[evilmessiah]

Originally Posted by anshuman965

hi evilmessiah, I'm planning to buy myself a bike (RE classic 500/RE thunderbird 500 or the CBR250R). to be honest was inclined towards the bulls initially(Aged 30 wanted to graduate to the bulls to slow things down) but after going through your thread fell for the charm of this bike(30's not that old eh?Should get one more fast one before the ROYALs).

Hello, anshuman965. I was heavily skewed towards the bulls earlier. It was the Classic 500 that made me even consider biking. After spending some time riding that and the C5 and after reading up on the ownership threads, I felt that the little niggles associated with them in exchange for the heritage cool factor wasn't worth it.

A friend of mine who goes to the same tuition class as I do has a Classic 350. He complains about a multitude of issues he has on his ride. Started with a busted sprag clutch and the local RE dealers refusal to replace it under warranty, carb splitting through (I experienced this myself on a C3 test bike loaned to me on a weekend), poor mileage- around 30 kmpl (he rides slow and steady- I get that mileage on my CBR under hard riding- else I see 40+ kmpl) and stuttering, uneven throttle response.

Now, all these issues can be easily rectified, but such issues shouldn't even have cropped up in the first place in these times on a modern bike- that too on one where you pay a premium both in price and time (insanely long waiting periods- reported to be 13 months in Cochin now for the C3).

I can't say anything about the T-bird 500 though. It's a new launch and it's highly likely that RE has ironed out most of the niggles from the Classic lineup. Mighty expensive though- dangerously close to CBR250's price, right?

Congrats on deciding for the Ceeber. She may not have the RE's retro cool, but she is powerful, comfortable, loaded with tech, and has surprisingly mature road manners. I do not miss the bulls a bit. The CBR thrills me everytime I take her out for a ride- it's nearing a year since I bought her and I still go out for random highway trips during the night.

Originally Posted by anshuman965

1. How good is the ceeber for touring?

Quite comfortable, if I might say so. The seats are comfortable. The stance gets a bit taking used to- I had talked about this earlier in this thread. Ride's pretty good- not as absorbent as an RE, but it's quite close. Very relaxed and composed even at triple digit speeds.

Originally Posted by anshuman965

2. Maintainence with reference to availability of spare parts at cities like siliguri and costs?

I live in Cochin, and the spares are readily available in the service center I go to. The spares are quite cheap and the maintenance doesn't burn a hole in my pocket either. Usual service charges (with the oil change) is around 1-1.2K.

Originally Posted by anshuman965

3. Is owning a cbr worth the cost as I would be stretching my budget for her (defence personnel)?

Definitely. I was apprehensive about this too- as I listed it being 'expensive' as one of its drawbacks in my review. However, I wouldn't say that now. The peace of mind, reliability and the riding pleasure it offers is worth every penny I spent.

Originally Posted by anshuman965

4. Any news of a model update in the time to come, want to buy one at around September/October 2013?

Check the Motorbikes forum here on t-bhp. I saw news about a CBR300 and a CBR400. These would be more expensive than the CBR250 for sure, but if you have the money, it might be worth your while to wait a bit longer- waiting is never a bad option, IMHO. Also, the KTM390 and Pulsar390/400 might be launched (different class, but I'm just saying here- in case you might be interested).

Originally Posted by anshuman965

5. Am generally posted to places with bad roads, so is the ceeber ideal choice?

The CBR rides well on bad roads. However, be careful while riding on loose gravel or wet roads- the stock Continentals don't inspire much confidence on these surfaces. Regular riding on really bad roads might cause fairing rattles (as is the case with all faired bikes). Have you considered the Duke or the Pulsar 200 too? If not, a test ride wouldn't hurt. The Duke in particular, might not have issues with bad roads.

[evilmessiah]

Something weird happened today. I was riding my Ceeber today and suddenly it switched itself off. I tried starting it and it just kept cranking- the engine didn't fire. Tried that some 3-4 times and that didn't work. Then, I gave it a little throttle while thumbing the starter and it immediately started.

It had been raining and the climate was cold. This happened in slow moving traffic. Of late, I'm not able to take the bike out for long runs because of the rains - only short runs to the gym and back. The bike is also a bit dirty. I saw some dirt on the radiator too. Guys, what do you make of this? I'm puzzled as to why this happened- my bike had never switched off like this before..

