Honda CBR250R Ownership Review by Diwa : BikeAdvice

Honda CBR250R Ownership Review by Diwa
Honda Displays 2012 CBR1000RR FireBlade
2012 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade
Bajaj Launches Boxer BM150 at Rs.43,000

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 12:17 AM PDT

Original Source: Honda CBR250R Ownership Review by Diwa from BikeAdvice.in

I never thought I will also end up writing this. But I am not ashamed to put some time towards writing about my bike as it would help at least one person to decide upon owning this mean machine. I would say my passion towards biking and my love towards my Baby Fireblade made me write this. This is not a review in my opinion; rather it is my observation on my baby.

To start with, I am Diwagar 28 yr. Old SW Engineer living in Bangalore. From my childhood I dreamt of owning a bike but I never got a chance to own one until I get my first ride from my own earnings. It was 2007 I finally decided to get a new bike (preferably 100 -125CC), but had multiple choices. I personally didn't like Bajaj & TVS products for its refinement and reliability (No offence taken).

I ended with Honda, Hero Honda and Yamaha. I decided to go for Hero Honda Passion Plus with optional Disc brake in front. But unfortunately I didn't get one with Disc anywhere which left me to choose something else (Later I realized, it wasn't unfortunate). I didn't get convinced with any bike without a front disc. So I landed in 125-150CC mill and finally decided to get Hero Honda CBZ Xtreme.

I would like to thank my friend Nizam who deliberately wanted me to go for 150CC or more after seeing my passion towards biking. I went to the showroom and booked the bike without even taking a test drive, having trust on Hero Honda's reliability, and of course the name 'CBZ'. It was 31 Mar 2007 I got my first ride and I was with me for 4 years until I sold it to give way for my new baby.

It got a huge impact in my life towards biking. It brought the true biker in me out. Topped 120+ Kmph several times, made multiple long drives (from Bangalore) to Mysore, Salem, Chennai, and Madurai. It never let me down. Even after riding it for more than 33K Kms and owning it for about 4 years I never thought of upgrading it until I came across the legend.

As I keep going to blogs, I came across news about Honda CBR250R launch which was yet to happen worldwide and to my wonder in India too. I would say it was Love at first sight. I was totally obsessed by its beauty. Wow I never saw such an attractive bike which is affordable. I know many of you reading this article won't agree with me in this regards, still looks are dominated by one's individual taste.

I started digging more about the beauty. 26 Bhp power (Indian version degraded to 25 Bhp compromised for mileage), 22+Nm torque liquid cooled engine with fuel Injector, fatter rubbers. Can I expect anything more in a bike for this price, that too from Honda?

Days passed, I started thinking about upgrading my ride, meanwhile I learnt more about the bike and it was announced officially and in India Honda started taking pre-bookings. Few more days passed, finally I decide, Yes am going for this baby, I immediately went to the showroom along with my roomie and made a pre-booking for ABS version as I already knew about ABS technology.

Like everyone out there it was one of the toughest parts of life when I was waiting for delivery of my bike. Meanwhile I sold my Xtreme and waiting for this bike with fervent. As everyone I used to call the dealer once in a week to check if they got my ride. It was very frustrating the way Honda responded. They didn't have any deadline for my bike delivery and no one took responsibility to answer.

Finally after 4 months of long wait I got an unexpected call on 25th June when I was in office saying they got one Black ABS model on that day's lot. I was literally flying to see it in flesh. I returned home early, and made quick arrangement for cash that day and finally the next day me and my friend went to pay the remaining cash. We opened the entrance gate of the showroom and astounded for a moment.

A Repsol edition FireBlade was in the central display welcoming us. For few seconds I forgot my baby FireBlade seeing the massive machine. After few mins of observation we moved on. Saw 3 different coloured CBR 250R's on a side, couple of people staring them. I had a big smile after seeing my baby. Wow, what a beauty. I didn't expect someone to tell me that "Sir, this is your bike".

I knew it. No gimmicks, It was the only black Honda CBR250R that too ABS version. It was not cleaned that time. Still I saw the inside beauty. Paid all amount, finished all formalities and left it there itself for registration. But I was not happy to leave it there after seeing it. It was Sunday the next day, so registration got postponed and on 28th June I got a call saying, my bike is ready for delivery.

