Honda CBR250R.

[Paulvt1]

Ha! Love that video. That bike looks like so much fun.

[LuciferMutt]

Can't wait to try one out!!

[Crow]

[L.B.S.]

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

It's a Thumper... They should have gone with a twin. The Ninja wins out in this contest.

While I too, salivated at the possibility of a 250/350/400 cc twin in this exact same clothing, the reality is, the price increase for doing this would just be too much more for me to justify, and I wouldn't even consider buying one.

I suspect more people than just me think this, especially worldwide, and in countries where cost, insurance, and fuel are so much more than here in N.A.

As much as Honda touts in thinly veiled comparisons to the Ninja 250 in their comments like: "slimmer than a twin" "lighter than a comparable two cylinder model" and: "more torque down low, superior power below 10,500 RPM" etc. (and technically they are right) still, it is *NOT* a racy bike that was designed from the outset to blow the wheels off the Ninja in top speed, horsepower, etc.

It is a cheap, economical little 250 with in-city features designed to be newby friendly, and if some of those goals met up with "superior to" a certain Green machine, then well, bonus points.

If anyone in the world thinks that Honda couldn't meet a design parameter of kicking another competitor's 250 to the curb with a brand new, clean sheet engine, then I dunno what to say.

The only reason this thing has seen the light of day, was because of it's ability to be built in Thailand, alongside the nearly identical CBR125R and domestic CBR150R, already in production for many, many, years there.

A VTR 250R would not a viable "world bike" because if it was built in Japan or Italy/wherever, it would cost many thousands of dollars more! Would a VTR 250R have handed a Ninja 250 it's lunch? I'm pretty sure the answer is yes to that one...

The cost to create entire new assembly line architecture, tooling, etc. would not have been economically worthwhile, and I shudder to contemplate the final purchase price of such a beast.

And it's also *NOT* a CBR250RR. It's a meant to be new and interesting, cheap, reliable, world market appeal, low maintenance commuter, that isn't a scooter.

All of us 13 H.P. CBR125R owners think of this thing as a freaking rocket with more power and torque than you need () and the features like EFI, spectacular mpg numbers, unbelievable valve adjustment/maintenance intervals, and the HONDA name, far, far outweigh the "not quite as good hp after 11,000 rpm" and "Ninja top speed is faster" type of outlook.

This 250 is pretty much *exactly*, to the letter, what every single 125R/150R owner was wishing for. If it was $1,000.00 more and left the Ninja for dead in top speed, sure there would be a certain number of people that would gravitate to that, but for 99.999 % of the rest of us who would turn away at even $500.00 dollars more, have no problem with the CBR "losing" to the Kwak in a few dubious and somewhat subjective categories.

Especially based on a few moto-journalists who delight in trying to prove their "I'm really a racer, but have chosen to grace you with my writing skills" attitude, and have no clue as to understanding the appeal and differences of a bike that is anything less than a 100+ hp RR bike.

Even myself, having owned my 125 for years, and absolutely loving it to death, have a few moments of: "jeezuz cripes! my engine has fallen out" thoughts, when jumping off my BMW and onto the WeeBR.

Most everyone here who is talking about this bike, has very likely never owned a small displacement modern street squirrel, done any significant miles on one, and possibly has the stereotypical "bigger is better" "HP is king", "bike is garbage unless it goes faster than 100 mph" mentality, or, if they are slagging it based on specs alone compared to their Ninja, have a non-objective view right off the bat, if only due to the fact that they loyally favour their Kawasaki brand machine. (nothing wrong with that, I also :heart: Ninjettes )

IMHO.

[Crow]

[Crow]

[L.B.S.]

Cool, thanks for all the finds, Crow!

[gelandestrasse]

Originally Posted by Crow

The print copy of Cycle World with the Ninja 250R vs CBR250R comparison arrived yesterday.

Originally Posted by Cycle World

"The CBR just plain works better everywhere, eliciting more toothy grins wherever it goes."

[LuciferMutt]

Wow sounds like the reviewers are really liking it when they don't concentrate so hard on how it stacks up to the Ninja. What I mean by that is this thing seems to be a very respectable little machine even if it is a wee bit slower than the Ninja because it does other things so well.

[DAKEZ]

Originally Posted by DevilNinjaDog

Wow sounds like the reviewers are really liking it when they don't concentrate so hard on how it stacks up to the Ninja. What I mean by that is this thing seems to be a very respectable little machine even if it is a wee bit slower than the Ninja because it does other things so well.

I am certain they are both fun as hell. I have not seen or ridden the Honda but I have ridden a few Ninja 250's and I can't help but laugh at how incredibly FUN they are.

[gelandestrasse]

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

I am certain they are both fun as hell. I have not seen or ridden the Honda but I have ridden a few Ninja 250's and I can't help but laugh at how incredibly FUN they are.

They liked the Ninja too, but the only real world advantage of the Ninja was the bigger fuel tank.

[DAKEZ]

Originally Posted by gelandestrasse

They liked the Ninja too, but the only real world advantage of the Ninja was the bigger fuel tank.

I think I would like the high revving power delivery of the Ninja over the torque of the thumper on the little bikes. That said I do love thumpers so I will need to reserve judgment until I get to ride the Honda. They say the balancer smoothes it out nicely... But I can’t help but wonder if the Ninja would have a huge advantage at sustained highway speeds. There are a lot of people that take the little Ninja on long trips.

[Navin]

quote LBS,"A VTR 250R would not a viable "world bike" because if it was built in Japan or Italy/wherever, it would cost many thousands of dollars more! Would a VTR 250R have handed a Ninja 250 it's lunch? I'm pretty sure the answer is yes to that one..."

and the reason they couldn't build a VTR250 in Thailand/Mexico and price it as a "World Bike"???

quote LBS,"The cost to create entire new assembly line architecture, tooling, etc. would not have been economically worthwhile, and I shudder to contemplate the final purchase price of such a beast."

That is EXACTLY what they did for the CBR250 " single R". They already owned the tooling and assembly line for the VTR, it is still in production AND they have the parts in the pipeline already!

[LuciferMutt]

Originally Posted by gelandestrasse

They liked the Ninja too, but the only real world advantage of the Ninja was the bigger fuel tank.

Is that even an advantage if the CBR gets another 15-20 MPG? It has in both detailed reviews I've read.

I don't think I'm going to argue that the Ninja is not a bit better on the freeway at sustained speeds. But that is not how I use mine so the CBR retains my interest.

[Harry Backer]

Originally Posted by Crow

LOL Hal Sparks from talk soup didnt expect that!