- This topic has 16 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 11 months ago by MadCow.
09 ninja 250r? highway?
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April 20, 2009 at 2:50 pm #2735jojobeans316Participant
Is this bike say good for the highway? like say nyc highways belt parkway etc…. plzzz no dumb comments!!
April 26, 2009 at 1:05 am #18020ronkoreParticipantIt runs high RPMs on the highway. You’re usually in 6th by 40mph or so. I haven’t ridden mine on the highway yet, but others say it does alright, just not a lot of reserve power once you get up to 80 or so. The consensus I’ve read on different sites seems to be if you plan on riding on the highway most of the time, you should probably go with a 600cc.
April 26, 2009 at 6:21 pm #18027SantaCruzRiderParticipantThe bike is tuned to run higher revs. Once you get used to it, you’ll find the power you need to keep the bike moving at well over legal highway speeds. If you put it in 6th before you hit 40 mph, you’re barely touching the throttle and probably below 4500 rpms.
Once you’re used to the bike, you’ll find 8000-redline is a better shift point. You should be able to cruise at 8000 rpms doing 70ish, and still have a few thousand more rpms for passing.April 26, 2009 at 7:12 pm #18029ronkoreParticipantYeah, I’m still in the “no >4000 rpm” breakin period so I’m trying to take it easy on the RPMs. That and driving a manual transmission car, I’m conditioned to shift once the engine pitch gets to that certain point.. ‘course a car has much less RPM range. When I go riding today I’m gonna try pushing the rpms up a bit more before shifting.
Another thing I read.. swapping out your front sprocket to a 15 tooth helps a ton on the highway in keeping the RPMs down.
April 27, 2009 at 3:05 am #18032rroyterParticipantronkore, it means you’ve never been yet past 35mph… makes me wonder what kind of joke Kawasaki is pulling on its customers for many years now. Get a sparkling new bike and don’t touch the throttle for the what seems an eternity
April 27, 2009 at 11:24 am #18035eternal05ParticipantThe Ninja 250 is definitely not a highway bike. I’ve been on the freeway a fair amount in my day, but now that I have options, I’d rather not. As I’m sure you know, the “ninjette” does 0-60 in around 5.5 sec with a good launch. That’s slow for a motorcycle, but damn good for a car, so you’ll have no trouble getting UP to freeway speed. The problem is that your available power really starts to dwindle once you’ve hit freeway speed.
Here are some reasons that highways aren’t the zone for the 250:
1) It’s a very light-feeling bike. The wind and road conditions tend to throw it around more than larger bikes.
2) It’s impossible to hide from wind. Part of this is my personal problem, being on the larger side. Relative to most bikes, however, even larger sportbikes, I have to peg my chest to the tank to get my head “in the bubble.” That’s no good on your neck, your visibility, or your sense of control. It works for MotoGP riders on the straightaways, but they don’t have 18-wheelers lane changing into them without warning. You’ll find that spending any amount of time on the freeway will be supremely uncomfortable.
3) You have no power. One of the key weapons motorcycles have over cars from the point of view of safety is agility. If somebody suddenly heads into your lane (i.e. where YOU are), you should have three options: move, hit the brakes, or gas it up. On the 250 you still have decent acceleration above 60mph to, say, pull past a truck in the adjacent lane. You absolutely do NOT have enough power to quickly zoom out of the way of a wayward car.
April 27, 2009 at 1:39 pm #18040MattParticipantThe Stock windshield on the ninja is meant for aerodynamics, not comfort. Yuo can get a taller one that will provide better wind protection.
Concerning #3, planning on using your gas to get you out of trouble is not a good choice. No matter the bike, you can always decelerate faster than you can accelerate. If someone looks like they may move into your space, don’t wait for the last second, just stay clear of that space. If you have to react, emergency lane change or braking are far faster than gassing it. If you are in a position where you can’t slow down and you can’t move over – you’ve already made a couple of big mistakes.
I rode my 250 on the freeway for a year without issue.
April 27, 2009 at 4:24 pm #18050SantaCruzRiderParticipantUnless other info is offered, I’ve always assumed that questions on this site are being asked by beginning riders. In that context, I completely agree with Matt’s comment that accelerating out of trouble is asking for even more trouble. In the example of the big rig changing lanes on top of you, your lane of escape is larger to the rear than it is in front of you.
Conversely, if this rider had asked whether a Ninja 250 would be a great bike for a cross-country tour — there are certainly other bikes that offer more power at the top end and more all-weather comfort.April 27, 2009 at 5:03 pm #18054jojobeans316Participantgood advice from every 1
April 27, 2009 at 9:46 pm #18063eternal05ParticipantBraking may be safer in a majority of situations, but it is wrong to say that accelerating out of danger is never appropriate. Yes, if you are just starting to pass a truck and it drifts into your lane, your safest exit is to the rear. However, if you are just about done passing a truck (i.e. even with its cab, for instance) and it starts to drift towards you, you’d have a hard time convincing me that the safest thing to do isn’t just to zip forward out of its way. That way you’re clear faster, you make yourself more visible to the truck, and you don’t risk the car behind you snoozing on your brake lights and slamming you in the pooper.
April 27, 2009 at 9:47 pm #18064eternal05ParticipantIt’s just a small bike. Period.
April 28, 2009 at 12:39 am #18069MunchParticipantwell it all depends on the situation…. if you really want to throw scenarios…. add to yours a car in front of you in your lane suddenly diving for the cell phone they just dropped. You just accelerated to her hind end.
Every decision is easy when your on the couch on at the desk thinking about it.
Truth is either way the rider needs to live as best he/she can as far ahead of his surroundings as he/she can.April 28, 2009 at 7:25 am #18076eternal05ParticipantYes, there are situations in which accelerating are not appropriate. There are plenty of situations in which accelerating is appropriate, and optimal. This doesn’t need to be a debate about best practice or default reactions. I’m not encouraging recklessness, but you know perfectly well that there are times when you will roll on the throttle to get out of harms way.
April 28, 2009 at 2:17 pm #18079megaspazParticipantHi pot… meet kettle… if his what if is contrived, your what if is equally contrived… just sayin. ;-P
April 29, 2009 at 7:13 am #18103eternal05ParticipantAlright, before this deteriorates into a he-said-she-said back and forth mess:
What I meant by “contrivance” is that it does nothing to illegitimize the situation I offered up. Munch was trying to argue against use of throttle for accident avoidance under any circumstances. In order to contradict me, he cannot simply introduce a new hypothetical situation in which acceleration is not appropriate. He must respond to the situation I proposed and show why acceleration is not the appropriate response.
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