It was morning when I got the call and I was in my office. Oh no it was the longest hours I had in my office. Finally in evening I got back home, picked up my friend again and went to the showroom. Oh man it was real beauty this time, cleaned and polished. I did all regular checkups and looked for scratches and ready for delivery.

The mechanic was trying to explain me about the bike and functionality of parts. I interrupted and told him "Boss I know everything about this bike, please get it out to the road, I don't have patience anymore". He got it out and now my baby is in my hand. What a beauty and what a pleasure to sit on it. Every onlooker's eyes were on my bike.

I was in a dream land. Brought the engine to life for the first time after I got it. What a grunt. It was pleasing to my ears, engaged to first gear and started to move it slowly for the first time. It was a different and pleasing experience to me though riding two wheelers is nothing new to me. I returned home and in the same night I removed the saree guard with the help of some roadside mechanic.

Oh bad, the worst ever engineering in a bike I will say. An ugly piece of metal not in line with the bike. It was protruding out as it went down. Also I noticed there is no ladies footrest to use along with guard. I was wondering what this piece of crap is for then. It looked really much more beautiful after removing it.

Does anyone bother to have sareegurad in a sports bike like this?

It was again tough time to do run-in when u have so much power left under your belly. Honda doesn't mention to limit Rpm, instead they advise only to take it to higher rev gently until 500KMs. Now am past 1.6K Kms. I did a single long drive Bangalore – Salem – Bangalore covering about 450Kms. Let me summarize my observation on this mean machine.

Looks

I know it is about one's personal preference. I love it. Am 5.6 feet and lean. My friends told me that, Honda CBR250R suits me well and doesn't look bulky. I love the layered fairing when compared to the fairing of Ninja/ZMR. Headlight looks terrific with beautiful headlights and 2 park lights making a "Y" shape design from the front and one can easily notice the sleekness of the bike though it is 250CC mill with full front fairing.

I saw many complain about the number plate positioning in the bike. I ask only one question to all of them. "Guys, do you have a better position to fix the number plate in front neatly which abides Indian Law?" I see few doing sticker work of the number in the front fender. In my personal opinion it doesn't look nice as it condenses the beauty of the fender area and does it abide our law? I thought of doing arrangement like how it is made in Ninja 250R (mounted to RVMs) but that too will not look better.

From rear, ya quick look at the tail lamp resembles old Hero Honda Hunk's tail lamp, But one can differentiate both with the fatter rubber. Sit on the bike and you can feel its beauty from the sculpted tank, Best in class instruments. It looks great and quite useful. It can't even be compared with decade old styled full Analogue console of Ninja.

One of my colleagues owns a Ninja 250R. I parked my bike right next to it and found CBR looks bit smaller in size. But very minute difference. What I love in Ninja is only the roto-petal discs. Fairing – CBR looks more attractive because of layering. Ninja's fairing looks bare but bigger. Headlights, Ninja got twin beam, still doesn't look as attractive as CBR's.

Instruments – No comparison here, CBR is the winner. Seat, CBR looks nice, In Ninja I noticed the side fiber next to rear seat is huge in width, doesn't look good. Tail Lamp- Though simple, it looks best. LED lights would have been a killer. Trust me it got a great road presence, one can see lot of onlookers turning their head towards you when you pass on in a CBR. Also more than 100 of them have enquired me about the bike in signals and parking.

Performance

All of you should know about the tech spec of the Honda CBR250R, if not you can get it from official Honda site. It got wonderful pickup, and as the tech specification reads its torque matters a lot when it comes to city traffic. I live in Bangalore and you guys should know about the traffic here. I could easily pull up the bike from traffic in the middle of a gear.

Also When I start from any signal, always I will be in the front leaving every other Indian made bike behind by a huge margin. I never had a head on with Ninja 250R, but do that matter when you get more than 95% of its pickup (as per tech specification) in half of its price? Also if you shed about 2L in total you will get C-ABS version, where in for Ninja you need to pay 3L+ for non-ABS version.

Come on guys if you want that much more power, get a CBR and do modification which in total will cost much less and yield great performance. I reached 148KMPH top speed as of now and when I reached this speed I had few more power left unused. I had to reduce due to traffic in the highway I rode. It didn't take too long to reach top end.

I weigh less than 60KG FYI. My cousin brother weighs about 70KG and he touched 156 Kmph top end. Pulling heavy riders won't be a hindrance for CBR. Engine always got a low grunting and I feel this is must to get sporty feel, it is not noisy though. But don't expect a butter smooth engine as u always find in low powered Honda engines.

