Ninja 250 vs. 500, help please!

[Paka]

Hi, I'm Paka, I live in Mexico and I just discovered this wonderful forum. I have always loved motorcycles and I hope I will be able to buy myself a Kawasaki sport bike soon. Now, my dilemma is that I am not sure if I should go for a Ninja 250 or a bigger 500, as there is currently an offer here in Mexico and there is little difference in price. I am a beginner, I have used my husband's 125 bike a few times, but I still have lots to learn. My personal motorcycle is an italian Gilera DNA 180, an automatic one (no clutch, no gears). In fact it's a scooter with the look of a sport bike, very cool and fun to ride!! But now we want to sell both in order to buy a Kawasaki, my husband doesn't use it's 125 motorcycle anymore and I want to switch to a real bike! I would go for the Ninja 500R, it's just that I'm not sure if that would be too much for a beginner. I am also concerned about weight, I am worried that I would have a few problems with the Ninja 500 when trying to park it (our roads are made of concrete and are very slippery when wet), or just move it without dropping it .
What do you think?
Any suggestion would be most welcome!!
Thanks in advance for your help and I hope to join you Kawasaki people very soon.
Cheers from Mexico
Paka

[love2ride]

Welcome.

Read this:

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_doe...o_the_EX250%3F

[Tweek]

Both are excellent bikes. I started with a 500 and really like it, however I'm 6' 2" so the size isnt even a consideration to me.

Sense you already have some experience you shouldnt have too much trouble from either bike.

the FAQ that love2ride points to sums it up pretty well.

[Svetlana]

Welcome Paka! Your dilemma is common and it's often a matter of personal preference.

For starters: sit yourself on both the 250 and the 500 to get a feel for the weight. I've owned both models and the 500 is a bit heavier. That said, they are weighted basically the same... the 250 is just a smaller version. Their heights also differ, but only by an inch I believe. Your height could play a role in that decision if you are on the shorter side.

Now, where in Mexico do you live, if I may ask? Are you in a city or rural area? I ask b/c I have some familiarity with roads in Mexico (Yo vivi en Guadalajara hace muchos años ). If you live in one of the more hilly or mountainous regions of Mexico, then the 500 is going to allow you to have more power where you need it. The flipside is if you live in an area such as I did, in Guadalajara- where people drive essentially like nuts and a smaller bike is going to be comfortable and capable for tight space riding.

As to the question of wet concrete surfaces, either bike will do the same for you so long as you can comfortably fit on both. Technically, you aren't a true beginner to the sport as you have experience with your 180, so you don't necessarily need to be able to flat-foot the bike unless you want to. That said, I like being able to flat foot a bike b/c it gives me some additional piece of mind at stops and on hills.

Hope this info. helps!

Sveta

[UNDERTOW]

but i have never ridden a 250 i had never ridden a motorcycle before and had no trouble with the 500 great bike to learn on

[Paka]

Hi again everyone and thanks so much for your answers, there's some very good advice there .
Svetlana: I would love to sit on these two bikes to be able to feel the difference between them. Now, the problem is that they don't have them here, you can only ask for one by looking at a silly catalogue . Anyway, in general I would prefer the idea of buying the 500 over the 250 as there is a difference of only about 800 dollars between them and the 250 is definetely overpriced here in Mexico. I will never find a used one where I live so I will go for a new one. I'm just concerned about a 500cc motorcycle beeing "too big" for me. I am not so short luckily, not too tall either, if my conversion from mts. to feet is not wrong I should be about 5'6" tall. I have some doubts about heavy motorcycles because as a newbie I still feel quite insecure when moving around my DNA 180 (doesn't have a side stand) and once I almost fell from my husband's bike while performing a stop in a steep road (basically the bike leaned on one side in a 45 degree angle with me over it trying desperately not to make her hit the ground). But I guess that it's just a matter of practice and I hope I will be able to move a bigger bike without dropping it in a few months.
Now, speaking of where I live, well it's deep in the South, have you ever heard of the state of Chiapas? I live in a VERY mountainous region, in fact I think my city is placed at an altitude of almost 7000 feet, while the state capital is at 1600 feet altitude and only 43 miles away. We have a sort of new and straight highway connecting them were you can run pretty fast, or if you want to have some fun and practice your skills on corners there's the old road. I would use the motorcycle to travel between these two cities but also (and possibly mainly) to get around my own city, wich is a kind of old colonial town that just recently grow too big. Almost all of our streets are one-way and the traffic is just terrible, so having a motorcycle is very handy. And yes, here they all drive like nuts, especially taxi drivers!! There isn't even any need to pass an exam in order to obtain a licence to ride a bike or drive a car, so you can imagine how important defensive driving is here.
I hope I have defined better my situation and needs. Any thoughts??
Thanks
Hasta pronto
Paka

[Hopper]

I’ve been riding my 500 for about 7 months and would recommend it to anybody starting out. It has plenty of power and is very forgiving at the same time. The 500 is the first motorcycle I’ve ever been on and I've never had any problems with it being too much bike. At the same time, you will not easily get burned out on it. I still cannot quite ride it to its full potential. It is an excellent bike to learn on. However, I’ve never been on a 250 so I don’t have any means of comparison…

[likearock4x4]

Welcome, Paka to this wonderful place which is full of great people and information. It looks like you've already been given some great advice here; I just wanted to welcome you.

