If I wanted fun,quick,but not necessarily high speed,I'd look closely at the Kawasaki 250 and 300. They have forum support at near cult following levels and are about bulletproof.

If I buy another bike it will be  Triumph America.

Ah yeah the triumph america is beautiful.  But I've got the savage for a cruiser.  I'd probably pass on the ninja 250 or 300 just because of how minimal the increase in power would be.  

What about the ninjas in the 600cc range?  Are they also indestructible?
650-750cc super sports (CBR, GSXR, R6) is what I was looking at before but i'm not sure I want the crazy in line 4 top speed.

And Nuthing sux quite like buying a bike,then finding out about another bike that kixxbutt and costs less.. Seriously, check out the little Kawasakis, hunt up a forum,

NSCU  If you can, go to a kawa dealer and see if you can test ride, the 300 ninja...trust me, I , like you really don't NEED to do 140.
How big are ya?  I'm 5'10, 165lbs, 30" inseam and the 300 is all the bike I want or need.
I've drivin' it twice from the Florida panhandle to tennesse, and into the NC dragon area. Not a problem, handles awesome in the twisties and has enough to pass on the interstate. It runs comfortably at 65-70 even though it is a really low geared bike (you go through 3 gears getting up to 40mph).
I have topped mine out at 110mph, but that was just to see what it had, I rarely go over 70 and it gets in the mid to upper 60mpg range (unless you twist the heck out of the throttle! Its hard not too! LOL)
Fuel injected, water cooled, runs like a little top, makes me grin everytime I get on it (and that's every day now).
Oh and its combo steel and aluminum frame keeps it at a measly 362lbs. Easy for an old guy like me to pick up.
Oh, and did mention I made mine pretty?  

NCSUindy09 wrote on 10/20/14 at 09:20:22:


I think Kawasaki calls them all Ninjas, but the 300,650 and the 1000 Ninjas are very different from the Z models.

Yamaha also makes a couple of bikes you might want to look at if you really want something around 650cc. The FZ6R, which is a direct competitor to the 650 Ninja, and the new FZ- 07 which is a naked bike like the SV650.

You come from a thumper, may I suggest you stick with a thumper or, at best, a big twin (not HD related   )

Yamaha makes the nice MT-1 (big 1100cc twin, meaty yet easy to ride) and the smaller and lighter MT-3 (600cc single with a cafè-racer style frame)


The japs still make big bore enduros (Yamaha XT and the like)
The japs still make mid-size twin-sports (Honda TransAlp and the like)

Yet... the picture is clearly incomplete if you don't consider European manufacturers.

BMW made the excellent R850, R1100 and 1150 flat twins, test ride one before you "...naaah...", you'll be surprised beyond belief !
(I certainly was... I ride a 105bhp R1200ST which will easily match the Savage's fuel economy, yet accellerate out of my socks if I dare twist the throttle!)
They come in plain jane "R", RS (cafè racer), RT (long haul tourer) and GS versions.


Moto Guzzi make the excellent V7, a 750cc V.twin with "only" 48bhp (51 in its very first version) which combines Italian frame design and Italian Guzzi mechanics with japanese reliability.
It's over 100lbs lighter than a HD 883 Sportster, shaft drive "without" the clunky gearshift of old, terriffic fuel economy and the looks of 1970's vintage.



Guzzi also made the excellent V1100-V1200 V-twins such as the Bellagio. Pulls girls more than any Harley...  



Both Guzzi and BMW may look heavy, but have the agility and maneuverability of a bicycle once going.

If you want to go British, Triumph hase more models than I care remember.

If you must go japanese... consider kawasaki's W650/800: brit looks with japanese engineering (Kawasaki at that !)



Difficult choices...