2011 Ninja 250R Strange Gear Shifting

Greyfox · January 30th, 2012, 02:45 AM

Hi I'm still new to my Ninja.
I'm wondering if this is normal on the Ninja or not.

From full stop in 1st gear I let my bike run to 11K RPM then shift to 2nd Gear.
What I've noticed is when I hit 2nd gear the RPM does not roll back to 7,8 or 9K it stays near 10,500K sometimes the 2nd gear is useless because it stays very near 11k. When I hit 3rd Gear that's when the RPM rolls back to about 8k and my bike pushes forward again.

do I need to just rev 1st gear to say 8k? and shift to 2nd gear from there?

What are your secrets on shifting for best times on a quarter mile drag?

Do I have to rev all my gears to the redline?

Mr.E · January 30th, 2012, 05:53 AM

Generally people who have a completely stock bike (and by this I mean unshimmed carbs) stay away from riding in first gear at all. (They get to rolling and immediately kick up to 2nd gear). Now I hope a more experienced member can correct me, but I dont think there would be much of a RPM drop between 1st and 2nd, although only having it drop 500 rmp's seems way too little. I dont ride around in first and look at my RPM much, but I would think it woul drop atleast 1 or 2k.

Have you tried shifting at lower RMP and see if it does the same? What about when in higher gears? Lets say you're doing 50 MPH, in 5th gear, and you kick up to 6, is there a rather decent rpm drop? Only 500 in my opinion seems way too little.

But thats my opinion, someone more experienced will reply and probably be way more useful then me lol

There's also a powerband. Usually once you go over a certain RPM the bike may not accelerate well or (in my case sometimes) at all (that I can feel anyways.)

DaBlue1 · January 30th, 2012, 07:05 AM

In stock form, 1st & 2nd gear are really close. 1st gear is almost useless. There is no need to rev real high to get the bike going. It is designed like this for the beginner rider to get going. So what you are experiencing is normal.
I can shift around 5-6k rpm when riding around in the city (for you the shifts will be quick) and higher rpms for hwy riding. If you are dragging the bike, of course maxing out the rpms is going to get you better launches and faster times.
If you are concerned about riding around at high rpms and want 1st gear to be more useful and allow the bike to take more advantage of the power available, I'd recommend changing the front sprocket to a 15 tooth which happens to be a very popular mod.

Alex · January 30th, 2012, 07:13 AM

Are you sure that you're actually getting it into 2nd? Check out:

www.gearingcommander.com

If you're at 11,000 rpm in 1st, you're going a little under 31 mph. When you shift into 2nd, at that same speed, the engine is only turning 7,400 rpm. If it's turning 10k or more in 2nd, you're already going over 40 mph.

January 30th, 2012, 02:45 AM	#1
Greyfox ninjette.org member Name: Warren Location: Asia Join Date: Dec 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 250R Posts: 23	2011 Ninja 250R Strange Gear Shifting Hi I'm still new to my Ninja. I'm wondering if this is normal on the Ninja or not. From full stop in 1st gear I let my bike run to 11K RPM then shift to 2nd Gear. What I've noticed is when I hit 2nd gear the RPM does not roll back to 7,8 or 9K it stays near 10,500K sometimes the 2nd gear is useless because it stays very near 11k. When I hit 3rd Gear that's when the RPM rolls back to about 8k and my bike pushes forward again. do I need to just rev 1st gear to say 8k? and shift to 2nd gear from there? What are your secrets on shifting for best times on a quarter mile drag? Do I have to rev all my gears to the redline?

January 30th, 2012, 05:53 AM	#2
Mr.E That rider dude. Name: Eric Location: Orlando, Fl. Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2011 White Ninja 250 SE. Posts: A lot.	Generally people who have a completely stock bike (and by this I mean unshimmed carbs) stay away from riding in first gear at all. (They get to rolling and immediately kick up to 2nd gear). Now I hope a more experienced member can correct me, but I dont think there would be much of a RPM drop between 1st and 2nd, although only having it drop 500 rmp's seems way too little. I dont ride around in first and look at my RPM much, but I would think it woul drop atleast 1 or 2k. Have you tried shifting at lower RMP and see if it does the same? What about when in higher gears? Lets say you're doing 50 MPH, in 5th gear, and you kick up to 6, is there a rather decent rpm drop? Only 500 in my opinion seems way too little. But thats my opinion, someone more experienced will reply and probably be way more useful then me lol There's also a powerband. Usually once you go over a certain RPM the bike may not accelerate well or (in my case sometimes) at all (that I can feel anyways.) __________________________________________________ Mods: flushmount Led front binkers, diode mod, pazzo levers, clear tank pad, racing replica grips, bike monkeys integrated tal light, zx-2r vinyls, rearsets, red bar ends, and more red accented stuff.

January 30th, 2012, 07:13 AM	#4
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	Are you sure that you're actually getting it into 2nd? Check out: www.gearingcommander.com If you're at 11,000 rpm in 1st, you're going a little under 31 mph. When you shift into 2nd, at that same speed, the engine is only turning 7,400 rpm. If it's turning 10k or more in 2nd, you're already going over 40 mph. __________________________________________________ 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)

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January 30th, 2012, 07:05 AM	#3
DaBlue1 Long Time Rider Name: Blue Location: Charlotte, NC Join Date: Sep 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.	In stock form, 1st & 2nd gear are really close. 1st gear is almost useless. There is no need to rev real high to get the bike going. It is designed like this for the beginner rider to get going. So what you are experiencing is normal. I can shift around 5-6k rpm when riding around in the city (for you the shifts will be quick) and higher rpms for hwy riding. If you are dragging the bike, of course maxing out the rpms is going to get you better launches and faster times. If you are concerned about riding around at high rpms and want 1st gear to be more useful and allow the bike to take more advantage of the power available, I'd recommend changing the front sprocket to a 15 tooth which happens to be a very popular mod.