Kawasaki Ninja 250

[Richard-BKK]

Lickey,

The Ninja rider with the engine oil problem has not to worry about his oil filter, as a standard procedure Kawasaki replace will replace the oil filter, and change the oil at the 800km checkup.

[12DrinkMore]

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,

Anyway to check that they have actually done this by pulling out the dipstick and looking at the oil maybe?

To be honest, I just wouldn't trust them to even bother changing the delivery oil.

And as regards using torque wrenches? Hah, they have one torque setting in Thailand, and it's arrived at by tightening the bolt as far as possible, then one sharp twist and, after a small pause, another twist and a grunt, making sure the whole bike moves up and down on the suspension.

Oh and don't forget about the pliers on the dipstick, so that it is impossible to get out by hand. I once asked why he was using pliers, "so the rain doesn't get in!"

Taking a new bike to a Thai garage would give me a sleepless night, scratched chrome and fairings, overtightened bolts, missing screws, rounded screw heads.

[Richard-BKK]

12DrinkMore,

That is maybe why Kawasaki only sells and services the Ninja 250 at selected dealers.

[BSJ]

12DrinkMore: Oh and don't forget about the pliers on the dipstick, so that it is impossible to get out by hand.

Man oh man, are they complete idiots! The heat and pressure leads to "O" ring failure and oil leaks.....dah!!!

[BigBikeBKK]

Ah... folks, it's worth noting that the Ninja 250R has an oil "window", so no need to pull the plug to check your oil-

Can you see it? Right above the brake pedal in this pic

I got to walk through the Kawasaki Big Bike maintenance shop and I have to say I was impressed- they seem to have everything in order and the staff seemed very knowledgable. (Of course, I've not yet had my bike serviced)

I'll see if I can take some pictures for you next time I'm there. I know there are a lot of shady shops / mechanics in Thailand, but honestly, I can't say that I didn't experience the same type of issues in the US, so I think it's a bit unfair to paint all the Thais with such a broad brush- just my honest opinion.

Happy Trails!

[dotcom]

I got a ride set up with the Bard. For his new one.

[BigBikeBKK]

I'd love to hook up with some other riders so we can compare notes on the new Ninja 250R.

I hear Gulliver's is a good place to meet on Tuesday nights, but what with the crazy political situation in the capital plus the fact that I don't have a liscense plate yet, I think I'll avoid downtown for the time being.

Here's a ride I'm hoping to do this coming weekend if the weather looks cooperative:

I'm estimating a 4-5 hour ride from Bangkok to Khon Buri via Tha Yaek. Route 3462 looks quite intruiging though I'm not 100% sure it really goes through. On some maps it looks like part of it is a trail or a dirt road... I can't wait to check it out!

Ride on!

Edited September 3, 2008 by BigBikeBKK

[Bard]

BigBikeBKK

Who makes the Ninja's tires?

IRC makes the tires which is on the bike from the shop. The full name of them are IRC Road Winner RX-01

Cheers

[Bard]

I'd love to hook up with some other riders so we can compare notes on the new Ninja 250R.

Ride on!

Hi BigBikeBKK,

Me and DotCom will do a trip after I get back home and have overcome my jetlag. Why don't you join?

Cheers Bard

[LivinLOS]

Whats the source of that mapping prog.. That looks better than my mapsource or Thinknet maps.

[apetley]

Whats the source of that mapping prog.. That looks better than my mapsource or Thinknet maps.

Hmmmm, looks exactly like my Thinknet maps.

[NinjaGladiator]

This is my fifth brand new bike to-date, the oil colour is very common on break-in due to aluminium deposits. If the coolant & oil levels are stationary, there's very little chance that one is getting to the other. I had the bike serviced that very day, I am now on 850kms, the window is showing a gold semi-transparent oil now. My point was don't wait til the service is due if your oil is dirty, BBB you may wanna take a look at yours since your weekend out.

