Initial review on the Honda CBR 250R ABS

My review on the Honda CBR 250RA Attachment 852793 Buying experience Friday night! It was party time for me as I rode home my spanking black ceeber. I had taken multiple test rides at different Honda dealers to satisfy myself that I was making the right decision in spending so much of my hard earned money. Finally, I called up and visited the dealer who told me that I can get "immediate delivery". Awesome :) Visited the dealer (Haiku Honda @ Domlur) and told them I want to purchase the bike with ABS. They had kept 2 bikes (one of them black, which I wanted) in the showroom. I said (out of some paranoia) that I don't want the one kept on the showroom floor. So, they obliged me by taking me to their godown and showed me 3 bikes which I religiously inspected and finally zeroed in on one. Next up - paperwork. Signed the forms, etc. They got the bike from the godown to the showroom (about 2 minutes away) and started the PDI in my presence. When I was satisfied, I took the bike and left. Smooth process, no hassles, great buying experience from Haiku. Freebies (?) I got a teflon coating and seat covers free from the dealer. Also, servicing of this bike is at 6 month intervals. Jan, May and then December. 3 free services. The Bike - looks This is one awesome looker, no two ways about that. The styling is not flamboyant, but grabs eyeballs. The fat rear-tyre (yeah, everyone like this) is a sight to behold. So is the exhaust (some like it, some don't). The blue-backlit display unit is also eye-catching. All said and done, I loved her from the first time I set my eyes upon her. The Bike - handling and performance I am religious and a tad paranoid when it comes to running-in the engine. So, I keep the revs below 5k. But trust me, it is DIFFICULT! A twist of the throttle and the surge in power is immense. The speedo just races to 75 and then I have to ease off. I literally have to keep a watch on the tacho so that I don't exceed the limit. Handling is a breeze. Effortless. Even in stop and go traffic, holding this bike steady is very easy (I used to do that with my ZMR also, but this is better). The exhaust note is also exhilerating. Of course, it gets better as the rpms increase ;) The Good Headlight is great. I had fit an HID on my ZMR, but I was NOT satisfied with it probably since the guys who fit it did a shoddy job of it. On this baby though, I don't think I need one. I don't do a lot of highway riding at night, so I'm happy with the 55W headlight. Haven't felt the need to use high beam yet, so there. Seat is wide enough and comfortable. Fit and finish is good. I didn't see any uneven gaps. Could have been better, but hey, I am not complaining. There are no vibrations or weird noises. I had these noises with my ZMR from day 1 :( Depite tightening the fairing, etc. by the ASC folks, no improvement. With this bike, there are no unwanted sounds. Just the roar of the engine. The Bad Fully turning the handle causes it to touch the fairing, as in, there is a limit to which you can turn the handle and I feel that is quite less to get a small turning radius. The horn is appalling. Wish I could fit my ZMR's twin horns on this baby. The sound of the horn is almost unnoticeable for a bike of this size and presence. In stop and go traffic, the engine heat is feel-able on the calves. I haven't ridden this bike in shorts yet, it'll be worse. This was a problem with ZMR also but with this bike, the heat is a bit more. Don't know where to put the helmet or helmet lock. I wish Honda had some accessories like a tail bag (like Goldwing) in which at least a helmet could fit. They release the bike with no support for these kinds of accessories. The gear and rear brake pedals are quite uncomfortable. Need to flex your foot a lot to change the gear. In an emergency braking situation, it wastes precious milliseconds to flex your foot to bring it on top of the brake pedal. Could have probably been designed better. In continous stop-and-go traffic, this is a cause of shin pain and possible knee pain. The Ugly The side stand! Horrible. I don't know why Honda didn't give a proper centre stand to support the weight of this motorcycle. The logic (I was told by the dealer) is that there is no center stand in super bikes. I find that hard to digest since super bikes are generally heavier and need more support. In India, the curbs and roads are so non-standard, uneven and sometimes potholed, that you actually have to THINK where to park the bike so that it won't fall over to it's side. With a center stand, this would have been a no-brainer. Sorely miss it. Haven't ridden in the rain or on watery roads, so I don't know if the small front mudgard is incapable (as reported in other reviews) Overall, I give it a total thumbs-up :thumbs up Attached Images

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