yea, the 08+ ninjas look great. Though I wish they’d have kept some of the things the old one had, like the center stand or temp gauge. Eh, what can ya do. As for exhaust sound, I don’t think it sounds too horrible, especially when you get to higher revs. Yea it’s quiet, but I don’t get why some ppl say it sounds like a lawnmower. The aftermarket exhausts are pretty pricey, and most of em sound like a ricer fart cannon to me, so I don’t think I’ll get one.. that and the fuzz around here likes to hassle bikes with aftermarket stuff.
Tires seem to be ok so far, though the dealer didn’t inflate the front one enough so I need to fix that.. gotta get a compressor next I guess. When I took my bike on the twisties in that photo it helped break in the tire sides more.. didn’t notice any traction issues there either. I’ll probably be up there again this week or the weekend sometime. I go slow up there, I know it’s easy to crash in those kind of situations, especially when you’re starting out.
As for maintenance/accessories for those getting their first bike, I got a guardian weatherall plus cover, very nice and has heat resistant padding so you don’t have to wait any for it to cool down. Also got a 25mm x 5.5′ onguard rottweiler cable lock, those are harder to get through than chain and serve as a good deterrent. Go for at least 25mm thickness, they even make a 30mm one. I got a dial tire gauge which keeps the reading till you reset it, very helpful. Next on the list are a couple of torque wrenches, and then probably some kind of rear stand. Certainly a lot of money sunk into initial cost with these things..
