How are the Kawasaki Ninjas?

[Super Dave]

I've read and heard many suggestions on the Ninja series from kawasaki. Especially the 250 for beginners but the 500 and 650 are considered beginners too. I ride a 150 scooter and i'm taking the MSF next month.

If i do decide to get a motorcycle, are these worth a look when choosing a bike considering i'm 5'6" 140-145lbs?

[ANDS!]

5'6 - theres a shitload of options available to you, but yea that Ninja 250/500 is pretty low so it should seat you fine. It'll get you around town and back again.

If you REALLY want a good bike though. . .SV650. Fuel Injected AND has a digital display. It's all futuristic and "poo poo".

[Fast Eddy B]

When you take your course, you'll find out lots that only makes sense to your "O Ring".

You'll feel countersteering at speed, counterweighting a u-turn, feathering the clutch and the rear brake for slow speeds, mashing the throttle in first/second/third gear....

I trained on a CBF500. 50bhp and plenty quick. It's a bike that could last you some time. SV650 is a more powerful (76bhp) and a sharper steerer.

Hopefully you'll get to try a mid-size bike to get a feel for it.

Enjoy!

[Veda]

Yes, definitely a good choice. I upgraded from a 125 scooter earlier in the year to a Ninja 250 and am very happy with my choice. I am a tad smaller than you and the 250 is a perfect fit for me. I have sat on the 650 and find it a little bit big for me, but everyone is built differently.

[safety-boy]

Ninja 500-R is a great bike that you can ride at 5'6". You'll be able to hang on to it longer than the 250-R, most likely. Both the 500-R and 250-R are reliable and easy to fix minor things. The 500-R is fairly indestructible too. Mine has 12,000 miles on in in one year. New brakes, new rear tire, nothing else but gas and oil needed

--Dave

[KarateChick]

The ninjas are nice. I had a used 2001 250 first season (didn't put on many km) and sold it next season and got a 2006 250 on which I put on close to 7000 miles. Love that bike, still have it actually. Rode with friends and I had the smallest engine bike but I had no probs staying with them. Got the Ninja 650R this year and it's great. Glad I put the time/mileage into the 250 tho and didn't jump onto the 650 right away. I'd suggest sitting on both the Ninja 250 and 500 if you are considering those for a first bike as both feel quite different (tank is longer on the 500), the price is great too. The 650 also sits different than either of those two.

[lunchmeat]

Take the MSF. After you take it, I think you'll know what you'll be comfortable with. I have a 250 right now and I can honestly say I'm glad I didn't get anything bigger - I still have issues with clutch control and there are a lot of mistakes that would be exacerbated on a bigger bike.

I've realized, what they say is true - you can start out on a bigger bike with no issues. They can all go the same speed and whatnot. However, acceleration is a huge factor. The starter bikes, basically, it's not an issue with speed or handling; it's the twitch factor. If you make a mistake on an EX250, you can recover pretty easily. On a bigger bike, you might have already hit the curb or worse by the time you try to react.

But hey, that's just my two cents - I haven't been riding long so take that with a grain of salt.

[Mistercory]

I thought there were only 2 bikes. Ninjas and Harl............

[Super Dave]

My friend at work has a ninja 500. Little old it's got 18k miles on it. He's on vacation for a week so i might sit on his and walk it a bit to get a feel for a 500. My other friend has a 650 Suzuki but doesn't let anyone touch it

Thanks for the advice.

[rugaluga]

I started on a 250 rode it for about 500 miles and sold it for $100 profit!! You just cant go wrong just dont drop it lol... I ride an 06 zx-636.. I absolutley love it.. very comfortable and was an easy transition.. just know your limits..