High mileage on a Ninja 250

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NinjaGirl16 said:
It was also mentioned that "these bikes just aren't designed to go this long."
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Really? Maybe I'm glad I didn't get a 250. I mean, I don't have that much on mine yet but I am expecting to keep my bike way longer than that. If I used a bike as my sole method of transport that would probably mean (if I had the 250), I'd have to buy a new $4000+ bike every year. Sounds like bull to me.
 
That answer was to make you buy a new bike. 30k isnt high mileage that engine, i dont care what any mechanic says.

Take your bike to rosey toes, since youre a girl you dont even have to worry about getting bad service or a long wait. You will probably have to leave the bike overnight though since valves can only be adjusted when the engine is completely cold. I just looked it up and the ninja 250 uses screws for the valves, not shims, so its also not a very difficult process at all.
 
It never ceases to amaze me how many people in our cycle community think that anything over 20,000 km is high mileage. When I think high mileage I think 100,000 +. If you consider a normal riding season being between 12,000 and 25,000 km, which I do, we should all be scraping our bikes every 2 or 3 years.
 
mikem said:
It never ceases to amaze me how many people in our cycle community think that anything over 20,000 km is high mileage. When I think high mileage I think 100,000 +. If you consider a normal riding season being between 12,000 and 25,000 km, which I do, we should all be scraping our bikes every 2 or 3 years.
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+1000000000

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I had an 08 250R that I sold in 2009 with 33K. Towards the end of the time that I owned it, I noted a ticking sound from the right side of the engine on decel. I suspect the noise was coming from the timing chain. I re-adjusted the timing chain tensioner and it reduced the noise but it was still there.

The engine had lots of life left, little to no oil consumption and valve lash was within spec at 18K and 28K.
 
bobjohnson said:
That answer was to make you buy a new bike. 30k isnt high mileage that engine, i dont care what any mechanic says.

Take your bike to rosey toes, since youre a girl you dont even have to worry about getting bad service or a long wait. You will probably have to leave the bike overnight though since valves can only be adjusted when the engine is completely cold. I just looked it up and the ninja 250 uses screws for the valves, not shims, so its also not a very difficult process at all.
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2008 and up are shims not screws easy to check harder to adjust.
 
Thanks all for the input. Looks like my engine is done. Had it out for a little ride on Friday night and she broke down on me. The ticking noise got louder, there was an extreme loss of power, and then finally the oil light came on. The diagnosis now is that the crank shaft wore out and one of the pistons was firing loosely and ripped up the engine.

Not sure what to do now. An engine re-build or engine swap both may end up becoming pretty costly.
 
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NinjaGirl16 said:
Thanks all for the input. Looks like my engine is done. Had it out for a little ride on Friday night and she broke down on me. The ticking noise got louder, there was an extreme loss of power, and then finally the oil light came on. The diagnosis now is that the crank shaft wore out and one of the pistons was firing loosely and ripped up the engine.

Not sure what to do now. An engine re-build or engine swap both may end up becoming pretty costly.
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You need to go back to that mechanic that said the valve check was unnecessary and bust them upside the head.

This was the result of not doing the valve adjustment, plain and simple. I have 25k on my engine, LoneRonin has 35k. We're not alone. These engines, when you do the proper maintenance, will last.

Jump on the Ninjette.org forums. You'll have more luck tracking down an engine or parts bike there. Also PM Ken/Kneedragger, he likely can get a hold of one for you too.

Tough luck. Hope it works out.
 
HorizonXP said:
You need to go back to that mechanic that said the valve check was unnecessary and bust them upside the head.

This was the result of not doing the valve adjustment, plain and simple. I have 25k on my engine, LoneRonin has 35k. We're not alone. These engines, when you do the proper maintenance, will last.

Jump on the Ninjette.org forums. You'll have more luck tracking down an engine or parts bike there. Also PM Ken/Kneedragger, he likely can get a hold of one for you too.

Tough luck. Hope it works out.
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Thanks so much for the direction. Hopefully I can track one down.
 
NinjaGirl16 said:
Thanks all for the input. Looks like my engine is done. Had it out for a little ride on Friday night and she broke down on me. The ticking noise got louder, there was an extreme loss of power, and then finally the oil light came on. The diagnosis now is that the crank shaft wore out and one of the pistons was firing loosely and ripped up the engine.

Not sure what to do now. An engine re-build or engine swap both may end up becoming pretty costly.
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I guess they don't last that long after all.
 
murf said:
I guess they don't last that long after all.
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Yes they do, 30k is nothing, go to ninja250.org and see what some of these people have on them. I had 30k on mine all put on by me when I sold it, did valves every 12k and all other maintenance and she ran like a top.
 
NinjaGirl16 said:
Thanks all for the input. Looks like my engine is done. Had it out for a little ride on Friday night and she broke down on me. The ticking noise got louder, there was an extreme loss of power, and then finally the oil light came on. The diagnosis now is that the crank shaft wore out and one of the pistons was firing loosely and ripped up the engine.

Not sure what to do now. An engine re-build or engine swap both may end up becoming pretty costly.
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Awwe that's a bummer. Was the bike down on power on the BDR ride up to Belfountain/Forks of the Credit? Seemed like you were having a hard time keeping up.
 
mikcbr said:
Awwe that's a bummer. Was the bike down on power on the BDR ride up to Belfountain/Forks of the Credit? Seemed like you were having a hard time keeping up.
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That might have been b/c you guys were on 600cc+! But yes, the the loss of power was noticeable on that ride. The ticking noise had started before that day but was hard to hear. After the ride it was doing it consistently louder.
 
NinjaGirl16 said:
That might have been b/c you guys were on 600cc+! But yes, the the loss of power was noticeable on that ride. The ticking noise had started before that day but was hard to hear. After the ride it was doing it consistently louder.
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You were keeping up much better in the fall, I kinda wondered what was up. Get an engine, case of beer, few volunteers, it'll be done in an afternoon :D
 
mikcbr said:
You were keeping up much better in the fall, I kinda wondered what was up. Get an engine, case of beer, few volunteers, it'll be done in an afternoon :D
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Alright, new plan: I've got lots of cold beer. Who wants to come by? :P
 
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If it makes you feel any better I just rolled over 86k on my bike (z750) and didn't think twice about having some valve work done. Runs amazing and I'm confident it will keep going for a long time. A few years back a sales guy at a bike shop told me one of my old bikes wouldn't be worth much on a trade in because it had really high mileage. It had just over 16k and was about 4 years old at the time. lol.
 
Gryph said:
Yes they do, 30k is nothing, go to ninja250.org and see what some of these people have on them. I had 30k on mine all put on by me when I sold it, did valves every 12k and all other maintenance and she ran like a top.
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and some of them don't.
 
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