Kawasaki Ninja 250

[Bard]

The Ninja produces between say 25 and 36 depending on whose figures you are reading

If you go to Kawasaki's English European website here http://www.kawasaki.co.uk/product.asp?Id=3404434F331 you will find that it is 33 hp, if you click on the tab saying PDF Factsheet.

Again it is a pointless debate for the 150 vs 250 bikes, anyone surprised a new 250 beats a 150? It is OT as well...

[dotcom]

If they were making an upright naked, like a FZ250 style.. At that price.. with warranty etc I would be all over it..

As a bigger guy at over 100kg and near 6'4" a CBR150 just doesnt really suit.. Even the 250 here looks a bit narrow and cramped for me. I can handle the legs being tight on the bike as long as I can have my back straight and not be all on my hands.

Great to hear they are selling well tho.. Only more fuel to other manufacturers.

Absolutely agree.

I always knew it would be the Thais not falang that would determine this bikes' success or failure.

I did suspect that demand would be strong. Well done to Kawasaki to walk the walk & talk the talk & actually get this bike into showrooms.

[BigBikeBKK]

Picked my machine up on 26th, drove 570km back to Udon, didn't miss a beat, the haddling is almost on par with my old zx6r, just minus the power. Sitting at 170 it feels safe on the open roads anymore speed would be a gamble with the untrained drivers of Thailand. The braking is awsome considering there's only a single disk and 4 pot caliper up front, after all it's only 15kg lighter than my last zx6r and I'm carrying an extra 5kg since those days. I'm 82kg and 178cm to get the top end you gotta really tuck in, (the big screen is very warranted). The handle bars are higher than a typical sports bike, but the seat slopes forward forcing you lay down rather than sit up right, this gives your lower arms an upward travel, so there was no tingling in the fingers, surprising as I haven't travelled long distances in 7yrs. Found out I could reg in Udon, went to the dealer here 27th and found out they are having bikes in today, BKK told me it would be a month+. Now I like driving but for 3 days I could have waited, so if you are living north, see your local dealer, the wait may not be that long.

One last interesting piece of info, I asked the dealer how many had gone to date, answer 50+, how many falang? You are the 4th.

Hey Ninja- You're a cute kid! Nice of mommy to let you buy a nice new bike! But how can you shift with those short little legs of yours? Let the Good Times Roll!

[12DrinkMore]

If they were making an upright naked, like a FZ250 style.. At that price.. with warranty etc I would be all over it..

Rumour has it that

http://www.kawasakibigbike.com/specification_ER-6n.html

will be marketed early 2009 for 2xx,000 Baht.

2009 could be a very interesting year for the biking community. Maybe the year Thailand comes of age with big bikes!

Edited August 29, 2008 by 12DrinkMore

[LivinLOS]

If they were making an upright naked, like a FZ250 style.. At that price.. with warranty etc I would be all over it..

Rumour has it that

http://www.kawasakibigbike.com/specification_ER-6n.html

will be marketed early 2009 for 2xx,000 Baht.

2009 could be a very interesting year for the biking community. Maybe the year Thailand comes of age with big bikes!

That rumor has been posted on here before.. I would love to hear Richard BKK's input on it.. Its one of the variables in my mind while I wonder if buying an FZ6 and importing it makes sense.. For about <180k I can have a couple of thousand miles (seen one with 450 miles for about there) add about 50 - 60 for shipped to my door, on legal temp import, but I would forever have to visa run it and the hassles of that.

Now even tho I prefer the FZ6N.. An ER6N, with warranty, Thai reg etc.. For the same money and its the smarter / brain not heart choice. It would also have a large compression effect on other big bike pricing.

Someone else posted that this was going to be in the 200 - 250 range, considering that malaysia is what 28,000 and on the road costs bring that nearer to 30,000 current exchanges bring that closer to 300 than 250. Of course where its made, tax levels etc all have the big input factors.

My pain threashold on toys is probably lower 200 for the ER6N and up to 300 for the FZ6N. Above that and I have a harder time letting myself.

[dave_boo]

You're talking to the wrong guy. Richard is the man making the claims. He says a Ninja 250 will smoke a CBR150. Is that supposed to be surprising?

If you'll drop it I'll drop it.

