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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> The Cafe >> Ninja 250 is fun! /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1473048235 Message started by stewmills on 09/04/16 at 21:03:55 |
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Title: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by stewmills on 09/04/16 at 21:03:55 Due to weather and being a little sick, I haven't had much time to ride or work on the Ninja. However, I finally got around to pulling the plugs in the carbs and accessing the air/mix screws. Had time off Friday afternoon and worked on tuning the carbs and I think I got them dialed in pretty well. The bike starts great with little choke, idles well with no dips or surges, drops to idle immediately when you dump (close) the throttle with no hanging high RPMs, and the overall throttle response on and off the throttle is spot on. Rode with a friend today about 125 miles and the Ninja purred like a kitten the whole ride. It is a little bit of an adjustment getting used to the high RPMs and letting the bike wind up into the powerband, but when you do, it's a pretty fun little bike. It handles great and goes right where you point it without a fuss. I found a good road with a LOT of tar snakes and other untouched grooves and small cracks in the road. I purposely rode all over them as much as I could and I never felt like the bike was getting away from me. It tracked near perfect the whole time. FWIW the bike has Pirelli Sport Demon tires at about 800 miles on them. If the weather and time work out, I hope to get out for a good day trip tomorrow as I have the day off work. I love the Savage and it will always be my primary bike, but when you're feeling itchy and want to zoom zoom around for an afternoon it's just what the doctor ordered. |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by KennyG on 09/04/16 at 23:00:29 Stew, It sounds like you made the right choice for a second bike. Kenny G |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by Dave on 09/05/16 at 06:23:51 Well you know the littlest Ninja gets my vote as a really fun bike. It has all the good things we love about the Savage (easy to work on, light, comfortable, flickable) - but even more so. Surprisingly they both have about 30 HP - but the 250 lacks the low end torque and needs to be wound up if you want to make some power. It is not hard to get 70 mpg, and the first time I took mine to the Dragon I was riding alone the first day and took it easy....and managed to get 77 mpg. I put a 1 tooth larger front sprocket on mine and it does 70mph on the interstate a bit easier - it did lose a bit of acceleration with the change. The little bike goes great at 70 mph speeds, and could do it all day long. One forum member got 86,000 miles on his first engine riding it at those speeds (his engine still ran fine but the cam chain had become worn, and it is easier/cheaper to buy a used engine than it is to rebuild one). I think my isolated tar snake experience most likely was a result of the tar snakes being really fresh, and the 90+ temperatures. I never noticed anything weird with tar snakes at any other time - but I did have that same experience 2 days in a row on that section of highway...and Oldfeller was behind me on the second day and will testify the bike would jump sideways a couple of inches whenever I was leaned over and hit a snake. The little Ninja is a very capable bike for those of us who are a bit on the smallish side.....and are content have a limited amount of HP. |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/05/16 at 07:44:07 Snakes are not to be taken lightly. I watched an old dude lay a bagger down on a busy road. His rear tire went over the end of one and slid down the taper and just didn't stop sliding when it hit asphalt. He was going 35/40, sitting up, going straight, and just suddenly found himself on the road. First words out of his mouth were What Happened? |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by old_rider on 09/05/16 at 12:36:35 Stew.... it's the same with the 300 ninja... cept, mine is fuel injected, water cooled and maintenance is near to nil. I also did a one tooth up on my 300, like dave did on his 250, and did notice i would have to rev higher to get the acceleration results i like. I smile every time I ride it..... most young guys hate the constant in traffic shifting of gears, but I don't mind it at all, I just pretend I'm at the Le Mons or some such. :) |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by stewmills on 09/06/16 at 12:11:50 Rode another 125 miles yesterday. Fun Fun Fun! I think I will probably go for the 15 tooth sprocket. It looks like the suppliers for these are AFAM, JT, and Sunstar. I'm not getting a lot of dialogue on the Ninja forum...Do you remember which brand you got and have recommendations on the best pick? |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by Dave on 09/06/16 at 12:44:22 I have JT sprocket part number as JTF 516.15 and Sunstar 34115 written down as part numbers in my file. I believe I got the JT one. |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by stewmills on 09/06/16 at 13:09:20 Thanks Dave! That JT sprocket seems to be readily available and the most popular one from my google readings. I'll probably grab that one and schedule a work day soon. I plan to: - Upgrade to the 15 tooth front sprocket - Install new fuel line and inline fuel filter - Install new petcock vacuum line - Install new plugs - Lift up the carb needles by 1 washer (sense a teeny tiny bit of something at mid range, but can't tell if it's the engine or just the bike surging due to headwinds coming and going) - Rebuild petcock diaphram - wire up and install my dual rocker switch for my garage and gate remotes The only thing fuel/carb related I really want to do is lift the needle, but while I have it apart I figured I'd go ahead and proactively do the rest and know that all of my critical rubbers are new since it is at 22K and 9 years old. |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by old_rider on 09/07/16 at 15:56:50 Hehe.... maybe we might outta have an suzukisavage.come ninja attack on the dragon or some such.... :) |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by Dave on 09/08/16 at 04:40:13 74777F69727F7E691B0 wrote:
