Hello everyone. Just found the forum, registered and came to say hi. I ride a white 2011 Ninja 250R, the Brazilian model that has fuel injection. I also know about mechanics and I service and repair my own bike. This is my very first motorcycle, crashed once on a corner with gravel on the tarmac at around 40 km/h, minor damage to the fairings on the left. And I'm from Brazil, hope you don't mind. We have a Kawasaki forum in Brazil where I'm called "Doca". Also, I'm 30 and I'm planning to be on a race GP this year called "Copa Ninja" (Ninja Cup), they have a category for starters, Ninja 250R and 300 models. I'm a bit old, but this is what I wanted to do all my life, so I'll take a shot at it. Glad to be part of the forum.
Hey eduardolvt A warm welcome to our Brazilian latest member. I'm certain that members here in Australia and beyond would love to learn more about motorcycling/racing in your country. It would be great if you could keep us informed on your racing in the [copa ninja]. Would enjoy some photos if possible. Good to have on board :Thumbs_up:
Welcome! Great to have someone from another land Many years ago I travelled thru Ecuador, Peru and Cost Rica and it was fantastic Will be very interested in your racing exploits....I remember seeing some video on the "Ninja Cup" (youtube I think?) Your mechanical knowledge will be welcome also. Definately post some pics of your bike and of your racing experiences if possible ! Here we go....
Hi eduardolvt We are a very friendly bunch in here and welcome everyone no mater where you are from or how old you are. As long as you remember that you are only as old as you feel. Would love to hear about riding in your country. Being a little older in the entry level of the "Copa Ninja" could be an advantage for you as you have the life experience to fall back on when things don't go as planned. I hope that you do well with your racing. Love to hear how you go with you racing and some photos of your country and bike would be great
I've noticed, you're very welcoming. I was about to write that. Thank you. I have little experience racing. Besides, I weight around 90kg, I'll have to shave around 10kg until mid March for the first round (which is "hard" and somewhat close to impossible). I'm running walking every other day and I'm late on my scheduled for this. [size=small]So, don't expect much about results.[/SIZE] Pictures of the bike: I'm getting it ready for racing, now it's with the front fairings removed and I'm planning what to do with the side stand. People here saw it off the bike and since I'm alone I dislike the idea very much, I have a rear stand to keep it up and sawing the side stand saves weight, but it's marginal. Besides the fairings removed it's all standard, even the original muffler. I've been told that the original muffler is too big for certain corners and might drag on the ground (also, same goes for the side stand but only if you're pushing real hard), so I'll have to spend some time and money on another one or maybe a full exhaust. I guess you know the picture (full of noise, it was late in the night). It's attached. And the video is one of the actual races. Most races happen at Interlagos, 6 out of 8 this year. Again, thanks a lot for the welcome and for the support.
In your first year of racing you may find that you will improve very quickly at first but then you will hit a platto and improvement will be slower. You may find that you don't hit the corners quite as hard as some of the more experienced guys so you may find that the standard exhaust will be OK. Also if you do drop the bike and damage the exhaust it may be a better time to upgrade. Can you do a practice at the track you will be racing at before the comp starts? That would give you an idea of what scrapes. If the bike is only for the track then removing the side stand would be OK but as you say it is very little weight saving. Is not removing it a safety issue? As for dropping the weight I am in the same boat but I don't have such a tight time frame ;D Good luck and remember getting out and having a go is what really matters. Not where you place.
