[Kaiser Soze]

Hey ive seen lots of posts about how a 250 ninja is a good bike to start on, then a back and forth, many people saying they go like crap.

Im not sure, but i think what you call a 250 Ninja must be diff to what we have over here. Over here a zx2r is a great little 250 rocket, and no-one would call it slow (relative to size). They rev to 19,000 rpm, and are the counterpart to the CBR250RR. When ive got the money, it is my ambition to race with one of these bad boys. Check it out.

PS It comes complete with (fake) ram air :lao

 

[RACER X]

we don't have "that" 250 here, wish we did.

 

[ecir]

You have a tiered system over there. That is a big seller because that system creates a market for those bikes. Our new riders over here like to start off with whatever wins the 1000 CC shooutout in squidbiker magazine every year, hence no market for 250cc sportbikes unfortunately :rolleyes

 

[Sprninja]

Damn the 250 over here in the states needs that design. I thi nk more people would start on them. I hear alot af guys say "The 250's are ugly" and then buy that brand new 600 or liter bike. ANyway good looking bike.

 

[Exhiliration]

Great looking bike, wish we had those here.

 

[hozhead]

You have a tiered system over there. That is a big seller because that system creates a market for those bikes. Our new riders over here like to start off with whatever wins the 1000 CC shooutout in squidbiker magazine every year, hence no market for 250cc sportbikes unfortunately :rolleyes

I'm a regular subscriber. You should see some of the models in that magazine! Squids get all the ladies!

 

[Kaiser Soze]

^ Yeah thats right, not as much as it used to be though. It used to be <250cc for learner/provisional. Now its <660cc combined with <150 kw per tonne. So basically 250s and cruisers.

You're friggin right about creating a market. A CBR250RR is worth more than my bike, even though my bike is in mint condition. Theres one getting around here right now seen him a few times, always riding like a mad bastard :lol

Some were bought here at dealerships. Most are imports. Damn theres a few for sale.....

 

[njdjh2o]

Unfortunely, they only sell those in Canada and overseas. When I was at the 250 stage (first bike) I was up in Canada and I rode one. It is more powerful and impressive than the one here in the State. I went to a dealership to see if I can import one and he was like yeah, if you have that type of money. To pay the fees was like $2000.00 then modifily the bike to USA specs to get a title, which was like another $2000.00 to $3000.00. So I just said the hell with it and brought a US version.

I even called Kawasaki and asked if they were planning on bringing that style to the State and they told me NOPE!.

 

[Spike]

I don't know WHAT the hell is wrong with Kawasaki.... they need to bring that style over, they would sell WAY better. Maybe there's some actual reason they don't have them here, besides kawa being dumbasses. That's one HOT 250.

 

[apriliahead]

There is absolutely no reason to not make 250's more appealing it wont cost them a dam thing. Which leads me to belive they (the big 4) WANT to keep them unappealing here in the US to sell more 600's why i don't know but it makes sense.

 

[Exhiliration]

There is absolutely no reason to not make 250's more appealing it wont cost them a dam thing. Which leads me to belive they (the big 4) WANT to keep them unappealing here in the US to sell more 600's why i don't know but it makes sense.

Profit margin?

 

[H2Omax1]

You have a tiered system over there. That is a big seller because that system creates a market for those bikes. Our new riders over here like to start off with whatever wins the 1000 CC shooutout in squidbiker magazine every year, hence no market for 250cc sportbikes unfortunately :rolleyes

2 idiots I work with see me on my bike daily. (Neither of them have ever riden before, dirt or otherwise) Both of them are looking at getting bikes now. One insists that he's gotta get a "busa", nothing less will do. The other one thinks that he's more sensible, setting his sites on a GSXR 1000. he says "the 750 is just too slow for me" :bitchslap If either one can come up with the cash or financing, both will be :urowned in no time.

Those 250's are sweet looking. I'm tending to agree that the manufacturers are keeping them out so as not to canabalize 600 sales. Higher volume of 600's will keep the cost lower for them, and no sales loss to 250's. Of course they're not going to bring them to the US

 

[poulsen]

yeah that kawasaki 250 looks just a bit better than mine

 

[jim schmidt]

Each bike is classed to not cannibalize purchases of the next larger size. That's why 250s are old dogs from the early 80s.

 

[linuxbikr]

No, this bike is not available in Canada. Kawasaki makes THREE different 250s. The EX250 (US market), ZZ-R250 (Canada/European market) and the pictured ZXR-250/ZX-2R (Asia/Australian market).

I disagree that they would sell well here in the States to anyone but pure riding enthusiasts who know something about bikes. The reason? Cost. The EX250 is heavily subsidized by Kawasaki as an entry level bike. They and the dealers make virtually nothing on it and the only reason they keep the price down is because the tooling is long paid for and it is easy to make. The comparable ZZ-R250 in Canada is over $4000USD. That's quickly approaching the price of an EX500 and the ZZR uses the same engine as the EX250. Everything else is different.

The cost on one of the inline four equipped 250s would be over $4500USD easy. No uneducated first-time rider will pay 4500-5500 for a 250cc sportbike no matter what it looks like with the "displacement pressure" that a lot of newbies are placed under. The fact that the displacement has little to do with performance except to set an upper limit will be nothing. They will simply hear "250" and equate it to "weak". The fact these inline four 250s put down more horsepower than an EX500 won't matter. And no poser or squid will be caught dead on one. The only people such a machine will appeal to will be riders who want the lightweight and power and don't mind the cost. I'd be one of them.

These bikes are NOT "old dogs". They are thoroughbreds and riders machines. Kind of like the FZR400 (one of the best all-around sportbikes ever built, in my opinion).

 

[freeky929]

Wow...I really like those bikes!

 

[mutsu]

Well what about just the fairing....who cares for the whole bike if it's just the same 250r engine. It should not cost that much more to use the cooler fairings?

mutsu

 

[toodlenocher]

I'm going to learn to make my own fairings one day.

 

[mj31]

Nice looking bikes, Kinda look like my ZX7R.

 

[fiftyonefifty]

damn thats hot, time to move to australia or asia, yamaha honda or suzuki should come up w/ a sweet lookin 250 like that to show up kawi for the uglier than sin pos ninja, i doubt it will cost an extra 2000 to bend some plastics differently, oh well its a dog eat dog market, no one wants an ugly pos 250 so they buy a 600, crash and buy another 600 the next day, just feeding fuel to the beast