the rear cowl?

komohana · March 17th, 2014, 06:12 PM

mighty fine

Mortifer · March 17th, 2014, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenkem

That looks amazing! I am totally in love with this bike.
Did you buy or fabricate the rear cowl?

Thank you.
I purchased the fiberglass tail from http://www.caferace.com but I'm disappointed it's not currently listed so I can't show you the exact one.

I'll get some close up pics with the seat and tail off in a day or two.

chugs · March 17th, 2014, 06:56 PM

Nice work, seeing your bike gives me some motivation to hurry up and finish my build. What color green is the paint?

Mortifer · March 17th, 2014, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chugs

Nice work, seeing your bike gives me some motivation to hurry up and finish my build. What color green is the paint?

I believe it's this- http://m.lowes.com/product?langId=-1...lue=4294720379

It was the closest I could find to lime green.
The paint job (green color and ribbons in the stripe) is in support of my gf who is going through chemo for non hodgkin's lymphoma cancer. She's doing well and it will all be in the past in another month.

It's the cancer bike.

c-dog · March 17th, 2014, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mortifer

The paint job (green color and ribbons in the stripe) is in support of my gf who is going through chemo for non hodgkin's lymphoma cancer. She's doing well and it will all be in the past in another month.

It's the cancer bike.

It looks really nice! Great job. One of the nicest cafe conversions I've seen done to the 250.

Glad to hear she is doing well. It's a great thing when you can say you survived cancer. When you think or say it the first time it really sinks in how lucky we are to live in the golden age of medicine.

Mortifer · March 17th, 2014, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c-dog

It looks really nice! Great job. One of the nicest cafe conversions I've seen done to the 250.

Glad to hear she is doing well. It's a great thing when you can say you survived cancer. When you think or say it the first time it really sinks in how lucky we are to live in the golden age of medicine.

Thank you, and yes it really brings life and priorities into perspective.

A few more pics of the "guts". I popped the carbs out and put the stock 40 idle jets back in, the 42's we're bogging it down.
I figured since it never pops when releasing full throttle that it's still lean, I was surprised to see I put 118 mains in there, I don't have anything bigger here. Lol.

The electrical parts are secured to the metal plate properly, it just looks like a pile.

Mortifer · March 17th, 2014, 10:12 PM

Mortifer · March 17th, 2014, 10:20 PM

Ginganinja · March 18th, 2014, 05:21 AM

What a sweet bike! And for the cost.... Not bad at all! I love it!

greenaero · March 18th, 2014, 07:35 PM

Very Nice!

sharky nrk · March 19th, 2014, 06:27 AM

Great bike

Josh_kcco · March 19th, 2014, 12:36 PM

look awesome man. ive always like the café racer style.
have you thought about lowering the front end a bit?

Mortifer · March 19th, 2014, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh_kcco

look awesome man. ive always like the café racer style.
have you thought about lowering the front end a bit?

I need to make sure the forks are slid up tight against the clip on mounts, but can't go much lower because of them.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps1eb78098.jpg

Finesse · March 19th, 2014, 06:31 PM

this looks fantastic. what mirrors did you buy?

I love the white wheels.

oblivion007 · March 19th, 2014, 07:11 PM

Gorgeous! I like the big ol open space under the seat. Trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my beat up 250. I'd like to cafe it but I'd also like to get plastics for it again too. haha

Mortifer · March 19th, 2014, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finesse

this looks fantastic. what mirrors did you buy?

I love the white wheels.

They are these cheap things from ebay, $20.
I like them for the price, great rear visibility, but if the bike ever tips over it will break right off.

http://bit.ly/STloUR

Finesse · March 19th, 2014, 10:18 PM

^cheers, might give these a go, I feel like the pregen stock mirrors make my bike look like it has funny rabbit ears

BLKBLKEvan · March 26th, 2014, 03:14 PM

What tires/sizes are mounted in those photos?

Mortifer · March 26th, 2014, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLKBLKEvan

What tires/sizes are mounted in those photos?

Stock rear and 120/80-16 front.

