Kawasaki Ninja 250R questions
Motorcycle Newbie
I am a newbie and looking into buying a motorcycle. The Ninja 250R has
got a lot of praise in reviews at Motorcycle mag and on sites like
epinions. Several people have commented that it is a bike that one
doesn't outgrow very fast.
I would be interested to get feedback from people on the following
questions.
o What are some of the prices that people paid for new 2001/2000
Ninjas? The MSRP is $3000 for the 2000 version and $3300 for the 2001
version. A dealer I asked wanted to tack on about $600 more for
delivery, assembly, taxes and so on. Info on how much people paid will
help me negotiate with the dealer.
o How good is it for highway riding?
o What is the top speed of the Ninja 250R? When cruising on the
highway, what is the sustained speed that the Ninja can keep up? What is
the bursty speed that it can do for short stretches for passing etc?
o Info on the horsepower and torque is appreciated.
o Any other caveats?
Thanks in advance.
-- ranga
Magnus
http://ninja250.kingston.net/?ninja250
http://www.xmission.com/~roachie/ninja250/index.html
(the FAQ on the bottom of the page is a MUST READ!)
http://www.ninja250r.com/
ICQ me at 9241752. I'm buying one in June or July, but a Canadian spec
one. (ZZR-250)
- Johnny A!
Tom Crooze
ex hasn't changed in the last 10 years or something, so it won't really
matter if you buy a new one or old one (other than miles, etc.). you won't
be any any new technology is what i'm saying.
Tom
"Magnus" <alti...@home.com> wrote in message news:3ac2a8d7.11549897@news...
Ben Cantrick
Motorcycle Newbie <ra...@apt.in.austin.rr.com> wrote:
>I am a newbie and looking into buying a motorcycle. The Ninja 250R has
>got a lot of praise in reviews at Motorcycle mag and on sites like
>epinions. Several people have commented that it is a bike that one
>doesn't outgrow very fast.
That's been my experience, though I may be atypical.
>I would be interested to get feedback from people on the following
>questions.
>
>o What are some of the prices that people paid for new 2001/2000
>Ninjas? The MSRP is $3000 for the 2000 version and $3300 for the 2001
>version. A dealer I asked wanted to tack on about $600 more for
>delivery, assembly, taxes and so on. Info on how much people paid will
>help me negotiate with the dealer.
Mine's a 92, so I can't coment here. You might consider buying used.
You probably will tip it over at least once, if not low-speed crash it.
That plastic is expensive stuff, let me tell ya. It doesn't feel quite
so horrible to drop a used bike. Feels really, really terrible to
drop a new one. And then you get to find out how much those fairing
pieces cost.
>o How good is it for highway riding?
It's alright, not spectacular. You'll have to rev it good, but it can
keep up. You definitely will be tossed around by the wake of large trucks.
(Anything short of a liter bike will be.) It doesn't bug you after you
get used to it.
>o What is the top speed of the Ninja 250R?
I've had mine up to 115-120 on the speedo, which is probably really
about 110. That was with, maybe a mile and a half of road. I hit a slight
uphill and it started slowing down so I gave up at that point.
>When cruising on the highway, what is the sustained speed that the Ninja
>can keep up?
I regularly sustain 70-75 on the speedo. It can probably do a little
more if you crank it.
>What is the bursty speed that it can do for short stretches for passing etc?
Up to about 90 or so. But it's not a monster. It accelerates faster
than most cars at those kinds of speeds, but it's not going to punt you
ahead in an eyeblink.
>o Info on the horsepower and torque is appreciated.
I only have specs for the 1992 model - try a web search for something
more current. I'm sure it's gained some since 1992.
For 1992, my maint manual says 38 PS (pascals = .985 HP, so about
37 HP at the crank, probably about 32 at the rear wheel), and max torque
of 18.1 ft-lbs.
>o Any other caveats?
If you're planning to be seriously into bikes, you will tire of
the EX-250 eventually. Might take a year, might take ten. Took me
four. (But again, I may be atypical.) So buy used if you possibly can.
