[mantrig]

Congratulations RacerByHeart!!!

That's a beautiful bike you have bought and the small narration of how you finally acquired the machine is very interesting as well.

Now we want a nice ownership review accompanied with some great pictures. Make sure you gift yourself with the right riding gear that little monster you are going to ride.

Happy riding!!!

[Furebo]

Congrats, On the N250! Your passion reflects through this purchase.

Originally Posted by RacerByHeart

I took a vacation on Thursday and got a DD for the discussed amount.

How much did you end up paying? How old is the bike? Please post anymore details that you could. And it goes without saying that we need lots and lots of pics.

You can PM me if you like.

[NikhilReddy]

RacerByHeart Congrats! N250 looks great in black color. Nice to know that the previous owner gave away the racing stand. Any particular reason why he was selling this bike? While you did all you can checking RTA and the pro-biking outlet to check documentation I was surprised that you almost made up your mind on this bike without proper testing. Most of the bikes performance & Behavior is determined in the order of Run-in period, oil and filter changes and general maintenance [break, clutch, chain lub etc]. When you are spending so much money I felt you were taking a great risk in buying without proper testing. But looks like in the end it turned out to be a good deal.. please post your ownership review.

[abhjain]

Hey Buddy, Many congrats. The bike looks great!

[RacerByHeart]

Its my 5th day of Ninja ownership. I am enjoying it. I just completed 100 km on it. I have put many photos this time. Pardon me for taking the photos when she is dirty. Next time I will clean her properly and take some photos in the day time.

I forgot to mention in the previous posts that the bike had run only 2100KM.
Hardly any scratches on the paint. But there are ugly ones on the silencer. Should I get it fixed, by getting it powder coated it? Not sure if I want to do that, coz its bound to happen again soon after fixing it. What say?

The previous owner had called me up check on how I was looking after his baby. He told that the bike is about to complete an year, so its due for the 2nd service(the expensive one - 6K). I took it to the Probiking showroom and showed it to people there. They were very courteous and they were answering all my questions. Nothing on the bike that requires immediate attention. Got to know that the service can be done later, I will have to do a general check up done. This takes a day and I have to book an appointment 2 days in advance.

God bless the previous owner, he ran in the bike for me. I don't have to wait to push the bike. It was very confidence inspiring at slightly high speeds. Not at a single moment did I feel that the she was struggling to go fast.

Thanks n_aditya. I did not know about the heating up of the bike. I was riding the bike as soon as I started it. I now start the bike and then open the gate and then push her out of the house and then close the gate, wait for a minute and then start riding. Only after 2 - 3 mins of riding do I push her. I also noticed that the idle RPM falls down when the engine is warm enough for revving.

I got into neutral when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear a couple of times. It kinda half engages to 2nd. On revving it, it falls to neutral. Do others face the same? The gear shifts sometimes make a loud click. Is that normal too? Especially when shifting from Neutral to First. I noticed the same noise when shifting from 1st to 2nd in high revs.

I am cursing the rain gods for giving only half a day to ride. Even after the rain has stopped, I dont feel like taking it out as it gets dirty. On the way back from the Probiking place, I got stuck in rain at intermediary road. There was smoke coming from the radiator. I was cool, but a person around me scared me that he could see a wire burning. One person stopped his bike, removed a screw driver and asked to check on the wire. All the bikers around were staring at me. The signal turned green and they left. The smoking soon stopped. I guess it just happens because of the water falling on the hot stuff. The smell was from warm oil I think. I have got the same smell from my previous bike when she was hot.

