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’08 Ninja 250: 4th Test Ride Report (Full “In Anger” Mode - & a Miracle)

Gary J

New member
Joined
Nov 29, 2002
Location
South Bay
Moto(s)
Street & Track
Name
Gary
This is the fourth in a series of test ride reports that I've posted on the forum, related to new ownership real world riding impressions of one of the Kawasaki '08 Ninja 250's. The postings are chronologically written, so if you have an interest in the whole story, please refer back to the earlier postings, as referenced in the links below:

Ride 1: http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236881
Ride 2: http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=237001
Ride 3: http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=237209


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’08 Ninja 250: 4th Test Ride Report (Full “In Anger” Mode - & a Miracle)

The new bike was showing about 160 miles on the odometer at the start of this last weekend, as a result of the three 50’ish mile first impression mini test rides that I’d gotten in after work last week. Fresh oil had been put into the engine at that early mileage mark in an effort to ensure any initial break-in impurities were removed.

At this next stage of ownership, this posting covers the impressions taken away from a solid 350 miles of “spirited” riding that was done on the local twisty backroads, while enjoying two days of beautiful California winter weather (sunshine, dry roads, and temps nudging into the 70’s).

In keeping with the itemized format previously used for evaluation of the various categories of the new bike; this weekend’s impressions/experiences are again presented in that fashion. Hope these newest impressions and feedback, on the just released '08 Ninja 250, are of interest to some.

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- Engine:

Subscribing to the school of “gotta run an engine, with proper RPM variation and loads on the rings, to properly break it in”, the RPM range the engine was worked over the course of this weekend gradually increased over a reasonable working range. No wide-open, 6th gear stuff …. or running up to redline (13K) … but definitely using the engine the way it was intended to work.

It’s still only a seat-o-the-pants dyno impression at this point, but based on having run the new bike on the same combination of twisty backroads (including some with steep uphills) that I’ve sampled for the last 80K miles on my old-generation (2000) Ninja 250, I suspect that in stock emissions-legal trim, the ’08 model is putting out just a tad less peak HP.

The engine runs great through the RPM range, and definitely does a good job of pulling the rider along nicely during general riding, while just cruising her along in the 6-8K range, but that upper RPM “hit” (10K-13K) of the previous generation bike just seems to be slightly soft on the ’08 model.

Riding this weekend with the many of the same experienced riders (on their 600-1000cc machines) that I’ve spent time with in the hills in the recent past, while mounted on the old bike, I was able to somewhat gauge where the ’08 bike’s actual performance stacked up. Measuring how hard I had to work the little bike, to blend in with the riding of the folks on their bigger-bore machines, provided some pretty quantitative feedback.

The key for optimizing the strengths of the new bike, during this “spirited riding”, was in recognizing that banging downshifts every time the engine dropped below the 11K range is not necessary, or in its best interest. Letting the upper-midrange (8K-10K) pull the bike along, results in getting down the road in a very efficient manner, at a lot better pace then the lack of screaming engine RPM (of the old bike) might imply.

For those looking for the root of the missing top end “hit” of the old bike, I’m not sure where that lies. It may be in the modified cam profile and timing, the new catalytic converter equipped exhaust, emissions-friendly carburetor jetting ….. or some combination?

The bottom line however on engine performance, based on 500+ miles of real world riding experience on the new bike, is that this lack of extreme top-RPM “hit” doesn’t make the bike any slower then the old generation machine. If anything, the added “grunt” of the upper-mid, if utilized smartly by the rider, can result in the ’08 bike running a stronger pace then the old bike. At least on anything short of taking the bike out on track in a roadracing environment.


Chassis/Suspension:

The significantly increased “firmness” of the suspension on both ends of the ’08 bike (compared to the pogo-stick ’88-’07 machines) has already been well noted in the earlier segments of the bike review. On Sunday I had a chance to really put the suspension to a worst-case test out on an incredibly tight/twisty, bumpy, up-n-down rollercoaster style of backroad (“Stage Road”.) in the Santa Cruz mountains.

On the old bike, the “G-Out” dips that reside at the worst possible locations, right at the apex of some challenging downhill corners, used to badly sack the bike’s suspension out. At a “spirited” pace, this has occurred to the point where the exhaust pipe, shift lever, rear brake lever, side and centerstand all touched down to pavement at various times ….. providing a shower of sparks …. and badly upsetting the bike. Not a fun moment!

