Need advice about new track bike

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.

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.

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

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)