[Akhilash95]

A close friend's cbr 250r has been observed . He has done just 1.5k on the odo and this problem has been troubling him since the beginning. The bike even refuses to switch on sometime or takes a lot of time for the ignition light (orange light which sometimes flickers as well) to come on. When he quizzed the ASC about this issue, it was pushed of a faulty sensor in the tank and was replaced under warranty. The ASC didn't give any confidence to when he remarked that problems are common with cbr and there was even a case where there was thick black exhaust smoke from a brand new cbr. The problem is still persistent on his bike and now in fear of not being able to bring his bike back alive he doesn't dare to kill his bike in traffic signals. Is he stuck with a lemon or is there is solution to this ?

[evilmessiah]

Originally Posted by Akhilash95

A close friend's cbr 250r has been observed . He has done just 1.5k on the odo and this problem has been troubling him since the beginning. The bike even refuses to switch on sometime or takes a lot of time for the ignition light (orange light which sometimes flickers as well) to come on. When he quizzed the ASC about this issue, it was pushed of a faulty sensor in the tank and was replaced under warranty. The ASC didn't give any confidence to when he remarked that problems are common with cbr and there was even a case where there was thick black exhaust smoke from a brand new cbr. The problem is still persistent on his bike and now in fear of not being able to bring his bike back alive he doesn't dare to kill his bike in traffic signals. Is he stuck with a lemon or is there is solution to this ?

Wow... That sounds like a lemon. Mine has almost 6K on the clock and what I posted above is the only little issue that has ever cropped up. After that incident, there bike started easily on the first thumb of the starter (I don't use the throttle while starting, apart from the incident yesterday). My bikes ignition light always comes on easily...
Black exhaust smoke? Could it be bad fuel or failure of lambda sensor which caused the bike to run rich? I think I'll leave that to the experts here to judge...

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by Akhilash95

The bike even refuses to switch on sometime or takes a lot of time for the ignition light (orange light which sometimes flickers as well) to come on.

Well, I had this problem and the light would come on only after turning off the engine kill-switch and turning it back on. I finally located it to be a small loose connection in the kill-switch itself. As in, it would turn on without any problem when I nudge the switch itself. I am not sure this is the same problem but yes, I have also had this issue where my bike suddenly switched off when riding in traffic. Thankfully I had the presence of mind to quickly turn it on when holding the clutch.

But it has happened only once.

[devsoftech]

Took delivery of a black CBR 250 on Dec/20. Have driven 600 kms till date. In owner's manual there was no mention of any limits during run-in. I have taken the bike to 95 kmph and revved to max of 7000 rpm. Hope that was okay. Finding it difficult to control the horses. During a recent highway trip (rountrip of 500 kms - done in 10 hours with hourly short breaks), I realized that my seat needs to be softer (a gel seat ?? - This requirement is my highest priority). Also, some efficient way to mount a phone, some comfortable grips and a bike carrier to carry spare tools, water bottles, DSLR, store some clothes (and a laptop if needed). I want to avoid carrying a bag on my back. I will not have a pillion during my highway rides. Can you all help me with the required gadgets (I prefer to pickup in person while at Bangalore), else online works for me.

[RonXRi94]

Congrats on your new ride

Originally Posted by devsoftech

Took delivery of a black CBR 250 on Dec/20. Have driven 600 kms till date. In owner's manual there was no mention of any limits during run-in. I have taken the bike to 95 kmph and revved to max of 7000 rpm.

Even if the manual does not mention it, its always better if you let the engine free up during the running in period, before pushing it too hard. Its not as if your bike will blow up, but a properly broken in engine will definitely have its advantages in the long run.

Also, some efficient way to mount a phone, some comfortable grips and a bike carrier to carry spare tools, water bottles, DSLR, store some clothes (and a laptop if needed). I want to avoid carrying a bag on my back.

You could look into buying a car

Just kidding, I'm sure you could find accessories that add storage to your bike, that is, if you can balance yourself with all that weight. Though im sure a bike carrier would ruin the looks of the CBR.

[preetam_KORG]

Originally Posted by devsoftech

Also, some efficient way to mount a phone, some comfortable grips and a bike carrier to carry spare tools, water bottles, DSLR, store some clothes (and a laptop if needed). I want to avoid carrying a bag on my back. I will not have a pillion during my highway rides. Can you all help me with the required gadgets (I prefer to pickup in person while at Bangalore), else online works for me.

Try these places:
1. Biking Spirit Touring Equipment, Church Street
2. Lets Gear Up, HSR Layout.

