if you are looking for mor streetability you might consider a ninja or cbr250 or if you want dual sport a dr-z400s for a good middleweight

 

FWIW i had a Ninja 250 back in the day (was my first street bike) and my 331 KLX beats it hands down in all aspects other than total top end power(IE above 80mph), even then the Ninja was just screaming away and not at all a comfortable ride.

Now i'm not knocking the EX250, i've done quite a bit to my KLX to make it more street oriented, but even in stock form with some good road tires the KLX gives up very little to the ninja but has much more options to improve IMO.

 

yeah in stock form the ex250 is like the klx of the street bike world there are lots of stuff you can do cheaply and make them much better i've had a ton of street bikes in the last 10yrs and just bought another ninja 250 because i enjoy it so much and it takes a lot less to keep going than my sport 1000 it's not nearly as quick but it's a good commuter for the warm months and since i have taken it to tom(my motor builder) for some work its much faster and more fun to ride i thing with any quarter leter bike there is room for improvment and you have to know that you aren't buying something that is going to have a ton of power but the fun factor is there and as far as the ninja a change of shoes makes it a diffrent bike all together. but the op has to decide what he's wanting and go with it

 

The little Ninja 250 is one I have thought of a lot but, ultimately I need something that can go off road. It is nice to be able to take the back way home, catching some easy dirt under powerlines or on unpaved roads. When traffic is backed up, it's nice to be able to hit a ditch and catch a bike path to an alternate route too.

For a dedicated street ride, I need something bigger and heavier that will run safely on the Interstate.