It's cheaper and you'll get a better resale percentage.
Whenever you purchase any vehicle, pay a competent mechanic to check
it out before you buy it.
Take the MSF course. You already did - kudos.
How tall are you and how much do you weigh? I wouldn't recommend the
EX-250 for people over 200 pounds or 6'2". I'm 6'/185 and it's just
about perfect for me.
If you're much bigger than me, you'll probably want a bigger bike. You
can move up to the EX-500. I'm told the vibes can be annoying on this guy.
The EX-250 is fairly buzzy, but the buzzes aren't strong in my experience.
At least so long as you're not holding it at 13,000 RPMs all day.
I dunno, I have kind of a skewed perspective. I drive a Honda Civic
daily, the kind that gets 35-40 MPG, and my EX-250 is a lot faster than
that. I also have a Nissan 300ZX twin turbo and it's slightly slower than
that. As bikes go, this is a fairly tame bike - that's why it's good for
beginners. But it's still faster than 90% of the cars out there. But
you will get wasted by guys in liter bikes. So, I dunno. You have to
decide what you want. Personally, I do recommend the "learn on an EX-250,
then trade up" approach. Having done it myself, I think it's an excellent
way to learn to ride. Lots of fun, and you avoid killing yourself by
trying to start on a monster bike.
-Ben
--
Ben Cantrick (mac...@dim.com) | Yes, the AnimEigo BGC dubs still suck.
BGC Nukem: http://www.dim.com/~mackys/bgcnukem.html
The Spamdogs: http://www.dim.com/~mackys/spamdogs
http://www.clark.net/pub/mjr/pubs/a1fwall/index.htm
j o r d a n
over 10 years. The approx HP at the wheel is about 27-28 hp.
Ben Cantrick
j o r d a n <kn...@home.com> wrote:
>The specs are the exact same as the 89 250r, since it has not changed for
>over 10 years. The approx HP at the wheel is about 27-28 hp.
I have a hard time believing that it's losing a full 25% of its power
through the drivetrain. Is it really that bad?
Alright, now I'm going to have to go dig up a dyno chart...
Nope, you're absolutely right. Looks like just about 28 HiPpies at the rear
wheel: http://webpages.charter.net/ninja250/newbies/ninja250/specs/dyno.htm
-Ben
--
Ben Cantrick (mac...@dim.com) | Yes, the AnimEigo BGC dubs still suck.
BGC Nukem: http://www.dim.com/~mackys/bgcnukem.html
The Spamdogs: http://www.dim.com/~mackys/spamdogs
I'd really like a New World Order, but I can only afford a slightly used one...
Denise Howard
> o What are some of the prices that people paid for new 2001/2000
> Ninjas? The MSRP is $3000 for the 2000 version and $3300 for the 2001
> version. A dealer I asked wanted to tack on about $600 more for
> delivery, assembly, taxes and so on.
That sounds in line with what I've been hearing.
> o How good is it for highway riding?
You'll have to keep the revs up high a lot, but they'll do highway speeds
no problem.
> o What is the top speed of the Ninja 250R?
About 110 mph.
> When cruising on the
> highway, what is the sustained speed that the Ninja can keep up?
Not sure what you mean by this--is there such a thing as a bike which
starts losing speed after awhile?
> What is
> the bursty speed that it can do for short stretches for passing etc?
If you're hoping to squirt past a car that's going 70 mph, forget it.
> o Info on the horsepower and torque is appreciated.
Stock, they make 28-29 HP.
> o Any other caveats?
They're very nimble, but the very first thing you'll want/need to do is
have the suspension upgraded. You'll have a lot more confidence when the
bike is no longer wallowing or diving like a submarine.
Denise AFM #732
'88 EX250 racebike
'89 EX500 racebike
'00 SV650
'00 929
Erik Astrup
wrote:
>> When cruising on the
>> highway, what is the sustained speed that the Ninja can keep up?
>
>Not sure what you mean by this--is there such a thing as a bike which
>starts losing speed after awhile?