You have told me I would need to lean over to drive the bike. Thanks. I won't need to buy one.

I drive a motorcycle but it's not a 150.

Now try & answer my question. Does the whole bike shake at idle like twins of the past?

Modern technology indicates that counterbalancing shafts are possible in 2008. Of course you would need one.

I am not looking to get into any pissing contests. Just looking for information.

I am confused here. Do we mean one needs to lean over to drive the "Ninja 250" or the "CBR 150" or both bikes?

Both are on the smaller side. I'm not sure about the Ninja, but at my stature (5'9" or 175 cm), I'm hunched over when I'm back in the saddle. Being further forward, and risking the family jewels by accidental contact with the fuel tank , the ride is much more upgright. I suppose that someone with a longer arm span would be more upright even at the rear most position. HOwever, their leg room would also be more cramped.

Now, as far as power to weight ratios of these two bikes, I think the CBR is around 253 pounds while the Ninja is around 337 pounds (specifications as given in Wikipedia). As far as horsepower most figures I've seen for the CBR are that it has around 17 horsepower same as for the Phantom. The Ninja produces between say 25 and 36 depending on whose figures you are reading and if the fuel injected European version really has all those extra ponies over the carburated version the American market gets. Okay, I weigh 170 pounds. Put me on a CBR 150 and the total weight of rider plus machine is 423 pounds. Put me on a 337 pound Ninja and the combined weight is 507 pounds. Assuming 17 horsepower for the CBR and 25 for the American spec Ninja and the CBR has a power to weight ratio of 24.88 pounds per horsepower versus 20.28 for the Ninja. Using these figures the Ninja has 22.68 percent less weight per horsepower than the CBR. However, the Thai market will get the fuel injected European version and if this version actually has 36 horsepower we are talking about just 14 pounds per horsepower. This would mean a 77 % performance edge for the Ninja over the CBR. At 36 horsepower this means no contest.

Actually, just to be pendantic, a Euro spec has 33 hp. So the lb/hp goes up to 15.36. So re-running your figures, you get a 38% increase over the CBR 150 {(24.88-15.36)/24.88}. Didn't that 77% look odd when you did the math? For that to have been true, the weight/power delta would have had to triple from the US stock comparison to the CBR 150. That means that from the US bike's 25 HP (which is 8 HP over the CBR 150) it would have had to increase to some 41 HP (24 HP over the CBR 150R).

But even at 25 horsepower, 22.68 % increased power to weight for the Ninja is still very noticeable. For instance the first bike I had was a Honda CBR 350 and it was rated at 36 horsepower. Then thinking bigger was better I traded up for the 450 CBR which was rated at 45 horsepower. That's only a 25 % difference but there really was a huge difference when it came to driving both bikes as the 450 seemed much more powerful and was about 10 miles per hour faster on top end. What comes next into play next are how smooth are the two bikes when it comes to engine vibration at the speeds one normally drives, and how upright is the riding position when we compare one to the other, and lastly how comfortable is the seating position when we judge one against the other

I've never heard of either CBR 350 nor 450. My understanding is there were CB 350 and CB 450, but if you had those you're dating yourself because they were released in the late 60s early 70s......

And to everyone else;

RichardBKK has demonstrated on numerous occasions his repugnance for the CBR 150R. From making posts that were inflamatory to wild speculations backed by only his website (well actually I don't know that it is HIS website, but with the outstanding evidence it seems pretty obvious that he is at minimum heavily involved with the site which makes it about as reliable as Wikipedia for him to reference) rather than official websites. It also appears that he is involved with a Kawasaki dealership; to what capacity I am also unsure; however it clearly affects his objectivity.

I was one of those who was asking wether or not it was economically sound to go from a bike that offers a 38% increase in theoretical performance, a ~25% in actual 0-100 km/h performance, and yet costs 114% more and has yet to develop the support infrastructure and local aftermarket parts that my current ride has.

[LivinLOS]

I was one of those who was asking wether or not it was economically sound to go from a bike that offers a 38% increase in theoretical performance, a ~25% in actual 0-100 km/h performance, and yet costs 114% more and has yet to develop the support infrastructure and local aftermarket parts that my current ride has.

Dave, you have good contribs and posts, normally I agree with a lot you write but lets step back and look at this objectively a bit.

