Thinking about downsizing....anyone done it?

[DECIMIS]

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I ride a Ninja 300 - but I've never ridden anything larger. As others have stated, if you ride within 40km/h of the speedlimit (so anything 140km/h and below) the bike has no problems at all.

Acceleration is adequate. In fact it's fun! I love to take her to redline while accelerating. You don't need to rev the engine if you don't want to. I accelerate from stops at under 2k RPM. It starts making good torque at about 4k rpm.

You do change gears a lot, but this is fun for me. I drive manual cars. I want to change gears, as it's engaging.

Passing is no problem. Kick it down a gear (or two) and you've got no problems passing.

Turning/corners is a breeze; light bike, skinny tires. I've not pushed it a lot in corners, but the bike is confidence inspiring.

Fuel consumption is good, even when flogging it. It happily takes 87. I went for a ride with someone on an FZ08. He claimed to have burned through half a tank, I was down 1 bar (7 bars total).

The highway is fine. My only issue is lack of wind protection. If you're doing 130-140km/h and need to pass/accelerate, well this is where it will struggle. She doesn't have a lot more to give, and will need some distance to get up to higher speeds. But this isn't really reasonable driving. I guess emergency situations could occur where the power here would help.

If I were doing a lot of long distance highway riding, I would consider a larger engine bike with more wind protection.

I don't have any problems or aches & pains from the ergonomics. My right foot does go a little numb after about an hour, but I think my shoes are tight, and my lower body is a bit tense.

Replacement tires (on short notice) can be hard to find. Front is 110/70R17 and rear is 140/70R17 (I think) - I've recently discovered these are not common sizes. I needed a new front in a hurry, and GP Bikes only had one make/model available.

Non riders have no clue it's a 300 (it only says Ninja). I actually get compliments (mostly kids, but men and women as well). The only time I feel inadequate is riding with other larger bikes, and they are pushing it.

Insurance is cheap. I don't even know what I pay, as I have auto, home, life and motorcycle all with same company. I think it's in the ballpark of $30/month for myself.

I have never ridden with a pasanger, but the rear shock has preset adjustments. I've not changed mine from factory, as it's fine for my riding. I'm about 160lbs. The bike might not be good 2up, as engine may start to lag with a lot of weight, and I'd be suspect of the suspension.

My inexperienced and biased opinion!

 

[Xhumeka]

don't go supermoto. I've climbed more stairs, u-turned down highway ditches, rocketed across fields than i can count after being caught by the popo when just ****ing around.

lmfao!

 

[JayG]

I ride a Ninja 300 - but I've never ridden anything larger. As others have stated, if you ride within 40km/h of the speedlimit (so anything 140km/h and below) the bike has no problems at all.

Acceleration is adequate. In fact it's fun! I love to take her to redline while accelerating. You don't need to rev the engine if you don't want to. I accelerate from stops at under 2k RPM. It starts making good torque at about 4k rpm.

You do change gears a lot, but this is fun for me. I drive manual cars. I want to change gears, as it's engaging.

Passing is no problem. Kick it down a gear (or two) and you've got no problems passing.

Turning/corners is a breeze; light bike, skinny tires. I've not pushed it a lot in corners, but the bike is confidence inspiring.

Fuel consumption is good, even when flogging it. It happily takes 87. I went for a ride with someone on an FZ08. He claimed to have burned through half a tank, I was down 1 bar (7 bars total).

The highway is fine. My only issue is lack of wind protection. If you're doing 130-140km/h and need to pass/accelerate, well this is where it will struggle. She doesn't have a lot more to give, and will need some distance to get up to higher speeds. But this isn't really reasonable driving. I guess emergency situations could occur where the power here would help.

If I were doing a lot of long distance highway riding, I would consider a larger engine bike with more wind protection.

I don't have any problems or aches & pains from the ergonomics. My right foot does go a little numb after about an hour, but I think my shoes are tight, and my lower body is a bit tense.

Replacement tires (on short notice) can be hard to find. Front is 110/70R17 and rear is 140/70R17 (I think) - I've recently discovered these are not common sizes. I needed a new front in a hurry, and GP Bikes only had one make/model available.

Non riders have no clue it's a 300 (it only says Ninja). I actually get compliments (mostly kids, but men and women as well). The only time I feel inadequate is riding with other larger bikes, and they are pushing it.