[taro]

Welcome Paka, I am 5'5" with a 29" inseam and I feel very comfortable on my 500. That being said, I did drop it once when I stopped on a road that sloped backwards and to the left. I was not paying very much attention and I tried to support the bike with my left leg and tipped on over. I can assure you that since then I have paid better attention as to which leg I should use when stopping on sloped roads. Good luck. Taro

[Svetlana]

Originally Posted by Paka

Now, speaking of where I live, well it's deep in the South, have you ever heard of the state of Chiapas? I live in a VERY mountainous region, in fact I think my city is placed at an altitude of almost 7000 feet, while the state capital is at 1600 feet altitude and only 43 miles away. We have a sort of new and straight highway connecting them were you can run pretty fast, or if you want to have some fun and practice your skills on corners there's the old road. I would use the motorcycle to travel between these two cities but also (and possibly mainly) to get around my own city, wich is a kind of old colonial town that just recently grow too big. Almost all of our streets are one-way and the traffic is just terrible, so having a motorcycle is very handy. And yes, here they all drive like nuts, especially taxi drivers!!
Paka

Get the 500 Paka, you won't be sorry. As I say above, if you lived in a large city such as Mexico City or Guadalajara, I would probably suggest the 250. But given the mountainous terrain of your Southern region, the 500 will give you the extra power when you need it.

It's not exceedingly heavy, so have no fear about that! And being 5'6", you will easily be able to flatfoot it and feel comfortable.

Buena suerte!

Sveta

[rubix777]

$800 difference between a 250R and a 500R!

Over here it is about $2000 difference. I practiced on a used 250R and even tackled some twisties by my house for 500 miles then upgraded to 500R.

My opinion is that there is a huge difference in terms of maneuverability and speed between the 250R and 500R.

I miss the 250R in that it was so much more agile. Compare the agility of a motorcycle to a BMX bike. I could whip it around dodging all kinds of things. The only thing I don't miss is the power when going up hill, which was the main reason I upgraded to a 500R.

I am still getting used to the "heaviness" of the 500R (due to increased height and 80lbs more), but I'm liking the power greatly. I've put 1000 miles on the 500R now, but it still catches me by surprise through the turns because of the added weight.

I know the 500R being 388lbs weighs more than 600cc bikes like the GSXR 600, F4i, CBRs.

[ervins]

Welcome to the forum...If you already ride a two wheel vehicle then that is an added plus...Get a 500..$800 is nothing since it is a promo thing...If there was a deal to get a 1000 for the price of a 600 I would jump on that quick!!!

[Paka]

Yes Rubix 777, prices here in Mexico are sooo different!! This is a country of great contrasts: in my region if you work for a week you get about 30 dollars (yes, 6 days or even 7 of work for that money), but on the other hand everything is more expensive than in the US or any developed country. I've just run a currency converter and I can tell you how much you have to pay for these bikes here.
- Kawasaki Ninja 250R: 5820$ in Mexico, 2999$ in the USA.
- Kawasaki Ninja 500R: 6558$ in Mexico, 5049$ in the USA.
Correct me if I'm wrong with the US prices.
As you can see in Mexico there's currently a difference of only 728$ among the two bikes.
That's why I was saying that the 250 is highly overpriced here. The Kawasaki Mexican website points out that the 500R was not sold in Mexico for a few years and now it's back, so it's a kind of "special offer" (I'm not sure how long this will last).
I like the idea of a bike that's agile and responds quick in the traffic, but I'd also like to have the extra power of the 500. It seems that I can't make my mind easily.

[Svetlana]

Originally Posted by Paka

I like the idea of a bike that's agile and responds quick in the traffic, but I'd also like to have the extra power of the 500. It seems that I can't make my mind easily.

Just like I said, b/c you're in a mountainous region, get the 500. I used to own a 500 and currently own a 250- I am speaking from my own experience and am also trying to tell you my thoughts on 250 performance in hills
It's not too big- the 500 is still an extremely agile bike! Yes, the 250 is very agile, but the 500 will do more for you in the hills and mountains than the 250 can ever do. Trust me!

[rubix777]

Originally Posted by Paka

- Kawasaki Ninja 250R: 5820$ in Mexico, 2999$ in the USA.
- Kawasaki Ninja 500R: 6558$ in Mexico, 5049$ in the USA.

The currency converter got the prices right on.

I actually got my 500R for $5000 OTD, which is a plus because sales tax, freight, registration and transfer fees were taken care of by the dealership.

[sebastian1000]

+1 for the 500R

Welcome to the forum!