$100 ninja 250

[$100 ninja 250]

Hi,
My name is nick, i am new to the ninja world and the motorcycle world in general. I recently purchased a 1989 ninja 250 for a 100 dollars off craigslist. The guy was moving out of state and needed to get stuff out of his garage including the ninja, so i figured that the heck its 100. I showed up and it was in much better condition then i thought it would be, it had all the plastics except the front headlight housing, no gauges, no headlight because he was going to turn it into a track bike, and no battery. According to him it had about 16k miles. He even showed me a reciept of service that he had done on it in 2005, best of all it has a clean title. But im not sure i can keep it as a clean title because i dont have the guages to show the milage so it has to be slavaged, correct me if im wrong. But anyway i got a battery, cleaned the carbs, changed oil, and oil filter, put new gas in it, go to start...it cranks but doesnt turn over. I figured out that the petcock is bad and wasnt letting the gas out, since it operates on vacuum the seals were all dried out since it was sitting for so long. for the time being till i get a new petcock i rig up an upside down gatarade bottle with a hose through the cap to the carb just to see if the bike runs. First crank the puppy starts right up, without even any choke, couldnt keep it running for more then a couple seconds cuz the bottle kept falling down haha. But i started to notice a knocking, which def isnt good, so my question is, could this be caused by my rigging and maybe the carbs arent calibrated correctly or did i get what i payed for. please advise

[vulcan500rider]

But im not sure i can keep it as a clean title because i dont have the guages to show the milage so it has to be slavaged, correct me if im wrong

Some states don't require an inspection especially if the bike was previously registered.

I bet you can get this bike up and running with a little elbow grease and just a couple of bucks. I always say try the easy and cheap stuff first. Float bowls, check gas tank for junk, try some Seafoam, new spark plugs - that kind of stuff.

If someone came to me with that bike for $100, I'd jump at it. There are lots of ninjas in the salvage yard and on ebay.

[wolfsautobody]

$100!!!!!!! Even it it didn't run you could get more than that on Ebay just parting it out!!!! As far as the speedometer, I would get one off Ebay for that bike or from a motorcycle salvage yard. Most titles have a line on the back that ask if the mileage is EXACT or not. As far as the ticking, it may just need a valve adjustment. If you are able to get it running without spending an arm and a leg then you got yourself a good deal.

Ben

[$100 ninja 250]

yea everything is there on it, even all the little clips to keep the wires together are there thats just amazing for an 89. Ive looked on ebay and even if i need a new motor i can get one for around 200. I live in orange county, are there any motorcycle junk yards near by?

[Tod]

That sounds like a once in a lifetime opportunity. What a great project.

I'll bet you just need a valve adjustment. Also you might check the cam chain tensioner, if it's been sitting a while, it may not be adjusting properly.

Best of luck.

[irishcarbomb]

Originally Posted by vulcan500rider

But im not sure i can keep it as a clean title because i dont have the guages to show the milage so it has to be slavaged, correct me if im wrong

not sure about other states, but i had to apply for a new title b/c my dad lost the one for his bike when i bought it from him...basically since it was so old they asked if we wanted to put it as mileage exempt and did

from what i understand, a salvage title is only if an insurance company totals it and gives it a certificate of destruction, then someone fixes it and gets a new title for it

[QKENUF4U]

like said above you can part it out and make way more money. (i made 400-500$ on my 100$ ex250)
you can sell parts on www.wera.com to the race guys etc.
as for the knock, the ex's are known for their clutch basket KNOCK. my beater had a bad first gear but ran perfect other than that.

[stickboy]

The knocking may be the "sewing machine" sound that the 250 is kinda famous for. Mine sounds like it knocks a bit, and this gets worse as it is about to stall out (haven't cleaned the carbs or done the valves yet). Best bet would be to check the valve adjustment and clean up the carbs on it while you have some "downtime" with it. If it's been sitting for a while they may be pretty gunked up.

Where I live, I think you only have to report the mileage if you are a dealer. Best bet would be to talk to your DMV and see what they have to say about it. I can't imagine that they would make you get a salvage title for it, but it might vary from state to state.

[bennice]

DEAD THREAD ALERT!

[stickboy]

Damn date anyways!!!

[evmo]

[0okami]