Am I too heavy for my 250??

[Baltimore Newbie]

I had been hearing everyone say that there ex250's topped out around 100 mph. And I wanted to see if I could get mine up that fast. So I took it out on interstate 83 last night around 1am and waited until there were no cars around and gunned it in sixth. Well, the bike got up 90mph and just sorta stayed around there. lol, what gives? I am about 5'10 and 235 pounds. Am I just too heavy to achieve the top speed or did I just wuss out and back off of the throttle too soon? I was nowhere near redlining the bike when I looked down and saw the 90 mph.

[VermilionX]

try to do it until it hits the rev limiter and see if you can hit 105mph.

[hot_shoe_cv]

I had been hearing everyone say that there ex250's topped out around 100 mph. And I wanted to see if I could get mine up that fast. So I took it out on interstate 83 last night around 1am and waited until there were no cars around and gunned it in sixth. Well, the bike got up 90mph and just sorta stayed around there. lol, what gives? I am about 5'10 and 235 pounds. Am I just too heavy to achieve the top speed or did I just wuss out and back off of the throttle too soon? I was nowhere near redlining the bike when I looked down and saw the 90 mph.

A couple of things may have prevented that but I doubt your weight was one of them. Was your throttle fully opened? Do you have any slop in the throttle cable when it is closed? Do have a lean condition in your jetting...did the bike seem to miss at wide open throtle? Was there any grade in the road? What about wind? Tire pressure?
Those are some posibilities.

[Baltimore Newbie]

A couple of things may have prevented that but I doubt your weight was one of them. Was your throttle fully opened? Do you have any slop in the throttle cable when it is closed? Do have a lean condition in your jetting...did the bike seem to miss at wide open throtle? Was there any grade in the road? What about wind? Tire pressure?
Those are some posibilities.

I think I had the throttle fully open, lol, but I was also trying to keep an eye out for deer and any other possible hazards in the road. I don't know what you mean by slop in the throttle cable or a lean condition in the jetting. This is my first bike and I have only had it for about a month, so I am not 1000% familiar with it. The road was pretty smooth and the wind was'nt too bad. I keep my tire pressure at the recommended pressure of 28 front and 32 rear psi.

[hot_shoe_cv]

Almost every bike has excess slack in the throttle cable as it comes from the dealer and many riders continue to ride with out removing the slop, which preventsd the carb slide from opening fully, thus preventing a wide open throttle and resulting lower speeds.
With the bike parked & engine off, try gently twisting the throttle using just your thumb and index finger. If there is more than a slight play before feeling the resistance of the cable, then you have excess slop in the cable. You can adjust this out at the throttle adjuster (the knurled wheel in front of the grip usually covered by a rubber boot) by rotating the adjuster counterclockwise a slight amount and testing the throttle slack again. You may or may not need to adjust a tad more in order to remove most of the slop. Caution! There must be a very slight amout of slack left in to prevent the throttle from opening in a full lock turn of the bar.
When you feel you have accomplished this, start the bike and from an idle, turn the bar to full lock in both directions. There should be no increase in RPMS. If there is, then you have adjusted the cable too tight. Back the adjuster off a tad, turning it clockwise just a slight amount. Do the above test again to determine if the engine remains at idle speed.
This may sound complicated but in reality it's very simple to do and may even be necessary to do at the clutch lever sometime also.
I would suggest that you get a shop manual in order to do this as well as other maintenance or repair jobs yourself.

[DivideOverflow]

Also depends on your aerodynamics.. Try tucking in a bit.

Ninja 250's will do 105, but it takes them a while to get to that speed. Your weight might affect it slightly, but it is more likely the pitch, ground level, wind, aerodynamics, etc, that affect it the most.