Onto Kawasaki, the local dealer still hasn't had a shipment of bikes yet, although they said were coming 29/8 (lie 1). When I went for oil change the misses asked have you got a filter in stock, "YES" they replied, "tell them to go ahead" I said. They drained the oil, phoned BKK to help locate the filter (HA), pulled it out and said "NOT HAB" (lie 2). Had no choice but to wash it down with thinners and blow-dry it. As soon as they're in stock I will replace the oil again.

Bike is still going like a dream, everybody loves the look. It ain't expensive, it's 2/3 of price in UK. The US doesn't believe in taxing anything with wheels, so the americans keep harping on about the price, have you seen the price of a Harley in Thailand - base model is 1 mil.

[Lickey]

Quote Ninja, This is my fifth brand new bike to-date, the oil colour is very common on break-in due to aluminium deposits.

Ive had 4 brand new Kawasakis, 550gt 2 GTR1000, 1 ZZR1100, 2 brand new Hondas,cx500, cb 550f, 1 new Triumph Trident T150V, and i have never seen milky oil in any of these bikes from day one or any other day come to that! Why? because my dealer changed the "shipping Oil"

In effect, what has happened to your new bike running it with the "shiping oil" it has coated all the trans and engine gears [cams ] ect with a coating of aluminum.

Question for you, when they removed the oil filter, did you see evidence of aluminum on the filter?

Has any other Ninja 250 new owners had this white oil problem?

[BigBikeBKK]

Good Morning!

A beautiful Saturday morning and I'll be headed off for a ride to Khon Buri via Tha Yaek shortly.

I brought my Ninja in to the Kawasaki Big Bike shop yesterday to get it serviced. I was nearly up to 800km and this weekend I'll push it well past 1000 so I figured best to get her serviced now. Plus I've been pushing the little bike pretty hard, and I'd like to puch it harder, but I figure best to get the oil and filter changed before I start hitting the redline

NOTE TO NINJAGLADIATOR- I've also owned half a dozen new bikes and I've never experienced "milky oil" either... Only time I've ever experienced this was when I blew a head gasket and coolant mixed with the engine oil... Hope it's nothing, but you may want to get it checked out my a competent mechanic. Sounds like the shop you're dealing with is a bit clueless...

I've got to say, despite a lot of folks dissing Thai mechanics, that the Kawasaki Big Bike maintenance shop in Bangkok is a thing of beauty. I meant to take pictures but forgot to bring my camera along so pics will have to wait till next time. The shop is immaculate- you could eat off the floor it's so clean. The mechanics all seem well trained and are very courteous.

I asked if I could watch, because I wanted to see the proper way to remove the fairings from my bike and they were happy to show me. I also wanted to check the used oil and filter to see how much metal had been collected during the break in period, and I was pleasantly surprised that I couldn't find any trace of metal. (And I didn't break in my Ninja the gentle under 4000 RPM way they recommended)

Talking to the staff it sounds like the Ninja is selling very well, though they're being tight lipped about releasing actual figures. They say they're not even advertising the bike in Thailand yet so all sales to date have been by word of mouth. The back of the dealer was FULL of shiny new Ninjas awaiting delivery and the phone kept ringing with inquiries so I'm thinking this bike will be very successful.

Time to ride!!! Happy Trails

[dave_boo]

I've got a question. Latest Cycle World had an article about the best beginners bikes. Of course they included the Ninja. And considering that it is the American spec, they list the HP as 27.2. Would I be wrong for assuming that is the rear wheel HP and the standard driveline loss counted in resulting in approximately 32 BHP? And if it is, why is its 0-60 time so high? Is it because an American, who is a typical American size and not 60 kg dripping wet did it? Also they list the top speed as 96 mph (154.5 kph) which is much slower than than the reported speeds that Thai versions are travelling on. Assuming they clocked it with GPS, is the speedo drift that far off on local machines, or is the 1 hp advantage enough to get you up to 170 KPH+?

