[Jersey13]

I bought an ’09 Ninja 250R back in November, and be warned — you have to have a buddy hold up the bike perfectly straight, or you won’t see any oil in the sight-glass. You won’t see any oil visible on looking into the chamber, either. It says it in very fine print in the manual that normal use will incur a (typically very slight) gradual drop in oil levels, and that when the bike is held perfectly straight and level from the ground, the oil levels in the sight-glass should be between the two lines marked on the side of the sight-glass. However, that being said, the dealer I bought mine from put the absolute bare-minimum of oil in mine too, and after a couple of rides, I ended up adding not quite half a quart to put the oil level up to the top line myself.

[Jersey13]

Bikes with carburetors are notoriously bad about starting up in colder weather, but it doesn’t take 10 minutes to get mine started. I don’t mind driving in the cold so much as long as the temp is still above freezing, but when it’s below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, I always have to put the choke on full to get it to start, then wait a good 10 to 15 minutes while it warms up. Mine usually starts up after 4 to 6 tries, though, but 10 minutes? That’s dozens and dozens of tries… hope your battery is okay. I’m no mechanic, but maybe you should have it tested? Unless you mean the warm-up period after it’s started is 10 minutes? That’s perfectly normal in my experience, though. In really cold weather, if I try to roll the throttle before it’s had a chance to warm up about that long, the engine will stop.

[Jersey13]

Thanks for all the encouragement, guys. It’s much appreciated. I guess I’ve got a lot to think about, but I’m pretty determined to keep at it.

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