When has performance ever been linear with cost ?? I mean ever !! In any category.. I have some nice speakers, I bought them back when I was making some good money, they cost $7500 a set.. I love them, they sound great, but in reality they are only a couple of % better in any measurable spec than a set of 500 USD ones. But that couple of % leads to a noticable and tangible difference.

hel_l back when I was a kid I had a CRX, I think the 0-60 was low 7 or high 6's ?? The thing cost me a couple of grand UK.. Now a porsche or a vette might be able to take off 'just' a couple of seconds from that.. But it would cost many many multiples of the purchase price.

In almost any category you care to mention, increasing performance by small margins increases costs by large ones, the further you go from 'average' the higher those incremental differences cost.

As to the Richard / CBR comments, I must have missed some of that, but dont let your love of the CBR blind you to comments made about both. The CBR has filled a good need, its been priced right, its had mass market appeal (and probably will have much more then these Kwakers even if reports are they are selling well, its a whole different market). But this kwaker really sounds much more at the nieche end of the sport range. I would argue if the country had a more linear tax rate it wouldnt hold the same appeal, I personally think a super clean, late model low miles bandit4 is a better purchase, given that amount of money to play with, hel_l somewhere around 140 - 150 you could probably be riding a CBR900, or a ZX9 Ninja, if you want to go fast, and can dig about, theres bikes out there but we all have our biases.

[dave_boo]

I was one of those who was asking wether or not it was economically sound to go from a bike that offers a 38% increase in theoretical performance, a ~25% in actual 0-100 km/h performance, and yet costs 114% more and has yet to develop the support infrastructure and local aftermarket parts that my current ride has.

Dave, you have good contribs and posts, normally I agree with a lot you write but lets step back and look at this objectively a bit.

When has performance ever been linear with cost ?? I mean ever !! In any category.. I have some nice speakers, I bought them back when I was making some good money, they cost $7500 a set.. I love them, they sound great, but in reality they are only a couple of % better in any measurable spec than a set of 500 USD ones. But that couple of % leads to a noticable and tangible difference.

hel_l back when I was a kid I had a CRX, I think the 0-60 was low 7 or high 6's ?? The thing cost me a couple of grand UK.. Now a porsche or a vette might be able to take off 'just' a couple of seconds from that.. But it would cost many many multiples of the purchase price.

In almost any category you care to mention, increasing performance by small margins increases costs by large ones, the further you go from 'average' the higher those incremental differences cost.

As to the Richard / CBR comments, I must have missed some of that, but dont let your love of the CBR blind you to comments made about both. The CBR has filled a good need, its been priced right, its had mass market appeal (and probably will have much more then these Kwakers even if reports are they are selling well, its a whole different market). But this kwaker really sounds much more at the nieche end of the sport range. I would argue if the country had a more linear tax rate it wouldnt hold the same appeal, I personally think a super clean, late model low miles bandit4 is a better purchase, given that amount of money to play with, hel_l somewhere around 140 - 150 you could probably be riding a CBR900, or a ZX9 Ninja, if you want to go fast, and can dig about, theres bikes out there but we all have our biases.

I'll admit that I went a bit over the top but inane posts such as the one I was replying to really raise my ire. There was another thread where I had previously done the same thing and it quieted the person in question for several months.

Don't get me wrong; I have no malice toward that forum member. I've just seen the need to call him out. I've done this with others and whilst it may be a character flaw I stand by my actions.

Now back to the main point of of your post. Yes I believe that the price to performance remains the same at least to a point. I don't think anyone can honestly say that either the CBR or the Ninja are anywhere remotely near the point where the laws of diminishing returns kicks in. To understand what I'm talking about let's consider your second example. I refuse to even entertain the thought of comparing a 15 year old car's price/performance to that of a new one. However, since the CBR 150R is the smallest 'sports' bike that I can think of right now, let's compare the smallest sports car to a few other sports car. The smallest/cheapest sports car I can think of is the Mazda Miata. Currently it is 2.0 L and runs 0-100 km/h in 6.5 sec. Cost is 21 000 USD. Now compare that to the Subaru WRX. Currently it is a 2,5 L and runs 0-100 km/h in 4.8 sec. Cost is 24 000 USD. Obviously this is an extremely good value. For 14% more money you get 35% increase in performance. Or even consider the Saturn Sky Redline. 2.0 L and runs 0-100 in 5,5 seconds. Cost is 26 000 USD. Not as good since you pay a 23% premium for only 15% increase in performance. I'm sure I could go on, but once again you start quickly reaching the diminishing returns point. Also of note that the further you get from these examples, the harder it is for the cars to put their power down and make a difference. Have you heard of riders of either the CBR or the Ninja complaining about not having traction for a good take off? The point being obviously that if you agree at the bottom end of the market, which both these bikes are at (!), there shouldn't be such a large separation in price points for such a small gain in performance.

