[jamesgrady]

I'm planning on getting a Ninja 250. I'm 19 5'10 150 pound male. I'm getting the bike as my dd because I will be moving to Santa Monica and I don't want to deal with shitty 405 traffic in my car. I'll be using it to commute about 20 miles a day with work and school. Is this going to be practical for me? The max I have to spend on a bike is about 4k and the insurance can't be to much. Point me in the right direction guys. O yah this is my first bike.

 

[dirtylude]

thats a totally practical bike for just daily driving/commuting. you may even want to look into a Ninja 500. but, if youre the least bit interested in performance and plan on upgrading to a sport bike later on down the road, i'd say find a used 600 for sale. if you actually want to have fun on your bike i think you'll find yourself tired and bored of a 250 after a couple of months.

 

[mrsuprafreak]

thats a totally practical bike for just daily driving/commuting. you may even want to look into a Ninja 500. but, if youre the least bit interested in performance and plan on upgrading to a sport bike later on down the road, i'd say find a used 600 for sale. if you actually want to have fun on your bike i think you'll find yourself tired and bored of a 250 after a couple of months.

Completely agree! That 500 will make you a true rider! Good luck!

 

[AZmkiii]

Sitting in the traffic will be even less fun on a bike, especially if you aren't a squid and actually get real riding gear. Not to mention riding in traffic is REALLY dangerous, you get noticed even less.

 

[Mark 2JZ]

As a FIRST bike, that Ninja 250 is perfect. If you take the MSF course, you'll be good. I'm sure when you really get used to the bike, you'll easily ride around the newb's on larger bikes (i.e. any 600+ sportbike) pretty easily. Its plenty fast considering you have no experience so far.

Have fun, ride safe, and enjoy the 250 thoroughly.

 

[MR2ninja]

Great bike, bad idea.

Strictly my opinion here, but LA is not a place you want to be commuting everyday on a bike.

If you do go this route, it might be wiser to try and find a 500, and of course, go to MSF and buy full gear.

 

[jamesgrady]

im also considering moving to santa barbara which would make my commute strictly light street driving to and from school. does anyone know of a forum where i can view used bikes for sale? also I'm looking for information on differences between the recent years of ninja 250 models. I think I've settled on the 250 because it's affordable and leaves me ample cash to spend on goodies ;0

 

[dirtylude]

does anyone know of a forum where i can view used bikes for sale?

www.sportbikes.net
www.cycletrader.com
www.craigslist.com
www.ebaymotors.com

 

[Ishii]

I think I've settled on the 250 because it's affordable and leaves me ample cash to spend on goodies ;0

That seems very logical. If you have limited funds it would be alot better to cheap out on the bike and get some good gear instead for your first time. Good gear is always most important, but more so for someone learning to ride. (I hope gear is what you meant when you said goodies!)

After about 8 years of riding, and through some various trades with a friend I ended up with a Ninja 250. At that time I had about 4 bikes, but tended to ride around on the Ninja 250 quite often (just to go here and there). It is a good bike, fun to ride. Only thing I didn't like about it was that it vibrates alot when going down the freeway (as it is revving rather high at freeway speeds.

I tought many of my friends how to ride on it as I dindn't care if it got damaged/droped. So the other thing I know about it is when it does get droped sometimes it is hard to restart. I've had to take the plugs out and dry them off a few times to get it started after someone had droped it. Not trying to scare you from it if you drop it, but thats just been my experience with the bike.

Alot of people say to buy a 500, which does make some sense in its own. But I believe learning to ride on a lighter bike is the way to go. You can feel alot more things on a lighter bike, things that a heavier bike will cover up. You'll be able to learn signs of how things work faster and perhaps save yourself from trouble once you start to ride a heavier bike because you'll be able to feel the warning signs with knowledge of what is to come. (alot of riders have no clue to these things as they have never really ridden a light bike)

Don't expect that the Ninja 250 is a rocket. Its not, you will learn that quickly if your desire is to twist your rist. But ridden correctly like any bike it can do some amazing things. I also reccomend that if you buy a bike like this, plan on keeping it. When you are ready, buy a newer bigger bike and just keep this bike on the side. You'll have plenty of fun with it even later and you can teach people to ride on it. A spare bike is always fun/handy and considering the price not to difficult to justify keeping around.

Good luck!

Ishii

 

[aNskY]

i agree, commuting on a bike is not a good idea for a new rider. especially if its your only transportation. rain + bike + new rider = not good. especially "in traffic". get the bike, but dont call it your "dd". bikes are for fun, not for daily use. get the bike and a beater !

 

[A_spec]

Great bike, bad idea.

Strictly my opinion here, but LA is not a place you want to be commuting everyday on a bike.

If you do go this route, it might be wiser to try and find a 500, and of course, go to MSF and buy full gear.

I lived there for three years and commuted from SD to LA and had no problems what-so-ever.

 

[MR2ninja]

I lived there for three years and commuted from SD to LA and had no problems what-so-ever.

good for you, I'm sure a lot of people didn't have the same experience but aren't alive to tell it.