At every traffic signal, there has been atlest one auto driver or a two wheeler person checking whats the milage. Its true, ours is a county obsessed with Mileage . I am not used to the stares that I am getting. Good that I did not get a green one, or else, I would be real uncomfortable. But it kinda makes me feel proud of what I bought too

I felt the need for riding gear. The normal jerkin starts flapping around on 3 digit speeds. I visited Orion motors for the tank zip sticker and for the riding gear. The tank sticker was Rs 950
Is it really worth 1K? Or should I buy that stuff else where. I checked the DSG jacket for 5.5K. Is it the best place to buy it? What should be the first stuff to buy? My friend is coming from US next week, from Michigan. Please suggest what shall I ask him to bring?
Again n_aditya, you are the gear guru. Please suggest a jacket that's value of money and that looks good(with red in it). Brand does not bother me. Priced around 5K.

Orion motors did not have stock of the hugger. I will check with other Yamaha dealers for it. I will give it to the showroom when I give the bike for general check up.

EDIT -
<<

n_aditya - I owe you one bro

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Mention of high speed riding removed.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by RacerByHeart

He told that the bike is about to complete an year, so its due for the 2nd service(the expensive one - 6K).

The 2nd service costs only around 500 bucks. The 3rd service @12,000 kms costs around 6k. I'm due for this next saturday.

Originally Posted by RacerByHeart

Thanks n_aditya. I did not know about the heating up of the bike. Only after 2 - 3 mins of riding do I push her. I also noticed that the idle RPM falls down when the engine is warm enough for revving.

Ride sedately for around 4-5kms before you ride the bike hard. The stock IRC's on the ninja take some time to heat up and stick to the road. Traction will be lowest when the tires are cold so never push the bike hard unless the bike has run a few kms.

Originally Posted by RacerByHeart

I got into neutral when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear a couple of times. It kinda half engages to 2nd. On revving it, it falls to neutral. Do others face the same? The gear shifts sometimes make a loud click. Is that normal too? Especially when shifting from Neutral to First. I noticed the same noise when shifting from 1st to 2nd in high revs.

Its normal to hear a clack sound when popping the bike from neutral to first. The reason for this is that the engine is running at a higher RPM than the transmission and when the transmission is engaged you hear the clack sound. This is common with all superbikes (and their babies ).

False neutrals are common from first to second and the culprit is your boots/shoes. You need to slot it hard into 2nd if you're wearing sneakers or such shoes. I used to have this "issue" earlier but after my Sidi's it completely disappeared.

Originally Posted by RacerByHeart

On the way back from the Probiking place, I got stuck in rain at intermediary road. There was smoke coming from the radiator.

This is completely normal. The vapor / smoke is due to water falling on the header pipes and radiator. Dont worry. The mirrors get fogged up due to this so ride carefully as rear visibility would be compromised.

Originally Posted by RacerByHeart

I felt the need for riding gear. The normal jerkin starts flapping around on 3 digit speeds. I checked the DSG jacket for 5.5K. Is it the best place to buy it? What should be the first stuff to buy? My friend is coming from US next week, from Michigan. Please suggest what shall I ask him to bring? Again n_aditya, you are the gear guru. Please suggest a jacket that's value of money and that looks good(with red in it). Brand does not bother me. Priced around 5K.

You definitely need proper riding gear. Your jerkin or windcheater will not protect you if you have a fall (God forbid).

See this thread for information on riding gear. You can go for DSG Nero (available at planetdsg or Orion motors) but this is a pretty heavy jacket and will be slightly hot in summers.

Originally Posted by RacerByHeart

Orion motors did not have stock of the hugger. I will check with other Yamaha dealers for it. I will give it to the showroom when I give the bike for general check up.

Orion won't have the hugger. Buy it from a Yamaha service center (Orion) and i'll help you fix it.

Originally Posted by RacerByHeart

n_aditya - I owe you one bro

Thanks. Glad to help. Ride safe and buy your gear ASAP.

[mantrig]

Hey,

Since you have someone flying in from the US, you can try checking the close-outs on the this website :- Discount Men's Street Bike Closeouts at Motorcycle Superstore

Most of the stuff in close outs is at a really discounted price and you can actually check some good jackets here too for less than $100.

