2012 Ninja 250R vs 2003 Speed Triple

[Tunertype]

man I wish i had the funds I would pick this up in a heartbeat to be used as a commuter and a bike for my girl to learn on. I can't afford 4-5k though

GLWS and Congrats on winning the contest.

I'd sell it arournd 3700$ probly. Still you can pick up a used 2008 for less than that. It just the newness and low miles I'd expect more value from. I mean thats one of the main reasons I'm considering keeping it is I've never had a brand new bike. Everything is so clean and perfect on it.

[scootertrash]

Sell the 250 to SheilaMac. She needs it...

[Tunertype]

I would track day the hell out of one of those.

I was thinking that after selling one for the funds for track gear.

[Kurlon]

you should be able to get a decent amount for the 250 (although it's end of season so i don't know about now) but when i was looking, kawi dealers wanted more for used ninja250's than a brand new cbr250.

Complete opposite around me. New Kawi 250s were being blown out at $3700 with multiple to choose from and when a CBR250R was on the floor they were asking $200 to $400 more than MSRP for it "because they can."

[DoubleRGirl]

Complete opposite around me. New Kawi 250s were being blown out at $3700 with multiple to choose from and when a CBR250R was on the floor they were asking $200 to $400 more than MSRP for it "because they can."

at the time i was looking the 2012's has just came out but because of the tsunami they were coming in slowly, so maybe supply is up now and prices have come down.

i got my cbr250 from a dealership i've bought a couple bikes from so they gave me a good deal, but i think the used kawi's (2009) were still around the same price as msrp on the cbr

[Tunertype]

So I think I'm gonna wait and decide in the spring, but the 250R will probably be the one getting the axe. I just took it home and it runs fine on regular city and country roads,I don't mind the power difference below 50mph, but on the highway it has no acceleration. It will get up to speed...... eventually. I was cruising at 9krpm at 70mph on the way home. Not optimal breakin. If I was to keep both though, I'd actually probably use the 250 for the fun bike on country and back roads and the S-3 for commuting. Because my commute is mostly highway. The 250R also has a more comfortable formed seat rather than a flat slab of granit on my S-3.

Also that is a tiny bike. I can see why 6ft guys feel cramped and tight on it. I'm only 5'9-10" and I feel cramped on the thing alittle until I got used to it. I've never driven one of those pocket bikes, but it's what I imaged it would feel like. I wanted a pocket bike before too, now I think the Ninja 250R will do just fine. Knees are on top of the tank not below the crest and have to sit all the way back on the seat to get a good arm length. The step up for the back seat makes it alittle far away, but I bet a 6ft+ guy could ride on the passenger seat comfortably.

Here's a pic of my two bikes together:

[SVRACER01]

i would find out what the gift tax will be first. if i didnt think i could sell it and get enough to cover that then i would just forfeit it.

[nhbubba]

Little late to forfeit it, I'd say.

Not surprised at all by the highway performance. Personally, 500cc is as small as I'd go. Unless maybe I lived in the city and never, ever went out of town.

I understand why everyone says these are such great newbie bikes.
But then I also understand why so many newbies buy something bigger.

[Kurlon]

It's a 250, SPIN IT. 70mph at 9k RPM means you can drop it down a couple gears and whack it to get'er going.

[SVRACER01]

i was just over at the local Kawi dealer and they said the guy that won theirs complained about the color. he wanted a blue one

[backinthesaddle]

i was just over at the local Kawi dealer and they said the guy that won theirs complained about the color. he wanted a blue one

It figures. People are such whiners today. Guy here won a green one. I am in the dealership at least once a week doing nothing of value and never thought to put my name in.

[e30addict]

It's a 250, SPIN IT. 70mph at 9k RPM means you can drop it down a couple gears and whack it to get'er going.

This.

I had a 250 and it was fine on the highway. Just need to whip it. Pick the right gear and don't to be afraid to pin the throttle. Yeap, you'll use ALL the power. If I recall, it liked being between 10-13k rpm to really go.

[backinthesaddle]

Had a 250 also. They are a blast, fall into turns, get to work the gear box up and down, and feel the throttle stop frequently. The downside, get pushed around by wind, have to work the gear box up and down, feel the throttle stop too frequently.

In all seriousness a lot of fun for the $, cheap tires, cheap service, cheap insurance.

[SVRACER01]

It figures. People are such whiners today. Guy here won a green one. I am in the dealership at least once a week doing nothing of value and never thought to put my name in.

oh ya, he was mad it was a 10 and not an 11 also. "free" bike dude...

[gcgiroux]

If you are selling the Ninja 250R, what are you asking?

