Congrats on your bike!! You are gonna have a great time. WEAR YOUR GEAR!

I love my 250. But now I want a bigger bike...so in March I'm getting a bigger bike ....I can't freaking wait!! Until then I'm riding the 250 every single day!

 

ya parkin lots rule no 1 ever taught me anything about motorcycles i just hopped on one and poof i learned....the turns are what scared me but now a turn is so fun

 

Well I went out today and rode around the park for awhile again and decided it was time to take a short road trip over to my buddies house. Man was it sweet!! No problems except I had trouble finding first gear at the stop sign so I walked it into the adjacent parking lot and after fumbling for a few minutes found it. Then I came home and ate some lunch. Wanted to go out again and did, still having trouble finding first gear comin from sixth, and I have been trying to downshift before I stop but I guess I dont trust that Iam in first gear, lol. Went up a different road and started going around a sharp curve and thought I was going to fast so I kinda got nervous and started to BRAKE which I know you should never ever do, if anything you should accelerate a little or at least keep the same speed and lean into it more but I guess I was thinkin about it to much. I started to go towards the yellow line as a car came over the creast and got a bit wobbley, then I recovered and stoped in the nearest driveway for a breather. Decided it was time to go back home and this time slowed down BEFORE the turn and was fine. Its funny the turn by my house is just as sharp and havent had any problems with that, but the agian the speed limit is a bit slower so I suppose that had something to do with it. Sadly its going to rain soon But I so want to go for another ride before I it rains and I have to put it in storage, although Iam a little nervous after that. Anyway just thought Id share on my first experience with everyone and I def wear my gear. Gloves, armor jacket, full face helmet, working on gettin boots. Later. Oh and sorry I didnt post my first post in the newbie section, must have overlooked it.

 

When you downshift, you'll feel a harder "thud" as it goes into first gear. That's a good way to tell. Also when the shift lever won't go down any more, you're in first!

 

hes right but on my 99 ninja 250 it wont let me shift into first so i gotta stop then move like an inch forward and poof im in first.... im still getting used to the jolt on downshifting because we all know its a serious jolt if you dont shift much another thing i learned is COUNT GEARS its a habbit i do in my head when im riding....that helps tons

 

Hey thanks Caddy Daddy I noticed that now after riding around. Ended up going out agian of course, lol. Went up to a different friends house and went throught a few sharp curves and this time I braked before I entered the turn and kept my legs against the gas tank and it was not problem at all. I even went through a curve with a bunch of crappy bumps and still made it through fine. Then I left and went out again and had no problems. Got back and put it in storage just before it got dark. Iam also learning to count down my shift 654 etc. and now Iam finding it easier and easier to hit first everytime before I stop. Good advice skoalman. Oh and while I was over my buddies house he said that everytime you stop you should put the fuel switch on the off position and he did it. For some stupid reason I forgot and when I got home looked at it to turn it off and realized that he had mistakenyl switched it to reserve. Do you think this will hurt it. Might be a pointless question but Iam worried nonetheless. Thanks everyone. Later.

 

I make a mental note of what gear I am in at all times, so if you need to go down or up a gear, you're not doing too drastic of a change.

It won't hurt the bike running in reserve. What that does is feed the fuel from a lower part of the gas tank. The problem with running with it switched to reserve is once it's below that level, you won't get any more fuel out! With the switch in the "ON" mode, once the engine starts sputtering, you switch to reserve and get get another 20 or 30 miles before you are totally out of gas. Bikes have this because there is no fuel gauge and most don't have a low fuel light either.
As for switching the fuel petcock to off everytime you park, I think that's more for when it gets older the seals may not seal so great and it could flood the carbs. I don't switch my bike to "off", and it's been fine so far. But it certainly doesn't hurt to do that. I'm sure someone else will chime in with a better explaination of that!

 

with the 250's you sometimes have to let the clutch out slightly so you get the clutch to drag while pushing down on the shifter at the same time. Then you can get the bike in first if it doesn't want to go.

 

better to take a turn slow because afterwards, you can always say to yourself, "hmm I COULD have gone faster".
If you take a turn too fast, you may not be able to say, "hmm I SHOULD have gone slower".

I dont count my shifts anymore, thats why sometimes I try to up-shift and find out I'm at the highest.

 

running in reserve wont hurt the bike but it may hurt you since you wont know when your fuel is low. If you happen to run out of fuel, there may be some fuel trapped on the other side of the tank, tip the bike towards the fuel switch and you may get a few more miles out of it.