My only worry is, if your friend is leaving in a week - then you better go in for express shipping. However, this website does ship stuff faster even normally (within 5-7 working days) - so if you friend is leaving after a week, you can go with normal shipping.

Do remember, if you order for stuff more than $75-80 then you get free shipping.

Hoping this helps.

[black12rr]

Originally Posted by mantrig

Do remember, if you order for stuff more than $75-80 then you get free shipping.

Hoping this helps.

They dont ship international .

Q) Do you ship internationally?
A) Motorcycle Superstore currently ships only to the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and APO/FPO addresses.


Congrats racerboy . Black looks magic. Ride safe .

[mantrig]

Originally Posted by RacerByHeart

My friend is coming from US next week, from Michigan. Please suggest what shall I ask him to bring?

Originally Posted by black12rr

They dont ship international .

Q) Do you ship internationally?
A) Motorcycle Superstore currently ships only to the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and APO/FPO addresses.

I know, the only reason I shared the link and shipping info is because RacerByHeart mentioned that he has a friend coming down from the US (Michigan) in the coming weeks.

[Leepower]

I can vouch for Motorcycle Superstore. My uncle got me Triumph's leather jacket from the site for $100. He lives in rural Wisconsin. The delivery happened in like two days!!! Check out there helmet collection and leather jacket section also!!!

[mantrig]

Originally Posted by Leepower

I can vouch for Motorcycle Superstore. My uncle got me Triumph's leather jacket from the site for $100. He lives in rural Wisconsin. The delivery happened in like two days!!! Check out there helmet collection and leather jacket section also!!!

And I got myself the Joe Rocket :- Joe Rocket Skyline Jacket - Cruiser Motorcycle - Motorcycle Superstore for my Honda CBR 250r.

Damages :- only $84.

They do have some great deals. In fact, I am planning on picking up the Sparx lid from their closeouts. Its costing hardly $80 and also have the crash protection program on it, where if the rider is involved in a crash they simply replace the helmet.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by mantrig

They do have some great deals. In fact, I am planning on picking up the Sparx lid from their closeouts. Its costing hardly $80 and also have the crash protection program on it, where if the rider is involved in a crash they simply replace the helmet.

The helmet replacement is valid only in the US AFAIK. You would need a police report and i seriously doubt they would consider one from another country.

Do also consider Scorpion and HJC. They go for as less as USD 60 on closeout's.

Bike Bandit also has some really great offers. I've shopped with Bike Bandit and Motorcycle Superstore and their customer service and shipping is excellent.

@RacerbyHeart - The riding gear thread also has a comprehensive list of closeout sites. Search and you'll find that post.

[RacerByHeart]

Thanks for the replies.

One quick question is about the size.
The DSG that tried on at Orion motors was XL size. My shirt size is 39 - 40.
I am pretty sure that if I order the XL from the US, it will be big.
And where should I get the tank sticker from?

I will check the riding gear thread today.

[goingout]

Congrats on your Ninja! I am glad you chose this over the CBR

Use the size chart on MotorcycleUSA which would help you get the perfect size. Also read the reviews of the items you are ordering to make sure they fit as expected (reviewers always give out this info).

Don't miss the opportunity of getting the stuff from US. It would cost a lot less and you would get much better brands than in India.

Ride safe!

[NikhilReddy]

Originally Posted by mantrig

And I got myself the Joe Rocket :- Joe Rocket Skyline Jacket - Cruiser Motorcycle - Motorcycle Superstore for my Honda CBR 250r.

Damages :- only $84.

They do have some great deals. In fact, I am planning on picking up the Sparx lid from their closeouts. Its costing hardly $80 and also have the crash protection program on it, where if the rider is involved in a crash they simply replace the helmet.

The other sites that you can check out are:

JoeRocket.com
performancracing.com

I checked eBay -> you can purchase the products and get it shipped to India but it is proving way too expensive. I am really surprised that there aren't any outlets at least in major cities across India where the products are reasonably priced.