New Honda 250 By kz1000st (Read 588 times)

[kz1000st]

It's a glitzy looking bike and it weighs about the same as my Big Ruckus.

Motorcycle USA 2011 Honda CBR250R First Ride

Until now Kawasaki has had a monopoly on this ultra lightweight market segment with its Ninja 250, and it’s one they took full advantage of. But those days are a thing of the past and there’s a new kid in town: Honda’s CBR250R. Now only one question remains: how do the two stack up head-to-head?

I smell a shootout on the horizon. How about you?

Personally I smell a shootdown coming. The Ninja is a twin, will do darn near 100 mph and has been honed for years. Honda would have been better off updating the Rebel and staying off the Ninja's turf.

[zugzug]

I like the bike and glad to see the competition with the Ninja but I think at the same price point I will have to go with the Ninja hands down. I really like the CBR250 but they just want too much for it. And if they make the entry level bikes too good whos gonna upgrade? lol. If they really were serious they would drop the price in the 3k-3.5k range or put the engine from the 250 hornet in it. The hornet already has 40 hp. If they put FI on it they could prob get a few more hp and better fuel mileage. Of course that will never happen because they want you to upgrade to the larger more expensive bikes. Personally I think the big 4 are loosing touch. Cmon trying to sell a 108cc scooter for 3k plus delv and prep? or the PCX125 for $3400 plus DnP? 4k for a 250 single? And they wonder why dealerships are closing accross the country and why we are buying china scoots and taiwan scoots. Even when the economy was in the tank they raised thier prices from 5-15%. I bet the prices go up by atleast 5% for 2011 and when the fuel prices start climbing thru the roof later in the year the prices will go up again.

[kz1000st]

It does have fuel injection.

Fuel is delivered to the single-cylinder powerplant via 38mm throttle bodies and Honda’s Programmed Fuel Injection (PGM-FI). This uses several parameters to deliver the proper air/fuel mixture in all conditions to optimize power as well as fuel economy.

I agree it's another example of a bike that's overpriced for what it is. I read that Suzuki is selling the GZ-250 for $2999 this year, a perfectly capable 250 single that's proving how tough it is on numerous MSF ranges across the country. If I was going to get a 250 sportbike why buy an over priced underachiever.

[Bashan]

Excuse the small edit but I wanted folks to see the single cylinder engine if they weren't going to the article. In that respect, yes, why didn't they update the Rebel? That double lunger has been around as long as I can remember. That new single cylinder engine would plop right into the Rebel, make for great heat dissipation, and look cool as hell. They are NOT going to compete with Kawi's twin with that engine. Rich

[zugzug]

Yeah, I know the new bike is FI. I was just sayin why didnt they just FI the hornet I4 and drop it in the new frame. Then they would actually have something to compete with the Ninja.

[Bashan]

Dec 22, 2010 22:08:35 GMT -6 @zugzug said:

I was just sayin why didnt they just FI the hornet I4 and drop it in the new frame.

[/b][/quote]
I seem to remember a guy that really liked dropping big engines into small frames. Now who was that?..............

[zugzug]

Well, if my home life wasnt goin in the toilet at the time I probably woulda kept it and figured out. Even though I miss my scoots, selling them was a small price to pay for peace of mind. (I used the money for rent/deposit on my apartment)