Another thing that is problematic with your assertion that there is no linear growth in the price/performance. When you drop that change on a Miata you're getting a small sports car that barely has room in the boot for groceries, much less a back seat. Going up to a WRX the performance is better for less AND you get 4 doors and a proper sized boot. So not only do you get your cake (the sporty goodness) but you don't alienate your friends/loved ones by not being able to take them anywhere. I understand that the Miata is designed as a roadster, and perhaps that affects the price, but you were asking about scalability examples. And another thing that bothers me about this discourse is the fact that with the exception of the engine, the Ninja offers no more than the CBR does. The other specs don't exceed it.

[Bard]

Since it's OT with all the Ninja VS Honda, I see there is a new post under bikes. Would be great to take it there.

But it would be nice if the Ninja users could give us some feedback on there bikes, questions and answers about the Ninja and so on. Mine is luckily coming soon delivered in Pattaya, I will post my experiences here.

Happy riding all

[NinjaGladiator]

Those driving new bikes and gone for the fast break-in, check the colour of your oil in the level window, I'm at 700kms and it's milky grey. They advice to change the oil sooner with this break-in method, mine will be in the dealers 2morrow. I doubt there are many people driving these machines and able to keep the revs low, they beg to be wound up. Getting upto 160kph with the missus riding pilion (only 45kms). Someone asked how my ass was after the trip back to Udon, it really wasn't sore at all, I have arthur in the Knees and needed to stop every 1.5 hrs to stretch the legs, but really I was amazed that I was able to travel the distance with such little discomfort, it really is a nice bike to ride, although I think I am the max weight and height it is probably suited for, esp. if you intend it for long journeys. I'll also be loading it up with my tank bag and throw-over panniers, probably another 20kgs once the missus starts emptying the wardrobe.

[Bard]

Those driving new bikes and gone for the fast break-in, check the colour of your oil in the level window, I'm at 700kms and it's milky grey. They advice to change the oil sooner with this break-in method, mine will be in the dealers 2morrow.

Milky grey, sounds no good at all. Hope it's all ok...

The fast break in is like this.

-before driving always warm the engine up completely, every time.

-The best method is to alternate between short bursts of hard acceleration and deceleration first 20 miles

-After 20 miles (35 kms), change oil and oil filter

-Run engine with varied revs for the remaining 200 miles, go through the gears, no long static runs

-Use non-synthetic gasoline car oil, halvoline 10W-40 or simular for the first 1500 miles (approximately 2500 kms), after use your favorite brand.

Details here http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

[dave_boo]

I'm with bard. Milky grey oil often means that coolant got into it. I'd be very worried.

[dotcom]

Not disagreeing with you but the fastest way to warm up an engine is to put it under load.

NJ - glad you had a pleasant ride home.

Davw Boo - I also found Richard's comments OTT.

[Lickey]

I think this milky oil is just a preservative oil put in by the manufactors, just for long shelf life and a condensation inhibitor, it should be drained and replaced at the PDI [pre delivery inspection} .

Your best interest would be to change the oil ASAP .

[JSixpack]

Where are the saddlebags?

Nice looking bike, though, if relatively expensive and not very practical. Jessica Alba (and the stunt person) really looks great riding her (bigger) Ninja in the series Dark Angel; very inspiring.

Edited September 1, 2008 by JSixpack

[Richard-BKK]

My excuses for my earlier posting, it was not intended to upset Honda CBR-150 riders or anybody else. I agree, if I look at it, it can be found as negative. Sorry for that.