Sirref · March 26th, 2014, 03:26 PM

color me impressed, you did a fantastic job on that build. I'm tempted to make my 250 track bike look something like that since I can.

heffree · March 26th, 2014, 10:37 PM

Hey, great looking bike!
I just bought a ninjette from a guy that cut the seat in a way that looks similar to yours. The part of the seat with the original lock was cut off so I'm wondering, how do you have yours attached?

Mortifer · March 27th, 2014, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heffree

Hey, great looking bike!
I just bought a ninjette from a guy that cut the seat in a way that looks similar to yours. The part of the seat with the original lock was cut off so I'm wondering, how do you have yours attached?

Since my seat is now short, it has only 4 contact points where it sits on the frame. I drilled a hole across the top of each and use 4 zip ties to hold the seat to the frame.
It's not the best mounting method but it works fine and won't come off.

heffree · March 27th, 2014, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mortifer

Since my seat is now short, it has only 4 contact points where it sits on the frame. I drilled a hole across the top of each and use 4 zip ties to hold the seat to the frame.
It's not the best mounting method but it works fine and won't come off.

Cool! I think I'll give that a go, thanks.

agentbad · March 29th, 2014, 02:57 PM

Add some panels to cover all that empty space. Here's my favorite looking cafed ninja.

Mortifer · March 29th, 2014, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agentbad

Add some panels to cover all that empty space. Here's my favorite looking cafed ninja.

That blue collar bobber kit is neat, they add those side panels to cover the air box, coolant res. and electrical parts.
I really like my clean empty look with those parts located elsewhere. Putting panels there would defeat the purpose of my hard work.

deadsquirrel · March 29th, 2014, 06:19 PM

Awesome stuff Mortifer! Well done!

heffree · March 29th, 2014, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mortifer

That blue collar bobber kit is neat, they add those side panels to cover the air box, coolant res. and electrical parts.
I really like my clean empty look with those parts located elsewhere. Putting panels there would defeat the purpose of my hard work.

Speaking of clean empty look, I have another question for ya. Where is your coolant reservoir located now? And I couldn't really tell from the picture but is the fuse box also located under your gas tank?
Thanks!

agentbad · March 29th, 2014, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mortifer

That blue collar bobber kit is neat, they add those side panels to cover the air box, coolant res. and electrical parts.
I really like my clean empty look with those parts located elsewhere. Putting panels there would defeat the purpose of my hard work.

So plexiglass panels or just something clear. It's cool you have everything in a hidden mount now I just can't get over the empty space or just the look of the frame. It's just preference I know. Could be a cool storage area.

heffree · March 29th, 2014, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agentbad

So plexiglass panels man.

Or just build a fish tank into the empty space

Mortifer · March 29th, 2014, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heffree

Speaking of clean empty look, I have another question for ya. Where is your coolant reservoir located now? And I couldn't really tell from the picture but is the fuse box also located under your gas tank?
Thanks!

The coolant res is now a 1" copper pipe about 7" long. I soldered caps on each end after soldering in two 1/4 tubes in one of the caps, one going down to the bottom. Painted black and hose clamped to the frame.

Yes the fuse panel, starter relay and bike computer are all on a metal tray under the back of the gas tank.
Only the battery and regulator are under the tail.

heffree · March 30th, 2014, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mortifer

The coolant res is now a 1" copper pipe about 7" long. I soldered caps on each end after soldering in two 1/4 tubes in one of the caps, one going down to the bottom. Painted black and hose clamped to the frame.

Yes the fuse panel, starter relay and bike computer are all on a metal tray under the back of the gas tank.
Only the battery and regulator are under the tail.

Hmm, I think I can see what you're talking about in one of the pictures. On the right side of the bike? I'm currently trying to decide how stripped down I want my bike to look since I've already taken all the fairing off. It'd be nice to clean up that whole area a bit. Thanks for the help!

elephantman78 · April 1st, 2014, 10:20 AM

Good job. I like it. I like the coolant res idea. I was think of doing my front fender like that

Mortifer · April 1st, 2014, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elephantman78

Good job. I like it. I like the coolant res idea. I was think of doing my front fender like that

Here's a better look at it

elephantman78 · April 1st, 2014, 10:32 AM

Sweet. That'll def look beater than my Mnt Dew can.

