Just fine on dry pavement. But go super easy in wet weather. At 35 km per hour with no throttle or brake input they slid out from under me in a tight but steady corner in the wet. No warning.
Best Tires for the Kawasaki Ninja 250
Kawasaki Ninja 250 drivers have left 4 tire reviews on Tire Reviews, covering 1,013,600 miles of real world driving. Every tire they rated is ranked below, so you can see what actually works on this car.
- 4owner reviews
- 1,013,600 milescovered on them
- 2different tires rated
- 57%average tire score
The quick answer
| Season | Owners' pick | Owner rating | Our category test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | Michelin Pilot Street 5.6 | 73% from 3 reviews | Best Summer Tires |
Highest weighted owner score from Kawasaki Ninja 250 drivers. Full rankings and the evidence behind them below.
The best rated tires for the Kawasaki Ninja 250
Rated only by drivers of this car. Each tire needs at least 3 reviews from the Kawasaki Ninja 250 to be ranked; the order weights a tire's score by how many reviews back it, so one glowing review cannot top a table.
Summer tires
The highest rated tire in the Summer category for the Kawasaki Ninja 250 is the Michelin Pilot Street - 73% from 3 owner reviews across 13,600 miles.
| # | Tire | Owner rating | Reviews | Distance reviewed | TR Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Michelin Pilot Street
|
73% | 3 | 13,600 miles | 5.6 |
Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best Summer Tires →
TR Score is the tire's overall Tire Reviews rating out of 10, built from independent test results and every owner review of that tire - not just the reviews from this car. The owner rating column is this car only.
Every tire reviewed on the Kawasaki Ninja 250
The complete record, including discontinued tires and tires with too few reviews to rank, ordered by the amount of evidence. A further 1 tires have a single review each; they count toward the totals but are not listed.
| Tire | Season | Owner rating | Reviews | Distance reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michelin Pilot Street | Summer | 73% | 3 | 13,600 miles |
Tire sizes Kawasaki Ninja 250 drivers run
The sizes fitted in the reviews on this page. Each one links to the top rated tires in that size, across every car.
What Kawasaki Ninja 250 drivers say
The most recent owner reviews from this car, in their own words.
Honestly I see a lot of bad reviews for the Tire. I can't really fault them myself.
I've had them on my ninja 250 for a bit over a year and 11,000km later they still look new with a good profile, no squaring or anything. The smallest tread depth is on the front with 1.9mm to go until the wear bars. 2.5mm on the rear.
PS tire size on the rear is a 140/70.17 my tire size isn't listed.
I have had one worrying moment in the dry where I felt the front slipping, but it gripped back after what felt like sideways ABS. Road surface was smooth, warm day and I didn't see anything on the road on that pass or on inspection the following day. I was riding briskly but not pushing it.
No faulting wet weather performance, in fact it feels better in the wet than in the dry (though I ride more cautiously)
I regularly mess around breaking traction when its safe to do so, to see where the limits line. When I try endo's/stoppies I lock up 50% of the time, 50% of the time I lift the rear wheel, that seems good enough for me - rear wheel off the ground in my last rainy ride.
I'm definitely not a super fast rider (1cm chicken strips and my knees are still intact) but I do ride aggressively in a spirited manner. I mostly use my ninja to commute (on twisty country roads), hence the upright riding.
My other bike is a Street Triple 675 hence not using the ninja to its maximum capabilities.
I've had them on my ninja 250 for a bit over a year and 11,000km later they still look new with a good profile, no squaring or anything. The smallest tread depth is on the front with 1.9mm to go until the wear bars. 2.5mm on the rear.
PS tire size on the rear is a 140/70.17 my tire size isn't listed.
I have had one worrying moment in the dry where I felt the front slipping, but it gripped back after what felt like sideways ABS. Road surface was smooth, warm day and I didn't see anything on the road on that pass or on inspection the following day. I was riding briskly but not pushing it.
No faulting wet weather performance, in fact it feels better in the wet than in the dry (though I ride more cautiously)
I regularly mess around breaking traction when its safe to do so, to see where the limits line. When I try endo's/stoppies I lock up 50% of the time, 50% of the time I lift the rear wheel, that seems good enough for me - rear wheel off the ground in my last rainy ride.
I'm definitely not a super fast rider (1cm chicken strips and my knees are still intact) but I do ride aggressively in a spirited manner. I mostly use my ninja to commute (on twisty country roads), hence the upright riding.
My other bike is a Street Triple 675 hence not using the ninja to its maximum capabilities.
Honestly I see a lot of bad reviews for the Tire. I cant really fault them myself.
I've had them on my ninja 250 for a bit over a year and 10,000km later they still look new with a good profile, no squaring or anything.
I have had one worrying moment in the dry where I felt the front slipping, but it gripped back after what felt like sideways ABS. Road surface was smooth, warm day and I didn't see anything on the road on that pass or on inspection the following day.
No faulting wet weather performance, in fact it feels better in the wet than in the dry (though I ride more cautiously) - rear wheel off the ground in my last rainy ride
I regularly faf around breaking traction to see where the limits line, trying endo's / stoppies whatever, I lock up 50% of the time, 50% of the time I lift the rear wheel, that seems good enough for me.
I'm definitely not a super fast rider (1cm chicken strips and my knees are still intact) but i do ride aggressively in a spirited manor. I mostly use my ninja to commute (on twisty country roads), hence the upright riding.
Other bike is a Street Triple 675 hence not using the ninja to its maximum capabilities
I've had them on my ninja 250 for a bit over a year and 10,000km later they still look new with a good profile, no squaring or anything.
I have had one worrying moment in the dry where I felt the front slipping, but it gripped back after what felt like sideways ABS. Road surface was smooth, warm day and I didn't see anything on the road on that pass or on inspection the following day.
No faulting wet weather performance, in fact it feels better in the wet than in the dry (though I ride more cautiously) - rear wheel off the ground in my last rainy ride
I regularly faf around breaking traction to see where the limits line, trying endo's / stoppies whatever, I lock up 50% of the time, 50% of the time I lift the rear wheel, that seems good enough for me.
I'm definitely not a super fast rider (1cm chicken strips and my knees are still intact) but i do ride aggressively in a spirited manor. I mostly use my ninja to commute (on twisty country roads), hence the upright riding.
Other bike is a Street Triple 675 hence not using the ninja to its maximum capabilities
Drive a Kawasaki Ninja 250?
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Where this data comes from
Every rating on this page was submitted by a driver through the review form on this site, naming the car, the tire, the size and the distance covered. Reviews are checked by hand before publication, and the page rebuilds automatically as new ones arrive.
About the TR Score
The Tire Reviews Score rates each tire out of 10 using independent test results and the full body of owner reviews, so you can check a car-specific ranking against the wider evidence.
Who does the testing
Every test published as a Tire Reviews test is run by Jonathan Benson, who has been testing tires independently since 2007.