CBR150R: Revvy engine that develops spunk at high rpms like a track bike, but has comfortable ergonomics / stance for the street.

R15: Ergonomics / stance like a track bike, but has more torque lower down for better street performance.


Talk about being trapped up in the wrong body (reminds me of the Rob Schneider movie "The Hot Chick")

Exactly what I was thinking. Plonk the R15 engine in the CBR and vice versa and you would have 2 very focused specialist bikes.

The switches are damn pathetic! Disappointment for a fan like me! Seems as if they're giving out the bike for free... If it was really pinching them, they could have raised another thousand to save the bike from ugliness! Or, could have declared seats as accessories and charged separately for it..

They are increasing their dealerships like crazy, expecting at least 2 new ones in 2-3 months in my small town, wonder if they'll increase production..

Funny actually since till now the R15 was flogged for developing power/torque at high rpms and now it seems that it actually has a street friendly engine.

Not just the switches but the seat cover material, footpeg rubber, finish around the speedometer, finish of the black plastics seemed out of place on a 1.3 Lakh bike. The R15 and 200 Duke definitely has much better fit and finish.

Just noticed that... true disappointment... I could understand why they ruined a good design as Twister by putting in Shine foot-pegs and other ready-made parts of other models incorporated in it, as it was a low segment bike.. but seriously... CBR150R is murder of fetus..

Seems Honda has got two departments, one makes initial designs which are good and other gets to make it as ugly as possible, cost-cutting is a by-product.

+1 to that bro.
Cost cutting on a premium product is like BMW selling it's cars without music systems. Expected better sense from Honda, guess i was wrong.

Hello everyone! Fanboys and haters alike!!! sorry i am a little late in joining the party but nevertheless... first of all let me take the time to thank the cbr owners for having started this thread and secondly i'd like to thank the cbr haters for makin me desperately itchy and badly wanting to join xbhp!! alright! abt me, i's a grad in zoology with a passion for automobiles in general and i'm a mechanic by passion.

i've been reading the entire thread along with the arguements and requests being made repeatedly and decided it was about time to lay down certain ultimatums jus to clear the air of unwanted controversies!! lets start from the basics!

SWITCHGEAR: indeed the cbr 150r does have one of the worst switchgears u can find on a bike above 80k! but thats wat is being offered, and i don thing the bike's true capabilities lie in the switches or in its ability to flash its light at oncoming traffic!

RIDING POSTURE: for those of u who argue that the CBR 150r, being a track oriented bike, the said bike is aimed at boy racers and commuters alike. riding in comfort is no sin and throughout the CBR lineage, it is to be noted that all CBRs were very comfortable and easy to live with unlike the yamahas in every single segment, be it the litre class or the 600s or in our case in the 150 segment. at the end of the day, its no use if u end up wit a sore back after u ride! function definitely takes the upper hand here than form.

ENGINE: now here's the fun part. the same ppl who argued about the cbr's seating also criticized the bike for having its power and lesser than expected torque peak right near the redline needing u to downshift more than normal. let me ask u one thing... on a performance oriented bike where the bike will most probably be in high revs, isn't it better to have power near the redline than have it peak in the middle and then drastically drop as u progress in the rev-range? 17.8 ps@ 10.5k rpm is definitely more tappable than 17 ps at 8.5k rpm. u might find joy in riding the r15 in de city but on the track, an r15 is dead meat! and facts being facts, u cannot disagree as by thorough testing, the cbr has been a whole second faster than the r15 at any given point and u can have ur dabates with that. now coming to the most controversial aspect. the puny 12.66 Nm torque as opposed to the 15 Nm from the R15. the only use of torque is to aid use of higher gears in low speeds. apart from that there's not much significance as we are not talkin about drastic differences here. 12.66 being less, 15 aint phenomenal either. on a short stroke engine it is empirical that u have to sacrifice torque in favour of power and u have ample of that available. meaning, u might have to downshift often.... thats pretty much like the Duke but in inverse. the close ratio of the duke demands u to up shift at close intervals, similarly, the cbr needs u to downshift whenever necessary. makes u a more involved rider if u might ask me.

PRICING: i find no reason that honda has to justify its pricing even if u find the plastics shoddy or the equipment bein sub-standard. honda are sure the price tag isn't gonna hamper its sales and it is definitely a huge step away from the r15. !.3 lacs OTR and ppl still optin for it doesn't mean, its jus all show n no go. Honda's been in this business far longer than most of u can even remember so i suppose its best to leave the marketting to tham. For any of u who say DOHC makes no difference in a single cylinder engine and a SOHC is enough, don't u think the world's leading engine manufacturer thought of that before u? and if they have incorporated it into the bike, does mean they've done their research, and thats final. no more discussions regarding that. i will accept all ur ranting about the mechanicals of the bike if u are in the R&D of any automobile company and if not, its best to keep ur mouths shut about something u jus read on wikipedia!

For anybody who really understands how power and torque works, they really won't be relying on info on the spec sheet to deem a bike capable or not. the bajaj pulsar 135 ls, being down 15 cc can still outclass a Fz even though the spec sheet favours the fz in all aspects. Last but not the least, to everyone who's criticizin this bike, jus understand that u are being miserable and sore, not to mention rude jus to emphasize ur opinion.. always remember, its only YOUR OPINION and others simply DON"T care if u love it or hate it. Stop Shoving ur opinions, (sensible os senseless,) down ppl's throats.

P.S. dear moderators, things can't be said any politer than how its said above.

well, i would like to ask for usual comparison figures between R15 and CBR150 in terms of 0-60 & 0-100 kmph timings,as well as top speed? ? ??

it seems this is the year of bikers as so many real choices have emerged in market. but this is also the year of compromises- as u can have a v-twin minus liquid cooling or a good bike minus quality fit and finish or minus flash switch and minus engine killl switch.

@paul: first of all welcome to Xbhp. well nice review there, keeping everything laid on the bench hmm nice. One thing which is troubling me and I would like to mention here brother r u from the company? Honda as there r so many words which u have used back there have made me remember of a meeting when I had taken in a company long time back.

I smell something it would be nice of u to remove the smell if there is. I hope u understand what I am trying to say here.

Very nice review.....

For the switches; everyone is talking about....i found a image....and i think its almost same as in Thailand model...and look for a key console...they are same as CBZ xtreme...hope to see the same in our Country model too...

I have never understood why Honda does not provide good switch gear! In my dazzler there is not engine kill switch and may be I can live with that but in the CBR150 there is no passlight switch???????? In my previous Honda Eterno also there was no pass light and it drove me crazy at times since I had to turn on the head light and then try and f**k the low beam high beam switch!!!

I mean how much can a couple of switches cost man? And really I have absolutely no issues with anyone here, I am simply asking a sincere question : Why does Honda compromise on essential switches? How much would it save them? Doesn't switch gear come in their ergonomics research?

Switchgear being absent...good,Iam happy. Track bike does not require flashing anyways.

Wrong move may be, but its okay. I mean its a track oriented machine, people bragged about the old r15 having puny tires, may be in given time Honda might develop them too...

Iam happy XBHP has reviewed the bike... Still not finding a direction regarding the new bike...

I was waiting for XBHP review since honda started its sales. But I felt the review was so diplomatic.

Am still in confusion whether to go for this bike whole heartedly..

IMO India version of CBR 150R is a downgraded version from the international one..
Honda dont try to fool us & atleast pls cut the price by 5-8K..

Which international version you are referring to?