White 250r w/Green Pearl - Build journal - Picture intensive

[s2kenny]

Hey guys, I'd like to share my experience on a motorcycle with you guys through this thread.. in pictures!

I'm a young college student with a bills to pay so I don't usually buy something unless it's a good deal/on sale/necessary. If you have any questions of where I get my goodies just ask and you shall receive! Bear in mind this is my first time doing anything on a motorcycle so if I'm making any mistakes please let me know.

All prices include tax and shipping
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May 2010 - Rode my first motorcycle at the MSF course located at Palomar College.
$150

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July 10, 2010 - Got my M1 endorsement! (Passed written on second time around)
$30

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July 15, 2010 - Bought my first helmet on closeout at Cycle gear (Best customer service EVER!). Don't mind the ladies
$190

At the same time I also got myself the Dark smoke shield
$35

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I also bought some quality oil and a K&N oil filter in anticipation of my first oil change
$35

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July 17, 2010 - Took delivery of my very first motorcycle! The guy (Joe) was delivering it all the way from Los Angeles to San Diego for me. He was making a right hand turn on a side street when a corvette tried to pass and made contact with Joe and downed his bike.

The corvette had the guts to pull over, peek out his mirrors to look at joe on the floor, and ran off. Thankfully the down was at a slow speed not on the freeway. Joe was only wearing regular boots, jeans and a tank top. He scraped his elbow and his foot was pretty bruised/swollen. ATGATT!

I picked Joe up and took him to my place for him to recover. The bike had a minor amount of damage and we deducted this from the price I was originally going to pay. I ended up giving him
$1,800

(No that's not me)

The damage was scratches on all the left hand fairings, broken turn signal, scratched mirror, scratched bar end, bent in shifter, hole in front fender.

The bike was still ridable so that's how I rode it for the next 2 weeks.

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July 18, 2010 Saw a few people with these stickers near the tail. Swooped me up a set. I probably won't put these on though just to keep the bike looking clean.
$8

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July 18, 2010 Called around for some basic insurance, ended up with Nationwide for my liability. I have something around 25k/50k/25k and a 25k/50k for uninsured motorists. Not bad since I have a few tickets. No coverage on the bike.
$240

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July 18, 2010 Picked this up on craigslist for a stellar price. Alpinestars TZ-1 Leather Jacket. Brand new also. I absolutely love this thing. It's pretty comfortable, got lots of protection, looks good. The only thing is that it's a size or two too big for me. Better than nothing at this point right? $100

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July 18, 2010 I also picked up these Alpinestars SP-2 Gloves from a local seller on craigslist. Real nice guy, he upgraded to held phantoms. $40

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July 19, 2010 Won an ebay auction for a rashed front fairing. It's off a special edition ninja with some rashing on the left side. Minor damage compared to my current front end. I'll take this one instead to my paint guy.
$27

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July 21, 2010 Received a brand new Area P Replica Full Exhaust (PLM/PLMFG exhaust). This thing is AWESOME, the build quality is not the best, the header was kind of hard to put on, the holes didn't line up with the cylinder head bolts but with a little but of mustering I got it to go in. The muffler itself has some kind of carbon fiber overlay I'm guessing and the finish is not the best. But in terms of sound and performance this thing is a winner!

My girlfriend described my old bike as a Sheep screaming (BAAAAAAHHHH) and now it's more like a Zombie screaming (WWUAAAHHHHHHHH!!!)


- I know there are a few people out there that are against replica parts, but I got this full exhaust mainly because I got a killer deal on it! I found the seller on another forum and asked him for his bottom line price
$150.. for a full exhaust


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July 22, 2010 I got a set of PSR motorcycle stands. I got the rear stand and the front fork stand. Motorcycle Superstore was offering free shipping so I had them price match newenough's price. These things are pretty good for their price. I couldn't justify spending 3 times more for the all mighty Pitbull stands so these will have to do for now.

