08+ NINJA 250 as a track bike? Y N

[cbr100rr]

Originally Posted by CNI Dawg

IF you get a 250 you are gonna have to spend some money on suspension work

We endurance raced a 250 all this season finishing 6th overall for the season in Mini Endurance

It is more fun than a barrel of monkeys !

If you are just doing track days you are going to get passed a lot in the straights by the big bikes.
But you can eat them in the turns

brakes suck compared to your RR but the 250 will teach you to keep your corner entry speed up (cause it doesn't have much 'grunt' accelerating out of corners !

Tires last forever - we went thru 2 sets of Bridgestones for 10 endurance races & one set of rains

the 250 will teach you about drafting other 250s in the straights for 'slingshot' passes
It really works !
Will teach you to plan your passes..you have to study your opponent to figure out where & when you can set up a pass. sometimes takes a few laps to do it

Our race org keeps the 250s super stock legal (no engine internal performance mods)
so everyone is putting out about 30HP
It is very competitive racing because it is more rider skill than bike performance

The entry fees are cheap too - $35 per hour for mini endurance.
Bike will run almost 2 hours on one tank of gas

If you ride at track days suggest you ride down a group so the big bikes don't run you over !
The baby Ninja is best at short tracks with lots of turns (bike tops out about 95-100 depending on rider weight)
The Ninja's strength is in the turns

" If you ride at track days suggest you ride down a group so the big bikes don't run you over !"
that was funny made me laugh! Thank you i really like your post. Very informative. I really liked it!

First of all congratulations That your still enjoying yourself and that still persue what you like at your age 59, right? Im a firm believer of pursuing happines even if to other people its stupid or immature etc.

What did you do for suspension work? brand? spring rates? oil etc did you change the rear shock. What tires where you running. how much in labor and parts would i be looking at for suspension work?

[cbr100rr]

What would you choose they both cost the same

02 SV w/ 29k miles $1800
08+ ninja 250 with 9k miles w/ some crack fairings $1700
00 SV w/ unknown milage (tachometer doesn work/odomoter stopeed after 25k) $1800

Mechanicaly they seem to be good.

What would you choose?

[cbr100rr]

BUMP

[MKP]

If it's just for trackdays, I'd go with an SV. The Ninja is alot of fun when riding with other 250's but for most people it's a frustrating experience doing a trackday on one, especially if you're learning.
As far as which SV?....depends on the overall condition. You can have a low mileage bike that's been beat and abused or a higher mileage bike that's been well taken care of.

[Green Knight Fireblade]

That 250R was freaking awesome!!!

[cbr100rr]

Originally Posted by Green Knight Fireblade

That 250R was freaking awesome!!!

I thought so too!!

The skills the guy has too, drink to that!

[cbr100rr]

i just bought a 00 Suzuki SV 650 V-TWIN w/ new brakes F and B and new rear rotor, almost new tires Metzler Sportec M3 tires $1650. The speedometer/odometer doesnt work. But other then that the bike is pretty good all around, body and paint good for the year, rides good, no leaky forks.

FUTURE MODS for it will be a GSXR 600 750 1000 front end (forks,complete braking systm,wheel/tire) , GSXR rear shock or 636 rear shock, wider rear wheel w/ little misc. parts to complete the swap, sticky tires.

Good clean of the carbs, new plugs n wires (just to have it at its optimum performance) and we'll see how the bike does at the track.

Since its hard to justify at home having another bike and it will be a budget project. I wont be going crazy adding parts to it.....hopefully.

A friend of mine pich in $600 to let him ride the bike from march til june. after that bike is all mine. My little budget trackday bike project bike.

[cbr100rr]

ANYELSE HAVE A GEN 1 SV650 FOR THE TRACK HERE??

[cbr100rr]

Originally Posted by MKP

I put .75 springs from Sonic in the Ninja...they were $70. and I did all the labor myself. Currently running the stock shock but will be upgrading to an rpm shock soon.

Im considering 2 routes for the 00 SV650 i purchased. The 1st is a 00-08 GSXR front end cost can vary depending on parts. But seem to range in $850+ range including a rim and tire. The second and most economical way is upgrading the stock forks w/ stiffer springs.

I have never changed to stiffer springs on a bike so im unfamiliar what parts are required to change when you buy stiffer springs. The stock fork on the SV have 25-27k miles on them they are in good condition for the year saggy but no leaks. I looked online and for my weight and the wet weight of the bike im at 0.93 so i think a .095 might be best.

FRONT FORK SPRINGS
Recommended Fork Spring Rate: 0.93 kg/mm (use closest available)
Stock Fork Spring Rate: .706 kg/mm(stock)

My question is what is involved when going this route. What other parts need to be changed7replaced when doing springs? I would like to know so i can order everything at once when its time.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

MKP what parts did you change when you did the forks?

[MKP]

Originally Posted by cbr100rr

Im considering 2 routes for the 00 SV650 i purchased. The 1st is a 00-08 GSXR front end cost can vary depending on parts. But seem to range in $850+ range including a rim and tire. The second and most economical way is upgrading the stock forks w/ stiffer springs.

I have never changed to stiffer springs on a bike so im unfamiliar what parts are required to change when you buy stiffer springs. The stock fork on the SV have 25-27k miles on them they are in good condition for the year saggy but no leaks. I looked online and for my weight and the wet weight of the bike im at 0.93 so i think a .095 might be best.

FRONT FORK SPRINGS
Recommended Fork Spring Rate: 0.93 kg/mm (use closest available)
Stock Fork Spring Rate: .706 kg/mm(stock)

My question is what is involved when going this route. What other parts need to be changed7replaced when doing springs? I would like to know so i can order everything at once when its time.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

MKP what parts did you change when you did the forks?

No other parts required. Might want to buy some fresh fork oil though.