Total Motorcycle Community Forums

i have no problems with my Rebel on the interstate.

I just bought a Ninja 250 for commuting to work. I've owned a lot of bikes over the years and the Ninja 250 is a fun bike to ride! So light... it's like riding a pedal bike with a motor.

My "ride for the hell of it" bike it the Kawasaki ZRX1200. Fun to ride too but the Ninja 250 is in a different class of fun.

I just bought a Ninja 250 for commuting to work. I've owned a lot of bikes over the years and the Ninja 250 is a fun bike to ride! So light... it's like riding a pedal bike with a motor.

My "ride for the hell of it" bike it the Kawasaki ZRX1200. Fun to ride too but the Ninja 250 is in a different class of fun.

cobaltbluechaser wrote:Hey all, I'm still debating whether my first bikes going to be a 250 or 500. The main factor will be when I pass my msf class. I did want to ask all the 250 riders, is it hard to keep up in traffice? I read that it was somewhere. I live here in the panhandle of florida and the traffice isn't bad like atlanta or new york but I would like to keep up with traffice. let me know...thanx

I tried sitting a lot of bikes, and with advice from people on this forum, I finally decided on a Suzuki GZ 250. I've been riding for a month now, commuting every day, rain or shine.

I originally scoffed at the 250's. but after my MSF class and riding this bike around, I can feel it in my bones that this was the right decision.

1) a 250 is more than enough to keep up with traffic. You'll have no problems. Two up may be an issue, but I can't give you advice on this, I've never had a passenger. I'm 6'2" 210lbs. It's a bit cramped, but not much, and my weight is no issue, it can take more.

2) a 250 is light. Especially if you're a new rider, a light bike is nice, because you have a better chance to keep it from dropping when you make your mistakes (and you will make mistakes). I nearly dropped my 250 in the MSF course about 10 times, but was able to muscle it back up. I've done the same twice since the course on my own bike.

3) a 250 is cheap. A used one is good value, you will be able to sell for about the same price next season when it's time to go bigger. It's cheap on insurance, by a lot! My Acura is three times the cost to insure. Filling up the gas tank is cheap. I generally have enough change in my pocket to cover the cost (also live in Canada, so having $5-8 in change is normal for me).

Take the MSF course, this is a great chance to try a bunch of bikes too. I hopped on Super Sherpas, Kawa Eliminators, Honda Rebels, all of them 250s.

You paid for the course, take full advantage of every aspect of it as you can. There are plenty of great instructors who love their hobby, and will be happy to help you out.

I'm interested in your experience, and what you eventually decide on. Let us know how things turn out.

Cheers

Paul

ElektraSpitfire wrote: 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

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the 600's aren't trying to lose you. If they were, they would be gone. I don't want this guy to have any false illusions of grandure... maybe the riders you are speaking of really really suck or something, but most 600cc sportbikes will get to 100mph in second gear, before you get to 60mph. There is about a 2 second difference in a 600cc bike's 0-60 (~3 seconds) and a 250 ninja's 0-60 (~5.5 seconds).

I wouldn't worry about the ninja 250 keeping up with traffic, but it won't keep up with a 600cc sportbike who is trying to lose you.

I would gladly own a ninja 250 for commuting, around town riding, and some weekend twisties If I had to spend most of my time on the interstate, I would probably get something a little bigger. (The interstate around here is pretty crazy though).

Not to burst your bubble but I've left many high performance bikes standing at stoplights and passed many in twisties. I've passed far more 600cc sport bikes than anything else. They were trying to lose me...at least I assume they were based on how they blew by me at 100+MPH as soon as the road straightened out or 15 seconds after the light changed.... they were also squids who could only ride fast in a straight line.

I've been riding a little over 3 months now... so I'm not what you'd call an experienced rider, but I've seen it all too often. I used to assume performance bikes would have the advantage at lights and on twisties so I'd do what I could to stay out of their way... positioning myself in a way that encouraged them to roll past me at stops and the like. I don't any more because at least half the time I'm quicker than they are and there are few things more frustrating than being a nice guy and allowing a high-performance bike past you, only to be stuck behind them as they struggle to maintain 40MPH through a set of 60MPH curves . I figure the few who actually know how to ride will be able to get around me and the ones that don't will be safer behind me where my presence "on their azz" doesn't push them further past their abilities.

Which was, I'm guessin, the point. If the 600 rider is busy trying to manage a twitchy throttle, scared of cornering, scared of applying throttle in a corner, unable to shift from neutral when the light changes, or whatever, even a relatively inexperienced 250 rider will walk away from them even as they *try* to ride fast.

