Im interested in these.
Good starter bike?
I dont want anything crazy fast, or high tech/ hi-po, lightening speed, twist throttle and die kinda deal and these are as common as dirt.
Plus down the line i want to mod it like an old school bobber...
Anyhow as a stock bike whats the deal
Great starter bike. Plenty of power to have some fun, cheap, simple. Hold their value very well so you can buy one, use it for a year, and sell it for nearly the same price.
My brother just picked one up for $1800 and says when he sells it in about a year to upgrade he expects to get $2500 out of it.
Good bikes, the 500 version get's more of a following (ex-500.com)
very light, quite responsive, great gas mileage. I get 50mpg with the 500, I've heard the 250's get 65-70mpg.
nice comfortable commuter bikes
Good bike, but has a few limiting factors?
Your size - If you are 250+, it may be underpowered.
Your use - If you are not on the highway, it should be OK, but I would feel a lot safer on the Highway with a 500.
Im 6ft 4in and about 210lbs. Mixed use but mostly city i think.
Is this a problem?
there was already a thread about this, but they are decent bikes, they are geared short so they accelerate okay. My 88 had a 14krpm redline, in 6th gear that limited it to 100mph (112 indicated). Did fine on the interstate, highway, and backroads, and always returned around 70mpg. Cheap to buy, cheap to insure, cheap to ride. And when you want something new you can usually sell for what you paid.
Ninja250.org
Lots of easy upgrades out there.
Great bike, but if you're serious about the bobber idea, you may want to also look at a Honda Rebel.
CarKid1989 wrote: Im 6ft 4in and about 210lbs. Mixed use but mostly city i think. Is this a problem?
No. Sit on one, if it is comfy it will move you. They are around 30hp, depending on the year. Many cars have had less than that, so I would be more worried about the suspension. You might need to change out the rear shock, or even fork springs to stop it from bottoming out. I never did bottom mine out (on pavement) riding 2-up, but it did sag significantly.
It's a great starter bike. Like XCI said, you'll want to check it for comfort at your height, but it won't have trouble with your weight. At 6'4", you may also want to look at dual sports; they have a lot of extra leg room. Though I'm 6'2" and fit on a Ninja 250 just fine. They're kind of like the Miata of sport bikes - not spectacularly powerful, but light weight and easy to control.
Here's another thought.
I didn't get a 250cc for one reason.
That 30' of semi trailer? motorcycle is completely invisible there.
I want to be able to get pass him quick, then resume normal speed.
is there anything cool looking you can do to these? found a lead on a few dirt cheap ones?
Bobber? cafe? brat?
Something along those lines..
At least naked. they IMHO look dorky with the fairings on
They look pretty weird naked IMO, the front forks are raked out a bit much and look kinda off. You could put the engine in an old frame and make a bobber or cafe but it's just not gonna look right with the 250 frame.
You might be able to make a decent looking streetfighter but I still think it will look slightly off.
EvanB wrote: They look pretty weird naked IMO, the front forks are raked out a bit much and look kinda off. You could put the engine in an old frame and make a bobber or cafe but it's just not gonna look right with the 250 frame. You might be able to make a decent looking streetfighter but I still think it will look slightly off.
You're over thinking it, or under, I'm not sure. The ugliest part of a Ninja 250 (besides the pre-'07 body work) is the rear subframe. With minor work you can cut off the old subframe, and weld on tabs to mount any subframe, or build your own. It's only as structural as your bum.
sorry for the large pic, I'm just pulling pics off another forum, but as you can see it's got that nasty bar that hangs too low for a clean street fighter line.
super-moto inspired
that one is a little sketchy because there is no triangulation at all, he just cut them out. You can adapt 'modern' subframes to the bike very easily, since most bolt to the rest of the chassis (hence 'subframe' though on the ex250 it really is just the frame).
Here's a Honda CBR600RR subframe http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=cbr600rr+subframe&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=
not only cheap, but it will bolt on by cutting the stocker off and adding a few tabs. The seat & rear plastics bolt onto this, so it makes for a relatively easy upgrade for the back half.
And just 'cause I found this pic recently, my first 'sport bike'
It was an '88, the first year of the common ex250. I did the 'easy' mods. Flushmount signals, integrated turn signals, hacked rear fender, made an aluminum chain guard, used some aircraft stripper to 'polish' the wheel lips, and repainted a few bits. I regret selling that bike, but I had to buy books.
Damn do I miss that bike. Fun, but slow. Just slow enough to keep me out of trouble. And cheap. Real cheap. I paid $1000 for it, rode it for a year, and sold it for $1200. It got 70mpg, and I paid $110 for full coverage insurance (per year).
I had a lot of good times on that bike (and off of it, but because of it 
), oh the joys of riding a 'crotch-rocket' in high school 
Ok, I take it back. That super-moto is sweet.
I bought an '04 at the end of the summer with a hurt motor for $200. I've yet to really start working on it lolz.
quarter mile in 15ish seconds. 0-60 in 5.5apx.
Does the 500 or 600 ninja engine swap in?
Just thinkin out loud
quarter mile in 15ish seconds. 0-60 in 5.5apx.
Does the 500 or 600 ninja engine swap in?
Just thinkin out loud
No engine swaps with the 250. Once you look at the frame you'll realize why. Any power and you'll twist the frame into a knot.
Probably not, it's very narrow. A two-stroke single from a dirtbike would be right at home, though. The fairings might even fit over it.
for the price of the swap, you could get an ex500 or old 600 f2
B Thumpers go great as swaps in the Ninja 250's +1 on awesome supermotard (but yeah, that rear frame section's gonna break.)
Ignore the "B" above, I type like old people do it.
......and ninjas look stoopid naked.
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