[Bard]

I've got a question. Latest Cycle World had an article about the best beginners bikes. Of course they included the Ninja. And considering that it is the American spec, they list the HP as 27.2. Would I be wrong for assuming that is the rear wheel HP and the standard driveline loss counted in resulting in approximately 32 BHP? And if it is, why is its 0-60 time so high? Is it because an American, who is a typical American size and not 60 kg dripping wet did it? Also they list the top speed as 96 mph (154.5 kph) which is much slower than than the reported speeds that Thai versions are travelling on. Assuming they clocked it with GPS, is the speedo drift that far off on local machines, or is the 1 hp advantage enough to get you up to 170 KPH+?

The US version was with it's carb's and limiter in emission around 27 hp on the engine vs 33 in EFI, However the test must have been done by a fatass because the original Ninja in US tested from forums and UTube performs better than that. Actually the old engine was far more sportier than the new one due to the emission control in the new one in US. However Kawa decided to go for this since the old Ninja was sold for about 3k $ while the new one with carb's would go for 3.5k$ but the Worldwide version EFI would add another 500$, which Kawa believed would be to much for the US market to swallow.

If you read the Euro tests they conclude with one test person 6'4" to achieve 165 km/h the other's logged up to 170 km/h with GPS (stock), since the US version is seriously limited at top to avoid emission the guys and girls jet the bikes which solves that problem I have seen. The top speed can also easily get modified by changing to 15 front and 41 back sprocket, if you go to www.kawiforums.com you will see the stock does 120 mph in US with the sprockets. The worst I have read about for the Ninjette is a turbo kit, I mean why would you do that for? Spending more money than what the bike is worth must be pretty senseless for tuning, then I would go for a 600 and not a 250...

[dave_boo]

I've got a question. Latest Cycle World had an article about the best beginners bikes. Of course they included the Ninja. And considering that it is the American spec, they list the HP as 27.2. Would I be wrong for assuming that is the rear wheel HP and the standard driveline loss counted in resulting in approximately 32 BHP? And if it is, why is its 0-60 time so high? Is it because an American, who is a typical American size and not 60 kg dripping wet did it? Also they list the top speed as 96 mph (154.5 kph) which is much slower than than the reported speeds that Thai versions are travelling on. Assuming they clocked it with GPS, is the speedo drift that far off on local machines, or is the 1 hp advantage enough to get you up to 170 KPH+?

The US version was with it's carb's and limiter in emission around 27 hp on the engine vs 33 in EFI, However the test must have been done by a fatass because the original Ninja in US tested from forums and UTube performs better than that. Actually the old engine was far more sportier than the new one due to the emission control in the new one in US. However Kawa decided to go for this since the old Ninja was sold for about 3k $ while the new one with carb's would go for 3.5k$ but the Worldwide version EFI would add another 500$, which Kawa believed would be to much for the US market to swallow.

If you read the Euro tests they conclude with one test person 6'4" to achieve 165 km/h the other's logged up to 170 km/h with GPS (stock), since the US version is seriously limited at top to avoid emission the guys and girls jet the bikes which solves that problem I have seen. The top speed can also easily get modified by changing to 15 front and 41 back sprocket, if you go to www.kawiforums.com you will see the stock does 120 mph in US with the sprockets. The worst I have read about for the Ninjette is a turbo kit, I mean why would you do that for? Spending more money than what the bike is worth must be pretty senseless for tuning, then I would go for a 600 and not a 250...

With the extra assumed 6 HP that the EFI has, I could see it easily outperforming a 27BHP US version. However, they were SO specific about the HP rating I was confused as to wether they strapped it on a dyno to get it or not.

Also something that stood out is the fact that EU has much tougher standards regarding emissions than the US. So either the EFI does such a good job meeting those standards or the carb version is seriously leaned out. Either that or the US version does not have 2 standards with the California version (which would have a much lower power output since California standards are stricter than the other 48) being the only one sold.

It is also my understanding that power isn't down much at all on the newer bike, but rather the torque was shifted lower in the RPM range via cam profile to accomodate newer riders.

