http://powersports.honda.com/2011/cbr250r.aspx (http://powersports.honda.com/2011/cbr250r.aspx)
this sounds kinda cool. 250cc fuel injected single piston. looks like they are doing this in response to the ninja 250
(http://powersports.honda.com/images/street/model/CBR250R/bgContent.jpg)
i wonder what the price will be like
I was just about to post this subject.... Looks interesting, but I don't think it will be successful unless the price comes in UNDER the Ninja 250.
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/625/8275/Motorcycle-Article/2011-Honda-CBR250R-First-Look.aspx
I think it looks really cool. I'm glad some manufactures are putting out some cool looking smaller bikes. Is that going to be available in the US?
That's cool and all...but I just don't understand. Why not more updates on the 500's. Like FI and USD forks. They spend all this time and money on the 250's but leave the 500's out off it.
@tt_four yes i just saw that one the honda america site. i was on it yesterday and that page just came up today.
the lack of sub 500 sport bikes in the US is def a prob. even the ninja 250 is still using carbs...bahhh.
(http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/PhotoGallerys/xlarge/2011-Honda-CBR250R-ABS1.jpg)
Quote from: GI_JO_NATHAN on October 27, 2010, 08:18:56 PM
That's cool and all...but I just don't understand. Why not more updates on the 500's. Like FI and USD forks. They spend all this time and money on the 250's but leave the 500's out off it.
Honda doesn't have a 500. I don't even think kawasaki is making their ex500 anymore, are they? I think the ex250 sells extremely well without any real updates to it, and Honda just wanted in on it. People who are getting their first bike to learn on don't care about FI and forks, they're just happy to be on a bike, let alone one that actually looks good like the ex and cbr250s. I Put 14k miles on the old style ex250 and that thing was ugly as sin.
Eventually they'll all have FI. I don't know why all bikes doesn't have USD forks by now. They look SO much better and would definitely help cheaper bikes sell a little better since USD is pretty much the line of when something is a serious bike or just something they threw together and cut corners. I mean really, how much more expensive is it to make USD forks? You just make the holes in the triples bigger and flip the things upside down!
Kawasaki still makes the ex500, I almost bought a new one instead of a GS500... decided I liked the GS more
they still sell the ninja 500?...i'm gonna guess you're not in the U.S.? :technical: :technical: :technical: internet go around vorld
Did anyone else notice the CBR250 is going to have a larger rear tire than the GS?
It would be interesting to see the head-to-head results with the Kawasaki 250 though
Quote from: reload on October 28, 2010, 05:48:42 AM
they still sell the ninja 500?...i'm gonna guess you're not in the U.S.? :technical: :technical: :technical: internet go around vorld
Actually I am in the US, texas to be exact =P Much like the GS it was not a 2010/2011 model but was still a brand new 500 straight from a dealer,
http://www.kawasaki.com//Products/product-specifications.aspx?id=315
4,199.00 + tax title etc
Also FYI
Kawasaki is releasing a 400cc Ninja in Canada. It's a sleeved Ninja 650 so a Parallel Twin design.
http://www.kawasaki.ca/model/ninja-400r:1256 (http://www.kawasaki.ca/model/ninja-400r:1256)
Alot more coin though... 7500CDN.
How big is the back tire on the cbr? The ex250 has been the only small bike for so long now, that I'm sure a magazine or 2 will take the chance to compare the 2 now that Honda is finally giving it a shot.
so they're just selling the leftover 09 models at the dealer? sounds like a phase out.
sleeved down 650 engine is a shame. might ass well just get the 650. why would you buy a crippled 650?
it would be really cool if honda made a cbr400 or 500. i like the gs500 but an equivalent honda would be very tempting.
Quote from: GI_JO_NATHAN on October 27, 2010, 08:18:56 PM
That's cool and all...but I just don't understand. Why not more updates on the 500's. Like FI and USD forks. They spend all this time and money on the 250's but leave the 500's out off it.
It was an emmissions thing that ended the 500cc engine...they couldn't clean it up enough to make it work for 2010...
Quote from: CliffHanger on October 28, 2010, 07:30:23 AM
Also FYI
Kawasaki is releasing a 400cc Ninja in Canada. It's a sleeved Ninja 650 so a Parallel Twin design.
http://www.kawasaki.ca/model/ninja-400r:1256 (http://www.kawasaki.ca/model/ninja-400r:1256)
Alot more coin though... 7500CDN.
It is more money, but look at the asking price for a GS500F...$7199 CDN...and you get fuel injection and a more modern chassis...
