Ninja 250

ThunderJohn

Registered
Ok so I am defiantly planning on getting my little lady on a bike by riding season. So I was looking at different bikes and somewhere I saw a pic of the new Ninja 250 I know it's a Kawi.
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My main question is does anyone on here have one or wife have on. We all know no guy would probably admit to it. I just want to know how they ride? How fast they go? Is it worth buying or is it slower than a 10 speed. Will riding with her be like running with a sumo wrestler?
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Please any feedback would be nice. It just looks like a nice bike and is small probably good to learn on. Just don't want it to be a regret because a week into it she will outgrow it.

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Lots of our newbie females over at born have started on them.

Problem is you outgrow them in 3 months of riding.

Then they are getting SV 650's or in-line-4 600's and start doing track days.(LOL)

Start with the 500 at least you can get a full season out of them before an upgrade

The Ninja 650 is pretty trick for begineers too.

P.S. I assume she will be riding with a Busa, give her a little more of a chance to keep up.

You really need to ring out those twins even to get away from stop signs
 
It is probally a good starter bike. If she can ride it for about a year with out trashing it, she will be ready for a trade up to a 500cc bike. If she really likes riding she will be on her way to more powerful sport bikes in a few years.
 
One of the Dr's I work for got one for his son to start out on... I rode it and the only issue I had was power (imagine that) but at 230lbs you were a bit of a traffic hazard trying to get up to speed... 100 lady would likely move a bit faster
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Certainly does not look like a 250 when you see it in person
 
They've added a little bit more power to them and finally made them look decent enough. But yes, 250s are way under powered. I don't know what the top speed would be, but would you really wanna find out on that ride? I'm tossing around the idea of getting one to be used more like a REALLY COOL scooter, than a "motorcycle"
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Tighten up that suspension, put some REAL tires on it and it would be good for putzing around town at 60 MPG

forgot to mention, there is a whole, large sub culture dedicated to these tiny, start 250s. do a google and find some of the many forums that discuss them. I guess they tear up twisties on them also
 
If I was going to buy a smaller bike, it would be the 250.  But... if you don't have any experience it is underpowered.  I introduced an old friend into biking and she bought the 500.  It paced my warrior at the time and is a great machine.  disk brakes, adequate power, and reliable.  

Go for a used 500, almost the same price at the new 250s

She's just messing in the picture. gloves and such are a must.  
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Buy a used one. If it is rashed slightly, who cares as long as the price is right. Let her ride it a few months and sell it and get something a bit bigger. The resale market is great on them for the 14-15 year kids in most states. You'll get your money back comparing private sale to private sale.

Regardless, get her in a MSF clase.
 
I would only get a 250 ninja if I was looking for a commuter that gets great gas mileage. Or maybe a teenagers first bike.

But for an adult's first bike, I would get something bigger like a sv650 or the 500suzuki.
 
i think a ninja 650 would work well their nice entry level rides with a little performance as well and ya wouldent need to trade up to soon
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I am currently riding my wifes Ninja 250 while my Busa is fixed. (Small traffic accident, not my fault... no really.) This bike is fun. I use it as a commuter right now and am getting roughly 50-65 mpg.

Starter bike or not, I LOVE this bike. It is just lotsa fun! The gearing and throttle are way off from the Busa, duuuh, but for a new rider I think it is perfect. Even after we get her upgraded to a 600cc bike or something like that I will not be selling this Ninja 250, it is a fun little machine.

a couple of downsides:


Keep in mind I have a brand new 2006:

If you follow the break-in you need to keep it under 4k rpm for the first 500 miles. That's 35 miles per hour or less. After that from 500-1000 you keep it under 6k rpm. That is about 40-45.

This bikes runs cold. It takes a bit to warm up, several minutes actually of adjusting the choke to keep it between stalling and going nuclear. It is irritating.

Top speed is about 110 mph but it takes a bit to get there.

All in all I think if your wife has never ridden before this is the perfect bike but she WILL outgrow it in about one season. If she HAS ridden before throw her butt on a 500-600cc cycle. She will get bored/frustrated with the 250 too quickly.

I hope this helps!
 
I would try to find one of these its a GS500F they are real reasonably priced ,at my local dealer an 07 is goin for $3999 was $5200 looks like a nice bike.

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I had a Ninja 250 about er.. 18 years ago. It was free from a friend who was leaving country. I rode it for a while then sold it. It was a funny little bike, fun to rev the nuts off of it all the time.
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I'd probably get an SV650 for most women unless they are exceptionally petite.
 
My wife has a Ninja 250. I love to ride it sometimes. Man you rev that thing up to 14k and it screams. It is surprisingly fast for a 250. It's no Busa, but it is a great bike that loves to rev. My wife's 250 is what made me want to change from a cruiser to a sportbike. I got a Ninja 650, rode it for about year, then just bought a Busa a week ago.