[DoubleRGirl]

Had a 250 also. They are a blast, fall into turns, get to work the gear box up and down, and feel the throttle stop frequently. The downside, get pushed around by wind, have to work the gear box up and down, feel the throttle stop too frequently.

In all seriousness a lot of fun for the $, cheap tires, cheap service, cheap insurance.

yeah mine definitely justifies itself what i spend in gas and insurance. 75 mpg's with regular vs 24 mpg's in the car with premium

[backinthesaddle]

yeah mine definitely justifies itself what i spend in gas and insurance. 75 mpg's with regular vs 24 mpg's in the car with premium

That's a lot of smiles per gallon.

[backinthesaddle]

oh ya, he was mad it was a 10 and not an 11 also. "free" bike dude...

Haha and its not like the 2011 is any better. Hey I would be happy for free if it was used and in good shape.

[Tunertype]

If you are selling the Ninja 250R, what are you asking?

Was thinking 3700$ as long as I have under 500 miles on it. Its got 15 miles on it now. Might drop it down for the right buyer. I won't get a title for the thing for another couple weeks. The market is hard when it gets cold. Remember if you bought it new after fees and destination etc that 3999msrp will be 5000$ out the door so 3700$ saves 1300$.

[Tunertype]

It's a 250, SPIN IT. 70mph at 9k RPM means you can drop it down a couple gears and whack it to get'er going.

My initial assesment was alittle off after only driving it 15 miles it wasn't good enough to really learn how to ride the bike properly. I put another 100 miles on it today and upon your suggestion I revved the crap out of it, and to my surprise the bike felt alot more peppy and really went well both on and off the highway. I learned you really need to redline it alot and if you hold out on shifting on the highway to that point and stick in 4th until about 70 and in 5th until about 80 and only use 6th above 80mph the bike has perfectly fine highway acceleration. The top speed still seems to be about 90mph and it takes a while to get there, but you can get to 80-83 pretty quickly which is all you really need.

I also did a test on my S-3 and found that I could go 70mph or so in 1st gear making shifting in general on that bike almost pointless accept it gets pretty loud and complains a bit around 8krpm or higher. I usually drive it under 5krpm, it loses power under 3krpm, but it seems to complain and have excessive engine braking above 6krpm. I can still coast along with more power at 2krpm, than the Ninja at 8krpm, but if you really revv out the Ninja it turns into a really fun little toy.

I looked up the dyno charts for both bikes and found that as I suspected I only use about 60HP in the Daytona triple as I keep it below 6krpm mostly(this is like 35-40 in 1st gear!! 45-50 in 2nd). Now the dyno is done at full throttle, so my 1/2 throttle to 3/4 throttle on the Daytona(S-3) is probably less than that. And as I often do when just crusing I keep it below 4KRPM in which case I am only using about 30HP. So idle crusing around on the Daytona triple is the same as revving the piss out of the Ninja 250R, this means the only difference in day to day average driving is the amount of throttle you give it and where you shift. I'm willing to bet alot of guys on liter bikes don't actually use more power than a Ninja 250R has available to it like me. Of course if they ever decided to actually crack that throttle open and go 150mph they could and the Ninja could not.

So power not much of an issue now that I know how to ride a motorcycle the right way.(250's really are educational). I was then thinking of getting a 600 as a replacement for both, because they rev high like the 250, and don't have the crazy torque and power of a liter bike. While looking for a suitable replacement I wanted something that also looked as nice as the Ninja 250R which in my opinion, my wifes opinion, and the opinion of multiple passer bys today was very nice. So I looked around and found to my taste the GSXR's to be the ugliest, then the ZX6R was actually less attractive than the 250, the R6, Daytona 675 and CBR600RR actually squeeze out the 250 on looks by a very small margin, because they have a sharper looking front end. However the color selections are boring in comparison to the vibrant green the 250 has on it. I also hate the riding position on the 600 SS's so that would have to be remedied for them to be a viable option.

Oh the other major problem I still have with the 250 is that it's carbed and it takes a bit to warm up. The throttle response is very slow, so if you crack the throttle from idle it will kind of hesitate and then rev up, unlike the Fuel Injected Daytona that spins up instantly. If the 250 had fuel injection I bet this would fix the problem. It only really effects starting from a stop so it's not a huge deal. Also having to turn the throttle a full half turn to get to full throttle puts the wrist in an ackward position and you need to go full throttle alot. I'm sure this is great for beginners, but if your experienced and just want to have fun on a 250 I'd suggest a throttle mod if there is one out there to bring full throttle to around 1/4.

[Currently]

Fix your sig ...

Tis always more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow.