High mileage on a Ninja 250

NinjaGirl16 said:
Anyone have over 30,000km on their 250? I'm having some issues with performance lately. Have a few questions for anyone who has been there...
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Maybe the performance is the same, but you are so use to it and comfortable with it that the ol 250 seems not as fast as it use to be..;)

2 suggestions

1) park it for a couple months and it will seem fast again
2) upgrade to a 600..:cool:

I recall you bought the bike new, good for you to have that many k's on it.
I got to start riding with you...;)
 
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HorizonXP said:
Pre-gen or new-gen? I'm hitting 25k, and LoneRonin is above 32k on his. We're both new-gen. What's up?
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It's a 2009. I took it in to get valve clearances checked out last week and was told it wasn't worth doing on a 250 with high mileage. Keep hearing that they aren't designed to have long lifespans. The main issue that made me want to get it checked out in the first place was loss of power and a metallic ticking noise when on the throttle.
 
db ninja said:
Maybe the performance is the same, but you are so use to it and comfortable with it that the ol 250 seems not as fast as it use to be..;)

2 suggestions

1) park it for a couple months and it will seem fast again
2) upgrade to a 600..:cool:

I recall you bought the bike new, good for you to have that many k's on it.
I got to start riding with you...;)
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Parking it is NOT an option. ;) I'd love a 600, but not this year. I'm not ready to part with her yet this year. I'll show ya how to put on kms any time!
 
NinjaGirl16 said:
It's a 2009. I took it in to get valve clearances checked out last week and was told it wasn't worth doing on a 250 with high mileage. Keep hearing that they aren't designed to have long lifespans. The main issue that made me want to get it checked out in the first place was loss of power and a metallic ticking noise when on the throttle.
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Ken might have an idea as to what might be wrong with your bike though you might need to give some more detail on the loss of power. Is it overall, when you accelerate..etc?
 
NinjaGirl16 said:
It's a 2009. I took it in to get valve clearances checked out last week and was told it wasn't worth doing on a 250 with high mileage. Keep hearing that they aren't designed to have long lifespans. The main issue that made me want to get it checked out in the first place was loss of power and a metallic ticking noise when on the throttle.
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Have you ever had the valves adjusted? I did mine myself at 12.5k, and I'm due to do it again soon. LoneRonin just did his for the first time a week ago after 32k. I needed to adjust mine, and he did too. Motorcycle engine valves, unlike car engine valves, generally get tighter over time, not looser. So in a car, you can hear the ticking and know it's time to adjust. Not so on a motorcycle, there is no audible noise when a valve gets tighter.

What were the clearances that they measured? Wait, did they even measure it? At 30k, you should've done it twice by now. I would get this done. You can do it yourself with some rudimentary tools, but be prepared for it to take a while. If your time is valuable, just pay to get it done, but make sure it's done right. Valves should be adjusted so that they are on the looser side of the specified tolerance range.

That said, where are you noticing a loss of power? I would rule out other factors before jumping to valves being the suspect. Make sure your fuel lines are not kinked, check your throttle and clutch free play, check your choke cable. Make sure nothing is rubbing on the wheels, like the brake pads. Check the intake air box, maybe clean out the air filter element. Nothing else I can think of right now that could cause a loss of power.

Is the loss across the entire rev range? How do you know it's down on power? When does this metallic ticking noise start happening?
 
I'd change the plugs, wires and do a valve adjustment. Get a shop manual, its not very difficult to do. Also check your compression, make sure its not leaking
 
NinjaGirl16 said:
. I'll show ya how to put on kms any time!
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i have this friday off, if it is nice i wanted to do a 500 -600klm jaunt.
if you are able to go let me know, you can prob show me some nice roads.
I def need more seat time.

did 1000+ klm over a couple of days in Penn two weeks ago... it almost killed me..:D
 
NinjaGirl16 said:
It's a 2009. I took it in to get valve clearances checked out last week and was told it wasn't worth doing on a 250 with high mileage.
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That's BS. First of all it's not for him to decide what's worth it and what isn't, since you're the one who has to ride it. Secondly, what's the difference in the value of the bike with a ticking noise and power loss, versus one that runs right? Probably more than the cost of a valve adjustment.
 
fastar1 said:
That's BS. First of all it's not for him to decide what's worth it and what isn't, since you're the one who has to ride it. Secondly, what's the difference in the value of the bike with a ticking noise and power loss, versus one that runs right? Probably more than the cost of a valve adjustment.
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+1. And I don't think 30k on a Ninja 250 is high mileage at all. These engines can likely push 80k with proper maintenance, maybe even more.
 
The one thing to watch out for on those, is the oil level. They tend to use a little oil, and the sump is not very big. Someone neglects to keep the oil at the proper level, engine loses oil pressure and goes boom.

If the bike is otherwise in decent condition, it's ALWAYS worth doing the scheduled maintenance.
 
I agree. Complete BS. But the service received is a whole other issue. I'm just looking to get the bike running smoothly again, whatever it takes. I was also hoping to get confirmation that these are not disposable bikes.

It's been ridden hard, but well maintained - especially attention to oil level. The loss of power is more overall. Probably down ~15km from original top speed (Not a huge concern for my daily riding, but noted). I scheduled the appointment to have valve clearances checked mostly for peace of mind, before any other issues started. The ticking noise is new, and started just before the valve appointment. It makes the ticking noise every time I'm on the throttle. But, once the bike is hot, it will make the noise at a lesser extent while idling.
 
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db ninja said:
i have this friday off, if it is nice i wanted to do a 500 -600klm jaunt.
if you are able to go let me know, you can prob show me some nice roads.
I def need more seat time.

did 1000+ klm over a couple of days in Penn two weeks ago... it almost killed me..:D
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I'm up for a ride, but not til I figure out what's happening with my Baby.
 
NinjaGirl16 said:
I agree. Complete BS. But the service received is a whole other issue. I'm just looking to get the bike running smoothly again, whatever it takes. I was also hoping to get confirmation that these are not disposable bikes.
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That mechanic is an idiot. There are people on 250s with 100,000+ miles (over 160,000km). Just gotta do maintenance. I would say that your symptom is likely a combination of valves and spark plugs, as both are due for service. Get that done at a different mechanic, and keep on riding!
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