New Honda CBR250R!

[dentheman]

A thumper in sportbike clothing. http://powersports.honda.com/2011/cbr250r.aspx

[Water Warrior 2]

Hopefully it can produce similar power to a Ninja 250. Gotta feeling it won't be a cheap bike though.

[dentheman]

Hopefully it can produce similar power to a Ninja 250. Gotta feeling it won't be a cheap bike though.
My way of thinking is it was introduced to compete directly with the Ninja, so the pricing will have to be comparable with the Ninja. We will just have to wait and see.

[Water Warrior 2]

Now we should start looking for ride reports.

[dhgeyer]

It looks like a pretty attractive package. I hope this signals a general trend of North Americans thinking in terms of smaller bikes. I'd be very surprised if it produces the power or speed of the Ninja, though. The Ninja is a twin with dual carbs and a very high redline. We'll see. The real question is, is it fast enough to be highway capable?

[dentheman]

It looks like a pretty attractive package. I hope this signals a general trend of North Americans thinking in terms of smaller bikes. I'd be very surprised if it produces the power or speed of the Ninja, though. The Ninja is a twin with dual carbs and a very high redline. We'll see. The real question is, is it fast enough to be highway capable?
Highway capable, fuel injected, tubeless tires, low/easy maintenance and reasonable price; if Honda can tie all those together in one package they will have a winner, IMO. I do like what I see so far. I also like the Ninja, but after reading through the valve adjustment procedure I have taken a step back from that bike. I think this does show the manufacturers are turning toward more smaller bikes, but I think a few 350/400cc cruiser and street bikes would capture a bigger market.

[Easy Rider]

but I think a few 350/400cc cruiser and street bikes would capture a bigger market.

Once again and forever the "marketing" people are deaf, dumb and blind.

Instead of actually thinking or, God forbid, asking riders what they want......they are apparently trying to "capture" part of the market where the Ninja has been so successful.

Without even looking, I can come up with 4 bikes in the 125-250 class, where there is also stiff competition from small scooters.

With the recent demise of the Vulcan 500 and Shadow 600, the only true mid-range standard or cruiser I can come up with is the ER6N (and it looks funny). I think there is a HUGE untapped market there that ALL the manufacturers seem to be overlooking......in the US at least.

I think it's totally stupid.

[dentheman]

So I am not alone in thinking the ER6N looks funny. It's as if they had a piece of plastic left over so they stuck it above the headlight, among other things.

[alantf]

I think there is a HUGE untapped market there that ALL the manufacturers seem to be overlooking......in the US at least.



And not only in the U.S. Last week I was killing some time, waiting for someone, so I called into one of the major bike shops for a look around. The smallest he could offer me was 1300cc. I don't think I'm the only one who would like something slightly bigger than the geezer, to keep up with autopista speeds, yet convenient enough to be used for most of the time on 30mph roads.

[mole2]

but I think a few 350/400cc cruiser and street bikes would capture a bigger market.

Once again and forever the "marketing" people are deaf, dumb and blind.

Instead of actually thinking or, God forbid, asking riders what they want......they are apparently trying to "capture" part of the market where the Ninja has been so successful.

Without even looking, I can come up with 4 bikes in the 125-250 class, where there is also stiff competition from small scooters.

With the recent demise of the Vulcan 500 and Shadow 600, the only true mid-range standard or cruiser I can come up with is the ER6N (and it looks funny). I think there is a HUGE untapped market there that ALL the manufacturers seem to be overlooking......in the US at least.

I think it's totally stupid.

Well Yamaha still has the V-Star 650 Custom though they cut the V-Star 650 Cruiser and the V-Star 650 Silverado in the US - probably an EPA thing. I agree with you, someone should cater to that portion of the populaton. I don't know what they're thinking either. I want some good gas mileage (I get 51 mpg), decent power and lower insurance costs. When you go over 1000 cc it's like insuring a car - at least here.


:)

[Easy Rider]

Well Yamaha still has the V-Star 650 Custom

Yea, that probably would qualify for some folks.

Being a small person, I pay attention to size and weight; my Shadow is about 425 lbs, the V-Star says 540........and it LOOKS much bigger than mine or the Vulcan 500, more like the Suzuki M-50, which many riders also consider a mid-size.......but I don't really.

[b1pig]

hyosung has a 650. i think is a yammie copy.

the ninja caters to the sport style market. yes, there are people that dont want the cruiser and will put up wth all that they must to get that racer-boy stance and style. (and insurance)
i rode a 250 ninja several years ago, and i liked it. havent riden a new one yet, though.

[dentheman]

I checked with Progressive and Geico to see the cost of Texas required motorcycle insurance as well as additional coverage above the requirements. The Ninja and GZ insurance costs were about the same in both cases with those companies. I was surprised how cheap motorcycle insurance is, even for a 500 or 650. I played around and checked several different motorcycles on-line and they wanted to sell me insurance then and there for a year, from around $99 for basic to around $465 for everything they could tack on (full coverage, uninsured and underinsured motorist, additional medical, additional property damage, etc.), for the 250cc bikes (prices are as close as I can recall).