For Luggage and mounts, you can look at the following:
1. Viaterra Claw (Tail Pack System)
2. Viaterra Leh (Saddlebags)
3. Viaterra Fly (DSLR Tankbag)
4. Rynox Nomad v2 (Saddlebags)
5. Alpha 45 + Alpha 20 (Saddlebag+Tailpack)
6. X-RAM Mount, Universal fit for all devices upto 5"
7. Viaterra Marine (Hydration Pack)

[evilmessiah]

An update after almost 4 years of ownership and about 28,000 kms together:

Mods done:

1) The stock contigo tires gave up the ghost at 23,000 kms. Replaced them with Michelin Pilot Street Radials. It has been a revelation. The bike corners much harder, grips really well in the wet and on bad roads. I feel that the bike is also much more stable under heavy braking.

2) Removed the stock rubber brake lines and replaced them with steel braided lines. The front is from a pulsar 220, and the rear is from a duke 200- both are perfect fits length wise.

3) Completely drained the stock brake fluid and replaced with DOT4 (Mitsubishi, I think) brake fluid.

4) Stock headlamp used to fog up always. Replaced them under warranty. Service center guys accidentally replaced it with CBR150-s. I didn't bother correcting this as I felt that looks better now.

5) Stock horns replaced with twin roots horns as the bike was being used in the city heavily for the past 6 months or so.

6) Shifted from stock Honda 10W30 to Shell fully synth 10W40 as the bike was seeing more traffic use and I think it was handling the microwave like heat conditions of Cochin better.

Mods planned

1) Aluminum foot pegs like the Yamaha R15. Old Apache RTR180-s would have been a direct fit. Am wondering if the Yamaha pegs would fit.

2) Maybe better bulbs for the headlight. Any suggestions?

3) Not really needed, but am wondering if better brake pads for the standard CBR exist? (Note- rear brake pads of the Pulsar 220 fit the standard CBR and costs half)

[evilmessiah]

Likes

1) Flexible, torquey, gem of an engine. Unhappy in traffic, but copes well. Comes to its own on the highway.

2) Light clutch, smooth gearbox.

3) Comfortable even over very long distances when ridden solo. Little to no windblast while tucked in with a good helmet. Like the semi committed riding posture too. Nice ride quality.

4) Riding at cruising speeds (80-85 kmph) in the 6th gear on highways deliver above 40 kmpl.

5) Reasonably good handling in corners with the Michelins.

6) Brakes well with all the mods I've done.

7) Sounds good for a single above 5000 rpm

8) Excellent heat management system. Never overheated

9) Cheap cost of ownership. Spare costs are quite reasonable.

10) Well engineered, reliable, attention to detail. Removed air filter once. There was a mesh in addition to the air filter. The mesh prevents larger stuff from going into the engine even without an air filter. Haven't seen this on any other vehicle. Parts also last quite a while.


Dislikes

1) Spare parts availability is patchy. Some essentials like oil filter gasket and important ones like shims would be always out of stock.

2) Honda ASC is a hit or miss. If you've got the knowledge and the shop manual, you can do almost all services yourself. Apart from removing the fairings and the tank, it's easy enough for a faired bike.

3) Brakes and tires out of the factory below par. Mods were required for it to be satisfactory.

4) Budget front suspension- can dive hard under heavy braking. Honda cut corners with the suspension, brakes and tires. Not much complaints for me- this softness makes the bike comfortable.

5) Longer trips with a pillion can make one's life hell. I'd rode pillion for over 500 kms and I still get nightmares when I think about it. It was like sitting on the bike's frame directly.

6) Using this primarily for city use can decimate the fuel economy and cause much faster wear and tear of parts. (Not a drawback as it's something obvious, but still stating it for those who might be planning to use this as an every day beater).

[evilmessiah]

The CBR250 looks like it might have lost its relevance now as the competition is nothing like what it was when I was in the market for a bike back in 2012. There are faster, cheaper, flashier, newer bikes for sale. The CBR250 no longer seems as appealing as it used to be.

To a certain degree, I agree. The KTM-s are faster, cheaper, have more personality, better hardware like the WP suspension, steel braided lines, more tech, etc. The Mahindra Mojo looks like a better tourer. The 200 Pulsars have the VFM card. The list goes on.

