I thought I'd share a little about my Ninja 250.
It's a candy red 2007 model, purchased in May of 08 with 2551 miles on the clock.
Here she is on purchase day -
Some of the first few mods were the removal of the rear fender, flush mounted front signals, a taller custom windscreen, and a Corbin seat.
The following pictures highlight those items -
Rear fender removed
Flush mounted front signals
Taller windscreen and Corbin seat
I went to visit my sister in Florida at the end of June -
From Monday leaving home until returning on Friday, I logged 1041 miles and spent less than $75 on gas (at nearly $4 per gallon).
Believe it or not, I couldn't tell I had any luggage on the bike at all.
330 miles later...
I've posted this picture here before, I think...from a return trip to my sister's place in October -
Same ride -
I took a nice ride the day after thanksgiving and got these pictures -
She currently has a 14,888 miles. I have a new custom windscreen on the way, as well as a new rear tire (BT45) and a chain and sprocket set. I'm changing the gears a liitle from stock, going up one tooth in the front and down one tooth in the rear. This should lower the rpm's on the top end, and allow a little more use of 1st gear, while reducing the acceleration just a bit.
I replaced the factory rubber (rear first) at around 7k miles. I selected the Perelli Sport Demons, which handle great, but the rear has started to square off a bit. The new Brigestone BT45 (on the way) has a dual compound with the middle of the tread being slightly harder. Hopefully this will get me a few more miles on the rear tire.
I also picked up a set of wheels from a 2004 model, which are black. I'll be mounting the BT45 on the black rear and be mismatched for a while as I wait for the front Perelli to need replacing.
My previous riding experience included some time on the EL250. The Eliminator model, which is now only available in the 125 version. I killed 2 engines in the EL before moving up to a Suzuki GS500E, so I was rather concerned about the durability and life expectancy from this bike, but I have been extremely impressed. There is no doubt that I was somewhat rough on the old EL, but I'm still not convinced the death of both engines was all my fault. The EX puts all of that behind me though, and inspires quite a bit of confidence in the saddle.
A couple of other things I added to the bike - ProGrip grips, throttle lock, RAM GPS mounting ball, and a 12v outlet.
I would not hesitate to recommend this bike to other riders. It performs well in just about any situation. It handles great, it's lightweight, gets great gas mileage, has plenty of parts available and doesn't break the bank. What more could one ask for?
