[HEF]

hi, my name is Matt. i bought a Kawi Ninja 250 a few months ago. i have never owned a bike before, this is my first. unfortunately, i am already sick of the 250 and ready for some more juice. will the 500 be enough, or will i quickly get sick of that too? thanks! :grin:

 

[Freakinout]

A 500 has about 20HP more than the 250, and it also has lots more torque. If you can find a dealer who will let you I'd recommend test riding a 500 and seeing if you like it or not.

 

[HEF]

A 500 has about 20HP more than the 250, and it also has lots more torque. If you can find a dealer who will let you I'd recommend test riding a 500 and seeing if you like it or not.

thanks. i do not have my license, i only have a permit, so test riding is not an option. however, i should have my license this summer.

i think that my biggest problem with the 250 is that the break-in requires that i keep the revs under 5k. that equates to about 42mph in 6th gear. so highway riding is out. will i have the same problem with the 500?

 

[Freakinout]

You can get to about 50mph during the break in on a 500, but once you get past the break in you shouldn't have any problems on the 250. During break in you really don't wanna ride on the highway reguardless, a sustained speed is not good for breaking in the engine.

 

[yagiska]

thanks. i do not have my license, i only have a permit, so test riding is not an option. however, i should have my license this summer.

i think that my biggest problem with the 250 is that the break-in requires that i keep the revs under 5k. that equates to about 42mph in 6th gear. so highway riding is out. will i have the same problem with the 500?

Ha!

I'm assuming then that you haven't finished breaking it in? If that's the case, then you haven't even given the bike a chance yet. What it's like under 5k is nothing like what it's going to be like in it's powerband.

And to answer your question, I'm currently breaking in an 05 ZZR600. The first 500 miles of the break-in I had to keep it under 4k, which equated to 50mph in 6th gear, so yes, you'll have the same thing with the ninja 500.

Let us know how you like the bike when you can finally wack it open.

 

[ispeed77]

welcome to the forum, good luck getting past that break-in so you can see the potential of your bike.

 

[Scary Harry]

As I read the posting it would appear that the rider is young and inexperienced. We all talk of "breaking in the bike". Perhaps we should, also, talk about "breaking in the rider" before he goes to bigger machines.

 

[Spok]

As I read the posting it would appear that the rider is young and inexperienced. We all talk of "breaking in the bike". Perhaps we should, also, talk about "breaking in the rider" before he goes to bigger machines.

thats a fair assessment harry. I rode almost day and night to get past my break in period.

 

[JTpaintball70]

ditto here. The 500 on breakin is not too much better than the 250R. And they're right, when you're riding breakin, highway is bad, even on the 500R, unless you like getting blown around by semis and overcorrecting . Just stick with your Ninja and get used to her out of breakin before you think about trading up.

 

[HEF]

thanks for the encouragement. i needed it. i don't want to quit on my 250, i have only had it for a few months. i will stick it out and get passed the break-in. and you are right Harry, i have a lot of riding to do. i learned gear shifting pretty quickly. surprisingly, one of the hardest things for me is to remember to turn my turn signal off after i finish a turn.

on a side note, i went to charge my battery and the charger has gone in to "desulfation mode". i just had the bike fired up a week ago, and already the battery is dead?

 

[Freakinout]

Check the water level on the battery. Also you need to actually ride the bike or else you'll be doing more harm than good.