This is not a problem at all; instead it is designed that way. Fuel injector does its job well. Never felt clogging anytime even for a second. Honda has set auto-choke at every start, so cold start is not an issue with this machine. Because of auto-choking you need to wait for about 5-10 seconds for the choke to get released after mild warm-up of the engine.

Control & Safety

To start with I own ABS version. When I was doing 148 Kmph, not even a second I had a doubt about the control, engine was growling nice (not too blaring), it was adequate. Rubbers are good enough to control the bike with full confidence (Continental ContiGo). If you take a drive for short one might feel lack of grip to the tarmac. But it is good, and it gets better and better as it heats up.

It sticks much well after a short run-in. And in wet condition, it really jolts me. I even had a thought whether this is a Wet road rubber! Such a great grip in wet roads, I did up to 140 Kmph in wet in heavy rain, great grip to the road, and of course ABS helped me gain the trust to reach this speed in wet. People say if you have ABS you will lose fun. YES you can't do stunts when you have ABS on.

In CBR there is no such option to turn off ABS as in RTR. According to me it is right, when you pay about 30-35K extra for a safety feature, why do you need option to turn the feature off? Doesn't that make any sense? Breaking is precise and C-ABS makes it BEST. Honda provides Nissin brakes for C-ABS version with 3 pot caliper in front and single pot caliper in rear, For standard model you will get Bybre (Indian subsidiary of Brembo brakes) Dual pot caliper in front and single pot in rear.

The extra piston in C-ABS is for the Combined system, which will get activated when rear brake is applied. Many of you may argue saying it is fun to do stunts and people like me won't understand. I understand what such guys think, but according to me it is my hard earned money, I don't want to spoil my life/bike, many will do that when money comes from their DAD's pocket, Few do that from their hard earned money too. It is finally one's personal wish.

I am having fun too. Driving fast, but am safe too. My bike is 100% under my control; I can do emergency braking in both dry and wet condition. First, I want my life then only I can have fun. Risking life for fun is stupidity, as you might lose the fun once for all. I recommend C-ABS for any who choose CBR. It is really worth for its price. Few might argue that "am perfect in braking why I need to spend such a huge amount".

Remember something, no one is perfect in this world, you can never be on par with a computer controlled mechanism acting about 10-15 times per second. The more speed you go, even milliseconds matter while braking. When you can spend 170K on a machine to have fun, why not 30K more for your precious life? Everyone say "wear helmet. Ride safe". But unless you got a helmet which really protects you, it is waste wearing one.

What I mean hear is always use a full face helmet. If you can't pay more for a reputed brand, get a decent, good quality helmet with ISI embedded in it. If you look at the pictures I posted, my helmet will look like a motocross helmet with full face cover. This is best looking according to me. But it got its own drawbacks. It is prone to turn your head sideways if crosswind is more. Also while tucking in for racing posture it hampers the vision. So a simple full face helmet without the top plastic fender would be the great choice for this bike, for looks, safety as well as comfort.

Comfort

I am 5'6" tall and it is much comfortable for me. I feel the sporty posture, still not leaning much which may lead to back pain. But my roomie is 5'10" and he feels he has to bend more to reach the handles. He owns a Classic 350. Am not sure the erect position of that bull made him feel so. So Tall riders, please have a check on this part before booking one.

But a 250CC bike should be felt like that in my personal opinion. There is enough cushioning in the seat, far better than many bikes out there in the market. I never felt the need of taking a break during long drive. I did take break for a cup of coffee and not to give rest to me or my machine because the coolant which is circulated really reduces this pain.

Economy

Here comes the most important factor of the observation. It started with 16Kmpl and it gradually increasing. Now it looks like it got saturated. The final recorded mileage is 30Kmpl. I take the bike daily to 3 digit speed, as my office is located in outer ring road; Do a quick pull from signals. I do speed but not a rough drive. So if you are not going to take the bike as hard as me, you should be getting 30+ Kmpl depending on your driving style. Obviously you can't expect more from a performance machine. I am happy getting 30Kmpl for my driving style.

Short Comings

Front mud flap is tiny and in rainy season it gathers more mud into the radiator grill and in our shoes too.
Horn is so feeble, it does sound as if it is for a 100CC scooter.
Front fender transparent plastic is very light and prone to vibration even in bit higher revs (but doesn't make any rattling noise till now).
Though it looks beautiful, the tail lamp assembly resembles Hero Honda Hunk. At least a LED tail lamp would look better.
Helmet holder really sucks, almost unusable as it is under the rear seat.
Storage space is very puny. But adequate to keep standard tool kit and few documents and a small piece of cloth.

