Kawasaki Ninja 250R - is it good enough for a 17 year old newbie??

[KuB@]

Hello Everyone :) Im 16.5 now and planning to get a bike soon after my 17th birthday. I've been looking at different motorcycles for some time now and the Ninja 250R seems like a very nice starter bike. I'm just not sure if it's gonna be good for me as I'm 6' ~190 pounds. What do you think??

At first I thought about getting something with 600ccs but then i realized that this could be the biggest mistake of my life. I've got a chance to ride on a couple of 600s in the past and I have this odd feeling that it's a bit too much power for an inexperienced rider. Whats your opinion on that?? By the way the insurance rates for a 600 simply scare me hehe ;)

P.S. The max speed for a '07 Kawasaki Ninja 250R is around 100mph. My question is, is there any way you can tweak the engine just to be able to go a couple miles more?? Are there any "locks" on the engine/ bike, or is that really everything you can get from that 250cc engine??

Thanks,
Jake

[CB750F]

The 250 Ninja is a good starter bike. There a a few "upgrades" out there for it (pipes,jet kits). You'll get some more speed but not a whole lot. there aren't any "locks" or anything like that on the engine besides the rev limiter which if I remember right kicks in somewhere north of 14,000 rpm. Look for a good used one that way if you decide next year to get a bigger one you can probably sell it for what ya got in it. Here is a great site for the 250's. http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Main_Page

[campbm39]

I would definately go with the 250.

When I was 17 I started on a 1982 Suzuki GS650G it was an older bike and perfect for me to start on. It topped out at about 80-85 mph and was really easy to learn on. I didnt take very good care of it and I blew the engine out on it.

Take good care of your ninja and take be too excited to get to 100 mph right off the bat.

Im now 19.5 years old and I just bought a 1998 FZR600. It tops out at 165 mph. The fastest I willing to go right now is 115 though. Just be carefull!

[IB1983]

The new 250R will pump out 42-45 bhp right, thats more than the one it replaces. There are changes to the engine as well, which only means we can expect a 110mph top whack and a 5 sec 0-60mph!
But true, ridden sanely, its a very good starter bike

[Uesque]

OK, I'm going to jump in. I've seen 100 mph on a 600, and you don't want to go that fast, the wind is brutal, the bike is dancing around under you, and one small bump could end it all. Stick to the acceleration rush from 0-60 and leave the top speed runs for the track.

I started street riding on a 125 at age 16, and that was plenty of fun even if I couldn't top 60 mph with it.

[gametom]

i'm 22 and just started riding on the steet i have had a ninja 250 for almot a year now and it's a good starter bike i bought mine new to biuld my credit and will probely replace it next year sometime with something bigger. and the 250 holds it value very well