Sid85

Hi Guys,

Currently I am using a 2004 model pre-used ZMa for the last 1 yr. Now I want to upgrade. Need your help in doing so.

My Requirements :

1. Comfortable
2. Reliable
3. Low maintainance
4. Such a bike which can be used to take ladies as pillion and also give me pleasure of riding while I am alone.

As per my requirement I shortlisted ZMA, P220 & CBR. BUt CBR being too expensive was thrown out of equation. But the Autoexpo agin made me fall for CBR. Now I am confused between P220, CBR 150 & CBR 250.

Pros & Cons as per my research

P220
Pros

- Peppy engine.
- Good power in both mid range & Top.
- Projector lights
- Most affordable

CONS

- Reliability. I dont want to circle around the SC every now and then

CBR250 - Everything about this bike attaracts me. But an onroad price of 1.65l seems to be out of budget.

CBR150 - Not yet launched but as per the conversation with the Honda guy at Expo, its made for the people who cannot afford CBR 250. Speculated to be priced around 1.2l.

The only point about both CBR's is incase of a crash, the H/L assembly is the first thing to break and a expensive one.
The 2nd point is if I go for a 150cc @ 1.2l, why not a 250 for 1.6l.

Gosh....I am so damn confused!!!!!!!!

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Siddhartha
2004 - ZMA (riding)

sunilg

query approved.

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boomshiva

Dude, if you can afford it, get the CBR 250. It's in a different league from the others and obviously the one you really want.

Otherwise it's the CBR 150 or R15 V2 you should be looking at.

Sid85

R15 is totally out of question. Either its CBR or P220. CBR250 has my heart but the price seems to be more....thats the reason was looking towards CBR150 but read somewhere its got its power at high revs.like the R15 whereas my use mostly would be in city which wojld need mid-range power.

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Siddhartha
2004 - ZMA (riding)

sambit

from ZMA to CBR 150 !!!...
I dont think that would be any way an upgrade...
Better , you save a little more and wait a little more,then get a CBR 250...

raja_roadster

come on dude i hope your dilemma is gonna end you up in a duke

suhaa

I don't know why you said r15's out of your question. If r15's out, then cbr150 should also be out. Because these both bikes are track tools and are almost same. And cbr150's got very less torque. So just consider p220 or cbr250. I say you save some bucks and buy cbr250, it's an awesome tourer, honda smoothness etc etc!!
Peacee

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icemang

This might be of some help. All personal views, of course...

From your requirements, I think the P220 would be the ideal bike.

Posting run: Pune to Rajkot and the CBR feedback


Review of the CBR 250R

It is still early days to write a comprehensive review of the bike: I have had it for less than a month and only 1210 kms on the odo. Yet, some issues are worth mentioning.

The Ergonomics. To me, the very first prerequisite for a GT bike is comfort. The CBR is NOT a GT bike but will be used as such due to its long legs. Now, there is a catch in the ergonomics. If one sits close up to the fuel tank, the posture is more upright, there is less weight on the arms and the back is strained less. But and BUT, one's crotch is jammed up and after some time, the penis and scrotum feel numb. Also, the edges of the seat press up at a place where the elastic of the under brief pinches on some nerve leaving the butt with a very peculiar pain, not ache. Not good, not good at all. So one shifts back and the rear of the seat is quite wide and immediately, the pain reduces and one is actually comfy, in the "front" and the "rear" if you know what I mean. But and BUT, within minutes, the weight on the fingers, the lower arm and the triceps increases to a point where one again shifts ahead. Thus, on a long journey such as the one I made, one is continuously moving back and forth, bartering one discomfort for the other. In the end, all parties involved are aching. After 80 kmph, the wind starts hitting the helmet in right earnest. A practical cruise speed would be about 80 to 90 kmph. Grading: Since she IS NOT a GT bike, 8 out of 10.

A word about the arm pain. Due to the posture, one tends to grip the clip-ons with fists clenched tighter than on normal bikes. This causes cramping in the fingers, the inside of the lower arm and the triceps. I am considered to have strong arms and shoulders and yet, it was a good 3 days before that typical nerves related pain eased. For these 3 days, it was difficult to hold a pen; the arms feel almost lifeless and ached like I had been hit on the funny bone.

Raising the height of the clip-ons by just 2 inches should increase the comfort level manifold. Once I have settled down here, I will get 2 suspension bolts machined with an extra 2 inches of head space and two 2 in spacers. This will turn the CeeBee into an excellent tourer, I hope...

The Instrumentation. Is sparse. Only one trip meter. Personally, I would have liked an analogue speedo and rev counter setup like the Ninja, makes it easier to sync the gauges on long trips. The fuel gauge is odd. When the ignition is turned on, 6 bars show. But with the engine started, and the tank filled to the brim of the cap, it shows only 5 bars. A will be seen later, this caused me to overestimate the empty volume in the tank – I divided 32 (the capacity)by 6 instead of by 5. Grading: 7 out of 10.

