Well after 3 years and 17,000 miles on my ninja 250r I now have this:
Brand new 2013 Triumph Street Triple R. Loving it so far that triumph triple is one amazing engine. Got it 3 weeks ago already at 1000 miles. Now that its all broken in time to hit up the track so I can see what its really all about haha.
To add my thoughts about the 250. I really enjoyed it, it was a great bike and I did a lot with it; canyon riding, touring about, riding on the highway, trackdays (track days are very fun on the 250 especially when you blow by big bikes haha). I wanted a different kind of bike so I really focused in on the the Triumph. The 250 is a great bike to start out on and is very forgiving and really easy to ride. It did everything I needed it too and for the most part it was powerful enough. Of course there were times when more power would have been nice.I'd also put a vote in for an SV650, very great all around bike. Would have got one if there were any good ones left out here, but people are holding on to them.