Hehe. Actually...yes. :)
We endurance raced a Ninja 250 back in 94 I think it was. In the
fourth hour the bike was going considerably slower than it had
been!!
Getting up the hill to turn 7 (Sears) seemed to take an eternity. The
temp gauge stayed near the red zone and the bike just couldn't go as
fast as it had been. We were slowly killing the poor thing.
But then the owner of the bike wadded it big time into turn 10 with
just 10 minutes left in the race. Ugh.
Obviously this was an extreme situation. I wouldn't even worry about
it on the street.
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Erik Astrup - http://www.mother.com/~eastrup/
1995 Triumph Tiger (For Sale)
1998 Honda ST-1100
1999 Yamaha YZF1000 R1
"These are people of the land. The common clay of
the new West. You know... morons."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
j o r d a n
the 250?
I would assume that changing the from to a 15 would be a wise choice for a
trip like this.
-jordan
Erik Astrup wrote in message <5ru6ctopg2epeos4r...@4ax.com>...
Erik Astrup
>Would a 4 hour freeway journey (probabaly going about 120) do any damage to
>the 250?
You can't go 120 mph (you are talking MPH right?) on a Ninja 250.
Period. No way, no how.
Im curious. Where do you think could possibly travel at that speed
for 4 straight hours? Those kinds of speeds are VERY difficult to maintain
for any length of time. There are many factors to consider.
>I would assume that changing the from to a 15 would be a wise choice for a
>trip like this.
It still won't go 120. In fact it may not go 100. A Ninja 250 can max out
*FLAT OUT* pinned to the hilt about 105-110 in no wind conditions, flat
road.
If you are seriously thinking of traveling at the extreme rate of speed for
that kind of distance you're fooling yourself. That's not meant as an
insult, it's just a fact.
---------------------------------------
Erik Astrup - Team Iguana Racing (Ret)
1999 Yamaha YZF-1000R1
1998 Honda ST-1100
1995 Triumph Tiger (For Sale)
http://www.mother.com/~eastrup/
"What do you want from me?! I'm just a word processor!"
---------------------------------------
Erik Astrup
> I have a hard time believing that it's losing a full 25% of its power
>through the drivetrain. Is it really that bad?
>
> Alright, now I'm going to have to go dig up a dyno chart...
>
> Nope, you're absolutely right. Looks like just about 28 HiPpies at the rear
>wheel: http://webpages.charter.net/ninja250/newbies/ninja250/specs/dyno.htm
FWIW - My stock 250 made 25 horses on a Dynojet dyno.
After a tuner had at it (rejetting and some other stuff) it made around
28-30 I think. More importantly the throttle response was INCREDIBLE! Huge
improvement.
After another year of racing it was making 25 again because the motor was
tired. I spent big $$$, had some engine work done and it made around 33.
Then I crashed and quit racing!
Denise Howard
> the 250?
Well since it can only do about 110 at redline in top gear, yes.
Why would you attempt such a long, high-speed trip on an EX250 anyway?
> I would assume that changing the from to a 15 would be a wise choice for a
> trip like this.
Huh?
Denise Howard
> For 1992, my maint manual says 38 PS (pascals = .985 HP, so about
> 37 HP at the crank, probably about 32 at the rear wheel), and max torque
> of 18.1 ft-lbs.
Regarding those HP numbers for a bone stock EX250: no way.
The absolute most powerful EX250 motor in our 250 Production class, which
remains within the "production" rules (e.g., no more than 1mm
overbore) currently makes about 36 HP at the rear. That's with 1mm
overbore, non-Kawasaki pistons, ported, cams degreed, blueprinted,
balancer removed, and running 110 octane race gas. Mine has had all the
above done to it except for removing the balancer and it makes 33.9
HP. My pit-mate was thrilled to find out that his 2000 EX250, bought new
specifically for racing, made almost 30 HP bone stock. Most are in the
27-29 HP range.
These were all measured on the same Dynojet dyno by the same
(expert) technicion, BTW.