Conclusion

If you ask me "can I get a CBR?" My answer to you is a big "NO", Because if you know about bikes and if you love bikes, you won't be asking me this silly question. Instead you would have booked one by now. Please don't buy this machine if you are just looking as a commuter. This won't satisfy your requirement of mileage or leisured posture. This machine is for guys who know what biking is all about.

Honda really didn't let me down in anyways other than the delivery delay, in particular this Baby Ceeber. Even am very much satisfied by the service done by the Honda engineers, they did use original oil filter while changing and used full synthetic oil as per the recommendation in the manual. Go for it if you want all in one package. This is not just economical, it is best in class.

Adding another cylinder and extracting a bit more juice doesn't make Ninja excel this excellent piece of engineering. To be frank, even if Ninja is made in India and if it is available in same price bracket, my vote is still for CBR. Also guys please don't compare this with R15 as it is entirely a different piece designed for a different purpose. After all it is just 150CC mill. Would you see it to be fair comparing CBR 250R with the FireBlade?

Hope I didn't bore you guys much. This is my first ever blog, So please excuse if you don't like it. Please leave your comments below. You could also ask me anything which you might want to ask about my Baby. Thanks for reading and enjoy your ride as much as you can, but well within your safety limits.

Regards,
Diwa

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Honda Displays 2012 CBR1000RR FireBlade

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 12:10 AM PDT

Original Source: Honda Displays 2012 CBR1000RR FireBlade from BikeAdvice.in

It is a trend in India that even if a bike is all set for launch the same year, not many companies will reveal it to public, not even to media. But it seems that the strategy of Honda is just nowhere close to this. The Japanese two wheeler maker is all set with its 2012 model of its flagship bike – The CBR 1000RR FireBlade. The company has displayed the next year's model on one of the showrooms in Hong Kong.

There are not much of upgrades from the present model which came to the market prior to this version. However the difference is observed in the form of its alloy design and the fairing of the bike. The company has taken efforts to create a new look for this old bike and to a greater extent it has worked too. The bikes looks refreshed with a new lease of life. I also felt that the bike looks very aggressive when compared with its siblings or even with its previous models.

According to the rumours in the industry, this model will be equipped with a new type of Fuel Injection system known as DSFI which stands for Dual Stage Fuel Injection. Also the chassis of this new model will be based on the present 2011 model, which means that the basic structure will be the same. (It's of course not an entirely new bike to come up with an all new chassis).

But we do not have any clues on when exactly the bike will hit the roads. Also, there is not an actual spec list for this bike that is available. This makes us unable to guess the features that these bikes are equipped with. But, we'll soon come up with more details of this bike.

No details on the price as well. But, I guess there will not be much of price difference between the present model and the 2012 version of the CBR 1000RR FireBlade.

So, the video would have made you analyse how the bike looks. If you've something to say, leave your thoughts in the form of words below.

Regards,
M.Naren.
Author – BikeAdvice.in

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2012 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 12:06 AM PDT

Original Source: 2012 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade from BikeAdvice.in

Greetings! The world of motorcycling is turning into more of a premium segment as each day there is whole lot news about some other premium bike be it from Ducati, Honda or some other brand. The world has certainly grown into premium arena of bike and manufacturers are thus keen to roll out new improved sporty muscular bikes every now and then. The bike that is the center of discussion today is none other than one of the most awaited and internationally reputed Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade. The reason the bike is in news because of its first pictures and video.

2012 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade is probably one of the most scouted after bikes in the world arena. Previously there have been many speculations regarding the machine but now almost everything has come out of the fog. The 2012 CBR1000RR Fireblade is not going to be propelled by a V4 as was expected by many. Rather the engine will remain the same as in current model. News also has it that the bike may not use extensive technology for at least 2012 model but power and efficiency may marginally find its way up.

Now lets move on to the looks of the bike. 2012 Fireblade has got great muscular looks as they seem to be given a slight face lift than the previous model. The design of the bike has been fine tuned making it sharper and angular. The bike sports a new front which has sharp ends accompanied by new headlamp design and more elongated mirrors. Other features of the bike include bigger forks, new instrument panel, new rear suspension and new lighter wheels. The bike is also being offered with a C-ABS as in the current model, but it will not come as a standard fitments. Though nothing officially has been said by Honda, yet one may presume that the company will come up with advanced version of C-ABS and dual clutch transmission. All in all, the bike looks good and one can tell that Honda did a good job.