It could happen.....I have taken the little Ninja 250 on 2 Dragon trips to date, and I know you have taken your 300 on one trip with the group and solo a time or two. If the trip looks like a wet one I take the Ninja - it throws a lot less water on me than the Cafe' bike does! Ninja 250/300 owners on the forum that I am aware of are: Dave, stewmills, Steve H, old_rider, and the Deals Gap areas seems to be pretty centrally located for us (except for old_rider who has a very long way to travel from the FL panhandle). |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by stewmills on 09/08/16 at 06:59:04 I'm in! The weather here is in the ~65 range in the mornings so hopefully the hot weather is starting to break and there is some good riding weather in the near future. Since I truck my bikes anyway, I am trying to imagine if I can get both the Savage and Ninja in the back of my truck "69" style but I am not sure if my toolbox gets in the way. It would be fun to have both bikes up there. I do have a utility trailer, but I try to avoid using it because I feel like it gets jostled around a good bit being such a small and light trailer with stiff suspension. I am always afraid I am going to hit a big bump and snatch a strap loose and dump the bike. FWIW, I rode the Savage to work yesterday after riding the Ninja all weekend and it's funny seeing the differences in the two bikes the more I get comfortable and familiar with the Ninja. I am trying to see how I can incorporate a sheepskin seat on the Ninja without looking like a pimp. ;D I think I'll have to let that go for now. |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by stewmills on 09/08/16 at 07:02:33 Oh...and Old_Rider, I am in AL and would be happy to connect up with you on the ride up somewhere if we do eventually coordinate a trip. I can bring the trailer and offer a ride from our meeting point onward or we could just caravan so you have someone (in a truck) to travel up with. |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by Dave on 09/08/16 at 07:30:05 696E7F6D77737676691A0 wrote:
When I hauled my ST1100 to MI, I bought a foam "Noodle" that they make for floating in the swimming pool, and I cut it up into short lengths that were about an inch less than the clearance under the bike, and I Duct Taped 4 pieces together into a small block. I put it under the sump of the bike before I cinched the straps down, and it limited how far the bike suspension could compress when the trailer hit a big bump....it worked really well. I kept the foam block in place with a few bungee chords. |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by Dave on 09/10/16 at 06:02:13 Stew: Bid on this......... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Givi-E370-Motek-Alu-rack-for-1998-2007-Kawasaki-EX250-Ninja-/331959950454?fits=Model%3ANinja+250R&hash=item4d4a5adc76:g:kHcAAOSw-itXrk-i&vxp=mtr |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by stewmills on 09/10/16 at 07:15:29 Hmmm. I'm not sure how well I like that look. I have been thinking about the lack of any storage on the Ninja but that looks like a beanbag on the back of that little bike (to me). If it is mainly for helmets, I always carry mine inside with me. That black and red does go well with my black and red bike though! |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by Dave on 09/10/16 at 07:30:52 Yep....they are not very sleek looking. It reminds me of the motorcycles made for delivering Pizza! When you take the case off, just the flat rack remains. You can get bags that fit on the seat pretty well, and I generally just use the luggage hooks to hold a backpack on the seat. |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by stewmills on 09/10/16 at 08:15:11 Yeah, a pack and a bungee net is what I'm thinking. And an extra trash bag or two for waterproofing in a pinch. |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by Dave on 09/10/16 at 09:41:56 Stew: Has your bike done the "Tea Kettle Whistle" yet? I rode my bike this morning and it was cool, and when I got home and parked the bike in the sun while I opened the garage door.....the fuel cap started whistling just like a Tea Kettle! It is incredibly loud. |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by stewmills on 09/10/16 at 13:03:21 I've read about it and heard a little pressure coming out yesterday, but mine isn't super loud...at least it hasn't been YET :) |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by verslagen1 on 09/10/16 at 15:00:49 And I thought our mewing gas cap was funny |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by stewmills on 09/14/16 at 20:58:03 Got my 15 toofuses front sprocket in the mail today. Big box large enough to probably hold 200 sprockets...with just one and a lot of packing paper. Anyhow, got it installed, played around setting the chain slack and alignment, and took it for a spin after dark. Seems I can tell a little in 1st gear, but I need to cruise more in the daylight and see how it feels though I'm sure I will be happy with it. The only thing that I questioned was the sprocket retainer. It seems to be cocked just slightly past the angle needed to slide off, but I guess that's how it works and there isn't a wrong way to put it on. Seemed to ride fine and quiet. Also my first time setting the chain slack but it seemed pretty straightforward. |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by Dave on 10/03/16 at 11:07:21 This isn't worthy of a new thread - so I will just rudely jam it into Stew's Ninja thread. ::) I recently found out that there is a version of this bike for those who don't like the sport bike image, and want a 250 Cruiser. Kawasaki made an El250 that used most of the stuff in the little Ninja.......from 1988 until 1997. http://i68.tinypic.com/238y01.jpg |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by gizzo on 10/03/16 at 16:01:13 Used to be loads of them in Australia for the learner market back in the day when learners could only ride up to 250cc. Haven't seen one in years though. |
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Title: Re: Ninja 250 is fun! Post by stewmills on 10/03/16 at 20:09:26 Looks like fun, especially if it has 6 gears and winds up like the ninja. |
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