Hello Kawasaki forums,

This is to anyone who has concerns about whether or not that ninja 250r has enough power for you, or whether or not it will do what you request of it. I recently purchased a 2009 ninja 250r after countless days of researching whether or not it has enough power, or if its fun enough, etc etc. Most of what i found was that the highway speed was not ample enough. DO NOT BELIEVE THE HATERS!

I mostly use my bike to commute back and forth from school and joy riding. I do travel on the highway which is why i was skeptical. Once i mounted up the ninja i found that i EXTREMELY enjoy city driving. The acceleration is perfect for the city and has enough passing power for any sane person. I weigh 220 lbs which some people said was too much!(ofcourse making me feel fat!).

So now the real test began. My first highway trip and i was nervous, the average highway speeds for my city and 70-80 mph, so i was concerned. As soon as i hit 60 on the on-ramp, i pulled the throttle back and began to accel. I was amazed at how fast i caught up to traffic. I reached 87 mph and was still thousands of RPM away from redlining(people told me you would redline the the entire trip). I had an open spot so i accelerated the bike just past 90 miles per hour. At that moment i realized that the 250 was perfect for me. I don't care what anyone says, if you need to go faster that is your own choice. I ride smart and safe and 90mph is plenty fast for me! Don't believe all the hype about how slow the 250 is! It is a GREAT BIKE!

 

AWESOME First Post. I rode an older 250r for 15k miles over 2 years. and Yes the 250r is definitely fast enough, and fun.

Most of the people that hate on this bike are people that have no idea and probably never ridden one.

 

Yeah......250's always get a bad rap. Some folks said THESE were junk, too.

 

I weigh 220 also and this is good news for me .. Thanks

 

Hey there I've had my 89' 250 for 2 years now and have no complaints with the speed or acceleration of it. (have hit 110mph once) but I tend to keep mine off of the highway because I only weigh 150lbs and getting past by a pick-up, van, etc and I'm in another lane whether I wanted to be there or not. Very nippy commuter bike though, perfect for new riders.

Drive fast take chances! but seriously ride safe everyone.

 

I bought a 2012 250 new back in the day and frigging loved it to death. Put 7,000 miles on it in the first year and I had ambitions to put 100,000 on that bike. Sadly and regretfully I sold it and bought both a 2012 KLX250 and a 1994 Ninja ZX-6 in the same summer in 2013. All these years later I just got a 2008 Ninja 250 again last month and it brings me back to a happier time riding a solid reliable bike rather than an old clunker and a dual sport with cam chain tensioner problems all the time.

 

Don't bet on the cam chain tensioner thing... I have them on the shelf too, sell a fair number, but there is one more possible problem in the tensioner system. There is a rocker that can bottom out against the cases not allowing enough travel to allow the slider to move enough to take up the slack. But one of the tensioner buyers sent me pictures of the fix for the rocker travel, so I have information on that and the tensioners. If you want to know more about the first generation EX/EN250 cam chain tensioner/rocker PM or email me. No big problem to do if necessary.

 

An older thread or not, I still rock my ex250 but just not as much as my ex500. For everyday commuting, I prefer the added get out of the way cc's of the 500 over the 250. That and I tend to rev the 250 on the streets more than I would like for a daily ride. Put me on an open road or a closed course track, and the 250 does well with suspension upgrades.

 

I've put over 1,300 miles on my '07 EX250 since I bought it last fall, and it has been more than adequate in terms of power and acceleration. The bike is bone-stock all the way down to the original sprockets and exhaust, and it gets me around the city just fine. I've had it up to 80 which is plenty fast for me. I am 6' 3" and 195 lbs.

With that said, the bike is very forgiving and is perfect for the beginner rider (which I am). It doesn't punish you if you make a mistake, it just teaches you what could have happened if you were on a more powerful bike. I made the correct decision when I bought it and plan to keep it for a long time.

 

You're in the right place to run a 250 and have a riot. I lived in east Ohio and as you and I both know east Ohio into west Pennsylvania and into West Virginia is God's country for motorcyclists.