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-   -   2018 Honda CBR650F : Ownership Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/superbikes-imports/195732-2018-honda-cbr650f-ownership-review-4.html)

I weigh 90 kgs and in real world conditions the suspension is quite plush. But to answer your question - the front does tend to bottom out over bumps and potholes. I've had to learn to be careful with the front suspension and even then some bumps catch me by surprise and the front bottoms out. One has to slow down quite a bit to avoid that happening.

Also personally, riding with a pillion is a little taxing on the CBR. The grab rails are actually shallow grooves so don't offer much in terms of purchase and the pillion invariably ends up putting all their weight on to the rider. And because of the relaxed rider ergos coupled with my dimensions (I'm broader than average) the pillion can't reach around and place their hands on the tank as they would on any other sportsbike.

One more thing I felt pertinent to mention: in the owner's manual the max load mentioned is 188 kg. that's rider + pillion + luggage. so if you're looking to tour with a pillion and luggage that might be something you'd want to look into.

Correct. But the CBR forks are not adjustable.

Agree.

Exactly the impression I got when I worked the front forks and measured the sag. I have a feeling with me on the bike the travel will be insufficient given that we can not adjust preload.

Or I might order one of these from eBay and install them on a new bike. These are really very simple devices and give about an inch of preload adjustment on the spring. Most of these are for 41mm forks and if the Showa uses standard threads they should fit right in?

Interesting to compare this with what I found on the Ninja 1000 user manual.

Interesting indeed. Would've figured the Mighty green to have a lot more load bearing capacity than the CBR.

I feel like someone with a hell of a lot more tech know-how than me should be able to answer that :D

I was hoping you will be the guinea pig and give it a try. It's in the interest of the CBR really :D:D:D

Ha! well tried, chief :uncontrol

Well to be honest the bike looks so gorgeous in the flesh. Typical Honda build quality and attention to detail. Everything looks so well put together and once you uncork the stock exhaust the Jap inline 4 is simply music to a bikers ears.

I drove almost 45 Km to a stranger's home to see the bike in the flesh. Here is a picture of me on it, all 6ft4 and 117 Kgs. Perhaps the bike is a tad bit small for me and it has somewhat dimmed my appetite for the Honda. But still a gorgeous motorcycle.

One finer note though. The bike you see in this picture is the one with the older front forks and the current version comes with SDBV forks.

I've been wanting to do something about beefing up the stock exhaust sound for you know, rev bombs and other such very important reasons. Specifically I wanted something reversible because:

a) the stock sound is great for slipping under the radar when you don't want to draw attention in traffic/mall parking lots etc.

and b) the stock sound is superb for touring.

Therefore, as mentioned in an earlier post, the 'electrically operated butterfly valve exhaust cut out mod' has officially been put in place. I've ordered the part from aliexpress and it should arrive in around 40 days. The idea is to make a small incision in the exhaust pipe right after the cat-con and place a cut-out there with the butterfly valve attached which will be actuated via a switch on the handlebar. This serves two purposes:
1) It's a long shot but I'm guessing it'll be relatively easier to temporarily remove the cut out and fill up the hole in case I need to redeem warranty at some point and 2) by retaining the cat-con the back-pressure should ideally remain intact and also my carbon footprint doesn't go up by too much.

here's a link to the part:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/High...ceBeautifyAB=0

This is quite commonly done on car exhausts I believe. Any thoughts and inputs would be very welcome.

Here's the link to my stock flyby video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyhIWWAmm4w


Posting some pictures from over the last few weeks. Summer is in full swing so saddle time has reduced drastically. Hit me up for morning rides if you're in the vicinity, though.

Cheers and Happy Riding!

Which app is that showing the lean angles? Is it a connected app for the bike or just using the phone to measure the angles?

it's called diablo superbiker. you have to tinker with the settings a wee bit then it's fairly accurate *for a free app*. Pirelli made it. so I'm guessing they use it to collect raw data for r&d or something since the app asks you to identify your motorcyle brand and model and also the tyres you're currently running. and no, it's not connected.

Rode to Pune this last weekend. The plan was to attend valley run at Amby valley but that didn't happen. I was riding with a friend from australia with her "brand new" 1992 RX135 so the going was.. slow. To say the least. But the bright side is the onboard computer on the CBR kept showing dizzyingly high economy figures. There are two displays. One is the average fuel consumption and the other is current. This one ride brought up my average from 15 to 22 kmpl thanks to the current being firmly in the 30's (and sometimes 40's) through out the ride doing about 60-80 in 6th gear. The CBR is quite comfortable at this low speed and completely devoid of any feeling of stress/lugging of the engine. attaching some pictures because why not.

Although the real-time FE display can be quite optimistic at times, the Avg FE readout is quite accurate.

Since we are on the topic of FE :D, let me flaunt some figures here. This was during a Central and Western India ride, where I had the company of two 250s. The speeds were generally kept b/w 90 to 120 kmph, which is very relaxed on the 650, and this on either undivided state highways with sparse traffic or barren National Highways.

Right. The summer is finally dead, and not a moment too soon. Good bloody riddance.

I've had a DIY tail tidy set up on the CBR so thought I'd post some pics. And also some fuel log screenshots etc. along with assorted pictures of rides and some at a friend's stall at a local bike meet.

The aliexpress butterfly valve exhaust cut out I ordered is here but the actuator for its motor was not part of the package. D'oh! So now I've had to order that separately and it is on its way. One thing though, and it's not just me saying it: the CBR's stock sound has improved tremendously over the last month. There is a distinctive growl at lower rpms that didn't exist before. Still, the exhaust cut-out project should be fun. Will keep this thread posted with updates.

Also, I was wondering if anyone's tried the fake helmet visors from aliexpress? they're 10 times (!) cheaper than the real thing. My visor is all scratched up and a stop-gap measure such as these would be nice to get through a couple of months before a friend can pick up real ones from abroad for half the price they sell in India.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Full...643c2e0eZiN9cd

Happy riding and as always, if anyone's riding in, around, or through Aurangabad, gimme a shout and we'll talk bikes over a warm meal and cold beer.

Cheers,
Bolt

What were the accessories you added for the bike? Radiator guards, frame sliders and what else? Where did you source them from and cost of these?

The ex-showroom has increased from 7.3 to 7.45 lakhs now. The On-Road is now 8.55 and the Zero dep insurance is 17K. I checked in Pashankar today and there is a red lot coming in July but the next black lot is coming in September. But no test rides yet and don't understand why these guys don't have atleast one bike for test ride.