[Tittys04]

Hey guys, a buddy of mine is selling a 2001 Kawasaki Ninja 250. He only wants about $1500 for it, although I thinnk I can talk him down a little more. My question is how would this bike be for a first track bike? I've been riding street for a little over a year and want to ride track pretty badly, I was just wondering what everyone thought about this. (will it be underpowered, handle ok, etc)

 

[blinkerfluid]

They take a little bit of initial setup, but you can run a 250 fairly well on the track. If you just plan on doing track days, buy it. But if you are going to get into actual racing, check your local organization and see if they have enough people racing in that class to make it worth your while. It's just not as fun racing against yourself, or only a couple other guys.

 

[Tittys04]

What set-up are you talking about besides safety wire and taking off light assemblies?

 

[blinkerfluid]

Well, a standard EX250 is fairly piss poor on the track. I mean it can make it around the track just fine, but most people use some of the interchangeable parts from the b***** Ninjas (forks, shock, etc). These simple things make it much more at home on the track.

Also, your choice in tires is slightly more limited, due to the small size.

 

[Tittys04]

ok, that actually makes sense. so are you telling me that its not really worth it (in your opinion of course). It would be a 1500 investment, which i think is fairly cheap looking at that bike, but I want to get my moneys worth out of it on the track without lots of mods.

 

[blinkerfluid]

Well if you are looking for the best bang-for-your-buck from a beginners track bike, go with a Suzuki SV650 that's already been prepped. They can be had commonly for $3500 or less with some spares (sprockets, wheels, tires, etc).

I'm not saying it's not worth it, you can learn alot on the track with just a stock Ninja 250 with some decent tires. While learning, your main worry doesn't need to be the bike, it needs to be your riding.

You could probably get that 250 setup for the track for a little less money than a prepped SV650, it's just a time/effort vs money argument. You will have to hunt down some used upgrade parts, take the time/effort installing them and tuning them, or just pay a little more and get a turn-key (for the most part) solution.

It's up to you, but either way, best of luck

 

[Tittys04]

Well thanks for your input, I guess I just have some thinking to do.

I just finished painting my 98 CBR600 as a Replica Repsol bike. It turned out great, but now my problem is that I was wanting to take it to the track, but with all the work I've put into it I hate to take the risk of rashing it all up, Not to mention modding it for the track. How hard would it be for me to make this a street/track bike? and if I were to do this what am I looking at Mod-wise?

Thanks for anyone and everyone's input.

 

[nig]

It's not really hard, most bikes at track days are street bikes. The requirements are minimal especially for the slower groups, if your bike is in good shape chances are you can take it to the track. Tape lights/mirrors, maybe drain coolant, it depends on the organization.

I'd hold off for an SV too.

 

[Tittys04]

do most places require safety wire? or is that mainly the faster groups?

 

[blinkerfluid]

No, most track day organizations do not require safety wiring.

Another option is to buy some fiberglass fairings from someone like Sharkskinz for your CBR and just swap them out whenever you go to the track. You should be able to get a full fairing set including the tail for about $700 + $200 or so for install items (Fairing stay, Dzus fasteners and other misc stuff)

 

[Tittys04]

nice. alright, well thanks

 

[bmxr]

Hey guys, a buddy of mine is selling a 2001 Kawasaki Ninja 250. He only wants about $1500 for it, although I thinnk I can talk him down a little more. My question is how would this bike be for a first track bike? I've been riding street for a little over a year and want to ride track pretty badly, I was just wondering what everyone thought about this. (will it be underpowered, handle ok, etc)

You would do better to find something like a 600F3 or 99-02 SV650 that's already track prepped if you want a cheap track bike. The limits of the ninja 250 are so low that you'll wish you had something else almost immediately.

 

[smokenjoe]

See if you can find a decent track bike there are often good cheap ones to be found if you are willing to look. Not very fond of the F4's fragile and though the old F3's could take a beating. Any of the R6's, SV650's would be good if in decent mecanical shape and tons of spaires around the tracks if you crash. Dont ride your streetbike with stock plastic gets expensive fast.

 

[Eggroll]

Buy the 250 for $1,500. Then turn around and sell it for more.