But there are some areas where 90% of the folks overlook. Sure, the KTM and bajaj parts are cheaper (stuff like brake pads are almost half of what Honda's cost). But, I think that it's in the quality of these consumable parts that KTM & Bajaj cut costs. For example, the Duke's alternator/ charging coil burns out at about 50,000 kms (best case scenario). The Honda's will last much longer. So, even if the spares marginally cost more, they are simply made better. In the end, the cost of ownership of a Honda is lesser owing to less frequency of replacements and a better resale value.

Then there is the engineering. The CBR is simply well engineered for sure. The plastics in places may not be top class in looks, but mechanically, the bike is sound. Stuff like the layered fairing that doesn't have many exposed screws, the well designed cooling system, the mesh in addition to the air filter, etc are all value additions. These are not the stuff any person will notice at first. However, they are the ones that matter. I will take well engineered and thoughtful additions to novelties like backlit switches or a gear indicator any day. Never has the bike failed me (except one day when the battery died last month- but even that was easy to replace.)

The CBR250 isn't the fastest bike made in India anymore either. There are faster, better handling bikes out there- but even now, not many offer such a complete package of a fast enough, flexible, comfortable, mile muncher that's extremely reliable and abuse friendly. It's also a decent handler with some basic mods even though it will not satisfy the hardcore corner fiends.

This is a bike for the more mature rider who can live with the more relaxed pace and would like his back to be in one piece. The CBR250 might not have a trellis frame and upside down forks, but the twin spar diamond steel frame is tough, resists flex and the front forks even though they are budget, can handle our roads better without busting their seals.

In a way, this itself is the problem. Nobody bothers to care or research about such aspects. Such info is available only from long term ownership reviews and won experience. Honda is not helping matters by being complacent. While Bajaj/ KTM constantly improve their quality and bring out a host of improvements to their bikes and publicize the same, ( the new Dukes resolve a LOT of problems they had in the beginning) Honda remains content to do a Hero act and rehash the paint schemes.
Honda still has the old mechanical soundness, but they do need to step up their game and re consider their optimistic pricing to stay competitive in the market. Else, they're going to be laughed at by the customers and rivals alike.

[Ruchitya]

Hey @evilmessiah
I am checking out bikes in this price band currently. Although I am experienced with cars, this will be my first bike. Hence, I want to buy a bike on which I can first hone the basics.
I am looking at the Apache 200 4V(FI), CBR 250 and R15. RC200 or RC390 do not appeal to me, as I will use the bike more in city (Bangalore) with occasional highway rides. Did i miss any other bikes I should check out?
My questions wrt to the CBR are:
1. Is the engine refined (with regard to vibrations) when compared to competition?
2. Have you faced any reliability issues with the front suspension? Does it hold up well?
3. Is pillion comfort that compromised? How is it in comparison to competition?

[evilmessiah]

Hello! Sorry for being late with my reply.

Originally Posted by Ruchitya

1. Is the engine refined (with regard to vibrations) when compared to competition?

Compared to the some singles like the Enfields, KTM 200 & 390 and the Benelli TNT25, it is refined. However, if you have a background of riding super smooth commuters like the Unicorn, GS150R, FZ etc, you will feel the vibrations. It's not super smooth as you'd expect a Honda to be. Twins like the Ninja 250/300, Benelli TNT300, etc are more linear and vibrates even less.

Originally Posted by Ruchitya

2. Have you faced any reliability issues with the front suspension? Does it hold up well?

My front fork seal on the RHS got busted sometime back. That was because of the pathetic condition of Cochin's roads and me riding like someone possessed through them. Had to replace both inner tubes and refill the fork oil. I'd forgot to mention this on my earlier posts.

Originally Posted by Ruchitya

3. Is pillion comfort that compromised? How is it in comparison to competition?

Miles better than the R15 and RC series, more accommodating than the Dukes. Better than the Ninja 250. Tie with the smaller Benellis. Worse than Enfields. No idea about the Apache as I haven't ridden it yet. The pillion is allright with short commutes, it's a torture on long rides. It's like sitting on the frame directly. I strongly feel that the CBR is best enjoyed solo. Pillions should be entertained only for short trips or commutes.

Do check out the competition too before making a decision. Happy shopping!

[evilmessiah]

Sad day today. Sold my pride and joy to another fellow enthusiast who was thrilled to bits. She had just clocked near 38K till date. Had to let her go since I had relocated and just wasn't able to devote the required time for her- and some other reasons as well. Hope she gives her new owner many happy miles and smiles.

Mods may close this thread. The baby ceeber has flown from its nest.