2013 Kawasaki Ninjette 250 Breaks Cover!

[JonnyF]

Good to see, seems like the Malaysian cops have some taste in the bike department

[dave_boo]

<deleted> me sideways!!!

That's going to upset Honda, 1000+ just for the Malaysian Police Force

Hmm...Honda sold 31,666 >151cc bikes in the Kingdom for 2012. A few of those were the NC700/CBR1000 models, but the vast majority were the lowly 250s...I think that 1000 bikes sold (3,2% of their Thai big bike sales) could be said to be a drop in the bucket for them....and they could afford to be magnanimous as they sold more >151cc bikes than Kawasaki sold in all displacement classes.

**edit**

But the bikes do look good.

Edited January 17, 2013 by dave_boo

[mania]

Yeah I kinda like their choice in graphics too

That is one of the more tasteful cops bikes I have seen.

[macknife]

They should have made 999 for them and then did my one.

[loserlazer]

why the Indonesian police got ninja 250 instead of ninja 300?

I was assuming, they were producing ninja 300 in Indonesia, no?

or they just get 250 to cut the costs?

Does not look good with side bags, by the way but color is nice:)

[mania]

I know Pirelli Rosso II is available everywhere & I have read nothing but praise about them

Because of this I will probably go with them …sooner than later

The stock IRC Road Winner Tires 140/17 & 110/17

They are fine I'm sure for commuting

But get sporty in the hills & it can be thrilling at times

I think I have reached about as far as

I want to go with these. Any further & I am pretty sure I will toss it.

They give no feedback really so you never know if your close or not.

Other times even the slightest burble in the pavement in a turn when cranked over & they just

suddenly skittle

Here is a pic of the rear

You can also tell by the pic how hard the rubber compound is. I remember with better tires

they would show more scuffing on the edges but these are clean.

Almost shiny in fact. Also a 2nd pic of the front

Scuffing is occurring a little bit on the front but not much

They are fine I am sure for normal commuting. Probably designed to give high mileage.

Also I wonder what to do with them when I change? I live in a condo so I am not going to have them sit in

the room.

Anyway what are you guys using?

Mainly the Pirellis?

Rear

Front

[loserlazer]

pirellis are cool man. better than Michelins for sure but how long they last i am not sure.

IRS s are fine for city commuting as they last forever but no feedback and trust while leaning and they jump too much!

For teh hills and curves, i say Pirelli.

But wait at least 3000 km with your IRCs if you can. If you cannot, i am sure you can sell them for some amount.

[mania]

But wait at least 3000 km with your IRCs if you can. If you cannot, i am sure you can sell them for some amount.

That was my original intention.

You know get some use out of these tires

But on the other hand I have had a few "moments"

Which made me say to myself I should go right now & get some tires

You can see from the pictures I am about a quarter inch from the edge

of the rear tire.

So it is possible to lean these but there is just no warning/feel

They feel fine & suddenly not fine & starting to chop a bit.

If you were to tap the brake you would probably high side it.

I feel like I am tempting fate & dont want my bike lined

up with those other crashed bikes down at the Kawasaki dealer

Also I don't want to give the impression I am racing around on the streets here...I am not.

But we have some nice curvy hills here & you like to really lean thru the tight stuff

Many of the turns are almost switchback 180 degrees types others are 90 degree

but nice radius.

Really nice riding areas.

[loserlazer]

as your stock tires are new now, you can sell them for a better amount if you replace them right away. After 3000 km, they do not make any penny i am sure.

Man, your impressions about IRC roadwinners are same as mine. I never trust them so i have the same quarter inch strip on the edges.

God bless, they throw some Dunlop sportmaxx on cbr500r. They are sticky enough and give the rider feedback and full confidence. if they were IRCs, i change them right away.

[blackpanda]

I can't even count the numerous time I've almost had an accident because the IRCs would slip. Even now with some Michelle they are starting to slip some times and I would like to have some new tires but the tread on the ones I have now is enough until I the new bike.