The SwitchgearI would have expected a much higher quality of this on the CBR. All switches are strictly cost-cutting, parts bin stuff and have to be handled gingerly lest they break, specially those that are used frequently e.g. the horn, turn indicator and flasher. Heck, the Honda scooters have higher quality stuff. Grading: 6 out of 10

The Paintwork The quality, per se, is good. Two small bubbles have formed under the silver coloured paint of the inner fairing on either side of the headlight. When I tried to smoothen one out with a soft handkerchief, the paint peeled away exposing the black coloured base colour of the fairing. No accepted at all, Honda. Grading: 6 out of 10

The Brakes. The brand is good – Byebre. The rear brake grip is perfect but has poor feel while the pedal is being depressed. The front feels a bit late in gripping on depressing the lever; lever travel is not in proportion to gripping feel. Will drain the fluid for air bubbles, if any, and report the result. The good part is that due to the forgiving bite, newbies won’t hit the dust. Grading: 8 out of 10

The Engine. Till the first oil change, the engine sounded harsh, dry, scruffy and set my teeth on edge. Now, after 1200 kms/ oil + filter change, it is much, much smoother. The counter balancer does a fantastic job and it is only at tick over that the crankshaft torque causes the characteristic up and down heave of the chassis and those too are very small migrations from the horizontal. Grading: 8 out of 10

The Clutch. Is super light. The engaging span is generous so there is no sudden all out or all in kind of a response. The levers seem to be billet aluminium and are soft to the touch. Grading: 9 out of 10

The Gearbox. Is slick and positive shifting. No false neutrals. From the toe down 1st, it goes straight to the toe up 2nd without snagging in the intervening neutral. While downshifting it does, at times, slot into neutral and an extra sharp tap is needed to go to 1st. This is as per design, I suppose. The ratios are well spaced. These days, the engine is still new and 80 kmph is at exactly 5000 rpm in top. I think that with more running done, the rpm will reduce at the same speed. I personally wish for a higher 6th to get an advantage of about 1000 rpm at this speed. Till 4th, she will purr around town, needing an occasional downshift to 3rd. 5th is good for overtaking and 6th is strictly for the highway. Grading: 8 out of 10

The Throttle Response. On my bike, the throttle free play was set way too much for my style and the EFI felt jerky. It felt much smoother once I had reduced the free play to about 3/4 of an inch. Again, after the servicing, it is still better. Also improved in the response on wringing open the twist grip, especially in 3rd and 4th. She just shoots ahead and in a few seconds is at triple figures. On the highway, this eases overtaking to the point of being a no-brainer - just notch down one, twist, zip past, notch up one and cruise. Grading: 8 out of 10

The Suspension. To my disgust, I found that the CBR's front fork tubes are of a considerably lesser diameter than the beef on the Yamaha FZ-S, which is an economy bike compared to the CBR. And they are completely non-adjustable. The diving under braking is a wee bit more than I would have been comfortable with; a preload adjuster would have been excellent. I don't know about the long term implications of thin tubes on structural integrity, rigidity, alignment etc, it feels well sorted presently. The rear rising rate’s spring seems inclined more towards a higher preload - was the damper designed with heavier Europeans/Yanks/Aussies in mind? For me, at 80 kgs, the penultimate (4th) notch is the best when single and the 3rd when with pillion of a similar weight else if I am carrying a lighter pillion, I leave it at 4th. Like I have written earlier, the 3rd slot is just too hard without much weight on the rear seat. Whilst in Pune, I have repeatedly had the feeling that this bike is made to tour pillion up, not single seated. She moves so smoothly, with such solid assurance and poise when two up. The downside is the weight transfer on the front arms under heavy braking. Grading: 8 out of 10.

The Fuel Consumption. Has been in excess of 30 kpl right from day one. In fact, once just out of Thane, while topping up the tank, both I and the pump attendant were monitoring the pump meter. Based on the fuel gauge’s readout, I had estimated that the tank would hold 11 litres. I averted my eyes to the tank just in time to prevent a large overflow; even then, I lost about 50 ml. Instead of 11 litres, the tank had taken only 9.8 litres. After this overestimation, I was cautious and filled in about ½ a litre less than my estimation. Later, after understanding the fuel gauge read-out, I am more accurate. I expect that she will return about 40 kmpl once well run-in. Grading: 9 out of 10.

The Lights The high and low beam are both superb in intensity and envelope. Again, one stupid glitch: the right hand front number plate holder arm interferes with the beam adjustment rotary gear. As soon as I get some free time, I am going to re-locate the number plate to sit between the rear view mirror mounts. It would look better there and hopefully act like a splitter plate to direct the airflow over the helmet at 80 kmph +. The indicator relay could have incorporated a muted beeper to alert the rider to cancel it timely because in the CBR (big bummer), there is NO auto cancellation of the turn indicators a la Pulsar 200/220. Honda, this is really, really cheap. Grading: 8 out of 10.

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vivek_k_p

^^Hey icemang

Which CBR you own? STD ver??

boomshiva

I think a good pair of aftermarket clip ons will help if you want a more upright posture for touring/long rides. Should ease the stress on arms, wrists, shoulders, back, and from what I read, scrotum and penis