My Fizzer will soon have a shiny new friend

[AJ_rider]

Over the weekend my g/f became the proud and very excited new owner of a 2009 Ninja 250 in Limited Edition Kawi Green/Black/White. :rockon::cheer:

We orignally started the day by going to look at a 95 CBR 600 F3 we had found on Craigslist, however, as we were heading out to look at it I received a call from the owner saying he had just taken a deposit on it from another buyer. So we turned around to go home when I suggested we stop at the local dealer to look for some gear for her upcoming MSF class.

When we get to the dealer her eyes almost immediately locked on to the little Ninja 250 and I'm pretty sure she was sold almost instantly. My only concern was the seat height, as she's only 5'3'', but she swung a leg over and was able to touch both balls of her feet down just fine. (I might drop it just an inch so she can set her heels down to give her more confidence while learning.) A cup of coffee later she was signing papers and she'll take delivery come sometime in March/April. (We are getting 3''-5'' of snow as I type this so no riding anytime soon.)

An interesting fact I learned about the 250 when talking to our sales guy, apparently Kawasaki makes almost no money on these 250s which is why none of the other big 4 make a comparable bike. I imagine this is also why there was no budging on the price. :spank:

(Sorry about the quality of the pics, all I had with me was my cell phone. I'll post more when we take delivery)

 

[madmanmaigret]

Awesome, we expect a full ride report when you get to wring her little neck!

 

[robbijer]

Awesome, I was at the local dealership over the weekend looking at helmets and saw Kawasaki's new KLX250 dual sport. I was trying to talk the wife into getting one for her but she is in no hurry.

Happy Riding ( when the snow melts)

 

[LERecords]

looks like a good "little" bike .. nice to get new stuff though.. looks good and yea, give us a ride report

 

[bikerider]

Pretty Nice :thumbup:

 

[Mississippi]

Great bike:thumbup:. The 08 ninja 250 was my first bike. She will love it. Lowering it will not be a problem. It is just a few bolts. I love the team green colors. Let us know what she thinks. Keep an eye on her go go grip. Mine got some slack in it after about 500mi. I was able to fix it with the adjustment knob on the handle bars. Also, she will love the neutral. She cannot miss it. When she is at a stop, the bike will not let you up-shift into second without moving first. Great feature IMO. Congratulations!!!!!!

If you decide to upgrade the tires, Pirelli Sport Demon is a great Bias tire. The ninja does not have radials, and they do not recommend using them.

 

[AJ_rider]

Great bike:thumbup:. The 08 ninja 250 was my first bike. She will love it. Lowering it will not be a problem. It is just a few bolts. I love the team green colors. Let us know what she thinks. Keep an eye on her go go grip. Mine got some slack in it after about 500mi. I was able to fix it with the adjustment knob on the handle bars. Also, she will love the neutral. She cannot miss it. When she is at a stop, the bike will not let you up-shift into second without moving first. Great feature IMO. Congratulations!!!!!!

If you decide to upgrade the tires, Pirelli Sport Demon is a great Bias tire. The ninja does not have radials, and they do not recommend using them.

Thanks for the info MS. I love the paint scheme too, its definitely unique. I will make sure to post a ride report. I'm not gonna lie, I'm looking forward to riding it as well.

 

[Mississippi]

I forgot to mention, I put one of these FE kits on the bike, because I liked not having to cut the original fender. If you can, try to find another kind. The blinker attachment is molded into the plastic, and the blinkers are not bright at all. You will not be able to see them in the day time. Also, the fiberglass piece used to replace the stock fender, does not fit perfect. It looks ok, but it has some space between the FE and the tail light. See attached.

 

[AJ_rider]

I forgot to mention, I put one of these FE kits on the bike, because I liked not having to cut the original fender. If you can, try to find another kind. The blinker attachment is molded into the plastic, and the blinkers are not bright at all. You will not be able to see them in the day time. Also, the fiberglass piece used to replace the stock fender, does not fit perfect. It looks ok, but it has some space between the FE and the tail light. See attached.