I do understand about changing the sprocket, but I was under the impression that the stock EU bike and the stock US bike have the same ratio. If in fact you can simply change the sprockets to the ones you have listed and a stock US bike goes the same speed it would be indicative that the EU bike is not using the same sprockets as the US bike since it has more power and reaches the same speed when a US bike with less power can not reach that speed without the higher gear ratio provided by a sprocket swap.

I think that a turbo kit isn't so much a performance to price ratio improvement as it is just because that's what the 'crazy' person doing to their bike decided to do. But than again, the price to performance ratio has been beat to death in the CBR 150 versus Ninja 250 thread.......

[Bard]

With the extra assumed 6 HP that the EFI has, I could see it easily outperforming a 27BHP US version. However, they were SO specific about the HP rating I was confused as to wether they strapped it on a dyno to get it or not.

If you see the Dyno test it's about 23 bhp in US version

Also something that stood out is the fact that EU has much tougher standards regarding emissions than the US. So either the EFI does such a good job meeting those standards or the carb version is seriously leaned out. Either that or the US version does not have 2 standards with the California version (which would have a much lower power output since California standards are stricter than the other 48) being the only one sold.

I don't know why, but same as the Ninja 600 why is it 98 bhp in US and 131 bhp in the rest of the world?

It is also my understanding that power isn't down much at all on the newer bike, but rather the torque was shifted lower in the RPM range via cam profile to accomodate newer riders.

The power on the US version is lower than the old on top end

I do understand about changing the sprocket, but I was under the impression that the stock EU bike and the stock US bike have the same ratio. If in fact you can simply change the sprockets to the ones you have listed and a stock US bike goes the same speed it would be indicative that the EU bike is not using the same sprockets as the US bike since it has more power and reaches the same speed when a US bike with less power can not reach that speed without the higher gear ratio provided by a sprocket swap.

The US bike dies at top end, while as I tested my new one today the WW version definitely does not, so if the US version flatten power curve at say 11k the one I've got pulls way into redline so that might be why it has higher top speed, newer tested the US version so it's hard to say

[Bard]

I picked up my new Ninja today in Pattaya, what a beautiful well balanced ride back to Rayong. Obviously it had to pour down halfway there and I was without any rain gear. Anyway, tried it out at all revs and I found it very predictable in power band and a surprisingly pull at high revs, it just begs to be run hard. Cruising along in 120 km/h is a very pleasant experience with very little vibration and very little noise, it's also very stable like a much bigger bike. Took it over Buddha hill in the curves there and I loved every minute of it. Hopefully the weather gets better so I can drive around in the area with the grin you just cannot stop while driving this machine. I attached a couple of pictures of it, unfortunately it got a bit dirty during the downpour and it's taken by a camera phone so quality is poor. Will bring along my camera when the rain is more predictable and take some nicer shots of it. As I have seen the question with vibration at idle, it's almost none it purrs like a kitten.

[dave_boo]

With the extra assumed 6 HP that the EFI has, I could see it easily outperforming a 27BHP US version. However, they were SO specific about the HP rating I was confused as to wether they strapped it on a dyno to get it or not.

If you see the Dyno test it's about 23 bhp in US version

According to this link the rating I stated earlier is correct. I have yet to find a dyno that has it listed as 23 HP. Perhaps you can provide an example? I've included the Yoshi graph for the '08 US model in this response. And here's a pdf for the '07 with a Two Brothers exhaust added on. So unless Yoshi and Two Brothers is taking the motor out and testing it, those are RWHP. And like I said, it seems odd if we factor in the 15% drive train loss to arrive at some 32 BHP, why are such high number claimed for the EU version which seems to put out only 1 more BHP? Are the drive sprockets that different?

Also something that stood out is the fact that EU has much tougher standards regarding emissions than the US. So either the EFI does such a good job meeting those standards or the carb version is seriously leaned out. Either that or the US version does not have 2 standards with the California version (which would have a much lower power output since California standards are stricter than the other 48) being the only one sold.