They feel pretty sturdy, no rocking or swaying with the bike on the stand. Best bang for your buck I found.
$90/both

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July 22, 2010 I got some Motul chain lube, and Motul chain clean. First time cleaning chain, and it was dirty! After a thorough scrubbing and a light lubing, the bike seemed to be happier.
$21

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July 23, 2010 I bought a set of Bridgestone Battlax BT045 from Motorcycle Superstore. I bought the OEM size because I didn't want to mess with the motorcycle's engineering at this point. These things are great! I took them off and loaded 2 wheels and 4 tires into my passenger seat. I had a local guy mount them for cheap. If anyone is in the San Diego area PM me for his number, he does great work.

First time taking both wheels off a bike, it was pretty easy. The only thing that gave me trouble was putting the rear axle back up. I ended up putting it in on the right side and it was easy after that.

I had to stuff these in my 2 seater. Good thing these tires were not any thicker or else I would have some trouble.


The tires that came on the bike were way past their wear markers. They were almost slicks! But these new tires feel great, I took it easy for the first 50~ miles to scrub them in. Check out how bald the previous owner rode it to.


$190 for tires/ $20 total for mount
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July 25,2010 Started taking the bike apart for repairs. Stripped off all the fairings and started to work on them. I got a product called Plastex, and it works wonders on the fairings. There were more cracks on this bike than fingers on my hands but the kit fixed them all. I spent a lot of time sanding and sanding since this stuff dries so dang hard. Even harder than the fairings themselves.
$37

The previous owner also had done a rattle can paint job with thick paint so it was very hard cutting through it all. Spent about 10 hours total mending cracks, sanding, and repairing tabs.

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July 26, 2010 I got the Hotbodies Dark smoke windscreen for my bike. Super good deal! The fit is kind of questionable but nothing major. Great seller with quick shipping (was next day for me)
$30


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July 26, 2010 Got myself a Xentec HID kit from ebay. H7 size in a 5000k color. Slim ballasts. Install was very easy, just spent my time zip-tie-ing the heck out of everything so it wouldn't vibrate loose over time. Warmed them up for 10 minutes as recommended in the manual. Very bright lights, with a slight hint of blue. Exactly what I was looking for.
$37



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July 27, 2010 The rear brakes were below minimum specs so I bought some new EBC HH pads to replace them before they chewed up the rotor.

I bought from http://shop.hyperformanceparts.com/ Hyperformance Parts. I orignally bought the Plastex and rear brake pads from them, but they ended up shipping only the rear pads. Long story short....... DONT BUY FROM HYPERFORMANCE PARTS. SHADY owner, SHADY customer service
$38



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August 2, 2010 Had many wellnuts broken on my fairings. I went to Ace hardware and they didn't have any metric wellnuts. I ended up going to bikebolts.com and bought a complete set from them. I also ordered for Bright White powdercoating for all the Allen/Screw heads. They should blend in nicely after my new paint job. Use "4forum20" for a nice fat discount.
$37

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August 2, 2010 I was lurking on ebay for a while for a cowl without having to pay $100. I found this guy and made him a best offer and to my surprise he accepted. It took a while for this piece to come in, Dang USPS shipping service is horrible sometimes.

I gotta comment on Kawasaki's quality though, everything was buttoned up very nicely in the box, the plastic they used to wrap everything is super heavy duty (couldn't chew it open to rip) Even the instructions came in heavy plastic. Hopefully I won't get the alignment issues everyone else was having with their cowl. This was the last piece I was waiting for before I take her to paint
$60

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August 3, 2010 Got some OEM replacements for my spark plugs. Pretty easy job since all the body work is already out. I didn't get the spark plug took in my tool bag so I ended up using a 3/8 spark plug socket (for cars) and a 6" + 3" extension on my socket, worked fine. Little bit of anti-seize on the threads and I was done.