Insurance is cheap. I don't even know what I pay, as I have auto, home, life and motorcycle all with same company. I think it's in the ballpark of $30/month for myself.

I have never ridden with a pasanger, but the rear shock has preset adjustments. I've not changed mine from factory, as it's fine for my riding. I'm about 160lbs. The bike might not be good 2up, as engine may start to lag with a lot of weight, and I'd be suspect of the suspension.

My inexperienced and biased opinion!

Thanks for the response! I'm not into hwy riding for this bike anyway, if I want to go on the HWY for long distance, I would get a cruiser. Have you had a passenger at all yet, any experience?

 

[inreb]

CBR250 and Ninja300 are neat bikes but bikes with engines that small should have matching chassis numbers. If a GSXR750 has a dry weight of 395lbs. there should be no reason these little bikes weigh what they do. Kind of a turn off. CBR 350 @ 290lbs would be sweet.
To enjoy legal + 20% speeds I don't think the answer is in high revving small engines rather torque rich large engines. Unfortunately finding that in a lighter weight competent chassis might be hard to find tho sumos come to mind.

 

[CafeRay]

CBR250 and Ninja300 are neat bikes but bikes with engines that small should have matching chassis numbers. If a GSXR750 has a dry weight of 395lbs. there should be no reason these little bikes weigh what they do.

Sure there is, they cost half as much. You could make a 300lb 300, but then you are talking magnesium, aluminum, titanium, and the mentality is still that smaller bikes should cost less.

No one is going to pay $12K for a 300.

 

[jcbarnar]

a CBR250 is not a Ninja 300, there is almost 50% power difference.

Also, a Kawa dealer mechanic I talked to says the 300 first gear is purposely lower for new riders (it's ridiculously low), and he's been changing out sprockets to change the final drive for better highway use. I larger on the front, one smaller on the rear. You can certainly out-accelerate most traffic without redlining.

True, there is probably a big difference between the two, maybe enough to change my opinion.

You do change gears a lot, but this is fun for me. I drive manual cars. I want to change gears, as it's engaging.

So do I, the problem is I've been driving cars with close ratio gearboxes for a decade and guess I'm just getting tired of either a) reving this crap out of them or b) shifting so much.

IMO a big bike is like a manual corvette where you can do 100km/h is 1st love it.

I like the idea of a 300 with different gearing.

 

[moarmoto]

Moarmoto, how is the 300 for hwy and 2up? is it still joyful or is it squirrly and slow? Also, when does the bike slow down in acceleration? the 130 mark?

Unfortunately i can't answer with regards to 2up. My gf got her own bike this year so she hasn't ridden in the back of 300. I have seen others do it and it looks capable. Plus, even with 600 i never really went fast because I'm risk averse when it comes to her safety.

I think the spec says the max speed is around 170 IIRC. I haven't done that though. Without actually stating what number i have done, I'll just say that i think once after 150ish the acceleration won't be as good and it'll take some time to hit that max speed.

If possible, test ride one. If you consider yourself somewhat law abiding, mature, and over the speed demon days, then even if you might find some flaws in that smaller bike, you'll find that it'll do most of what you use the bike for.

 

[Chasem]

lmfao!

Originally Posted by d00dz
don't go supermoto. I've climbed more stairs, u-turned down highway ditches, rocketed across fields than i can count after being caught by the popo when just ****ing around.

LOL. Makes me want a DS

 

[macro]

V-twin sport bikes are a good in-between. You don't have to rev the snot out of them to get to the power so it's much more manageable and useable. If you want better ergonomics, a naked sv650 is a great bike. You can find them used for cheap and insurance won't empty your wallet because they're not classified as an SS. Just a thought.

 

[unL33T]

You are referring to SS 600s like and R6, ZX6R, or CBR. There are many 600s that have actual torque and are rideable on the street: 696, ER6N, FZ07 etc.

SS600s are great for the track, but that's about it.

That's what everyone means when they say "a six hundred". They are always referring to a ~600cc inline 4. Those other models have very different characteristics, are all larger than 600s (two of them are more like 700s), and two of them are twins which are obviously a completely different beast...

Anyway, I downsized. A lot (650 to 125). I like it. I just ride at higher RPM now. The only place I don't like it is right off the line because no torque at low RPM. Even then, I think I still haven't perfected launching the thing. I'm presuming it will suck for carrying passengers but since I do that so infrequently I haven't even tried it yet. I'm even still speeding most of the time. Took it out on the highway finally and it'll do 150 pretty easily. Not much more, though.