I don't know why, but same as the Ninja 600 why is it 98 bhp in US and 131 bhp in the rest of the world?

It is also my understanding that power isn't down much at all on the newer bike, but rather the torque was shifted lower in the RPM range via cam profile to accomodate newer riders.

The power on the US version is lower than the old on top end

Slightly lower on the top, but that's because, once again to my understanding, they (Kawasaki) moved the power to lower in the band.

I do understand about changing the sprocket, but I was under the impression that the stock EU bike and the stock US bike have the same ratio. If in fact you can simply change the sprockets to the ones you have listed and a stock US bike goes the same speed it would be indicative that the EU bike is not using the same sprockets as the US bike since it has more power and reaches the same speed when a US bike with less power can not reach that speed without the higher gear ratio provided by a sprocket swap.

The US bike dies at top end, while as I tested my new one today the WW version definitely does not, so if the US version flatten power curve at say 11k the one I've got pulls way into redline so that might be why it has higher top speed, newer tested the US version so it's hard to say

I would be very interested in seeing a dyno sheet for the WW (EU/Thai) model so I can actually put this to rest in my mind. As soon as you can get a dyno in, I'd be happy to see it.

[BigBikeBKK]

Big Congrats on the new bike Bard!

Fun fun! I agree with you that the Euro Spec Ninja 250R pulls hard all the way up to the red line- and wow, what a red line, huh?!

I'm already up to 16xxkm on my Ninja and can't wait for the next trip.

Rode up to Issan this past weekend- beautiful ride but a lot longer than expected!

Stopped for Somtam and Gai Yang at a friendly little place in the middle of nowhere somewhere between Thung Pho and Tha Yaek on Route 3039-

I just love these deserted rural roads Seems to me that Thailand must spend a good portion of GDP on building beautiful roads that almost no one uses... Fine by me!

Left Bangkok a little after 9am and planned to arrive in Khon Buri in about 5 hours. NOT! The planned route via Pang Si Da National Park is in blue:

But it turns out that that route 3462 through the Pang Si Da National Park is closed. According to the park rangers I talked to the road is not maintained and some of the bridges are out.

So... I had to decide if I wanted to backtrack to Highway 304, or continue east around the national park. I chose Route 3485 to the east in the direction of Sa Kaeo, since I've never been that way. Good choice- nice scenery, good roads, and very little traffic. In the end, what I thought would be a modest 5 hour ride ended up taking the whole day. But I did make a lot of stops along the way and I wasn't riding too fast. I rolled into Khon Buri around 4pm

Personally I find 80 km/hr is a comfortable cruising speed for me on the Ninja 250R. At that speed the little parallel twin is spinning at about 6000 RPM so it's not loud or buzzy. I did open up on a few stretches and the Baby Ninja does just fine at 120-140 km/hr, though at those speeds it helps to tuck in a bit to take advantage of the fairing and wind screen. I find the chain noise is louder than any other bike I've owned. The Kawasaki shop tightened the chain when I took it in for service last week so I'm going to loosen it up a bit to see if that will help. (It's amazing how much effect chain tension can have on power and noise).

Here's a stop at the Laem Sae Dam-

My planned route (in red) from Khon Buri to Highway 304 looked so simple on the map-

But I got incredibly lost... I REALLY need to go get a GPS...

Route 3002?! Nice road, but I still can't find it on any map...

Well, I did eventually find Highway 304 and I made it back to Bangkok in good time, cruising at around 120 km/hr most of the way to stay ahead of the returning weekend traffic and dark storm clouds. I beat the traffic but I couldn't stay ahead of the rain and got a good soaking as I was passing through Chacheongsao. My own fault for not carrying rain gear during the rainy season

So Bard- you're in or around Rayong? I may be heading down that way this weekend to do some surfing at Laem Mae Phim. Right now it's looking like a good swell is headed that direction and I keep a surf board at one of the resorts there. We should hook up and go for a ride!