Mortifer · April 1st, 2014, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elephantman78

Sweet. That'll def look beater than my Mnt Dew can.

here's where I got the idea for it- http://forums.ninja250.org/posting.p...&t=71282&tro=1

crazymadbastard · April 25th, 2014, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mortifer

That blue collar bobber kit is neat, they add those side panels to cover the air box, coolant res. and electrical parts.
I really like my clean empty look with those parts located elsewhere. Putting panels there would defeat the purpose of my hard work.

Came out great!

I agree that the empty space looks better than panels.

I also dig that tank, how much work and how did you mold them ugly dents where the fairings fit into?

March 17th, 2014, 01:08 PM	#1
Mortifer ninjette.org member Name: Mike Location: San Jose, CA Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23	My 2001 Ninja 250 "Cafe racer" I’ve missed the fun of riding my previous 2003 250 “Café racer”, so I decided to “build” another. I picked up this 01 Ninja 250 at the beginning of Nov for $750, it was quite beat-on and neglected, but with only 3k miles it was a perfect candidate. It had been crashed a few times, so no upper fairings, it did come with a crashed café headlight though, a leaking gas tank, an extra set of rims and years of filth and grime…..so I got busy. It did not come with the airbox, just some naty looking pods, so I tossed those and went with a single K&N pod filter, after playing with the jetting more times than I can remember, I can now pull into the garage and have the carb on the work bench in 4 minutes. I repaired and bondo’d the leaking gas tank, Lubed all cables, moved/rewired battery and electrical, wired vapor, installed temp sender & speedo sender, cut seat & had it reupholstered, replaced brake fluid, modified rear reservoir, replaced fork oil, made license plate bracket, cut subframe, removed extra parts, painted a lot of things. I still have some finishing touches to do like redo the vapor mount and replace the rashed headlight. In all I’ve spent almost $600 in parts and couldn’t be happier. Bringing it home, the work begins… The usual- strip it down, cut off all extra parts, rewire the battery, clean it up and start replacing parts… Here is my uncle taking it for a spin a while ago, I liked this red/white paint job at first, but it just wasn’t right….
	1 out of 1 members found this post helpful.

March 17th, 2014, 01:09 PM	#2
Mortifer ninjette.org member Name: Mike Location: San Jose, CA Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23	The front fender was just too big, so I made it…smaller. So I redid the paint to something very meaningful to me. Here’s the finished paint job, I was unable to find lime green spray paint, this was the best I could do. It’s perfect.
	1 out of 1 members found this post helpful.

March 17th, 2014, 01:10 PM	#3
Mortifer ninjette.org member Name: Mike Location: San Jose, CA Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): 01 250 "Cafe Racer" Posts: 23	New pic with white rims and bigger front tire, looks much better now.
	1 out of 1 members found this post helpful.

March 17th, 2014, 06:12 PM	#5
komohana ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Steve Location: Kekaha, Kauai HI Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 05 GSX-R 600 2003 EX250: Woodcraft Bars, Levers, Mirrors, Shim'd Mixture, Synthetic, '08 Rear Shock Posts: A lot.	mighty fine __________________________________________________ Remember when sex was safe and motorcycles were dangerous?

March 18th, 2014, 07:35 PM	#14
greenaero Motorcycle Hypermiler Name: Vic Location: Livermore CA Join Date: Jan 2012 Motorcycle(s): 1999 & 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 250R's Posts: A lot.	Very Nice! __________________________________________________ 235 MPG Hypermotorcycling to a better tomorrow

March 17th, 2014, 05:04 PM	#4
jenkem ninjette.org member Name: really Location: california Join Date: Jan 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2007 ninja 250 Posts: 80	That looks amazing! I am totally in love with this bike. Did you buy or fabricate the rear cowl?

March 17th, 2014, 06:56 PM	#7
chugs Schönen Tag noch Name: c Location: Central Cali Join Date: Sep 2013 Motorcycle(s): 08 ninja 250 race bike, 02 gixxer 600 telefonica Posts: 184	Nice work, seeing your bike gives me some motivation to hurry up and finish my build. What color green is the paint?

