What is high mileage on a 250?

[taylorcraft07]

Still reading the ads and looking.

What whould be considered the mechanical life on a bike?

Is a 250 Ninja good for 50,000 miles or is it getting worn out at 25,000?

Does engine type or size make a difference - Slow turning V-twin vs High reving 4 cylinder type?

What other major parts wear out from miles - clutch, transmission, wheel or frame bearings?

Dave

[WoodstockJeff]

Any bike can be worn out in 500 miles, if the owner(s) are stupid and/or abusive.

Generally speaking, any bike that has accumulated less than 1000 miles per year is probably starting to rust up inside, or will have to have some serious attention paid to the carburetor(s) and fuel system, due to extended storage. Smaller engines do tend to get more wear on them, but proper, timely maintenance can make them last many tens of thousands of miles.

So, the answer to your question is, "It depends...."

[Tyee]

Probably need a new engine at 25k on the ninja 250

[Repeater]

What whould be considered the mechanical life on a bike?

It varies greatly from engine to engine, and transmission to transmission. Some are built in a manner that serves to make them last, not so much for others.

Is a 250 Ninja good for 50,000 miles or is it getting worn out at 25,000?

50,000 miles is very high for an EX250. Average life expectancy should be 30-50,000 miles. A few have turned 100,000, but almost never without significant mechanical overhauls. The EX (the old one at least... longevity for the new ones with revised internals is up in the air) was built with '80s technology to make an engine that would spin to 14,000rpm. Both bearings and the top-end wear quickly compared to engines that run under a lower load under normal circumstances. I had an EX and I loved it, but I wasn't under any illusions about them lasting 100,000+ miles.

The upside : used, low-mile engines are plentiful and very cheap. Run one 'till it gives way, then buy a replacement!

Does engine type or size make a difference - Slow turning V-twin vs High reving 4 cylinder type?

Not to any significant predictability. What matters most is the state of tune, the specific metallurgy, and the load that the engine runs under during its everyday use. Lots of slow-reving Moto Guzzis and Harley-Davidsons turn the clock over a few times before needing rebuilds. Plenty of CBRs, Interceptors, and Hayabusas do the same. If it's well-built and it's taken care of, it'll generally last a long time.

What other major parts wear out from miles - clutch, transmission, wheel or frame bearings?

Frame bearings are no big deal. I just had the steering head bearings replaced on my GPz. The expense was minimal. In general, the same would go for swingarm bearings. Except for unusual circumstances (GPzs are known to eat steering head bearings, for example), these things need just the occasional grease or replacement. Wheel bearings depend on the quality of the bearing. You can expect them to get at least 25,000 miles, unless they were insufficiently packed from the factory.

Clutches last as long as you want them to. Bring them to the drag strip, and expect minimal life. Tour a lot, and you can expect them to last a long, long time. As for the transmission, they're not common to wear out. The most you can normally expect is to bend a shift fork while making clumsy upshifts - the YZF600R, for example, had a weak shift fork that would make 2nd gear pop out of engagement under hard throttle if you missed a lot of 1-2 upshifts. The same problem happened with old Ninja 600Rs and FJ1200s.

[taylorcraft07]

I think that I will pass on this one. The pictures look pretty but it has 20k miles on it. I can wrench but don't really want to for more than just the normal stuff.

There seems to be at least one interesting bike per day between the Rochester and Buffalo Craigslists. Besides, I don't get the class until the end of the month.

Dave

[LoDownSinner]

I replaced a clutch on a Ninja 250 with about 10,000 on it this spring. the steels were perfect, and the fibers showed no measurable wear. I went ahead and replaced the fibers because I had them. This bike has been ridden by a bunch of beginners, and used for a lot of low-speed practice involving rear brake and friction zone. I really expected it to be badly worn, but it looked great.