Let the Good Times Roll

[Bard]

Go to Area-P www.areapnolimits.com and you will find the attached file, as you see the power tops at 25.32 hp goes down to around 23 hp on high rev on the carb version.

When I do my dyno I will be more than happy to share it on the forum... Now I am enjoying my new bike for the moment so it is not #1 priority, just a question since you have decided to upgrade your CBR 150 R and not buy the Ninja, why the interest?

When I did dyno last time on my car I raced with, I could set the Dyno to Engine HP or Wheel HP, when you did the Engine HP you got a HP calculated from the data we inserted so why would they need to take out the engine?

Anyway I never ever sat on a US model so it is incorrect to comment on it from my side. I also have no interest in the US version since I do not own it and have no plans to buy it, only interest I have in a Dyno is to test the Area-P and see what it does for the Ninja in Thailand that is all... I already got my full quiet core carbon system from them and it will happen soon, need to mod it for the lambda sensor so that will take some time though...

[Bard]

Big Congrats on the new bike Bard!

Fun fun! I agree with you that the Euro Spec Ninja 250R pulls hard all the way up to the red line- and wow, what a red line, huh?!

So Bard- you're in or around Rayong? I may be heading down that way this weekend to do some surfing at Laem Mae Phim. Right now it's looking like a good swell is headed that direction and I keep a surf board at one of the resorts there. We should hook up and go for a ride!

Let the Good Times Roll

First of all absolutely dead fun bike I would not believe how much fun it actually could be on it before I threw it around in some twisties here in Rayong this afternoon. Redline is fun-high on the bike, I pulled past some cars on 36 and it pulled way into the redline, ehh I was so fascinated I could not help myself, shouldn't but couldn't help it...

Give me a PM before you head down and you're more than welcome to ride here with me, that would be great we can do the Brookside road along the National reserve. Or figure out another route if you like to, great scenery in the hills and brilliant seafood on the beach.

[Richard-BKK]

We did some testing ourselves, sorry I'm not the speedracer I was once so, I let somebody do the testing. With the rider being only 49.8kg weight we had some problems making this statistics stick...

But what we did find is that the Thai Kawasaki 250R is redlining at 13,100rpm, after that, with clutch play, the engine seems to creating much higher temperatures and not much power improvement.

With redlining the Thai Kawasaki Ninja 250R at 13,100rpm we where able to get at the indicated speedo of 179km/h, which with the official Bangkok Police radar speed indication is 165.8km/h.

With several speed tests, we can say that the Kawasaki Ninja 250R is 8 percent faster then it actual is going....

As I'm not a speed devil on small bikes I had the idea to test the bike in second gear to red line of 13,100rpm the Kawasaki was fast and even with my weight of over 100kg I was in a few minutes on 89km/h. The Thai police person riding a Honda CBR-150 could not get close, even he was free to shift transmissions at will. The Thai rider with a weight of 49.8kg was unable to keep up from the start, but lost out at about 56km/h.

Comparing the Kawa 250R with the CBR-150R from 0 to 100km/h we can see a amazing surprise, in 7 try's we found that the Honda CBR-150R was faster in the first away.... and holds this until 40km/h, at 8500rpm the 250R geared to second gear and was gained speed rapidly over the CBR-150 at 10,000rpm the 250R was doing 68km/h in second gear and the CBR-150 was now falling back a serious amount.

From then on the the Honda CBR-150R, never came close to the 250R, in average human sight it takes on normal road conditions 7 minutes to get out of sight of a Honda CR-150R rider. Comparing this figure to my girlfriend riding a Yamaha FZ1 it takes 5 minutes, this all is based on not real science as road conditions change and is based on actual road conditions.

All this test are being conducted with the supervision of the police, and conducted at Rama 2 Road Bangkok.

Edited September 9, 2008 by Richard-BKK

[dave_boo]

Go to Area-P www.areapnolimits.com and you will find the attached file, as you see the power tops at 25.32 hp goes down to around 23 hp on high rev on the carb version.

