Been a long time coming, but I finally did it...

[psych0hans]

Right... So I've been the proud owner of a Black ninja 250r for a little more than two weeks now... I was planning on getting a brand new ninja, but decided against it when I worked out the finances and checked out the available used bikes on the market... What I landed up getting was an April 2011 black ninja, with about 2900kms on the clock... Bike was absolutely stock and pristine... The benefits of getting this bike were that I didn't have to go through the rigorous break-in period which, as many of you know, can be such a pain... lol... On the flip side, I really wanted to use the motoman break in on my bike... This, apart from the 1.00-1.20 lacs I saved(if i include interest costs), made the deal totally worth it...

Thankfully for me, I did get a test drive of the bike(once I get quiet vocal about it over the phone) from the vashi showroom, so I knew what to expect... This bike is a world away from my dad's RE classic 500 I'd been riding before... The first time I got on it, I couldn't control the handle, it was so light... I was considering the CBR 250R for a while too, but didn't go in for it, due to the single cylinder and lower hp rating. My logic was that it'd probably take me a lot longer to grow out of this bike, than it would the cbr... From the 100-150kms I managed to cover over the past 2 weeks, I've been finding the bike to be slightly sluggish... It doesn't have that oomph factor... I showed it to Peter from 7th gear customs, but he said it was running perfectly... I also showed it to a friend who is an avid sports biker with both a Hayabusa and an R1 in his garage, even he said it was not as peppy as it should be...

The lack of peppiness didn't stop me from crashing my bike exactly on the week from taking delivery though... Luckily, the damage to the bike was minimal and no damage happened to the idiot who was riding it(me)... I was riding in a straight line at about 40-50km/h when a fabia took a right turn out of nowhere at the cut in the road, causing me to panic and slam the brakes right in the middle of a huge wet patch in the road... The bike slipped and skidded a few mtrs before stopping. I have no idea how, but I didn't get anything bigger than a light scratch... God was definitely watching over me that day... lol Anyhow, the Damage to the bike was a broken left side indicator, lots of scratches and a small crack(right in front of the indicator). On the same day after the accident, I had another near mishap, when at an intersection a bike guy decided he didn't need to look left or right(or pay attention to my horn) before cutting across me causing me, to once again panic and slam the brakes... This time though, the bike lost traction for only a second before coming back under control... Not before my ba**s were in my mouth though... lol... After the trauma of the first accident and then this in the same day, I refused to take the bike over 40km/h for the next few days...

Now I'm out of state for a month, and my poor bike is lying in Bombay... I really need to take some time out from my schedule to do some serious riding and diy work on the bike... The only two alterations I have made to date are to remove the saree guard and to pain the windscreen black... Will post another review once I get to spend some quality time with the bike... Till then I went and picked up an Fz16 hugger for my soon to come fender eliminator... Also getting a rear paddock stand made...

[speediva]

Well, my response comes in a few phases...

First, congrats - your Ninja will be a great bike for years to come! Remember the 250 is a light, flickable bike with plenty of pick-up, but compared to an R1 or Hayabusa it's going to seem "sluggish" for good reason - it's engine is 1/4 the size!!!!!!!!!

Secondly, thank you for sharing your story about lowsiding. It's important to realize that riding has an inherit danger and you hit the nail on the head. I appreciate that you were willing to mention it!

I hope you heal up quickly, and I hope your bike does, too!