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Bajaj Launches Boxer BM150 at Rs.43,000

Posted: 23 Aug 2011 08:15 PM PDT

Original Source: Bajaj Launches Boxer BM150 at Rs.43,000 from BikeAdvice.in

Bajaj has quietly launched the touted Bharat bike, Boxer BM 150 in the market which is aimed at the utilitarian market rather than the urban sporty bikes loving crowd.

The bike, to me, makes sense as it woud provide an option of ease of riding because of its bigger more powerful and more importantly more torque engine to the local rural guy whose main aim is to carry heavier luggage to different places.

I caught the bike at a local dealer in Pune and here are the main points which I noticed about the bike:

Important Points

- The bike is powered by a 150cc engine sans DTSi ie with a conventional single spark plug. Engine head is black colored with the remaining engine silver in color – resembles the Discovers mill.
- According to Bajaj, Boxer is targeted towards the rural crowd who want a no-frills good torque laden transport two wheeler
- Very conventional looking bike
- Round headlamp with a big (and a little disproportionate) windshield, round-oval orange side blinkers, basic tank, leveled seat, metallic grab rail cum light load holders
- Rear looks similar to older generation Boxer with a similar tail light
- Covered chain, commuter seating posture, spoke wheels.
- One good thing about Boxer is that self starter comes as standard. Also provided is the all important kick starting provision.
- Drum brakes both at the front and rear to keep costs under control. Though discs might have been an added advantage in most cases but considering the usage and riding habits of the targeted crowd, this seems to be a sensible move.
- Instrument panel consists of a speedometer calibrated till 140 kmph (reddened from 120 kmph) – highly optimistic..I don't think it would have any crazy acceleration or top speed, odometer and a fuel gauge along with the neutral gear, upper and side blinkers indicators. Notice the absence of any tripmeter.
- Weighs low
- Electricals are all conventional with the light dependent on engine race. Also it was a little dim and difficult to read speedo-odo readings.
- Switchgear is all basic- light On/off switch (no parking light), electric starter, horn, side blinkers indictor button, upper/lower button and Pass switch.
- Tires are pretty fat from the conventional. Rear is 100/90 – 17 and front is a meaty 3.00 – 17 where the general convention is 2.75. Both tires are tube type and belong to some unknown brand called 'MahaGrip' (It might be a sub brand to some known company, however I am hearing it for the first time).
- Front suspension are the regular tubular telescopic whereas the rear are the Bajaj's trademark Spring in Spring (SNS) suspension.
- Bajaj has kept its name away from the motorcycle. The only place which makes you sure that this is a Bajaj production is the small Bajaj moniker at the engine. At the tank 'BOXER' and side panels 'BM150' decals galore.
- Engine note had a 'power' cry to it.

Pricing

43,392 Ex showroom
1196 Insurance
3217 RTO
350 Smart Card
48,155 On Road Pune

This price makes Boxer the cheapest 150cc in the market today. Ironically the next cheapest 150cc is also a Bajaj product – Discover 150 which is Rs 55,761 OTR Pune. At this price point, Boxer competes directly with Hero Moto Corps different Splendor models like the CD Dawn, CD Deluxe, Splendor Plus, Splendor NXG, Super Splendor: HMSI's 125cc Shine, TVS Star City; Yamaha Crux, YBR 110/125 etc.

Bare basic in nature, Boxer's USP would be its bigger engine which would promise much better load carrying capabilities, superior performance and similar mileages as compared to the competition. Any Tom can predict that this bike has to prove itself to be a tough product which can withstand the abuse of rougher terrains, more frequency of heavier loads and slightly lesser maintenance timelines. And if this bike excels in this department, only then Bajaj can hope to gain any amount of share in this segment from the market leaders- Hero Moto since ages, who would/might also suffer from brand dilution after the exit of Honda from the JV.

This product comes right at the time when Bajaj senses they can carve into Hero Motos absolutely unbreakable grip on the market as people might also plan to move away from the company. If Boxer succeeds as a product, it would definitely take Bajaj surge closer to the market leaders. Check out the photos and make your own opinions about the bike.

- Saad Khan