[aJohnM1948]

I'd be interested in knowing how many miles the various years/generations of Ninja can go before major repairs, etc. It might be useful if you include year of bike, maintenance routines followed, type of lubricants used (including chain lube, etc.). Some day I'd like to see someone create a MTBF (mean time before failure) website for motor vehicles, heck why not include refrigerators, etc. 'Till then, we'll have to dig the info out in forums such as this.

Thanking you in advance,
John M

 

[spooph]

aJohn, I have over 20K on my bike, and this is what I've done so far:

600mi Break-in full service at Dealer
1,500mi First full service done by me at home
every 1,500 miles after that - oil change
every 7,500 miles - valve check/adj.
change brake pads/bleed system as pads become worn.

Oil change includes:
Changing oil AND filter
Cleaning/re-oiling air filter (original foam)
Checking coolant level
Thorough chain clean/lube
Thorough wash/wax

Valve check/adj includes:
everything an "oil change" would
adjusting valves accordingly
Checking key mounting/pivot points on the bike to make sure all bolts are still where they're supposed to be.

This is how long things last for me:
Front tire - 8,000 miles - Avon Roadrider, pretty hard touring compound.
Front brake pads - 6,000 miles - stock replacements
Rear tire - 14,000 miles - Avon Roadrider, pretty hard touring compound.
Rear brake pads - 16,000 miles - stock replacements
Sprockets - 18,000 miles and bike is pulsing, prolly 3,000 miles overdue, oops.
I think that's all the consumables, no?

Some of this might seem overkill, but my goal for the 250, on stock parts other than consumables, is 100K... We'll see if I get there, no? At the current pace, that's a total of 7.5 years, give or take a few months, 2 of which I've done, so another 5.5 years and we'll know if the 250 can do 100,000? Unless somebody else can do it...

Joe, I'm with ya on the WD40 thing... I use it to clean my chain. Just like you:

10 min ride
WD40 on chain while bike on rear stand.
- I actually let the WD40 sit for about 5 minutes.
Then I blow it out with my air compressor - wastes a lot less towels.
10 min ride
Blow it out again with the air compressor
shoot some chain-lube, and if it comes off black, repeat to step one until it's ubber clean and well lubed.

Note: I don't do this every time I lube my chain, I only do this when I do an oil change on the bike (ever 1,500mi). Other than that I simply shoot some extra lube onto the chain every 200 miles, or once a week, whichever comes last (cause I only service the moto on the weekends!

And Joe, I don't mean to be an ass, but I am kind of proud of it, the 20K was 1 year and 4 months. (June 2008 - October 2009). My 2 year mark will prolly be closer to 30K. At least I'm hoping...

 

[Beezeroni]

spooph, how often do you ride and for how far? i seem to put about 60 miles on mine daily on average, and i ride daily.

 

[spooph]

Beezeroni, I'm about the same. Mostly I commute on the little ninja, and I do my best to take as many joy rides as I can. My daily commute is 60 miles. My joyrides are anywhere from 150 to 750 miles in a day, and those are only possible on Sats and Suns... But I haven't gotten to do one of those in a LONG time... The big place I make up miles is by doing everything on my bike.... I get groceries, parts for the bike, you name it, on the bike. I've carried other bike's wheels on my back, on my ninja to go get the tire changed... Of course I have to use a car when I get the ninja's tires changed... Hopefully that won't be necessary soon, as soon as I learn how to change my own tires... I ride year round as the weather allows. To-date, my best is 360 days out of the year.... My worst is 335 days out of the year. The past 5 years I've averaged 15 days off the road per year.... Does that answer your question?

 

[Beezeroni]

yes it does. very nice. i would be riding today and tomorrow, but hurricane ida has brought a lot of rain into georgia and i didnt care to get ride in the heavy rain and winds. but tomorrow i will probably be riding again. i have a rainsuit but i dont have waterproof gloves, or very warm gloves as it is, but i found a pair at my local parts store for $35 and plan on getting them for riding in the winter and rain. but for the most part, i have been on the ninja and not in my car.

 

[spooph]

that is always good to hear! Ride 'em till ya can't, then push your limits... How many miles do you have?

