orange ru upset u didn't get that 1000rr..? i have a couple people in the market for one of these things. Seems like EVERYONE is talkin bout this bike, even the females..is it honestly a worthy option for the ladi's

 

Definitely a good starter bike I guess. I started on a 650 and quickly went up. I just prefer the liter bikes and for all intent and purposes this should do me just fine for commuting, but it is kinda slow, especially off the line. It will keep up with traffic but youare wot all the time.

And to be honest this bike may make me a worse rider. I am use to the 1000cc and up bikes which require alot of finess and smooth operation. This thing you just slam the throttle all the time, no finess at all. I can't seem to find a comfy clutch lever position. Will have to toy with that some more.

I will say this though, it handles extremely well. And it has surprisingly good wind protection and stability on the highway. I thought I would get tossed around with big rigs and heavy congested traffic at highway speeds ( 75mph- 80mph ) but this thing is pretty stable. And the tranny is smooth, crisp and accurate almost the best I had ever experienced, no joke. No false neutrals, no missed gear.

For the price $3599 not a bad deal. Just don't expect any power at all. I am going to race my buddy on his V-star 650 classic tomorrow just to dick around and to give you all some perspective about its acceleration.

The only thing I am getting use to that completely was new to me is the kawi gas tank. For some reason because of pressure differences within the tank it makes this beeping noise. I thought it was a warning buzzer or something. But its just pressure being released. Its funny though because it sounds like a electric warning beep but its just gas coming out of the gas opening.

I could have gotten the new cbr1k but I have to remember why I got this bike. Commuting. It just barely fits that bill. It's just that sometimes its nice to be able to pull out into traffic and be up to speed without causing the people behind you that you just pulled out in front of to have to slam on their brakes. With this bike you just have to wait longer for the bigger gap in traffic before you pull out.

And as for gas, I really don't see getting 60-70mpg unless you really ride it like a scooter. I filled it up today and rode 100 miles and have just under half a tank. I'll have to do the math but I am looking at this thing getting 45mpg maybe more maybe less. And for some reason when I filled it up the fuel meter would not read full. About a 1/8 down. I don't get it cuz I filled it up to the brim.

I am sure girls will like this thing as well as all new riders. But yeah its one of those things where you think " if I was on my ........ "

Oh well, I just chopped off the shuvall ( holy **** how do you spell shu.... )and created my own fender eliminator. Now I am going to work on the exhaust. Drilled through the baffles and not much difference. I am going to try to remove the baffle tomorrow. And if that doesn't make it sound the way I want I am just going to cut the muffler off completely. This thing is too quiet.

 

Is this a good idea or bad idea.........It's a good idea. This bike is worth the $$$.
Did my fuel calculations and this does get 60mpg. And that's riding it not babying it. I'm sure if I rode it agressively it would get a little less. The gas mileage makes up for the lack of get up and go in first gear.
If I wanted more power I'm sure the gas mileage would decrease so this is a good bike. Happy with it. The smooth tranny and positive gear shifting overall stability makes this bike a well worth purchase especially at $3599.

Great job Kawasaki!

Oh I decided I am going to keep this little ninja. To hell with the break in. The highway riding definitely impressed me. As well as the 60mpg.

 

hey i am not going to dog on the 250. i have a 1988 250 ninja with somthing like 32,000 has been downed 4 times and just started it for the first time in 1 1/2 years and it ran great. i think they are great bikes and even though the plasic on my bike is cracked to hell i will never get rid of it and as soon as i get done fixing it up again i know what i will be driveing back and foth to work again.

 

na some ppl love those 250 no way in hell i will get on one and ride around town may be i a live in india or korea but no down here put
that 250 on a state road and a 18 wheller goes by and you will never gonna get back on it, is a super sport moped, it may look good but come on 250 is way to litte unless you are 5 foot tal and weigth 120 lbs
3700 get you a nice f4i

 

its funny but the only people that down the 250 are people that have never ridden one.....incredible handling, great mileage, and fun to ride....

 

I'm personally glad I started with my F4i and not a 250. People always say it's a great starter bike and you can carve upthe twisties and maybe if I lived near some I'd have a different opinion but living in C. FLI haven't found them so accelerating fast is the only option left. I would have been bored with a 250 pretty quick I think.Not to mentionthe dealersquoted me the same price I paid for myused '04 F4i.

 

ok well i hear everyone on how boring the bike gets and it does don't get me wrong. i rode my 250 for about 5 years and well after all that time i wanted to kill myself. however that is the reason why i went to the track with it. the 250 on the track is so much fun for the simple fact that it is light and thin and throwing your weight from left to right is just plan out easy and a blast. but now that i have my 600 all i want to do is go up up and well up. power is one of those things i want more of. my bank account doesn't like power but someday i will have my super bike. the 250 isn't that bad would i go out and spend 4k on the new one.......no but for just getting from work and back well 60 MPG you can't beat that.

 

My fiance just picked up her 08 250r yesterday. GREAT looking bike. 250s are alot of fun to ride, but the biggest thing is that she loves it! Very much so worth the money

 

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+1

As far as a starter bike goes, it cannot be beat. I made some brain farts on my 250 that may have killed me on the F4i whan I first started riding. The ultimate learning bike...ride the **** out of it, make mistakes and not kill yourself, and plain just have a blast motoring around on it.....

I have an 06 250 that I wish I could keep. Can't justify having 2 bikes when I don't get to ride the F4i as much as I want to. That Ninja was very good to me and instumental in helping me in learing how to safely ride a bike. Yeah the mpg is kick *** so that does not hurt either.

I will agree that it is a little light on the highway but not terrible like. I hopped on it a few days ago to make sure it is ready for sale and had a scream on it booting around town and out on the side roads..it is fun to ride a bike in town and go through all the gears


In any event if my commute was a bit shorter than 100 miles a day, no question would I be on this bike every day to work



Goose

PS Oh yeah..not to mention the resale value on these bikes is at an all time high right now...I'm expecting to maybe be down only 500 bucks when I sell it..not bad for a 2 year old investment!