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Some people dismiss the 250 as a beginner or entry-level bike, but it is much more. There is an old saying that every man who drives a Ferrari began on a Fiat. When you drive a small-engine car that takes all day to reach 50 mph, you don't give away speed. You never touch the brake. You ride at redline all day and make turns at precisely the right point, because torque does not exist to save your ass. We spent a day tossing this bike around the twisties of Southern California, spiraling up Mount Palomar, and we had the time of our life. Later in the week, when we switched to larger caliber bikes, our riding was smoother than it had been in years. The Ninja 250R is a small displacement buzz bomb: narrow, nimble, flickable and user-friendly. You don't have to flog it to hit freeway speeds. Indeed, Kawasaki suggests that this bike is the perfect commuter ride, a slash of style coupled with incredible fuel efficiency. You can ride the bike out the door for about what you spend at Starbucks in a year. And nothing you buy when you're grown up and have paid off your college loans will be as much fun.
-- by James R. Petersen |