Canada is getting a lot of smaller bikes lately that the States didn't get...
Honda
CBR125R...
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_XzHeOPXAEVE/TMmPijo03KI/AAAAAAAAAUo/5hyYyYxbVzg/s720/07_Group_3up_Honda-015%5B1%5D.jpg)
CBF600SA...
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_XzHeOPXAEVE/TMmPi0alFMI/AAAAAAAAAUs/oEgYZrWFXAs/2010-Honda-CBF600ABSa%5B1%5D.jpg)
Kawasaki Ninja 400R...
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_XzHeOPXAEVE/TMmMbTwpRjI/AAAAAAAAAUg/x_OJJ1LmWl8/s720/11_Ninja400R_GRN_C%5B1%5D.jpg)
Sometimes it is good to be Canadian...
Later.
Yeah, I think Canada is like a test market for the Motorcycle companies.
Many models intro to Canada before moving state-side (or not).
The CBR250 rear wheel is 140/70 according to the link provided.
Finally, I agree with "just get the Ninja 650R!" sentiment. The 650 is another $1200 (That's 8700CDN) and the new models look really good.
http://www.kawasaki.ca/model/ninja-650r:1254 (http://www.kawasaki.ca/model/ninja-650r:1254)
That cbr250 looks nice
I can never understand what the deal is with those mini windscreens on the cb125s. They'd be ok looking bikes if it wasn't for those. It reminds me of Hot Wheel's idea of what a custom sportbike should look like.
They're also a really small bike...my 12yo daughter can almost flat foot the thing, and she isn't very tall for her age...
Later.
Manufacturing base for the CBR250 will be Thailand and India. Side-on, that exhaust box dosen't grab me on looks.
No sportbike exhausts really do anything for me. There's no point in making them look good, you should just hide them. My favorite exhausts are the ones tucked in the tail on cbr600rrs, or tucked under the motor like on the Buells. The only bikes I've seen with exhausts that I didn't really mind was the 03-04 636r, because it wasn't big, and it was polished, so it actually looked simple and clean, and then the one on the 04 zx10 because they put a good angle on it. Otherwise I just would rather a simple straight exhaust. I know manufactures are trying, but seriously, don't try to attract attention to a stock exhaust. It's never going to look good.
OK I like all bikes for different reasons..don't like the new trend with this "street fighter" crap! Don't like the high rear ends with the skinny long rear fender. It's like horrendous! To me.
The motorcycle should blend and be a piece of art not an abstract of something that makes you want to cut your ear off! Who designs these things EWWWWWW!
I guess I have become a curmudgeon!
Talking of emissions. The Diesel powered bike could be the thing of the future. This one is made in Holland -
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/diesel-motorcycle-track-t-800cdi-eva-holland-europe.php
Me personally I hope there is day coming that our children will not be dependent on foriegn oil and there is another source like hydrogen. These 3rd world countries have been sucking us dry for to long! And we as sheep have just followed.
I know that is political and off topic sorry.
Based on the number of USED CBR125's with minimal mileage on them, I can say that a small bike doesn't really have a place in North America. The place is just too big and spread out. Maybe if you lived at one end of Deal's Gap...
As for mid-size bikes, I've always liked the GS500 but 44hp is only *just* enough to run with traffic that goes 120-150km/h, while the 70-ish horsepower of the SV is right in the zone. The 650 Ninja never looked or sounded good to me in comparison.
I really find that odd Rick. How fast do you ride? In MPH Please. In NJ where I ride anywhere..if your under 80 you will get run over and if you can't slow down to 20MPH well you will have a flat nose. Not that riding anywhere else is easy but I will ride and have through NY city and around it.
Quote from: JB848 on October 29, 2010, 09:38:23 PM
OK I like all bikes for different reasons..don't like the new trend with this "street fighter" crap! Don't like the high rear ends with the skinny long rear fender. It's like horrendous! To me.
I'm sure you already know this, and were just venting, but I'm pretty sure the manufactures expect you to remove that long fender as soon as you get home. They put it on because it needs to legally be there. I think a lot of newer bikes look pretty ugly **couch couch kawasaki yamaha cough cough** but when you see the bikes in race plastics it all makes sense. Still I don't understand how they keep coming up with some of these headlight arrangements that just destroy a bikes styling, but oh well. The fenders are clearly just tossed on there, and I think I accept it, but I'm definitely a fan of the tails that need them.
I like some bikes with pretty big and low tails, like the SRAD gsxrs, zx7r, and a few others, but I don't have much use for a big long tail so to me it just looks like extra bulk.
