I happened on this motorcycle about two weeks ago, 2006 with 886 miles, the first owner bought it for his wife, she did not take to motorcycles so it sat, the second owner had done some regular maintenance through the years, then bought it for himself, he put about 200 miles on it, but decide he already had too many bikes. I was looking for a motorcycle that had been around for a long time, gets good mpg and would favor my 28" inseam. This seems to fit the bill perfectly AND it is fun! to ride! It's getting its first valve adjust at present and looks to be a terrific commuter and all around great motorcycle. (pic is anemic as I took it with the iPad, about as poor a camera as ever made).
I run the same commute every day, 5 days a week, so the riding conditions have been fairly similar. I log them on Fuelly as well. -Jake
:eek1 144.3333333333333 miles per year. Amazing. Good luck with it, don't tell me the price it is better I don't want to hear the super deal you got! and BTW, the Razr maxx has a great phone!
You shouldn't need to lower an ex250 with a 28" inseam. I have a 28"-30" inseam and I can easily flat foot it.
I don't think I'lll need to touch the suspension to affect seat height, I may shave the seat a bit just to narrow it some near the front of the seat. But I'll ride it for awhile before I mess with it. It's a different feel than my old NX so I want to get used to the more forward leaning perch before I mess with it. My commute is only 25-30 miles round trip, but with sunnier weather approaching, I hope to get some longer weekend rides soon. Regards, Tim
Finally found the Ninja 250 thread! Didn't think it existed... Anyways, I just found this site about a year ago and I am loving it! Last year I stupidly traded my Kawasaki KLR250 for a 2007 Ninja 250, not that there is anything wrong with the lil Ninja, I love riding it! I just wish I had kept the little KLR because now I cant find another.. The Ninja came with a Givi top box and a custom diamond plate mount for it. But now I am wanting a way to mount some side bags/ammo cans/etc for more storage. So, here is what the mount looks like. It is bolted to the grab bar, and has braces running down the sides to the passenger foot pegs. Do you think it's feasible to bolt some ammo cans or such bags to the side of the diamond plate and to the brace? The mount is sturdy as hell. Doesn't wobble or bounce at all. I am just wondering about the forces exerted by bags on the side and the total combined weight... Let the comments fly and long live the lil ninja! P.S. No flaming allowed about the mess of a garage. Its been a long winter.
Looks to me you've added more semi-perminent weight in mounting rack than you can carry in that topcase. Nice effort to fabricate stuff, tough..
I didn't fabricate it, the previous owner did. The whole mount doesn't weigh that much, it's aluminum diamond plate, not steel. Is there another way that the top box can be mounted in a less cumbersome way? There aren't a whole lot of options available for the two-fiddys... Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk
There is a forum on Ninja 250 cargo space at Ninjette.org. The forum includes a couple of DIYs for hardlocking saddlebag mounts and a couple for top boxes. Easiest mounting system seems to be using the FastRack luggage rack. Not sure how sturdy that would be for a heavier top box -- I've seen it used with soft tail bags.
I use the SW-Motech aluminum rack and a Givi E45 (suitcase-sized) top box on my Concours 250. Looks like a dog, but works fine. For side bags, I think you're on the right track with connecting to the passenger footpegs, but I'd use tubular steel and a welder.
Hey guys, Does anyone have a K&N filter on the bike? The airbox on the Ninja has come off from the carbs and I cant get them on for the life of me (dont know what the hell is going on in there), the bike has a really slow get off since they came off (its a few millimeters off touching the airbox) so I was thinking of ripping the whole thing out and just adding the dual 2 into 1 K&N filter but wanted your thoughts on it before purchasing.
iirc there is a bolt in the bottom of the airbox inside that bolts into the frame loosen bolt when putting the airbox back on as its hole is elongated once airbox is back on hold it in tight and then do the bolt back up
Domiken, It would help to know the year of the bike. I have a '96 and am very happily using a K&N filter in my airbox. The only thing I had to do was remove the filter brace from the airbox lid. If you are dealing with an '88-'08 bike, yes, there is a screw that allows you to move the airbox/battery holder forward and back a bit.
I keep thinking there are two possible K&N filters for use in the airbox. The one I have is a nearly box-like affair that uses hose clamps to fasten it to the Helmholtz resonator cones on the inside of the lid. For this style, you must remove the stock filter brace which is molded to the inside of the lid as well. The other type is one that simply replaces the flat stock Kawasaki filter. Do not remove the brace if this is the type you have. If you can move the airbox/battery holder a bit forward, and are still having trouble with the intake boots, a handy trick to soften the rubber up a bit is to remove them completely from the bike, and BOIL then in water for a few minutes. Sounds goofy, but does really work. Don't lose or forget the boot springs. Edited for clarity.
Can't emphasize this enough. Boil them for like 10-15 minutes and they should be fairly malleable. However - lose the boot springs. They're more of a PITA than they're worth. Swap them out for some hose clamps. It will make your life a little easier.
Thanks guys, the boots fit fine (they are touching the lips) but just need a few more millimeters to get them on. Ill be getting some hose clamps. The bike has a horrible hesitation in 1st gear when accelerating (it makes that tick tick tick noise cars make when you drop the clutch in first gear too fast and dont give it enough gas).
Although I do not have a NINJA yet. I have fought the carb. to air box boots on other bikes. I've used and had excellent luck with a light coating of dielectric grease on the mating surfaces. Plus the dielectric is friendly to the rubber components and does not leave a big mess to clean up.