Maybe hard to belief, but I have no negative feelings for a CBR-150, it is a motorcycle which is with us for about 10 years with some minor design changes. Surely not bad...

Indeed I suggested some radical things in the past, which I belief we now see happening around us, we have people buying 250cc motorcycles from official dealerships, we have Honda moving to 100% green company... Sorry I probably missed a few, but as it seems that other people have better memory I leave it up-to-them to fill in the blanks.

One thing I missed, I suggested that there where rumors that the Honda CBF-250 would replace the Honda CBR-150 as there is no new CBR-150 planned. I have to say, it is what rumors do, they are not always based on facts, still parts of the rumor as, told are still possible, if you follow the news around Honda in Southeast Asia you can see that Honda is reorganizing it business.

AP-Honda still has no new Honda CBR-150 on the drawing board. Th e annual introduction of new Honda models for the upcoming year, showed us a few new 110cc Honda Icon scooters a new Click-i and a 110cc motorcycle called the CZ-i110. And after the introduction meeting I'm sure that many people dreamed or had nightmares about PGM-FI. It was said so many times, and all papers had a high density of PGM-FI.... Questions about the Honda CBR-150, where left unanswered.... Some people would say, it is a sign that something is going to change, others would ignore it, and everybody is free to think what they want. I cannot remember that I said it otherwise, and if it was about rumors I always made it clear that it was a rumor.

Personally I know that some people delayed the purchase of a motorcycle, by rumors, which I posted of the Kawasaki Ninja 250R. Some could not wait that long, others are now happy owners of a Ninja.

And as last point, I have nothing to do with a Kawasaki or other brand or free motorcycle dealership. Some members suggest that my objectivity is in favor of Kawasaki. Anybody reading my postings could say the same about Tiger motorcycles, or some other brands. About the website, if I would work for a motorcycle dealership or one specific motorcycle manufacturer, the whole website would be a bit weird as it is not used to promote the sales of one particular brand.

[Richard-BKK]

And for a website of a supposed Honda CBR-150 hater, it scores pretty good in Google

[dave_boo]

And for a website of a supposed Honda CBR-150 hater, it scores pretty good in Google

Google takes into consideration the scores of the sites which are linking to your web pages.

So your assertion you have a good score because the site is quite frequently linked to on this site (most often by you) is an inflation of your Google score.

Also, popularity doesn't equate quality. I mean Britney Spears was really popular over the years.........

[Richard-BKK]

Hmm you partly true, and yes sometimes I link to that website, I belief 3 or 4 times. I not belief that the 3 or 4 links from this forum have effect on the search result, personally I would say that it is the hundreds of other websites that link to it. (I not count other people linking)

Personally I belief that there is only a limited amount of information in Thailand available, and the only information comes from websites like thaivisa.com, gt-rider.com and motorcycle.in.th All are completely different websites, all have different visitors.... All I have to say that the last website is about the only one who also publishes information about small engine motorcycles/scooters. So is the only "English" information on the internet of the Honda CZ-i110 from motorcycle.in.th

But, this is not the right topic to discuss websites, also a serious magazine would love the sales figures of magazines selling Britney Spears stories.... So maybe your drive against me has little to do with a Honda CBR-150 and more with childish jealousy....

Edited September 1, 2008 by Richard-BKK

[Richard-BKK]

NinjaGladiator, warning, do not ride with milky engine oil....

Milky oil, which is oil mixed with water, loses most of it lubrication properties. I would say call Kawasaki directly, and schedule a service check. I belief that the official first checkup is around 800km, and one of the standard procedures is to do a nuts, bolts, and fasteners tightness-check.

If you are not near a Kawasaki dealer, and you are technical capable or you know of a mechanic capable of tighten fasteners with a torque wrench you can ask for the engine torque table. (This is not the basic torque for general fasteners).

After fixing this, you still need to do your 800km checkup...

[Richard-BKK]

Also I looked at the diagram of the engine and could not find a obvious location where the coolant could leak into engine. As the Kawasaki EX-250-J uses the liquid cooling basically only to cool the cylinder.

