[balenopower]

Congratulations on one of the best middle weight sportbikes. I have been eyeing the bike for a long time now and have even taken a short spin on it. The only thing holding me back is that the bike feels too tame. I currently ride an RC390 and i love its explosive nature to bits...something that a street tripe offers in higher class motorcycles. But then again..just like you, i find it wayyy out of my budget. Any reason why you did not consider a used Striple?

[BoltThrower]

Originally Posted by balenopower

Congratulations on one of the best middle weight sportbikes. I have been eyeing the bike for a long time now and have even taken a short spin on it. The only thing holding me back is that the bike feels too tame. I currently ride an RC390 and i love its explosive nature to bits...something that a street tripe offers in higher class motorcycles. But then again..just like you, i find it wayyy out of my budget. Any reason why you did not consider a used Striple?

Thanks for the wishes! I almost did buy a used Striple but the deal fell through. That, the servicing costs and the fact that they're a little small for me made me look elsewhere. Also like I mentioned in my earlier posts, 2 of my closest riding buddies have Striples so I have the option to simply trade my bike with them whenever I want. So that way I felt like I wasn't missing out on much.

Another reason was that the highway manners of the Striples leave a lot to be desired when compared to the CBR. I frequently do all-day/multiple-day rides and the CBR is an absolute delight to have as a highway companion. The Striples are like angry fighting dogs (rotties, dobermans) gnashing and growling and pulling at the leash at all times; which looks great in music videos (wink wink) but the CBR is like a well trained working dog (think australian shepherd) at your side, not needing a leash and following you along on your treks and hikes. You miss the theatrics and the formidable persona at times but it more than makes up for it in other ways.

But, you do yearn for that outright grunt. I had a 390 too and I honestly miss that crazy, punch-in-the-gut acceleration. This can be fixed with an aftermarket ECU I believe if one is so inclined. All in all, there are compromises to be made, even at this price range (sigh) so it's up to you and what kind of riding you plan to do.

Cheers and hope I could help.

Originally Posted by whencut86

Just read your ownership thread. Looks smashing in red. The real cowl looks too good in red. I am contemplating between a CBR650F or a R3. I need to head to Pashankar Auto and take a test ride on the bike. The cost, weight and ground clearance are the only factors making me hesitant to go for this one.

Thanks a bunch, brother!

Cost and weight are the main issues. So far I've had no problems with ground clearance whatsoever. Have had to ride on some broken tarmac and kaccha roads with a pillion (unavoidable in India) and have never had a scrape. I find it'll be a good idea to adjust the rear suspension when riding two up but the factory set-up works wonderfully for single rider. So far I haven't tinkered with it at all and have had no problems with GC.

Cheers and happy riding.

[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by balenopower

Any reason why you did not consider a used Striple?

Striple and CBR are two different animals meant for different applications.

Honestly, most Indians crave for faired bikes over naked being more attractive wherein, sport tourers as a category majorly is evolving due to more practicality for Indian roads eg CBR or even N1000 2018.

However, performance wise Striple would definitely be aggressive but wisely CBR would check major boxes over Striple including Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

It totally depends on the objective of one's buy and can be mapped maybe by Simon Sinek's Golden circle of why, how and what.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers,
Amey

[BowMan]

Great review and helps to get some feel of this bike which seems to be very elusive. Called up the Honda guys and they do not have the bike on show but asked me to visit a customer who seemed very friendly. One of these days I will drive the 40 km from my home and pay this guy a visit.

How does it stack up against something like a Ninja 1000?

[BoltThrower]

Originally Posted by BowMan

helps to get some feel of this bike which seems to be very elusive.

Rightly said, BowMan. When I was out looking to buy this bike, I couldn't find much written about the feel of the thing. Let me know if I can make this thread more helpful by adding other points/questions that might have been missed.

Originally Posted by BowMan

How does it stack up against something like a Ninja 1000?

I've never ridden an N1000 nor do I personally know anyone who does. But going by BHPian dkaile's excellent review of the big green monster, it seems that there's a world and a half of difference between the CBR and the N1000. The CBR is essentially an unintimidating, well-mannered sports bike with no electronics whatsoever, except ABS. The N1000 however, comes jam-packed with wizardry and electro-magic drool maal. Not to mention that hefty one litre engine and the torque that comes with it. Maybe someone who has ridden both bikes could shed some more light?

cheers and happy riding.

[BowMan]

Originally Posted by BoltThrower

Rightly said, BowMan. When I was out looking to buy this bike, I couldn't find much written about the feel of the thing. Let me know if I can make this thread more helpful by adding other points/questions that might have been missed.



I've never ridden an N1000 nor do I personally know anyone who does. But going by BHPian dkaile's excellent review of the big green monster, it seems that there's a world and a half of difference between the CBR and the N1000. The CBR is essentially an unintimidating, well-mannered sports bike with no electronics whatsoever, except ABS. The N1000 however, comes jam-packed with wizardry and electro-magic drool maal. Not to mention that hefty one litre engine and the torque that comes with it. Maybe someone who has ridden both bikes could shed some more light?

cheers and happy riding.

I'm really interested in this bike and it looks fantastic with the seat cowl. Is the cowl OEM Honda or aftermarket? If aftermarket please can you confirm through any contacts you have in the dealership if it is available for the 2018 bike through Honda?