[cbrer]

I use Pirelli Sport Demons on my CBR250 (same size as the 2013 N250).

I'm very happy with them and am just getting to the end of my second set. I change them every 18,000km which is a surprisingly long life.

I change things pre-emptively so it isn't about trying to max them out, just that they are still all good at the stage. If they needed changing before that I would certainly be doing so.

I change the brake pads every 12,000km, and will hit 50,000km in total on the bike next week or so.

Edited January 18, 2013 by cbrer

[dave_boo]

I've got Pirelli Dragon Supercorsas on my Ninja. Works great even in the wet. After about 8*** km though they go fast and by ~11K there's belting showing...couldn't get over how fast that happened.

Now if the rider just did them justice.

**edit**

Correct model.

Edited January 18, 2013 by dave_boo

[mania]

I've got Pirelli Dragon Supercorsas on my Ninja. Works great even in the wet. After about 8*** km though they go fast and by ~11K there's belting showing...couldn't get over how fast that happened.

You know that actually sounds about right for a good tire with softer edges

In the US good tires lasted about 5000 miles which is slightly over 8000km

[mania]

I use Pirelli Sport Demons on my CBR250 (same size as the 2013 N250).

I'm very happy with them and am just getting to the end of my second set. I change them every 18,000km which is a surprisingly long life.

I believe those are Bias Ply tires instead of radials

I think that is why your getting the higher mileage too.

But that is some very good wear resistance

[Hili]

you should choose tires according your driving style, if you are quick i can recommend the rosso II but their milage isnt the best. Latley i got Brdigestone S20 which i think is the better allrounder (Fast,City, Rain) and the feedback+ control is better than the pirellis.

Edited January 18, 2013 by Hili

[mania]

Went to get the Rosso II's installed today but they were too busy

Will do Monday

But.....While I was there they told me the Sliders had arrived that I had asked about last week.

I always thought frame sliders were a good investment. These are particularly well made with a nice thick plate

that disperses the load over a very large area. I like them better than the ones Kawasaki offers also because they require no

drilling of the fairings. I have seen some very poor mounts with a single spot type mount.

But these have the nice large thick plates to spread the loads should they ever be called to do their job.

Also they showed me a radiator that had been hit pretty good by a rock coming down Doi Inthanon.

So while we had the fairings open to install the sliders I also had a grill installed on the radiator.

Since these mods could be done outside the busy shop they were nice enough to install today.

Here are some pics...

Edited January 18, 2013 by mania

[mania]

Here is one for Macknife

Belongs to the guy who worked on my bike today

The devil looked & sounded good too

Edited January 18, 2013 by mania

[karlos]

Rosso II all the way, great tyres and comes with bucket loads of confidence inspiring grip on the twisty stuff.

The best price I got was 9000Baht front and rear from ShowPow Bangkok, How much are Kawasaki Quoting you??

When i went to replace just the rear at my Kawasaki dealership they wanted close to 7k!!! While Showpow wanted 5200inc fitting and free drinks

[mania]

Rosso II all the way, great tyres and comes with bucket loads of confidence inspiring grip on the twisty stuff.

The best price I got was 9000Baht front and rear from ShowPow Bangkok, How much are Kawasaki Quoting you??

When i went to replace just the rear at my Kawasaki dealership they wanted close to 7k!!! While Showpow wanted 5200inc fitting and free drinks

You know they have been really great with me.

They gave me 1k off my Dainese Jacket when I bought it

Today they gave me about 1500 off the two things I got

Now they tell me instead of 9100 I can get the tires installed & spin balanced etc 7500 all in

I like those guys I really don't need to shop around they always do the best for me.

Edited January 18, 2013 by mania

[karlos]

Very nice, what place do you speak of?

I'm certain it's not Realmotorsport... Discount!!???

[mania]

Very nice, what place do you speak of?

I'm certain it's not Realmotorsport... Discount!!???