It does seem odd that it would be that much lower than what others are reporting for their peak; at 27.2 RWHP going down to 25.3 RWHP (7% loss) would seem to be able difficult to explaine the difference away by temperature/humidity/etc. at the various dyno locations.

When I do my dyno I will be more than happy to share it on the forum... Now I am enjoying my new bike for the moment so it is not #1 priority, just a question since you have decided to upgrade your CBR 150 R and not buy the Ninja, why the interest?

I believe in collecting knowledge. Like did you know that Gary Sheffield hit the 250 000th Home Run in Major League baseball's history yesterday? And I haven't decided against buying the Ninja. I was actually hoping that you'd be willing to ride with me to Chiang Mai and I would be able to test drive a world version of the Ninja to help me decide what I should actually do. I am planning on upgrading the CBR, but if the Ninja impresses me enough, I would be definitely willing to pass along the upgraded Honda to my B-I-L.

When I did dyno last time on my car I raced with, I could set the Dyno to Engine HP or Wheel HP, when you did the Engine HP you got a HP calculated from the data we inserted so why would they need to take out the engine?

How did the dyno calculate the drive line loss? There's a lot of assumptions to make a calculation like that. I.E., you would have to assume how much clutch slippage there is, how much fricition there is, etc. The most accurate way to dyno only the engine is to do that; pull the engine and dyno it. None the less, if a dyno chart doesn't specific it is for BHP why make the assumption it is for anything other than RWHP?

Anyway I never ever sat on a US model so it is incorrect to comment on it from my side. I also have no interest in the US version since I do not own it and have no plans to buy it, only interest I have in a Dyno is to test the Area-P and see what it does for the Ninja in Thailand that is all... I already got my full quiet core carbon system from them and it will happen soon, need to mod it for the lambda sensor so that will take some time though...

The reason I was asking about the American version is that there seems to be such a disparity between what is published by reputable American magazines regarding the American's version of the bike and the numbers being circulated on the web. If the American version really is putting out the HP listed at the rear wheel, and is so much slower both in acceleration and top end than the EU version which has what I assume is 33 BHP (an increase of 1 BHP over the projected BHP of the American version) what's the story? Either there are more differences between the FI version and the carb, like gearing, or there are some optimistic numbers being used on the web. I know that speedos are overly optimistic so I will grant that.

Please take pictures of the process. Also, could you please provide me with the contact information for your shop that has a dyno? And are they willing to dyno and help tune such a small engine?

[dave_boo]

We did some testing ourselves, sorry I'm not the speedracer I was once so, I let somebody do the testing. With the rider being only 49.8kg weight we had some problems making this statistics stick...

But what we did find is that the Thai Kawasaki 250R is redlining at 13,100rpm, after that, with clutch play, the engine seems to creating much higher temperatures and not much power improvement.

So basically you're saying that the 250 is under-geared for the power that it produces? I.E. it produces enough power that letting the clutch slip doesn't make the bike go any faster thus indicating that with a better ratio it could fairly easily run a higher top speed?

With redlining the Thai Kawasaki Ninja 250R at 13,100rpm we where able to get at the indicated speedo of 179km/h, which with the official Bangkok Police radar speed indication is 165.8km/h.

With several speed tests, we can say that the Kawasaki Ninja 250R is 8 percent faster then it actual is going....

Not as bad as the speed 'drift' on a CBR 150R! As I stated in the CBR thread it has a 10% drift.

As I'm not a speed devil on small bikes I had the idea to test the bike in second gear to red line of 13,100rpm the Kawasaki was fast and even with my weight of over 100kg I was in a few minutes on 89km/h. The Thai police person riding a Honda CBR-150 could not get close, even he was free to shift transmissions at will. The Thai rider with a weight of 49.8kg was unable to keep up from the start, but lost out at about 56km/h.