If anybody is interested in an '06 Ninja 650R, I have one for sale in Knoxville, TN. Perfect cond. for $4900. amad1972@hotmail.com

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I've got a ninja 250. It is respectable for what it is. I think it is well suited for a beginner. It has zero torque below 6 grand so if you short shift it, it is very docile. If you want to ride it hard it requires a lot of shifting and keeping the rpm between 8000 and redline. One downside for sport riding on it is the tires are hard and I haven't found suitable replacements. It will do about 105 with me on it (6' 220lbs)but is real sluggish above 80. I get about 60mpg wringing the snot out of it. Some say they have gotten 70mpg out of them but I never have. As far as your wife wanting more that depends on how she wants to ride. Some people are very happy with them. Just don't leave her in the dust every where you go.
 
they are super light i played with one that they had a used car dealer didnt take it out but it would be good for a newb i was almost thinkin about goin to pick one up while i do things on mine or use it as stated above for a sweet scooter all my friends live within 3 miles of me or so so i could be pretty happy just taking it out so so i didn't have to clean my busa to keep it looking perfect or something to take out after it rained just so i didn't have to deal with the monster undertail cleaning task i would just look at it as a souped up 21 speed that i could leave outside my apartment and not be so worried if someone walked off with it
 
I agreed with nay sayers with one exception.
If your wife is small then you will have no choice.
My GF is 5"1' 108 LB. EX250 seat is about 29' that is 2006 model. This new one looks 10 times better but seat is about an inch higher. I also installed lowering links and fabricated 3' spacers in front. overall drop is 2'rear and 3' front.
shaved the seat additional inch or so.

Only after that she can plant her feet comfortably.
This bike is light and fun to ride, she will feel comfortable and learn quickly

Buy new, their resale value is great, 5 years old only $500 cheaper.
 
I am currently riding my wifes Ninja 250 while my Busa is fixed.  (Small traffic accident, not my fault...  no really.)  This bike is fun.  I use it as a commuter right now and am getting roughly 50-65 mpg.

Starter bike or not, I LOVE this bike.  It is just lotsa fun!  The gearing and throttle are way off from the Busa, duuuh, but for a new rider I think it is perfect.  Even after we get her upgraded to a 600cc bike or something like that I will not be selling this Ninja 250, it is a fun little machine.

a couple of downsides:  


Keep in mind I have a brand new 2006:

If you follow the break-in you need to keep it under 4k rpm for the first 500 miles.  That's 35 miles per hour or less.  After that from 500-1000 you keep it under 6k rpm.  That is about 40-45.

This bikes runs cold.  It takes a bit to warm up, several minutes actually of adjusting the choke to keep it between stalling and going nuclear.  It is irritating.

Top speed is about 110 mph but it takes a bit to get there.

All in all I think if your wife has never ridden before this is the perfect bike but she WILL outgrow it in about one season.  If she HAS ridden before throw her butt on a 500-600cc cycle.  She will get bored/frustrated with the 250 too quickly.

I hope this helps!
My girlfriend has one, too, and I ride it to work all the time. It's small and very flickable, and it really is fun to ride. You should see my girl be the snot out of it, too. It makes me laugh when I'm riding behind her, seeing her rip the throttle to 14k on EVERY shift. She loves it, too. Pluse when she goes to sell it she'll only lose a couple hundred dollars.
 
When someone learns on a bike that's too big, it takes them a LONG time to finally get it. I highly recommend getting a small bike like the 250 but the truth is, they will learn to ride VERY fast and as mentioned, it's going to be three months later. Six, maybe. That, of course, if if she rides every day. I suggest getting an old beat up one that runs well and isn't going to leave anyone stranded on the roadside. They're great bikes, though, and should last a long time! Remember to have that reserve tank set right!
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When my wife had her 250, it had had a pink stripe painted on it because it was ghey. We called him, "Bruce." Riding Bruce was about as fun as anything I've done in a while. Talk about looking like a monkey humpin' a football!!! Great poaching bike in the twisties!

If money is tight, though, I wouldn't go with more than a 500. As mentioned, a GS500F is a great idea but it's a pretty tall bike. The ES500 (Kawasaki) is slightly taller, if I'm not mistaken. Again, both very good bikes for learning. Should last about a year and is not going to frustrate her because of less power. If it still seems like she might outgrow it, get a beat up ES500 or GS500 (same as the GS500F without the expensive fairings!) and let her spend a year learning.

Of course, if she's a little vain about the appearance and you get her a beat up bike, she might not ride it enough to learn how in any reasonable period of time. Let her pick the bike she wants and go with that. Just bear in mind that if she goes for the 600 in-line four or the 650, it's going to be difficult for her to learn and it will take longer for her to become comfortable on the bike.

--Wag--
 
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