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07 250 Ninja questions

chuck hahn

chuck hahn

Forum LongTimer
Past Site Supporter
I dont have much experience with them so I am curious as to just how fast they top out at and if there are any known mechanical nightmares with them.
 
Solid as bricks. Good for about 105 in ideal conditions.

I've never ridden one over about 70, but they will touch 100, as I've been passed by one definitively while driving at 85-90 in the car.
 
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There's an active race class here and in Aussie for them. They last surprisingly well if good oil is used and they're regularly serviced.
 
I ask because a friends interested in it and asked my opinion. It has a beat up right side cover but they are still available through Kawasaki for 162.00. I may go take a look at it for him today. Thanks.
 
I rode a 250 once, it was a seriously fun bike if you don't live on Interstate highways.
 
My youngest daughter has owned a 2008 baby Ninja (250) since new, and loves it. Tops out about 100 MPH, averages 70-75 MPG, and has been bulletproof.
 
A few guys I know went through an EX250 phase. They bought them cheap, set up their suspension right, put on good tires, and would go out to the canyons to shred on them. They often embarrassed more powerful bikes.
 
I've had one for years, fun little bike! And with the exception of ignition modules and some other smog stuff, they were identical from 1986 to 2007 so parts are easy to come by and CHEAP!

It has adequate power until you get going over about 60, slick shifting gearbox and has pretty close ratios so it's not hard to keep revs over 8-9000 rpms where it makes all it power.

However, don't have any expectation of being able to actually go 100. Fastest I've ever been was an indicated 105, but when I checked my GPS app it turns out it was about 87. Classic optimistic speedometer. If you can hit anything over 60 or so on this bike the road isn't curvy enough!

Bear in mind that the factory suspension on the 250 is optimized for someone around 110 pounds (0.46 kg/cm fork springs IIRC), so if you brake hard you will bottom it out, so be prepared. Also, the stock monoshock doesn't have a preload adjustment for carrying gear or a passenger. Common mod is to swap in the heavier sprung shock off the 08-12 250R (aka "new gen") which gets you preload adjustment, and usually can be had for under $50. I've done the new gen shock swap, and also 0.75 fork springs (SonicSprings' Rich Desmond is the guy to talk to) and 15wt fork oil, so it's pretty happy hauling my 200 lbs down the Dragon and other curvy little roads.

Have FUN!!!
 
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Travis wont be doing any canyon carving or racing. hes looking for a reliable bike for a daily and some weekend stuff basically.
 
They're stone reliable, get fantastic mpg, and accelerate fine with traffic (0-60 in less than 6 seconds). Nimble and flickable.
 
Been looking at baby Ninjas around here lately as well. Mostly just for fun but also my oldest is slowly creeping up on riding age and has shown interest in one. Either a baby Ninja or the baby CBR (250) with the Repsol livery.
 
Perfect, it's a damn good bike for that. Have him make sure maintenance is up to date, if it gets hard to start, check the valve adjustment.
 
I hear the CBR300 is a great bike, same with the ninja 300. I test rode an R3... Bit pricey for a micro bike but it was phenomenal. Out performs the class, like most Yamaha's do these days...
13417565_10204648365607960_8043521211982397_n.jpg

Super cool...

I just got into Hyosung 250GT. 2010 with fuel injection. Unlike the R3 here (and other I-2's I've ridden) it has a substantial mid range, Pulls very well from 6K-9K rpm. The motor is a quad cam 8V SACS style oil cooled system. I'm quite impressed with it and unlike the other micro bikes it's not so micro (feels like a GS500). I'm usually cramped on the micro's not so much on the GT.

I put about 100 miles on it last night and the little bike shreds the corners, stops on a dime and goes very well till about 90 mph. It's not as rev happy as the others but has more usable mid range and higher gear roll on. Best part is you can get on one for pretty cheap. the Fuel injected models like I have are in the $2500 range, Private sale closer to $2K...

My 2 cents,
 
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Go with the older Ninja. Huge support from aftermarket, ultra cheap to buy, pennies for parts, totally reliable-and very replaceable if wrecked or stolen.
 
Considered them for my 1st bike, people like 'em, and there is a Ninja 250 forum too.
At the dealership they recommended the Ninja 500 for me, because of my size, so I bought one of those.
 
My ex wife had a 90's Ninja 250 and it was a solid bike that would certainly keep up with traffic. At the same time I had an mid 80's VF500 Honda (that was a fantastic bike that I wish I'd have held onto), and the Ninja always felt "clunky" after riding the Honda... but for the price the Ninja was a really solid bike.
My current (and hopefully last-lol) wife has a GS500 and it's a pretty solid bike (aside from feeling a little "mushy"-which I think could be fixed with a fork spring change).
 
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