Steve:
I got a Ninjette a couple of months ago....and it is a lot of fun. Below 8,000 rpm it rides like a little 250 and doesn't get anybody's attention, except for the bright green paint. Above 8,000 rpm it comes alive and is a lot of fun. It can cruise well at 75mph/9,000 rpm all day on the highway.
I found this forum to be a great place to learn stuff about the Ninja. The way the forum is set up is not nearly as nice as this forum......when somebody posts you can't read the whole thread and you have to keep opening up comments....then hit the "back" button a bunch of times to get back to the menu....it is irritating. They have a Classified section and you can get some good deals on parts - but the forum is not nearly as active as ours.
http://forums.ninja250.org/However.....they have a very advanced How To area that goes into depth on a lot of issues like engine mods, tires, riding, etc. It is not interactive and just good informative reading. It would be nice if we could set up something similar for those issues that keep getting repeated like when someone loses a key, wants new tires, is choosing an oil to use, needs a cam chain tensioner, etc.
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Main_PageAnd if you keep the fluids changed and do maintenance - they can be durable. One fellow went 87,000 miles on the first engine before his cam chain was too loose and the tensioner had reached it's limit (sound familiar) - but the Ninja engine needs a case split to change the cam chain so he just bought a low mileage replacement engine and has gone past 120,000 miles on the bike.
I ride mine when I have chance of getting wet instead of taking the Cafe Savage. The Ninjette has fenders and body work that keep me drier if the roads get wet - or when I am going on short ride around the neighborhood.