I'm going to need some help reading these spark plugs though! Please check in on my other thread : http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=52169

$16

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August 3, 2010 Finally brought my pieces to my painter. He is going to do some more prep work and smooth out the surface to make it look glossy. We went with a Bright white with a House of Kolour Green Mini-flake pearl. It should be done Saturday afternoon (August 6th/ 3 days). I'm really excited to get my parts back so I can go riding again!
$300
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August 3, 2010 The boots I ordered finally came in. I purchased the Alpinestars SMX-Plus with the internal boot system. Haven't got a chance to ride in these yet but they are super comfortable!
$290


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August 4, 2010 So with the bike stripped down, I figure I better do as much as I can before the fairings come back! I took the time to shim the needles. I put 3 #4 washers under each needle. I can't ride it right now but I did start the bike up with what gas was left in the carb to make sure it ran. Purred like a kitten, until it ran out of gas. Great mod for $1.50. Can't wait to test ride it.

I didn't run into any problems stripping the screws, with the gas tank out I just used my #2 12" Craftsman Phillips screwdriver. This one was a pretty new screwdriver so that helped.

I own a ton of these now so if anyone needs some just shoot me a message. I found them at fry's electronics
$1.50


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August 4, 2010 While the fairings are away at paint, I'm trying to do everything I can before I get them back. I cleared off the Kleen air system and the california emissions system. Very easy, Just need to get some plugs for the airbox/cylinder head.

$Free
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I think.. I might be... Addicted to modding.. This dang 250r..

And that is all for now, I think I've drain my keyboard's wireless battery

Took me nearly 3 hours to put this all together neatly, I would really appreciate a word or two from you just to see what you think about everything so far.

[austexjg]

Nice - keep us up to date on the progress.

[Cab305]

Very nice mods. I feel real bad for seller, that sucked.

But love the white.

I have/had the same gloves, love them. Had them in black, lost one, had to buy blue because they had no more black for a month (what was I gonna do, not ride!).

[s2kenny]

Thanks!

Yeah the guy had mostly his pride bruised, his first motorcycle accident so he was a little shaken up.

The SP-2 gloves are pretty good, I only wish that they had a wrist strap instead of the fore-arm velcro strap. I feel that gloves with the wrist strap hold a lot better.

Then again.. the SP-2 isn't near their top gloves so that is probably why.

[bob706]

Awesome. That chain cleaner is the shiznit and those brake pads are great. I may hit you up for some washers and the site where you got that can. $150 for a full system is insane, knock-off or not. Great job

[Chubbs032]

Good post, good work. Can't wait to see paint.

[Cuongism]

Great writeup! Where in SD are you? I've only lived here for a few months so I don't know good places to ride yet (some people suggested Palomar or route 94?). Let me know if you ever want to go riding together since I'm looking for riding mates in this area.
BTW, white bikes look awesome and $1800 seems like a great deal for a new gen that is mechanically ok. If you ever do a jetkit or carb sync, I have the tools. I also have a 08 service manual. Can't wait to see your new paintjob!
Posted via Mobile Device

[00NissanNinja]

Wow what a story. Can't wait to see your bike once its ready to roll

[camaroz1985]

Looks like you are making good progress. Can't wait to see what you do.

Stinks having the bike and not riding it though doesn't it? Guess you don't have a winter to do your modding over, but then again you can ride the whole year too.

[dubojr1]

I find it funny that the signature on the license doesn't match the printed name!

[motogirl724]

very nice write up, I was looking at those HIDs also. Keep us updated!

[camaroz1985]

Originally Posted by dubojr1

I find it funny that the signature on the license doesn't match the printed name!

Originally Posted by s2kenny

Just watched the movie again last night and I realized that then too. Looks like maybe added "g".

Sorry hijack over.

[dubojr1]

Originally Posted by camaroz1985

Just watched the movie again last night and I realized that then too. Looks like maybe added "g".

Sorry hijack over.

One question b4 hijack is over.... How do you get the pic to stay in the quote. Just can't seem to figure that one out. I selected "quote" on your post thinking the pic you re-posted would stay but it doesn't.

[s2kenny]

Originally Posted by bob706

Awesome. That chain cleaner is the shiznit and those brake pads are great. I may hit you up for some washers and the site where you got that can. $150 for a full system is insane, knock-off or not. Great job

Yeah just let me know! I got the exhaust from kawiforums.com . The guy's name is "Private Label MFG" I guess that's why it's called the PLM exhaust. Real nice guy with quick shipping. Ask him to give you a price that you can't refuse.