Recognizing this limitation on the old bike, required a lot of effort on the part of the rider to try to minimize the impact. Keeping the bike as vertical as possible, being on the throttle just prior to (and during) the “G-Out” (to keep the engine working the drive chain through the rear wheel to provide some “anti-squat” assistance), and using a lot of leg-suspension by the rider, were all required.

Carving up those very same turns on Sunday, on the ’08 bike, totally changed everything! The bike has what so far appears to be almost unlimited ground clearance between “hard parts” and the pavement (at least as setup on preload #3 position, and my 170 lb. rider weight). The combination of the high clearance, and “firm” suspension, resulted in not a single “G-Out” moment ….. despite the pace being (if anything) a bit more “spirited” then most past rides on the old bike. It definitely takes a ton of the stress out of riding the bike briskly on lesser quality roads, where there’s higher demands put on the suspension. Good stuff!

P.S. As hard as it was for me to believe (from what I found over the last 500 miles of riding), experienced riders that take one of these little bikes out in an environment (the track) where "getting a knee down" is commonplace ...... are going to find it's REALLY HARD to touch a puck on this new bike!

The combination of the "firm" suspension (that doesn't squat under load going into the turns) the taller seat height (and wider), and the higher rearset/footpeg position, keep the ground a long ways away while cornering. This is true even when leaning the bike what feels to be pretty far over (to within a few mm's of the edge of the OEM rear tire). This being a total 180 degree opposite of the "old" (last generation") bike! Strange stuff.


- Fuel Mileage:

There were some intervals (miles) of riding this weekend where the bike was exclusively being used on a series of very tight/twisty, mostly untraveled, backroads, at a consistently “spirited” pace. Due to the lower speeds of the twisty roads, the bike was being worked a lot in the lower gears, and at higher RPM. Based on past experience, this form of riding always puts the highest demands on fuel economy.

After completing about a 115 mile loop which consisted mostly of this form of riding, a gas fill-up was done to check how thirsty the bike had been in this most demanding form of use. The bike took about 2.5 gallons to fill back up. This figured out to an average mileage for that extreme level of riding of:

  • 46 MPG (lowest)

Pretty amazing mileage (compared to a 600cc+ machine), considering the type of riding!

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Overall Impressions:

A good friend and weekend riding partner of mine (that happens to also be a very fast local roadracer with about 20 years of experience) joined me on Sunday’s ride. He’s ridden with me many times over the last few years, on his 600 and 1000 Hondas, while I was on the old Ninja 250. Despite that (prior to yesterday) he’s never thrown a leg over a Ninja 250 personally, much less ridden one.

Yesterday, after our breakfast stop up at “Alices” restaurant (at the top of the mountain roads in our area) I offered him a chance to swap bikes for a short test ride during the first stint of our day’s riding. The good looks of the ’08 Ninja 250 (over the previous generation model) was the carrot that pushed him over his previously shown total lack of interest in riding one of these little 250cc machines. We headed out on an 8 mile stretch of Hwy 35, heading north, to the junction point of our proposed turnoff onto the goat trail of a road, Tunitas Creek Road.

I waved my friend by at the start, to allow him a chance to set the pace to whatever he felt comfortable with ……. as well as to allow me a chance to actually see what the little green bike looked like in action. The first of the twistys started less then a mile up the road, and I was amazed to see that within about 3 turns, his body posture changed dramatically. He went from a “I’m just sitting here cruising along checking out someone elses bike” ….. to a “lets carve ‘em up” mode.

I was grinning ear-to-ear in my helmet as began to see a gap developing between us, as he exited a couple of consecutive tight turns, while dropping into the "spirited" mode. I found myself actually having to get into the throttle a bit on his 600RR, to use the superior power to close things back up again. Wow …….. I couldn’t believe it. He’s REALLY having a blast riding that thing! :laughing

This cat-n-mouse continued for the next five miles, with him looking more and more confident, and having more and more fun, as every turn fell behind us.

Pulling into parking area at stopping point for our turnoff to the goat trail road, I got off his Honda and walked over to him. He was still sitting in the saddle of the Ninja, and didn’t seem in any hurry to get off. His last comment to me, as we debriefed a bit on the test ride, was “let’s go!”. This was accompanied by a head gesture motioning in the direction of the entrance to the road we were about to ride.

Apparently he was all set to stay on the little 250, and continue with the fun. Being a bit of a party-pooper (but doing so with a smile) and proud papa, I replied; “If you want to ride one of these little Ninja 250s any more at this point …… you’re just gonna have to buy one of your own”. :rofl

At that point we swapped bikes back, and headed out for what ended up being another 100 miles of great riding by the end of the day.