The one thing that I can appreciate is that manufactures are just bolting them on now so they're easy to fix. It's not like some of my previous bikes that made you take a cut off wheel to the underside of the tail to remove the molded in fender.
CBR250 promo video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIgEBZlzKWc
Well, at least it's FI. But what a strange commercial..
It looks like the VFR 800 8)
(http://www.visordown.com/news/images/vfr-2010-450.jpg)
One reason for 250's and not 500's could be down to UK licenses. If you are under 21 you need to have a 2 year restriction which is 33hp or less hence all the sporty 250's. You can buy any bike and restrict it i.e R1, ZX10R etc however your insurance is ridiculous.
45-50hp 500's doesn't seem to be enough anymore for a full license holders. 70hp+ like the ER6f and GSX650f.
Quote from: Anderw on November 01, 2010, 05:55:14 AM
It looks like the VFR 800 8)
(http://www.visordown.com/news/images/vfr-2010-450.jpg)
I think that's actually an artist rendition of the VFR1200.
Unless Honda is redesigning the VFR800 as well this year?
Quote from: noworries on November 01, 2010, 04:00:32 AM
CBR250 promo video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIgEBZlzKWc
Hmmmm....I guess 'superior riding position' and 'stylish hand grip' mean something to the East Indian market compared to whatever lower-spec machinery they are used to riding.
...Or there is just not much you can say about a 250cc single, so you have to do what you can with what you have :dunno_black:
Quote from: JB848 on October 29, 2010, 10:34:45 PM
I really find that odd Rick. How fast do you ride? In MPH Please. In NJ where I ride anywhere..if your under 80 you will get run over and if you can't slow down to 20MPH well you will have a flat nose. Not that riding anywhere else is easy but I will ride and have through NY city and around it.
Maybe it works OK in a congested area where you rev the nuts off it to get up to 80 and grab a handful of brake to slow back down to 20 every five minutes.
Out in an area where you have several hours of slab between places, not so much.
Quote from: CliffHanger on November 01, 2010, 07:05:49 AM
Quote from: Anderw on November 01, 2010, 05:55:14 AM
It looks like the VFR 800 8)
I think that's actually an artist rendition of the VFR1200.
Unless Honda is redesigning the VFR800 as well this year?
I think your right, it's the 1200 I was referencing. :thumb:
From the video it definitely looks nicer than the 250. I bet the 250 will be getting a nice update in a year or two. It's also cool that it comes with real clipons, even if they're super high. That'll give people the option to put lower bars on it easily. That isn't an option with the kawasaki.
Quote from: tt_four on November 01, 2010, 01:53:39 PM
From the video it definitely looks nicer than the 250. I bet the 250 will be getting a nice update in a year or two. It's also cool that it comes with real clipons, even if they're super high. That'll give people the option to put lower bars on it easily. That isn't an option with the kawasaki.
I think you were talking about the 125 since that is the 250...but here is your answer...from Canadian Motorcycle Guide Online (CMG)...
"As we speculated here, we can now confirm that a new CBR125R will be coming to Canada for 2011.
Styling is the obvious difference, heavily inspired by Honda's CBR600RR and CBR1000RR supersports. Aside from a refreshing new look, the CBR125 gets three more litres of fuel capacity, now at 13 litres, and to ease maintenance the fuel filter has been moved to outside the fuel tank.
Beneath the bodywork is the same, reliable 125 cc fuel-injected engine and sturdy steel, twin-spar frame.
Wheels are wider, up from 1.85 and 2.15 inches front and rear, to 2.5 and 3.5 inches respectively. The wider rims accommodate wider tires, the front now a 100/80-17 and the rear a 130/70-17 (they used to measure 80/90 and 100/80 front and rear). This should improve handling considerably, adding stability and reducing the tendency of the CBR125R to turn in too quickly.
Unfortunately, claimed wet weight is up 10 kg to 137 (302 lb).
Pricing isn't available yet but the new CBR125R should be priced near the $3,599 of the previous model."
Here is an accomanying picture...
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_XzHeOPXAEVE/TNAiOEIrGPI/AAAAAAAAAV8/ymHge10fZ58/cbr125r%5B1%5D.jpg)
Later.
I was comparing the ex250 and the cbr250, I'm just so used to being able to say 'the 250' after all this time that I forgot to specify. The kawasaki 250 has bars that bolt onto the top clamp similar to the 89 gs500 so thats what youre stuck with. the cbr bars are actually on the fork tubes so itll be easier to put lower clipons on the cbr250. I wouldve loved my ex250 a lot more back in 2002 if I couldve put some real clipons on it.