Total Motorcycle Community Forums

jonnythan wrote:

cobaltbluechaser wrote:So is the 250R = honda civic?

No.. I hear the Ninja has a top speed of 100 with the engine screaming and straining its brains out... and my 4-banger Civic with its massively inferior hp-to-weight ratio doesn't have much trouble breaking 100 mph at around a comfortable 3500 rpm.

HP/weight isn't everything.

It also has many times the displacement, and a ton more torque.

The ninja 250 will hit 100mph on the speedo without much complaining. Yeah, it's revving high, but it's a high-revving engine and it's supposed to rev high. Anyone who comes up with a "straining its brains out" type line is simply talking out his azz... they have never tried it.

The kawa 250 calms down a LOT at about 85-90MPH.... dangerously so in the sense that the speed can sneak up on you... it is easy to find yourself cruising along, rock steady and not thinking you are going very fast, and glance down at the speedo which is reading north of 100MPH. Yeah, the tach is reading 12K RPM too, but that's like 6,000RPM on a four-banger. All you are hearing is the hiss of the wind and a hmmmmmm of the engine singing along.

However, I don't know that they can really hit 105MPH in real life. 105 on the speedo is closer to 95 in this universe. Same problem strikes hondas and many other vehicles of course.

Ask yourself how often you really want to be going 100MPH on public streets.

dieziege wrote: Ask yourself how often you really want to be going 100MPH on public streets.

never, unless on some backroads.

but highways/freeways.

I do everything on my rebel. AM / PM city traffic (including rush hour) and interstate as well. My 250 gets around in all that just fine. The only time I max throttle is on the interstate and we have this killer uphill that just goes on and on. I cap at 75 mph on that with the throttle maxed.

Haven't had any problems keeping up that I can think of on the Cdn version of the ZZR250 Ninja

dieziege wrote:The ninja 250 will hit 100mph on the speedo without much complaining. Yeah, it's revving high, but it's a high-revving engine and it's supposed to rev high. Anyone who comes up with a "straining its brains out" type line is simply talking out his azz... they have never tried it.

The kawa 250 calms down a LOT at about 85-90MPH.... dangerously so in the sense that the speed can sneak up on you... it is easy to find yourself cruising along, rock steady and not thinking you are going very fast, and glance down at the speedo which is reading north of 100MPH. Yeah, the tach is reading 12K RPM too, but that's like 6,000RPM on a four-banger. All you are hearing is the hiss of the wind and a hmmmmmm of the engine singing along.

However, I don't know that they can really hit 105MPH in real life. 105 on the speedo is closer to 95 in this universe. Same problem strikes hondas and many other vehicles of course.

Ask yourself how often you really want to be going 100MPH on public streets.

you think it sneaks up on you on a 250, it REALLY sneaks up on you on a 600 or larger. A quick blast through 3 gears on my bandit has me up to 90mph. Even a little extra throttle in 6th gear can quickly take me from 75mph to about 95mph without realizing it.

the 250 is just fine whether it's a rebel, nighthawk or Ninja.

a ninja 250 hauls me around quite easily and i'm 240ish.

what you need to do is go sit on a few bikes and see how they feel and not worry so much about the numbers.

but if you are really worried about numbers the 250 has a lot of bikes beat, in that, the ones mentioned above get about 70mpg

yes the ninja250 just purrs along at 85-90mph...i don't think you'll want to go much faster than that anyway...at least hopefully not

i can keep up with plenty of 600s gunning it from a red light. maybe not WOT but i definitely don't eat their dust or get more than a couple feet behind. some people on 600s can't even outaccelerate me..it's about how familiar you are with your bike, not how big your bike is. but then again..i am half your weight

the ninja can also handle fun bursts of speed though. light maneuverable bike..it will do you well.

/aggree with the above posts.

I'd cheerfully ride a rebel anywhere, and im too fat to straddle anything other than the bench i just pulled up tot he buffet.

My old 450 makes about the same amount of power as the newer 250's. It has no problem keeping up with traffic. I have not been on the interstate, but I cruise at 70-75mph on open roads where the speed limit is 65 and traffic is light. Its buzzing along at 5000-5500 rpm at those speeds in 6th gear. Redline is 10 grand. I would say its not straining, as it maintains speed uphill easily. I am also 130lbs, but the heavier riders say they have no probs with them, so go for it. Also my bike is 400 lbs dry.