I'd like to improve my bike for touring

Leon's longest days on the 250 exceed 1500 miles. He's exceeded 1000 miles in 24 hours about a dozen times (saddlesore.com, search for 'Ninja 250'). One of his Ninja 250s has more than 100k miles. (Not the chopper.)

Bike mods done especially for long distance touring:

• Windscreen: See the FAQ windscreen article.
• Handlebars: For a touring bike, you should sit on the seat and, without leaning forward, reach your arms out to where the handlebars should be. Handlebars from an EX500 can be trimmed and fit on the 250. That will make them a bit taller. There are also some kits to adapt standard handlebars. Storz Performance Products makes one. The bolt spacing for the Concours is the same as the Ninja 250, so call and see if the current kit will work on the 250.
• Rear shock: The EX500 shock is a good economical choice for touring. See the FAQ articles on suspension upgrades.
• Seat: If the stock seat is at all uncomfortable after a few hours, you can have the seat modified, or modify it yourself. See the FAQ seat article for information on doing it yourself. There are also numerous businesses which will reshape your seat for you. This is an incomplete list: Sargent Cycle, Rich's Custom Seats, and Corbin. Sargent and Rich's will do a custom seat by mail-order, and it appears that Corbin will only do one in person. As of July, 2006, there is no known manufacturer of a pre-made "custom" Ninja 250 seat.
• Throttle lock: a throttle lock will allow you to take your right hand off the handlebar, relax and/or exercise it while underway. There are several models available, such as Throttlemeister, or Vista Cruise (use Universal model 7/8").
• Power access: Adding some way to get at 12V power will allow you to hook up electric clothing or accessories like a GPS. Some riders use BMW power sockets and plugs (available from BMW motorcycle dealers; expensive; finished-looking), some use SAE connectors (available at any auto parts store; cheap; unsightly). Any safe access to power is great, although keep in mind that the Ninja 250's alternator will only provide about 60W for extra stuff before it stops charging the battery. The alternator produces peak power (roughly 60W extra) at 6k RPM. Any engine speed below that will produce less extra power, so keep that in mind when calculating extra power available. See this article for more information on the alternator.
• Luggage: See the appropriate articles in the FAQ Luggage & Touring category.

On longer rides, make sure you stretch regularly. Don't grip the bars any tighter than needed to maintain control. If you're too far forward, and have some of your weight on the bars, that also causes fatigue. A larger windscreen removes the fatigue caused by the wind beating you around, but it also removes the lifting forces that take some of the weight off your hands.