 

[inreb]

Sure there is, they cost half as much. You could make a 300lb 300, but then you are talking magnesium, aluminum, titanium, and the mentality is still that smaller bikes should cost less.

No one is going to pay $12K for a 300.

You're exaggerating to make a point. I'll meet you in the middle. I think any generic bike could easily lose 10% of their weight by reengineering parts, no material changes. On an eight hundred pound HD, probably 25%. I should probably have looked at the KTM Duke 390 before posting this, I bet it would support my argument.

edit: KTM Duke 390 40+lbs lighter than CBR250, not 12grand

 

[kiwi]

Thanks for the response! I'm not into hwy riding for this bike anyway, if I want to go on the HWY for long distance, I would get a cruiser. Have you had a passenger at all yet, any experience?

Have you done a ride out of the GTA? How about to PA? The roads there are amazing. Worth keeping your bike just to do that once a year. Only think was the ride down there and back on a naked bike was tiring, but worth it for sure. Keep an eye in the touring section. If you only ride GTA ( mall to mall, timmies to timmies, etc) then the Ninja 300 will be good enough. Make sure you get the green one with Monster stickers. ;-)

 

[inreb]

Riding a big bike slow is better than riding a small bike fast. A lot of people don't know that. Imagine going down pit road at Daytona on a full on 1025cc KZ1000J Eddie Lawson superbike just straining at the leash one twitch of the right hand all hell breaks loose or on a CBR250 beating it's wheezy little heart out looking to lay down in the shade. Both doing it at the same speed. So sad. Maybe a little bit cute for the Honda but mostly just sad.

 

[CafeRay]

edit: KTM Duke 390 40+lbs lighter than CBR250, not 12grand

but they won't sell it here because it was deemed too expensive for the market.

Lighter = more $$, no way around it. If they coudl make theh bike lighter by just re-engineering parts, they would do that to save material costs.

The 390 sells for 4500 GBP, around $8200. I doubt people are going to pay $8200 for a <400 in Canada. Europe gets small bikes, we don't.

 

[CafeRay]

Riding a big bike slow is better than riding a small bike fast. A lot of people don't know that. Imagine going down pit road at Daytona on a full on 1025cc KZ1000J Eddie Lawson superbike just straining at the leash one twitch of the right hand all hell breaks loose or on a CBR250 beating it's wheezy little heart out looking to lay down in the shade. Both doing it at the same speed. So sad. Maybe a little bit cute for the Honda but mostly just sad.

Put this through a machismo poseur filter and nothing comes out.

 

[Roomie]

The 390 sells for 4500 GBP, around $8200. I doubt people are going to pay $8200 for a <400 in Canada. Europe gets small bikes, we don't.

Exactly. Who would spend that when for 10 you can have a 600 ss. If it was less and available here I'd have a 390 though. Very nice bike but as usual we get the shaft

 

[inreb]

but they won't sell it here because it was deemed too expensive for the market.

Lighter = more $$, no way around it. If they coudl make theh bike lighter by just re-engineering parts, they would do that to save material costs.

The 390 sells for 4500 GBP, around $8200. I doubt people are going to pay $8200 for a <400 in Canada. Europe gets small bikes, we don't.

Well thanks for explaining all that but I'm not completely arguing for a business case (altho one could be made) but for what I'd want to ride over what's on offer in that displacement category.

 

[busabim]

Sorry but torque rules on the street and a 300 aint got chit. I havent ridden anything smaller than a 1000 for decades for a reason. Come with me on the highway or any trip out of the city on a 300 with strong winds and rain and will talk..

BB

 

[inreb]

Put this through a machismo poseur filter and nothing comes out.

Because completely different bikes feel exactly the same at the same speed? Great. That'll save me some dosh.

 

[unL33T]

but they won't sell it here because it was deemed too expensive for the market.

Lighter = more $$, no way around it. If they coudl make theh bike lighter by just re-engineering parts, they would do that to save material costs.

The 390 sells for 4500 GBP, around $8200. I doubt people are going to pay $8200 for a <400 in Canada. Europe gets small bikes, we don't.

The RS125 was $9500 new plus a $1500 street kit and people still bought at least a few of those.

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