Originally Posted by Chubbs032

Good post, good work. Can't wait to see paint.

Me too! One more day.. the wait is eating me alive

Originally Posted by Cuongism

Great writeup! Where in SD are you? I've only lived here for a few months so I don't know good places to ride yet (some people suggested Palomar or route 94?). Let me know if you ever want to go riding together since I'm looking for riding mates in this area.
BTW, white bikes look awesome and $1800 seems like a great deal for a new gen that is mechanically ok. If you ever do a jetkit or carb sync, I have the tools. I also have a 08 service manual. Can't wait to see your new paintjob!
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks, I'm next to Qualcomm Stadium. Yeah I know a few good places to ride around here. I'm still a beginner so I haven't taken it up to the twistys at Palomar yet. I'm glad I got the bike for under $2,000 because I was going to repaint it anyways.

In the near future I'm going to try to do a rejet/carb sync/and possibly a dyno for a baseline and after. I'm still trying to read everything I can on tuning motorcycles so when I'm ready I will definitely hit you up! What part of SD are you at? (North, central, south, east)?

Originally Posted by 00NissanNinja

Wow what a story. Can't wait to see your bike once its ready to roll

Thanks me too! I wish I had some friends that like to do photography in San Diego, I would steal them and have them do some nice rolling shots down the beach

Originally Posted by camaroz1985

Looks like you are making good progress. Can't wait to see what you do.

Stinks having the bike and not riding it though doesn't it? Guess you don't have a winter to do your modding over, but then again you can ride the whole year too.

Yeah it's stinks, having to look at it every day but can't ride it. Yeah it's great down here in san diego, I can avoid every single rainy day and still ride 355 days of the year

Originally Posted by motogirl724

very nice write up, I was looking at those HIDs also. Keep us updated!

Yeah I would recommend them, don't have anything to say about how long they would last.. since they are pretty cheap. But for $37 bucks i'm happy with what I got. Here is the link to the seller. I preferred him over the Overseas sellers (hong kong/china) because the shipping is much faster and warranty would be easier to claim (1 year)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HID-S...ht_3413wt_1056

Originally Posted by dubojr1

One question b4 hijack is over.... How do you get the pic to stay in the quote. Just can't seem to figure that one out. I selected "quote" on your post thinking the pic you re-posted would stay but it doesn't.

Haha you guys are very observant. I bet you were snooping out everything in my house through my helmet reflection too. I was messing with the quote function and it doesn't seem to bring the pictures down with it. The best you can do is just right click the picture, click "copy image url" and then put it inside the quote as a picture. You do that by clicking inside the quote first, then click the picture icon up above (square with yellow background, mountain and a sun) and paste the link.

But I'm sure you knew all of this already

[Cuongism]

I live in PB. You can try out my bike if you want to see how it feels. Bike runs richer so never really requires choke, but mpg drops (I'm in the high 40's). I just installed a 15T sprocket so it may go back up, but still much better than my car's 20 mpg.

[s2kenny]

Oh PB is a nice place to live. I have always wanted to try a ninja with different gearing. Do you have a garage down there in PB too?

[Cuongism]

Technically yes and no. I live in a condo complex so it is reserved parking lot style. My spot is covered. It's in my lease that I can't work on vehicles, but management don't walk through the parking lots and maintenance doesn't seem to care. Many of us work on our cars in our spots with no problem. Conveniently, there's a bright light right above my spot too.

[s2kenny]

Yeah I'm in the same situation. Luckily all you really need for a bike is a couple allen wrenches, a few sockets, a couple screwdrivers, and the bike is apart.

[Flying Pig]

Very impressive would be an understatement.

Good luck capturing the flakes on camera, they usually never look nearly as good in photos, but I'm excited for the completed pics. Keep us posted!

[s2kenny]

Thank you! I'll have to try to capture the pearl best I can with my little canon point and shoot. Too bad there wasn't like a Printscreen button for your eye-balls.