[BoltThrower]

Originally Posted by BowMan

I'm really interested in this bike and it looks fantastic with the seat cowl. Is the cowl OEM Honda or aftermarket? If aftermarket please can you confirm through any contacts you have in the dealership if it is available for the 2018 bike through Honda?

the cowl is indeed OEM Honda. It cost me 9500 inclusive of GST. I was after the sales rep's life since literally day one that I want the seat cowl with the bike on the day of delivery. I mentioned the seat cowl every time we spoke which is why I think it actually worked because you know how it is with these things. They say yes sir yes sir then on the day of delivery they're like sir order kar diya hai.

[BowMan]

Originally Posted by BoltThrower

the cowl is indeed OEM Honda. It cost me 9500 inclusive of GST. I was after the sales rep's life since literally day one that I want the seat cowl with the bike on the day of delivery. I mentioned the seat cowl every time we spoke which is why I think it actually worked because you know how it is with these things. They say yes sir yes sir then on the day of delivery they're like sir order kar diya hai.

Thanks. And what about the suspension my friend? How does it behave for someone who is bigger than average in our conditions? What travel is there in up front and does it bottom out on bad roads?

I was looking at some stuff which might fit the bike and found 41mm caps that allow preload adjustment on conventional forks. A lot depends on how well the forks are tuned from the factory and to be honest I think preload is the most important variable one would need to tweak to allow for weight in everyday riding conditions.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-Harle...lRbkhk&vxp=mtr

[BowMan]

I was searching for some more information on the suspension and found this information. So the front suspension has 4.3 inch travel while the rear has 5 inch travel.

http://powersports.honda.com/2016/cb...fications.aspx

And to put this in perspective the Versys 650 has 5.9 in/5.7 in travel front and rear.

https://www.kawasaki.com/Products/2018-Versys-650-ABS

So on paper it seems what Honda is giving the rider is a good stock suspension but something that lacks somewhat in adjustability.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by BowMan

So on paper it seems what Honda is giving the rider is a good stock suspension but something that lacks somewhat in adjustability.

Whats the relation between maximum suspension travel and the suspension being good, if I may ask? Versys being a tourer has different suspension requirements as compared to the sporty CBR650F. Not sure how comparing suspension travel might help here.

That said - One thing that both bikes have in common. Showa suspension. Absolutely love them on the Versys and hope its the same case with the CBR.

[vishy76]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Whats the relation between maximum suspension travel and the suspension being good, if I may ask? Versys being a tourer has different suspension requirements as compared to the sporty CBR650F. Not sure how comparing suspension travel might help here.

That said - One thing that both bikes have in common. Showa suspension. Absolutely love them on the Versys and hope its the same case with the CBR.

I think he doesn't want the suspension to bottom out on bumps and thats the reason why he is comparing the travel.

Having said that, doesn't damping and spring rate also play a role in the ride quality and whether the suspension bottoms out?

[BowMan]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Whats the relation between maximum suspension travel and the suspension being good, if I may ask? Versys being a tourer has different suspension requirements as compared to the sporty CBR650F. Not sure how comparing suspension travel might help here.

That said - One thing that both bikes have in common. Showa suspension. Absolutely love them on the Versys and hope its the same case with the CBR.

Putting bikes into segments does not take away the fact that all bikes are meant to be ridden on the roads that we have. I am right now 117 Kg and by the end of next month target to be 120 Kg. Today I came across a CBR650F and pulled out my tape measure. For a normal rider weighing around 80Kg there was what looked like less than 1/2 inch of sag. With me it was an inch. So effectively there is just around 3 inches or less of travel. I would say the bike in stock form is very well tuned for an average rider but not for someone like me. However this was 2016 bike and not the current one that comes with an upgraded set of forks.

Makes sense?

[BowMan]

Originally Posted by vishy76

Having said that, doesn't damping and spring rate also play a role in the ride quality and whether the suspension bottoms out?

Yes it does, but none of these are adjustable on these set of forks. The fork caps I posted earlier will enable one to adjust preload. For damping one would need to work with oil viscosity.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by BowMan

Makes sense?

Not fully, but I do understand your point. Looks like you need a bike with preload adjustments IMHO, rather than one with a lot of suspension travel.

Versys allows for preload adjustment both front and rear. Never seen anyone mess around with the front as its tuned almost perfect already. Rear has a simple remote adjuster knob and just a matter of turning it clockwise and vice versa to adjust it. No tools /effort required.

I harden the rear suspension when taking pillion. Makes a world of difference and avoids that soft rear feeling which creeps in otherwise on most bikes. Many others have also done big rides with pillion + full luggage setup that far exceed your requirement of 120kgs.

[shan_ned]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Not fully, but I do understand your point. Looks like you need a bike with preload adjustments IMHO, rather than one with a lot of suspension travel.

Versys allows for preload adjustment both front and rear. Never seen anyone mess around with the front as its tuned almost perfect already. Rear has a simple remote adjuster knob and just a matter of turning it clockwise and vice versa to adjust it. No tools /effort required.

I harden the rear suspension when taking pillion. Makes a world of difference and avoids that soft rear feeling which creeps in otherwise on most bikes. Many others have also done big rides with pillion + full luggage setup that far exceed your requirement of 120kgs.

You are 100% correct. Pre-load adjustment takes care of the sag.

@BowMan, You can try increasing the rear pre-load and check for the sag. Some times, even doing that may not solve the problem if the suspension spring does not have enough spring rate. In that case, I hear people going for aftermarket springs with higher spring rate.