The significance of the reaction of my friend, from his brief test riding experience on this new ’08 Ninja 250, cannot be understated. The fact that this particular individual came away with a big smile on his face, really had a blast riding the bike, and commented verbatim after his ride; “One of these bikes would really be a lot of fun for riding on the roads up here!” speaks volumes for the success and recognition that Kawasaki engineers and designers deserve for their work in creating this new generation bike.

It only gets better with every ride ……….. can’t wait for the next one! :ride

Gary J
 
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Awesome!!!

I also love the new look of the kawi's, really cool to see they redid them and made it more appealing to the newer riders...as well as those with a few miles under their belt!:applause

and a pic to go with......:)

26.jpg
 
Thanks again Gary.

At this point, do you think the bike would benefit greatly with rejetting? Perhaps gaining a bit of high end while keeping the improved mid range, maybe even at the expense of some fuel mileage?
 
To all those who are considering the Ninjette (new or old) or ANY 250 mini-sport bike: It WILL make you a better rider on a larger bike.

I ride both my 250 and the liter bike (FZ1). I can't describe it, or even explain why, but the smoothness and turning consistency of my FZ1 rides has improved since I got the Ninjette.

For the price, they can't be beat. The awesome mpg's are a great added bonus. And they cost almost nothing to insure.
 
Nice writeup.

gary j, i must of waved at you one or twice on sunday. Those boots do seem familiar!
 
Thanks again Gary.

At this point, do you think the bike would benefit greatly with rejetting? Perhaps gaining a bit of high end while keeping the improved mid range, maybe even at the expense of some fuel mileage?

FYI, and this is *probably* true with the newer bikes, they make them lean on the needle to get through emissions, and have a too-large main to compensate when WOT.

Raising the stock needle and fitting a smaller main (like a 98 if I remember right, stock is 108? memory is fuzzy but something like that) made throttle response less jerky and upped max horsepower. And mileage too :)

No idea what has changed on the 08, but many manufacturers do something similar.
 
You know, I think I need to get me one of these...
 
Any mods planned?
A very short list for me Motorcycle RN, as I rarely do many mods to my bikes .... street or roadrace .... as they're so good to start with these days.

  • 1) Swingarm spools - "Servicability" (done)
    2) OEM rear seat cowl - "Appearance"
    3) Premium tires - "Performance"
    4) Add gas and ride it!
:ride
 
You have an aftermarket shock on "Jill's bike" though, don't you? ;)

-jim
 
You have an aftermarket shock on "Jill's bike" though, don't you? ;)
Actually no Jim. I bought the Works Performance shock a number of years ago (as you recall), but ended up never putting it on the bike. Ended up selling it to another rider a few months later. The rear shock on "My Wife's Ninja 250" (2000 year model), has almost 85,000 miles on it now, and has never been off the bike.

Amazingly, though the technology of the shock is far from state-of-the-art ..... being a bargain-basement parts bin piece, it actually continues to provide a decent level of damping after all those hard miles. It still does a good enough job to allow me to ride the bike at a quite spirited level on the backroads, without any real drama. Amazing how stuff everyone else says is "junk" can actually perform in the real world!? :)
 
let us know what you end up getting ...or have you already decided?
I have some ideas for trying something a little ....... errrr........ shall we say creative, in tire size/type to try on this new '08 Ninja 250, a few miles down the road, Var.

Won't know if it's garbage or gold, until I actually mount them up and get in some real world miles. It'll be at that time that the bike will tell me whether it's happy ... or not.

Based on past experience on various tires, I've got a feeling it'll be pretty cool, however I don't want to point anyone else in the wrong direction, or even give ideas to do something that may not work well on this bike.

As such, I'll keep the creative tire ideas to myself for the moment, but will share the results once I know the outcome ....... good or bad. If you've got an interest, please stay tuned. :)
 
Gary - With 17" rims, you have quite a few more options than with the old 16".
 
As such, I'll keep the creative tire ideas to myself for the moment, but will share the results once I know the outcome ....... good or bad. If you've got an interest, please stay tuned. :)



I'm definitely interested. What's the widest tire you can put on that wheel before it becomes an issue in either deforming the tire or rubbing the swingarm..whichever comes first.. I'm thinking a 140 at the widest.

here's the first decent looking tire i saw in a 140 size.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/29/409/4907/ITEM/Dunlop-D208SM-SuperMoto-Rear-Tire.aspx

If you're going down in size maybe you can run the 125 front slick as a rear :drool although it sounds like overkill for that bike
 
Do you have that bike for rent Gio? I thought you used to have an older 250 to rent...
 
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