March 18th, 2014, 05:21 AM	#13
Ginganinja pregens for the win! Name: Andrew Location: Los Angeles Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): 07 ninja 250, 07 yamaha r6 Posts: 77	What a sweet bike! And for the cost.... Not bad at all! I love it!

March 19th, 2014, 06:27 AM	#15
sharky nrk Fighting Texas Aggie '05 Name: Neil Location: Hutto, TX Join Date: Feb 2009 Motorcycle(s): '07 ZX6R, '08 Versys, '09 250R Track, '93 F2/F3 Track Posts: A lot.	Great bike __________________________________________________ Keep it rubber side down and enjoy the ride Get healthy - Get Fit - Change Your Life Click Here Or PM Me To Find More - Advocare

March 19th, 2014, 12:36 PM	#16
Josh_kcco ninjette.org guru Name: Josh Location: Kern Join Date: Dec 2013 Motorcycle(s): '04 Ninja 250R Posts: 367	look awesome man. ive always like the café racer style. have you thought about lowering the front end a bit?

March 19th, 2014, 06:31 PM	#18
Finesse ran when parked Name: Katie Location: DC/MD Join Date: Aug 2013 Motorcycle(s): Freeride 250R, KLX250SF, mopeds Posts: A lot. MOTM - Sep '17, Dec '14	this looks fantastic. what mirrors did you buy? I love the white wheels.

March 19th, 2014, 07:11 PM	#19
oblivion007 "scandal!" Name: Adan Location: Somewhere Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2011 250R(Crashed 2/26/2014), 09 ER6n Posts: 660	Gorgeous! I like the big ol open space under the seat. Trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my beat up 250. I'd like to cafe it but I'd also like to get plastics for it again too. haha

March 19th, 2014, 10:18 PM	#21
Finesse ran when parked Name: Katie Location: DC/MD Join Date: Aug 2013 Motorcycle(s): Freeride 250R, KLX250SF, mopeds Posts: A lot. MOTM - Sep '17, Dec '14	^cheers, might give these a go, I feel like the pregen stock mirrors make my bike look like it has funny rabbit ears

March 26th, 2014, 03:14 PM	#22
BLKBLKEvan ninjette.org member Name: Evan Location: Baltimore Join Date: Feb 2014 Motorcycle(s): ...like the opposite of a harley Posts: 20	What tires/sizes are mounted in those photos?

March 26th, 2014, 03:26 PM	#24
Sirref Private Joker Name: Ben Location: Towson, MD Join Date: Nov 2012 Motorcycle(s): '99/'01 Ninja 250 "sketchy", '13 Ninja 300 "yoshi", '03 GSXR 600 "merlin" Posts: A lot. MOTM - Mar '14	color me impressed, you did a fantastic job on that build. I'm tempted to make my 250 track bike look something like that since I can.

March 26th, 2014, 10:37 PM	#25
heffree ninjette.org member Name: Jeff Location: Utah Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): EX250 Posts: 24	Hey, great looking bike! I just bought a ninjette from a guy that cut the seat in a way that looks similar to yours. The part of the seat with the original lock was cut off so I'm wondering, how do you have yours attached?

March 29th, 2014, 02:57 PM	#28
agentbad ninjette.org sage Name: bob Location: Earf Join Date: Apr 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2005 Ninja 250, 2006 SV650N Posts: 642	Add some panels to cover all that empty space. Here's my favorite looking cafed ninja.

March 29th, 2014, 06:19 PM	#30
deadsquirrel ninjette.org member Name: Mark Location: WA Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250r, CBR 500R Posts: 11	Awesome stuff Mortifer! Well done!

April 1st, 2014, 10:20 AM	#36
elephantman78 ninjette.org newbie Name: Chane Location: Bmt. Tx Join Date: Oct 2013 Motorcycle(s): 06 ninja 250, 98 cb750 Posts: 5	Good job. I like it. I like the coolant res idea. I was think of doing my front fender like that

April 1st, 2014, 10:32 AM	#38
elephantman78 ninjette.org newbie Name: Chane Location: Bmt. Tx Join Date: Oct 2013 Motorcycle(s): 06 ninja 250, 98 cb750 Posts: 5	Sweet. That'll def look beater than my Mnt Dew can.

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