Can you check the level of the coolant at room or ambient temperature? Also, do not check the level by removing the cap. If the cap is removed, air may get into the coolant, and lower cooling efficiency. Is this still on the regular level? And can you check the water pump it is located on the left side just before the front sprocket if you can find some moister? (maybe to check the water pump you to remove the sprocket cover, only do this if you have the proper tools)

To adjust the cooling liquid, remember use soft or distilled water in combination with coolant liquid, 57% water with 43% coolant liquid.

If you are capable of doing a pressure test of the cooling system. Make sure that during pressure testing, you not exceed the maximum pressure of 123kPa or 1.25kg/cm3 or 18psi.

If build up the pressure to say 103kPa, or 1.05kb/cm3, or 15psi and the pressure holds steady for around 6 seconds, the system has not leakage.

[dave_boo]

Hmm you partly true, and yes sometimes I link to that website, I belief 3 or 4 times. I not belief that the 3 or 4 links from this forum have effect on the search result, personally I would say that it is the hundreds of other websites that link to it. (I not count other people linking)

It's also interesting that on 31 Jan wikipedia was edited by a True Internet account to include a linking to your site. Seeing as how that was the day the CBR125R article was posted on motorcycle.in.th I find it a bit convienent that you would like to boast of the sites inflated google rank.

Personally I belief that there is only a limited amount of information in Thailand available, and the only information comes from websites like thaivisa.com, gt-rider.com and motorcycle.in.th All are completely different websites, all have different visitors.... All I have to say that the last website is about the only one who also publishes information about small engine motorcycles/scooters. So is the only "English" information on the internet of the Honda CZ-i110 from motorcycle.in.th

That's a given. However, you are still carefully skirting the issue of wether or not that website is a trustworthy news source. If it isn't please refrain from leading people to think it is.

But, this is not the right topic to discuss websites, also a serious magazine would love the sales figures of magazines selling Britney Spears stories.... So maybe your drive against me has little to do with a Honda CBR-150 and more with childish jealousy....

I wasn't interested in discussing websites. I was merely providing examples of what I considered tactics employed by yourself that I disagreed with. I suppose that based on your posting history, it would be too much for me to assume that you would understand an simile as aptly demonstarted by your re-enforcement of my stance by insinuating that numbers are more important to you than substance. I don't believe I have 'childish jealousy' perhaps you could give me examples of where this supposed envy pops up.

However, I would say I'm insane based on the definition of doing the same thing over and over again (asking you to substantiate your claims and calling into light your bias) and expecting a different result (you actually posting responsibly on the forum).

[dave_boo]

Also I looked at the diagram of the engine and could not find a obvious location where the coolant could leak into engine. As the Kawasaki EX-250-J uses the liquid cooling basically only to cool the cylinder.

There's a possibility that the head gasket has a crack in it.

Can you check the level of the coolant at room or ambient temperature? Also, do not check the level by removing the cap. If the cap is removed, air may get into the coolant, and lower cooling efficiency. Is this still on the regular level? And can you check the water pump it is located on the left side just before the front sprocket if you can find some moister? (maybe to check the water pump you to remove the sprocket cover, only do this if you have the proper tools)

To adjust the cooling liquid, remember use soft or distilled water in combination with coolant liquid, 57% water with 43% coolant liquid.

If you are capable of doing a pressure test of the cooling system. Make sure that during pressure testing, you not exceed the maximum pressure of 123kPa or 1.25kg/cm3 or 18psi.

If build up the pressure to say 103kPa, or 1.05kb/cm3, or 15psi and the pressure holds steady for around 6 seconds, the system has not leakage.

It may be easier to do a cylinder pressure check. Just pull the spark plug attach the gauge and turn it over. If my assumption that it's the head gasket is correct, it would quickly show up and save you more intensive tests. Of course, if I'm wrong doing this test will prove nothing other than the fact I was wrong.

[Richard-BKK]

Wikipedia uses "Nofollow" attributes, which mean that links from Wikipedia are completely useless for a website

[Richard-BKK]

It is true that it is possible that the head/cylinder gasket is cracked, but I belief that the owner would notice it much earlier as the motorcycle will have serious less power.

It is possible, but unlikely that the gasket is cracked between the coolant channel and the camshaft drive assembly, but the pressure in the coolant channel or the camshaft drive assembly is not high enough to crack or blowout a head/cylinder gasket.

It is possible, but not likely that it is a manufacturing/assembly error. All closed areas are tested with compression tests.