 

[Zandit]

I sure hope the bike has a good longevity, as it has to do me for about another year and then Wifey will graduate to it, and I will move onto something that can carry both of us. Depending on the new bike, the Ninja should still be the pocket rocket of choice when its just me!!!

 

[Beezeroni]

over 1100, but i started riding (finally) 2 weeks ago. my parents made me pay off 2000 of it and take a safety course before i was allowed to start riding. it sucked, but that period is over. but it looks better out today than it did yesterday, so i will be riding again today.

 

[spooph]

oh, ok, then it makes sense... I got my 250 in June of 2008 and started riding it then..

 

[Beezeroni]

yeah, i got mine back in april and i was finally allowed to start riding at the end of october.

 

[spooph]

Update: Saw my speedo move around in the housing today... I'll be pulling it apart this weekend to see what's up....

 

[spooph]

Update: So I got into the cams again, there was a funny rattle since the last time I adjusted the vavles, and....

Everything is fine. I measured the valve clearances, and they're all still spot on. The funny rattle were a few bolts I forgot to tighten down all the way last time, so that'll be fixed soon, but what I'm really here to say is that this little engine just amazes me....

I've been running it with a little filter where the kleen air system is supposed to go into the valve cover, which means it's been experiencing -F temps when it's up to temp, and no problems. Everything is still in spec. 20K in.... It's times like these I feel confident about catching 100K.

Just thought I'd share.

 

[Delta107]

Update: So I got into the cams again, there was a funny rattle since the last time I adjusted the vavles, and....

Everything is fine. I measured the valve clearances, and they're all still spot on. The funny rattle were a few bolts I forgot to tighten down all the way last time, so that'll be fixed soon, but what I'm really here to say is that this little engine just amazes me....

I've been running it with a little filter where the kleen air system is supposed to go into the valve cover, which means it's been experiencing -F temps when it's up to temp, and no problems. Everything is still in spec. 20K in.... It's times like these I feel confident about catching 100K.

Just thought I'd share.

Thats sweet spooph!

I want to hit 100k with My ninja. lol

 

[Zandit]

got any piccy's of the filter setup Spooph? or is it similar to Racer X's

 

[spooph]

it's exactly like X's setup, but I can still take a picture if you want..

 

[Zandit]

no thats cool, he posted that in my Kllen air thread! Thanks anyway!

 

[spooph]

UPDATE: I have found the auto-chain tensioner to be sub-par. Mine lasted about 18,000 miles and then started acting up. I think it's due to the spring weakening over time, improper lubrication, or a too-weak spring installed in the first place, and if the chain stretches even a little (mine is still WELL within spec - it has stretched >.05mm), it no longer functions as it should, causing a horrendous click/tick that comes in and out, and is a bitch to find and diagnose! Stay tuned for a possible cheap fix. The best fix would be to get APE's manual chain tensioner, here I think:

http://www.sudco.com/apeCamchain.html

Help me out X!

 

[AUDACIA]

if my parent's told me i couldn't ride till i paid 2000 of my bike off with my own money id tell them to go f**k themselves,

im 20 not a child anymore 'however i do still have a lot of learning to do'

learning should never stop.

 

[metbandit1]

UPDATE: I have found the auto-chain tensioner to be sub-par. Mine lasted about 18,000 miles and then started acting up. I think it's due to the spring weakening over time, improper lubrication, or a too-weak spring installed in the first place, and if the chain stretches even a little (mine is still WELL within spec - it has stretched >.05mm), it no longer functions as it should, causing a horrendous click/tick that comes in and out, and is a bitch to find and diagnose! Stay tuned for a possible cheap fix. The best fix would be to get APE's manual chain tensioner, here I think:

http://www.sudco.com/apeCamchain.html

Help me out X!

hows that soloution going spooph? just reading up on the rest of the forum and posting in more threads

 

[spooph]

Hey Met, thanks for digging this up! I have found the cheap fix, indeed! Change the oil-type in the engine... LOL

I was running 10-40 all year round, which proved to be insufficiently thin in the summer, and too thick in the winter. I change to 20-50 this summer, and it went away, no probs. This winter I'll be changing it to 5-30 hoping to get the same results (no click).