This is actually something she mentioned she wanted to change at the dealership. The stock original fender is some kind of ugly and abnormally long I will take this into consideration when shopping around for an FE. Double thanks MS!

 

[buccs40oz]

i was thinking about getting my wife one of these. her problem was she couldn't touch the ground at all LOL. i had to hold the bike up so she could sit on it. the salesman said he could find a lowering kit for like 2 inches, not enough. anybody know ho far it can be lowered?

 

[Mississippi]

i was thinking about getting my wife one of these. her problem was she couldn't touch the ground at all LOL. i had to hold the bike up so she could sit on it. the salesman said he could find a lowering kit for like 2 inches, not enough. anybody know ho far it can be lowered?

they make a 3" lowering kit, but you would also have to get the blocks to lower the front end as well at the handle bars. I will see if I can find what I am talking about.

 

[FZ6-ZN]

Nice chick bike, your GF is going to love it :thumbup:

FZ6-ZN

 

[Mississippi]

This is actually something she mentioned she wanted to change at the dealership. The stock original fender is some kind of ugly and abnormally long I will take this into consideration when shopping around for an FE. Double thanks MS!

Are you going to go with LED's in the back?

 

[Mississippi]

Found one of the sites. lowering links and lowering blocks.

Roaring Toyz Kawasaki Ninja 250R

This will give you an idea of what you are looking at.

 

[Deleted member 2349]

Contratz...So will we have two 250's this summer on some rides??

Glad you got her into a nice ride...did she get in the spring MSF classes?

Cant wait to get out there again...

 

[keira]

congrats to her! hope she loves it.

 

[agmom98]

Congratulations and best wishes to your GF as she joins the riding community.

You may be tempted to take that little Ninjette out for a ride or two yourself. I have several male riding friends who own Ninjettes as a second bike, parked next to their LD riding mounts of choice.

 

[AJ_rider]

Are you going to go with LED's in the back?

I haven't started looking just yet, but I definitely want something bright enough to be very visible in the daytime.

Contratz...So will we have two 250's this summer on some rides??

Glad you got her into a nice ride...did she get in the spring MSF classes?

Cant wait to get out there again...

Haha, no my friend with his 250 moved to Japan to teach so he sold it at the end of last summer.

She's on the "waiting list" for the course, I guess there has been some delay in posting the MSF registration schedule due to a new contract with MSF, NYS DMV, and Learn2ride. But the guy at the registration office said she'll def be in one of the Spring classes.

We'll have to hook up for sure come Spring, maybe get some of our other Rochester/Buffalo members together as well.

Congratulations and best wishes to your GF as she joins the riding community.

You may be tempted to take that little Ninjette out for a ride or two yourself. I have several male riding friends who own Ninjettes as a second bike, parked next to their LD riding mounts of choice.

Thanks! And I'm already tempted! They were talking about having the bike delivered to my house via truck, I told them that wouldn't be necessary

 

[necrotimus]

Nice bike. I wish I could get my wife on a sport bike but she rides a Vstar 650. Just not as hot.

You may want to start looking into communication devices as well. We have a crappy hand held radio setup but if she starts riding more this year we will probably start lookign at bluetooth. When we have ridden together my wife loves having the reassurance of being able to communicate.

 

[Mississippi]

Sorry that I keep throwing stuff up here, but This is stuff I either did or had planned to do to my ninja.

Have you thought about changing the front sprocket from a 14t to a 15t. After you ride it, you will see what I mean. IMO, the bike needs the 15t sprocket to help keep the shifting and rpm's down. Don't get me wrong, the bike loves the higher rpms, but riding around town or commuting, will get old having to shift from 1st to 2nd before you get to 30mph. The sprocket change will drop your rpm's down 500 or so. Also, it will help with the break-in as they say not to go over 4000rpm which is 35 mph in 6th (I think).

I have a DYI on this if you want it.