Faults:

Nothing!

General Comments:

I don't even know where to start... LOL.

It's a great little bike. I got the 2007 candy plasma blue. It's very hush hush and timid under 6-7k RPM. After that it's get the hell out of my way grandma!!! The thing boogies, no doubt about it.

Great gas mileage. Great power band! Top speed of about 105-110. Had it to 120 downhill. Keep in mind the speedometer is about 10% off. My research has shown that ALL bikes are 5%-10% off... just how it is. Bigger wheels have been shown to bring the percentage down.

Good shocks to soak up bumps... for 2 up riding you should put a EX500 shock on, and even for single riding, it will greatly help handling/cornering.

Definitely look into different tires. The stock tires are well... free tires. Once they become unstuck, they usually stay that way. If you're someone that won't push the envelope/doesn't plan to even go into many turns/curvy roads, then you might be OK on stock tires. But for just a LITTLE bit more you can upgrade to awesome tires like you're on a rail. I'm upgrading to some Pirelli Sport Demons.

Not much storage under the seat at all. Helmet lock is pretty lame, as a helmet locked on it will sit inches from, if not right on the muffler... not good.

Windshield is not all that efficient. Directs wind at mainly the chest area and face a little. Tucking does help, but not immensely. I plan on upgrading to a Zero Gravity Double Bubble for it. Better protection from wind/flying debris and a cooler look.

Front shocks do move quite a bit under hard braking, but I am told a thicker weight fork oil would solve this. I will do that soon.

The 2007 models have almost a cast iron texture to them, which I don't really like... but they do come clean no problem.

Very light little bike. GREAT in the twisties. It can technically beat a Corvette in a 0-60 race!!! Do the research. After about 65-70 mph acceleration is a little slow, but nothing terrible.

All in all, I give it an A. Unfortunately I can't give an A+ because it's not an EX500 LOL! =)

All the cons are very minor and not worth getting worked up about. Do yourself a favor. Don't jump on the bandwagon like a lot of people like to do for image reasons or whatever. If it's for around town pretty much, and some freeway here and there, then get a Ninja 250. It's one bad ass little bike. You can't beat the price, insurance cots, gas costs and part prices.

Also go to www.ninja250.org where you will hear angels singing! TONS and TONS and TONS of info there! Do yourself a favor... get a damn 250 and don't be skeptical if you found this site; yes it's worth it, yes it's bad ass, yes it's fun, and everyone thinks it's at least a 500 or 600 LOL. Happy trails!

HotWheels - Money can sometimes buy happiness... but for free, just give me a road!

Faults:

It was trouble free for 10,000 miles except for one warranty repair.

All I did was follow the factory service schedule and made sure the oil was okay - I never had to add oil, by the way.

Oh, the rear tire was replaced at 5,000 miles.

A leaky water pump was replaced at 1,200 miles. I was told that it was a rare repair.

General Comments:

It was a pleasant sportbike. The high revving twin piston engine with a 13,000 rpm redline and a six speed transmission meant lots of shifting on curvy mountain roads.

I dropped it once on gravel in a parking lot, but only scratched the clutch lever and mirror.

It got 70 mpg at 70, about the same in the city. A real gas saver for sure.

The top speed was 105 mph, but you have to crouch down and hide below the windscreen to get that last 5 mph.

Takeoff power was decent, I could do burnouts and lift the front wheel in first and second... maybe that's why I had to replace the rear tire so soon?

I used a sticky gel type chain lube after some oil chain lube made a grease trail on my back jacket.

I liked the centerstand, it let me adjust the chain and lubricate it without having to 'walk' the bike while spraying lube all over the back.

It had a small, but usable compartment under the seat.

The seat got uncomfortable after the first 400 miles of a trip.