Suspension upgrades for Ninja 250R

SpicyCactus

Well-known member
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on suspension upgrades to do for a 2010 Ninja 250R. Currently I'm just doing track days in B group, but since most of my bike is stock, it gets pretty bouncy and jiggly. I'm also a somewhat-new rider (riding for ~9 months), so all this technical mumbo jumbo is also new to me :ride

What I read online (mostly from ninja250.org, some from various other places) and probably plan to do is:
- change fork oil (14w oil with 140mm air gap?)
- change fork springs (0.75kg/mm)
- use aftermarket rear shock (probably a used one, because new ones are $$$)

Also, I'm 5'1" and about 139lbs without gear. I know I could just take it to a shop and get them to do all the hard work, but I'd like to try do forks and shock myself with friends so that I can learn :gsxrgrl

My questions are:
- Do my 3 changes above sound like a good plan?
- What brands of fork springs do people suggest? Currently looking at Race Tech
- What aftermarket rear shock brands do people suggest? Currently was looking for Penske 8983 but I'm open to anything not emulsion-type and preferably with shim-stack valve
- Would using an aftermarket rear shock be better or worse than using an EX500 or GSXR shock?
- I found two eBay listings for a Penske 8983 shock, but one is advertised for a 2000 SV650 and the other for 2004 CBR1000rr. As long as it's Penske 8983, would it be okay regardless of what the previous owner put it on?

Sorry for the long post, but thank you in advance :)
 

motomania2007

TC/MSF/CMSP/ Instructor
My suggestion is to take the bike to go see a suspension expert like Dave Moss to set up your suspension.

There is a lot of hands on work needed to do it right.
 

Maddevill

KNGKAW
True but stock Ninja 250 suspension is a weak point for track day riders. I'm sure there are people on here that have raced/ tracked this bike. Just need to start compiling info.

Mad
 

dravnx

Well-known member
Send Dave Moss an email explaining what you want to accomplish. Upgrade the suspension to his suggestions and then have him tune it for you.
 

89fj

late braking
Jim at Catylist Reaction will also be able to help you out. He's probably done many of those bikes over the years
 

SVJ

That Looks About Right
I have gsxr shocks on two ninja 250s. They work just fine for my 200lbs. The bike with the upgraded fork internals handles a little better, but the one with stock isn’t too bad if you are careful on the brakes. The upgrades are easy and something good to learn on, go for it! I have an elka that I took off of one that needs to be rebuilt. Let me know if you want it.
 

Maddevill

KNGKAW
I have gsxr shocks on two ninja 250s. They work just fine for my 200lbs. The bike with the upgraded fork internals handles a little better, but the one with stock isn’t too bad if you are careful on the brakes. The upgrades are easy and something good to learn on, go for it! I have an elka that I took off of one that needs to be rebuilt. Let me know if you want it.

She's out of the country for another week. I'll let her know. Hang on to that Elka.

Mad
 
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