potential winter hack: Ninja 250?

[Ribenapigeon]

Seems to be a lot of cheap Ninja 250s around and I was wondering if one was fitted with upright bars and tires with more tread (can you get knobblys to fit) would they make a good winter hack?

[nowhere.elysium]

You and I have very different understandings of 'cheap'.

One should not pay over a grand for a winter hack.

Realistically, one should be paying no more than a couple of hundred for a winter hack.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[Ribenapigeon]

So where are these magically priced £200 hacks?

[nowhere.elysium]

Look for the usual suspects: GPZ/ER/GS/CB, and then compare the prices to the 'Ninja' 250. Alternately, pick up a second hand chinky bike - they tend to go for almost sod all, and if you've got even half a brain you can keep them running.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[Sable]

Some people have a real knack for finding 200 quid bikes that dont need epic amounts of work to get them moving. I am not one of them people. When I was last looking at 125's anything that seemed to move on its own cost 800-1000 minimum. Even they looked pretty rough around the edges. For me bke buying time means a budget of at least 1000-1500.

As for the Ninja 250, rode one for a few months through London. I know its a 250 sports bike so not sporty etc, but I found it a really nice bike to ride. Its position was more upright than the plastics led me to believe, good fuel economy, and enough power for me to never hit top gear and rev the balls of it to keep up with London traffic like a 125.

Only bad thing about them usually is the cost (which appears to have come down a lot scince I last looked). I used a mates so that didnt bother me then

[lihp]

my er5 was £300, need a clean and a brake leer
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[MarJay]

A Ninja 250 has high bars anyway, and knobblies are shit for winter. In fact, knobblies are shit for anything except off roading.

What you want is a light, low powered bike with good road tyres. A Ninja 250 seems to fit the bill, but unless I could get one for £800 I wouldn't consider it.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Ribenapigeon]

On second trawls on 'tinternet an ER5 seems to be the best bet for sub £1000. Pig ugly though.

If not knobblys what are good winter tires?

[MarJay]

[Wonko The Sane]

you can get winter tyres for motorbikes that have a bit of a more aggressive tread to try and get rid of the water / snow a bit more easily.
The softer rubber also helps them maintain grip in colder temperatures
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[Rogerborg]

I've honestly never heard of them. What brands and models do you know of?
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[bezzabsa]

[MarJay]

https://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-top-10s/whithams-five-best-winter-tyres/14795-6.html
____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[P.]

[Slacker24seve...]

[nowhere.elysium]