What the owner can try is making sure that it is coolant; the 250-J cooling system was filled with a coolant that has some distinct smell. If enough coolant is in the engine oil, the coolant level on the reservoir would be down… also try smelling the oil if you can recognize the coolant smell (probably not, it takes probably a lot coolant to make the smell distinct).

[BigBikeBKK]

I enjoyed a brilliant +500 km ride on my new Ninja 250R this past weekend

It's such an easy bike to ride- so light, agile, and forgiving. I'm thinking of getting one more in Kwaker Green just for the hel_l of it!

Day one I rode from Bangkok to Khao Yai National Park:

This is an excellent way to escape Bangkok- Ramkamhaeng to Suwintawong to Route 3481 riding at modest speeds you can reach Khao Yai in under 2 hours!

Lucky me! I flashed my Thai Drivers Liscence at the park entrance and only got charged the 40 Baht Thai price

Stopped to see the Haew Narok Waterfall. The park service guys offered to hold onto my helmet and tank bag- Thanks guys!

It's a 2km roundtrip hike with some crazy steep steps, but well worth it!

Haew Narok Falls:

Lots of monkeys all over the place!

The park was oddly quiet for a weekend and I had the roads mostly to myself (and the monkeys )

I've always been pleasantly surprised at how well the roads are maintained in Thailand.

I wanted to overnight in Pak Chong, but shortly after I exited the park the rain started to fall so I ducked into a cute little resort called Grandpa's Cottage

I knew they were cool when I saw the owner's son's Yamaha XJR 1300 parked out back

Here's day two:

A beautiful day for riding! Even took the baby Ninja offroad to track down the Khun Chon Waterfall-

The bike is so lite that even on dirt and gravel it's pretty easy to handle.

Another nice thing about the baby Ninja- it goes FOREVER on a full tank of gas. I haven't been writing it down and keeping track, but I heard somewhere that it's supposed to get about 50 miles / gallon. I was also surprised when the dealer told me to use regular 91 Octane gasoline- this is the first sport bike I've owned that doesn't require High Octane. Quite handy as there are places in Thailand where it can hard to find high octane. So, it only costs about 400 Baht to fill the tank, and then you're good to go for nearly 400km- not bad range at all for a sportbike.

Heading home-

This coming weekend I'd like to ride to Khon Buri via Tha Yaek (though I'm not 100% sure that the road actually goes through...)

On some maps it looks like it goes all the way through, and on others it doesn't... I think I need to go buy a good GPS!

Anyone want to join me? Let the good times roll!

Edited September 2, 2008 by BigBikeBKK

[bobbin]

BigBikeBKK

Nice report. Good to see that the rainy weather hasn't put you off an out of town ride.

Khao Yai looks like a great area for a nice leisurely cruise...yeah right!

Where are your map pics coming from?

Who makes the Ninja's tires?

How many litres of 91 fit in your tank? I think I read 16. Correct? 400km. isn't bad.... but....

I get the same range on 10 litres on the bike we shall not name on this thread.

[Bard]

Very nice ride report, still not home for this weekend would be up for a ride like that with my Kwaker Green one. Ohh well there is always another weekend I guess.

Happy Riding Everyone

[Lickey]

Kawasaki Assembly & Preparation (A&P) Manual Report (Condensed)

Engine Oil - The A&P Manual says to drain the shipping oil, taking out the two drain plugs and oil filter. My 2003 Owner's Manual shows the procedure and says 22 ft-lbs for the drain plugs and 14.5 ft-lbs for the oil filter bolt. Install the drain plugs and oil filter and torque properly. Add appropriate amount and type of oil. When the filler cap is replaced, ensure the O-ring is OK and properly positioned. As usual, check the oil level again after the engine has been run and is warm per the Owner's Manual. Note: According to the 2003 Assembly And Preparation checklist, for current deliveries they only check the oil level, filler cap tightness, and drain plug torque.

Most if not all 4stroke Kawasakis arive with a "shipping" oil in and should be changed at PDI, the result of not doing this is an emulsified looking oil, like Ninja has in his engine, so make sure they change the oil and filter before riding off,

[dotcom]

What rain?

Nice report. Thanks.

bard. I am up for a ride anytime. PM me.