Comparing the Kawa 250R with the CBR-150R from 0 to 100km/h we can see a amazing surprise, in 7 try's we found that the Honda CBR-150R was faster in the first away.... and holds this until 40km/h, at 8500rpm the 250R geared to second gear and was gained speed rapidly over the CBR-150 at 10,000rpm the 250R was doing 68km/h in second gear and the CBR-150 was now falling back a serious amount.

I'm still surprised that the Ninja gets up to 89 in its second gear! It would seem to be geared really high for those first two gears.

From then on the the Honda CBR-150R, never came close to the 250R, in average human sight it takes on normal road conditions 7 minutes to get out of sight of a Honda CR-150R rider. Comparing this figure to my girlfriend riding a Yamaha FZ1 it takes 5 minutes, this all is based on not real science as road conditions change and is based on actual road conditions.

I'm trying to understand this; you're saying that the Ninja left behind (out of sight) the CBR in seven minutes, and it took the FZ1 5 minutes to leave the CBR behind or leave the Ninja behind? None the less, if your girlfriend was tearing up on a FZ1, you have a pretty cool girlfriend.

All this test are being conducted with the supervision of the police, and conducted at Rama 2 Road Bangkok.

[Richard-BKK]

The problem with the "test" was that we did not had any way to accurate measure the distance between the two riders at several speeds. But guessing from what I could see, I belief that it was more then 4km and less then 6km.

At the moment that the Kawasaki was moving away of the Honda, the Ninja 250R was moving about 40km/h faster then the Honda CBR-150. So if the Kawasaki was riding 40km/h faster then the Honda it is theoretically possible that the distance between the Honda and Kawasaki was 4.6 kilometers in the 7 minutes. If it was only 2 or 3 kilometers, I belief I can still call it "Out of sight".

Edited September 10, 2008 by Richard-BKK

[klx250]

I saw a group of approx 10 ninjas cruising through pattaya today.

nice looking bikes.

Edited September 10, 2008 by klx250

[imaneggspurt]

MP in Pattaya had 7 in today, 5 ( inc all the green ones ) went straight away, 2 black ones left at 149700 on the road !

[dotcom]

We did some testing ourselves, sorry I'm not the speedracer I was once so, I let somebody do the testing. With the rider being only 49.8kg weight we had some problems making this statistics stick...

But what we did find is that the Thai Kawasaki 250R is redlining at 13,100rpm, after that, with clutch play, the engine seems to creating much higher temperatures and not much power improvement.

With redlining the Thai Kawasaki Ninja 250R at 13,100rpm we where able to get at the indicated speedo of 179km/h, which with the official Bangkok Police radar speed indication is 165.8km/h.

With several speed tests, we can say that the Kawasaki Ninja 250R is 8 percent faster then it actual is going....

As I'm not a speed devil on small bikes I had the idea to test the bike in second gear to red line of 13,100rpm the Kawasaki was fast and even with my weight of over 100kg I was in a few minutes on 89km/h. The Thai police person riding a Honda CBR-150 could not get close, even he was free to shift transmissions at will. The Thai rider with a weight of 49.8kg was unable to keep up from the start, but lost out at about 56km/h.

Comparing the Kawa 250R with the CBR-150R from 0 to 100km/h we can see a amazing surprise, in 7 try's we found that the Honda CBR-150R was faster in the first away.... and holds this until 40km/h, at 8500rpm the 250R geared to second gear and was gained speed rapidly over the CBR-150 at 10,000rpm the 250R was doing 68km/h in second gear and the CBR-150 was now falling back a serious amount.

From then on the the Honda CBR-150R, never came close to the 250R, in average human sight it takes on normal road conditions 7 minutes to get out of sight of a Honda CR-150R rider. Comparing this figure to my girlfriend riding a Yamaha FZ1 it takes 5 minutes, this all is based on not real science as road conditions change and is based on actual road conditions.

All this test are being conducted with the supervision of the police, and conducted at Rama 2 Road Bangkok.

Don't we have a special thread for comparison between Ninja 250 & CBR 250? I'm thinking Richard is a Kawa salesman.