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August 6, 2010 My stock filter was looking pretty nasty by now and It was around time the change the filter anyways according to the maintenance schedule. I went down to the local cycle gear to pick up a filter and this is what I came home with. An UNI filter. I haven't heard much about this filter, and I couldn't find any posts about it either. I failed to realize that it needed to be oiled so I will be going back to the store later to get the oil.

Seems like a pretty nicely built filter. 2 layered (one coarse foam, one finer foam). Came with a couple stickers and the instruction booklet.


$11
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Got an update from my painter today. Unfortunately I won't be able to pick up my fairings this saturday, but I'm going to have to wait until monday. The reason is he said the white rattle-can job the last owner did was so bad, and so thick, he is going to sand through it all the way to the blue (original color). He wanted to give it an extra day so I wouldn't put fingerprints on the clear coat.

I was looking very forward to a ride on sunday but I guess it's just going to have to wait. More maintenance on the bike then!

[miks]

I love reading build threads like this, keep up the good work mate and get her all done ASAP and snap up those pictures

[s2kenny]

Thanks me too, that's why I decided to throw this online, might pass the modding bug onto someone else!

[s2kenny]

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August 8, 2010 So with some extra time today I decided to do some more maintenance on my bike. I went to the local cycle gear and picked up this cable lube kit. Pretty easy to use, but makes a mess. I lubed my clutch line, and both the throttle cables. The throttle cable seemed to snap back faster after the lube.
$25

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August 8, 2010 Also was time for me to do a brake flush. Old fluid was a darkish red and the new fluid is nearly a clear yellow. I used the whole bottle to flush out the lines since you it wouldn't be wise to reuse it again later. Synthetic castrol brake fluid was what I got. I didn't feel that paying 4x for the premium motul would have made any difference for the street riding I'm currently doing. I'll post a DIY on brake flushing if people request it.
$5
Went to the store to get myself some UNI air filter oil. This was my first time oiling a filter since I'm used to paper ones on cars. This stuff was not like ordinary oil. Pretty thick, like a light honey. But also very sticky, took a while to wash off my hands. The old filter was nearly black on one side so hopefully this gives me a nice performance boost.
$10

[s2kenny]

August 8, 2010 So with all my new shiny bolts, I wanted to come up with a way to organize them all. I derived my idea from another thread and just took it to another level. I got this diagram from bikebolts.com of all the bolts that hold on the fairings. I printed it out and glued it to some cardboard.

Next I used a small screw driver to poke holes to the corresponding screw positions, then used a larger screw driver to enlarge the holes. I think it's a great way to keep track of all your bolts/washers. I made the holes just big enough to where I can flip the board upside down and all the bolts hold themselves on.

[Mac]

pics of s2k??

[s2kenny]

Sorry I haven't been updating this thread... I'v been having too much fun riding my bike!!

No dedicated pictures yet, but here is a few snapshots of tonights ride. Down the 94 freeway with my buddies.

2004 Yamaha R6
2009 Kawasaki ZX-6r
2010 Kawasaki 250r
2008 Kawasaki 250r

[want1sobad]

looks sharp - well done

[Sailariel]

Great job. Very well done.

[HKr1]

Originally Posted by s2kenny

Took me nearly 3 hours to put this all together neatly, I would really appreciate a word or two from you just to see what you think about everything so far.

Fun read, nice job on it

[agush]

Originally Posted by s2kenny

The damage was scratches on all the left hand fairings, broken turn signal, scratched mirror, scratched bar end, bent in shifter, hole in front fender.

So what did you do for the turn signals? i also broke mine but i dont know if i should buy another OEM signal or go for aftermarkets

If you bought aftermarkets would you mind telling me what brand/model?

[edbro]

Nice boots, I want the S-MX Plus boots also. Good work on the bike as well!

[AndyRavag3]

Wow brilliant write up looks amazing. Its this type of thread that I love. I want my ninjette now!!

[jae.trini]

Thanks for sharing...good thread.

[DR1300R]

All the pics are gone or have been deleted..

[blade]

i read it but pics would be nice also

[Red2Black]

Awesome build