No I am up in Chiangmai

Kawasaki Sangchai Turakit

Everybody there has always been really nice even when I was just

window shopping. Nice Folks!

[Hili]

Very nice, what place do you speak of?

I'm certain it's not Realmotorsport... Discount!!???

Karlos maybe you try the other kawa dealer in BKK Motoaholic. I have good expirience with them, friendly and fair.

[karlos]

Very nice, what place do you speak of?

I'm certain it's not Realmotorsport... Discount!!???

Karlos maybe you try the other kawa dealer in BKK Motoaholic. I have good expirience with them, friendly and fair.

I'll give them a try next time, i'm late with my 30,000km service, so i'll nip down there next week.

I'm not too fussed about Kawasaki, i buy all my stuff elsewhere and only let them do the basic service steps to maintain the warranty.

[mania]

Tried out the Rosso II's on my favorite tight twisty hill today.

Took longer to get them but they got installed this morning.

What a transformation they made to this bike ! Really way beyond my expectations.

I Have had good tires on other bikes but I guess the difference from stock on those

compared to stock on this N250 was much wider.

Right from the beginning riding I could tell they would be nice. The bike just turned in better even on my way to

the hills. Also where I had originally thought that maybe I would need to lower the shock setting/stiffness on the rear to a softer setting

all is fine now.

Before if I had to brake hard before a turn or even using high RPM engine braking the back would skittle/chatter & loose contact.

Now it is just planted solid. I guess the stock tires really had a hard long wear compound with little carcass give.

But the best is the full leans. You can go as far as you like now & I had no problems getting to the edge.

So sure footed! Exiting turns while accelerating now also extremely sure footed.

I am really impressed / blown away actually by the difference these made on this bike.

Edited January 24, 2013 by mania

[JeffreyMcCollum]

Tried out the Rosso II's on my favorite tight twisty hill today.

Took longer to get them but they got installed this morning.

What a transformation they made to this bike ! Really way beyond my expectations.

I Have had good tires on other bikes but I guess the difference from stock on those

compared to stock on this N250 was much wider.

Right from the beginning riding I could tell they would be nice. The bike just turned in better even on my way to

the hills. Also where I had originally thought that maybe I would need to lower the shock setting/stiffness on the rear to a softer setting

all is fine now.

Before if I had to brake hard before a turn or even using high RPM engine braking the back would skittle/chatter & loose contact.

Now it is just planted solid. I guess the stock tires really had a hard long wear compound with little carcass give.

But the best is the full leans. You can go as far as you like now & I had no problems getting to the edge.

So sure footed! Exiting turns while accelerating now also extremely sure footed.

I am really impressed / blown away actually by the difference these made on this bike.

Sizes you installed on the bike ?

[mania]

Sizes you installed on the bike ?

I stayed at stock sizes

140/70-17 rear

110/70-17 front

I am not one for putting bigger rubber on unless there is some

reason/goal your after. I have seen some folks stuff as large a tire on as the swingarm allows.

Beats me what they are after.

The stock sizes on this bike IMHO are perfect for a 250 & keep the bike nimble

in the twisties

[loserlazer]

Cool mania. But be careful on the first 100 km until the tires get stickier. But while i am writing this, you might passed 100 km!

[mania]

Cool mania. But be careful on the first 100 km until the tires get stickier. But while i am writing this, you might passed 100 km!

The thought crossed my mind today LL

But they were massively sure footed right out of the gate.

If they get any stickier I am not going to be able to wipe the grin off my face.

[blackpanda]

^Congratulations on your new tires.

How do you like the new braking power?

[mania]

^Congratulations on your new tires.

How do you like the new braking power?

Awesome

I forgot to mention that due to the lack of rear end chatter now

Braking has improved greatly

No chatter = more stopping power

Not kidding I am still sitting here smiling.

What a difference.

I know they are not high mileage tires but with this kind of performance

I will gladly make that trade

Edited January 24, 2013 by mania