DivideOverflow wrote:

ElektraSpitfire wrote: 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

There is about a 2 second difference in a 600cc bike's 0-60 (~3 seconds) and a 250 ninja's 0-60 (~5.5 seconds).

fact is most people are not skilled enough to use the 100% full potential of a 600cc bike, in twisties or straightaways. and diezeige is absolutely right. if you know your bike better and can utilize more % of your smaller bike, you actually get increasing returns instead of diminishing returns as the % you use goes up.

also i said i can keep up with the 600s gunning it from a stop, but of course they are not trying to lose me, they are just doing a fun burst of speed. like i said, not Wide Open Throttle drag race, just friendly and spirited and fun

besides, with 2 second difference in 0-60 in a real drag race, u'd have to take into account that i am less than half the other guy's weight. at least i won't be like 2 miles behind to eat their dust hahaaa.

also some guys are just not aggressive with the throttle. just a difference in riding style.

on another note, i noticed that diezeige and i have only been riding a couple months. i really think that we are more confident riders due to starting out on a smaller bike that is forgiving and builds confidence in ability to handle and manuever the bike. starting out on a bigger bike is just a handicap that a lot of riders out there have to overcome. so maybe that's why we are more aggressive riders (of course within our limits) as opposed to the new riders on the 600s who are scared of their throttle/bike.

hey keep up on the highway, in the fast lane, riding 2 up. dont believe me? talk to my girlfreind. we do it all the time. it'll comfortably do 85+ with 450lbs+ of passenger. and the motor does have to rev higher but thats what the bike was made for.

anyone who says you cant ride a 250 on the interstate is full of "poo poo". every single person on this website who owns one has said "yes they are fine on the i-state" but then some other nonowner dim-wit will come in saying no they cant. i think the owners would know.

BigChickenStrips wrote:hey keep up on the highway, in the fast lane, riding 2 up. dont believe me? talk to my girlfreind. we do it all the time. it'll comfortably do 85+ with 450lbs+ of passenger. and the motor does have to rev higher but thats what the bike was made for.

anyone who says you cant ride a 250 on the interstate is full of "poo poo". every single person on this website who owns one has said "yes they are fine on the i-state" but then some other nonowner dim-wit will come in saying no they cant. i think the owners would know.

Watch it.

Now I didn't say you can't ride them on the interstate, and I did own a 250 . What I said was if you are primarily on the interstate, you will want a bigger bike.. for a couple reasons.
1.) Lighter bikes are more influenced by wind from trucks, etc... You get tossed around more.
2.) With your 450lbs on your bike, I don't care what you say, you are not able to accelerate very fast once already at highway speeds. I mentioned that the interstates around me are pretty rough... meaning if you have to merge, you need to merge fast. Once at 70mph, if you have a person on the back, you won't be out-accelerating many cars.
3.) Ideally, it is nicer to have a motor that runs at a lower rpm at highway speeds. It is true that the 250 does highway speeds very nicely, but in my personal opinion, I would want something that cruises a little lower than 9k and 10k rpms on the highway.

Also, you guys got in a huff saying "I pass all these 600cc sportbike riders all the time" blah blah, and you mentioned twisties and corners. Originally, he said from a stoplight. He also added "not WOT". In which case, I reply again: If the rider was TRYING (or knew what he was doing), he would obliterate you in a straight line from a light.

I have no doubts that you can out maneuver many of the 600cc'ers in corners, because that is no real big feat anywhere you go. I was flying past gixxers in the corners on my 79 KZ650 (50 hp and 550lbs).

All the stuff Elektra brought up:

also i said i can keep up with the 600s gunning it from a stop, but of course they are not trying to lose me, they are just doing a fun burst of speed. like i said, not Wide Open Throttle drag race, just friendly and spirited and fun

besides, with 2 second difference in 0-60 in a real drag race, u'd have to take into account that i am less than half the other guy's weight. at least i won't be like 2 miles behind to eat their dust hahaaa.

If they aren't trying to lose you, they aren't gunning it... so you are keeping up because they let you.

Rider weight is circumstantial, I was referring in general. And 2 seconds in 0-60 is a HUGE amount. Even if the guy weighs 200lbs more than you, it still has enough motor to pull away at any speed.

I am not trying to talk bad about the 250, it is a great bike, but you kids seem to get mad when I just state that it ISN'T a 600cc bike. I thought it was pretty obvious. All I'm saying is with equal riders, the better bike wins every time.

lots of this is a different strokes kind of thing. some people are fine cruising the interstate on the 250. some people find them a little too light when near big rigs or in high winds. a bike with more weight or engine size would be a more comfortable ride for some people. equally skilled riders will be able to make a 250 or 600 work to the rider's potential on that particular bike. skilled 250 vs fool on a 600 could still go either way as long as the 600 doesn't miss a shift or isn't a total nitwit.

i'll defend the ex250 to anyone as it is probably one of the most fun bikes out there for many different styles. but i will also admit it isn't the absolute be-all-end-all of cycles.