Hello everybody. My name is Cliff. I've been a member here for quite a while, and currently ride a 2009 KLX 250S that I got in summer of 2008. I've put over 20,000 miles on my KLX, lots of off road and a lot of back roads hooligan I've been wanting a sport bike for a few years now, and I've finally made the decision to dip my toe into the world of streetbikes (well, parallel twin sport bikes at least). I have a couple questions before I pick up my bike (hopefully) next week.

1. I understand this bike is heavier (over 100 lbs) but significantly more powerful than my KLX. I'm not scared of the more power, but I understand it will take some getting used to. Plus the brakes will be much stronger (I'm getting non-ABS). Anything else I should be prepared for? I know this bike isn't supersport leaned over and is actually fairly upright, but how much of a difference should I expect? I have to ride the bike home about 80-90 miles from the dealership, so I kinda want a heads up. Which leads to my second question...

2. Break in? I have to slog 80 miles worth of interstate from the dealership to my house. I know I should vary the engine speed during the break in period. Should I baby the bike in 6th gear up the interstate, or jump between 5th and 6th? I'm open to suggestions.

My helmet, boots, jacket, and gloves will be here this week, so I won't be squidding home from the dealership.

Thanks in advance for everyone's input, and I look forward to interacting with this forum as a contributing member.

 

Congrats on your new bike.

I haven't ridden a Ninja so can't say much about question 1, other than why are you getting non-ABS? I got ABS for the first time on a '14 DL1000 VStrom I picked up last spring and I just love it. It's a wonderful safety feature. You'll notice the extra mass, but if you've spent a lot of time on your KLX, I don't think it's going to be that big of a deal for you.

Regarding break in, there are so many opinions from 'baby it & follow manufacturer's instructions' to 'ride it like you stole it.' I broke mine in with a mix of a gentle warm up by idling for only about 30 seconds then easy riding to warm up, picking up the pace until fully warmed and then a cool down (heat cycle). Same thing on warming but then followed by some fairly aggressive on and off the throttle (Google motoman's break in secrets). No full throttle and no redline for a while. I'd do my best to stay off the freeway and take the back roads which should encourage varied speeds. You don't want to hold rpm steady for long periods.