[Water Warrior 2]

$99 a year for basic coverage !!!! :lol: Your heart would stop if you had to pay Canadian insurance costs. I have yet to find an explaination why our costs are so great but we have to pay to play.

[dentheman]

OK, I wasn't real sure of the $99 basic price from Progressive for a Ninja 250, so I rechecked; I was wrong, it would actually be $74 per year for me. I had to answer some questions: Zero years riding experience, no previous motorcycle insurance with them, no previous accidents or tickets, completed MSF course, age 61. I think Geico was about the same, but I didn't recheck them. I don't know where I got the $99 figure in my previous post, unless it was for some additional coverage.

The prices I quoted in my previous post were from memory of around a month ago, that's why the error.

My point is, the insurance companies charge the same for ANY 250cc motorcycle.

[blaine]

$99 a year for basic coverage !!!! :lol: Your heart would stop if you had to pay Canadian insurance costs. I have yet to find an explanation why our costs are so great but we have to pay to play.

I pay $185.00 per year for basic coverage.When I was shopping around I got quotes as high as $472.00 for basic coverage.That is for liability of $500.000 on any size bike up to 500c.c.Above 500c.c and it almost doubles.I have a clean driving record and no accidents.Some companies will not insure for under a million.
:cry: :??:

[dentheman]

Texas requires min. liability for injuries to 1 person of $25,000; bodily injury for all persons $50,000; and propery damage of $25,000; for any (non-commercial) motor vehicle. It varies quite a bit by state, but no state in the US requires $500,000!

[dentheman]

hyosung has a 650. i think is a yammie copy.

the ninja caters to the sport style market. yes, there are people that dont want the cruiser and will put up wth all that they must to get that racer-boy stance and style. (and insurance)
i rode a 250 ninja several years ago, and i liked it. havent riden a new one yet, though.
I want a very low priced, very low weight, easy on gas, freeway capable bike. The only one that fits ALL those requirements as far as I am concerned is the Ninja 250 (and perhaps the S40). At age 61 and 235 lbs I am certainly not looking for the racer-boy stance.

I don't yet trust bikes marketed by Korean or Chinese companies, but that's just me.

I am hoping this new Honda meets my requirements, but I am not optimistic at this time because of the single cylinder.

[alantf]

I don't trust bikes marketed by Chinese companies

:plus1: From personal experience.

Mine was so bad (Lanvertti) that the local bike shop where I bought it agreed it was a piece of junk, & got my money back from the main dealer, for me - (one day on the road, two days in the workshop :cry: every time I found something else wrong with it)

[dhgeyer]

A bunch of the newer BMW models are being made in China now. They had some problems with the chains early on, but now are pretty solid by all accounts. The Hyosung bikes (Korean) have been around for quite a few years now, and have been very solid and trouble free. Like anything else, I suppose, it depends on the maker and distributor.

Personally, I'd rather not buy anything more than I have to from China, but that's for other reasons.

[mrlmd1]

Getting back to insurance - In Florida, with Geico, my Ninja 250 cost 2 - 2 1/2 times what my Suzuki S50 cost to insure, because it's listed as a sport bike, even tho it's 250cc vs. 805cc and 18 HP vs. 50.

[dentheman]

Getting back to insurance - In Florida, with Geico, my Ninja 250 cost 2 - 2 1/2 times what my Suzuki S50 cost to insure, because it's listed as a sport bike, even tho it's 250cc vs. 805cc and 18 HP vs. 50.
That does seem strange. Maybe it is FL having different requirements than TX, and also different zip codes may affect the premiums (city vs country). And my low quote was for basic Texas required, no frills insurance. Once I started adding extra insurance the premium rose quite a bit. Just for kicks you might want to go to Progressive's online motorcycle insurance and fill in the blanks for each motorcycle's basic insurance to see if there is still a big difference. I did it for the ninja250, TU250, GZ250, S40, and the premiums were the same!

[dentheman]

Hopefully it can produce similar power to a Ninja 250. Gotta feeling it won't be a cheap bike though.
Honda has just posted the MSRP on their site of $3,999; the ABS version is $500 more. Both prices seem reasonable to me.

[Water Warrior 2]

Canadian price is 4,995 for a non ABS model. Not into sport bikes so I don't know if that is good or not.

[dentheman]

Canadian price is 4,995 for a non ABS model. Not into sport bikes so I don't know if that is good or not.
The only 'non-sport' styled 250cc bikes that Have MSRP's close to this price are the TU250 and Honda Rebel at $3,999, and the V-Star 250 at $4090 U.S. dollars. Maybe there are some cheaper Chinese or Korean bikes, but I am not considering them.