Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R

Hi all,

been meaning to update the thread for a while but just so happens that work schedule has taken most of my time and the internet connection has been quite erratic in this part of the country. Regardless, time has come to get things rolling and i hope the following rants of an OCMD rider will add something more to this thread if you know what i am saying!

My riding has become limited to just 940 kms last month thanks to hectic schedule and periodic field visits. The 4th round of Rimula 4 HDEO oil has been holding up well. The engine oil has changed its colour of dark amber but so far the response, smoothness and gear shifts has been extremely sublime. I shall monitor the health of the engine for another 800 - 1000 kms (if time permits) and report my observations here. However, i would give a detailed update on that in another post. For now, let us carry on with the big one


INSTALLATION OF TAPERED ROLLER BEARINGS & SERVICING OF FRONT FORKS WITH CUSTOM PRELOAD

WARNING: The items i am about to describe and use are based on my discretion and my own need to experiment and learn. The products mentioned below are after-market in nature and i donot advocate any of them. It is merely to understand, learn, for the sheer joy of personalising my vehicle, sharing my experiences here as i clock more kms and review/post the net results for knowledge sharing. Should someone decide to follow my footsteps, know this: you are doing so with your own free will.


I have been delaying the process of replacing the worn out OEM steering bearings and the much needed fork oil change for a while thanks to the hectic work schedule and also due to the reluctance & in-experience of the local SVC mechanic. Understandably, CBR by nature is relatively trouble free and most of the owners don't harass their local SVC mechanics like i do!! Me and a bunch of OCMD riders belong to such a group: who are never satisfied with their respective steeds. Any noise, vibrations or even a minute deviation will send jitters down our spine... something a generic - everyday rider will never ever bother with...only to later realise that when we test ride a similar vehicle of a fellow rider: our respective steeds are in far better health, refined and well kept than theirs!! Well what can i say... it is a medical condition!!

So i finally managed to get hold of free time and decided it was wise to approach a bigger SVC with experienced mechanics who have at least carried out fork oil changes and complete rebuilds of accident vehicles. I came to know of a good mechanic through a referral of a common friend and then fixed my appointment with the SVC. Now i must be clear: given the choice i would any day go for a hydraulic set up to get the outer race and bearing installation done like it was carried out by Mr. Vikram & Vijay: Motozone Performance, Mumbai & Pune on @abhimanyu31 's Ninja san (thread link:http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/general-...ml#post1069542) as from any manner one looks at it: it is the right way to do things. Given the circumstances of me living in a remote location and due to unavailability of such services: add to that in-experienced hands, i had to make do with what i had. Bearing installation is not a hatchet job! So one can definitely understand the sheer reluctance to carry out the installation of the same with "chalta hain" attitude: as a result i had been stalling this, trying to find out alternative ways to get hold a custom hydraulic press shop or create some sort of custom jig to install the tapered roller bearings like it should be. However, after exhausting all options i consulted Mr. Vikram and @gopakumar s pillai and decided to go ahead with traditional method while keeping few safeguards. The good thing about the All Balls tapered roller bearings is that the manufacturer supplies the bearings with everything: outer races for CBR 250R and rubber dust seals for both the top and bottom bearings.

After i reached the SVC, the mechanic first dismantled the front fairing, MID instrument panel in order to gain easy access to the front forks and also in the due process have more free room to carry out the work easily.





Pic 1 & 2: Front fairing removed from my CBR 250R. The mechanic releasing the clamps and slowly removing the front forks from the fixtures/mounts and the clip ons.

Once, the front forks were removed from their given location, we then began dismantling the triple tree clamp: top lock nut and the holding nut for accessing the top and bottom steering bearings. Once the top cover was removed the top bearing was initially inspected to do a kind of autopsy behind the bearing failure and also assess the damage that has been done over a period of usage. As the pictures will suggest, both the top and bottom bearings were covered with a concoction of grease mixed with dust and dirt: understandably due to exposure to the elements with over 26,000 kms of usage. The outer race for the top bearing had visible damage and the inner part of the race had metal flaking off (not visible in the pics). The top bearing balls were also damaged, the bottom bearing was relatively in good shape though.







Pic 3, 4 & 5: The OEM bearings being removed. Post inspection the top bearing was found to have taken a severe beating along with the outer race. the bottom bearing was found to be relatively in good shape post 26,000 kms.

We then took out the OEM bearings and began with the process of removing the OEM outer races. Once, the outer races were removed we then started installing the supplied outer races by All Balls Racing for both top and bottom for the tapered roller bearings. I was monitoring the whole progress at all the time in order to ensure that the mechanic doesn't have a gala time hammering his way to the glory. The races were tapped uniformly from all sides to ensure that they seat properly. I then followed a method suggested by the vendor which made things easy for me. Once, the installation was done, we then measured to confirm that the seating has been done within the specs recommended by Honda. One good thing about these races were than they have been precision manufactured. If one notices the images below the outer races are angled compared to the OEM ones for the ball bearings. The fit was exceptionally snug and there was no play observed even when the final installation of the lower triple tree was done to the chassis.







Pic 6, 7 & 8: Outer races for both the top and bottom part getting installed onto the chassis. Note the angular nature of the races compared to the OEM ones. These have been precision machined specifically for this application by All Balls Racing.

For any readers who are on the lookout for an alternative bearing from another manufacturer do bear this in mind: getting hold of an outer race (for tapered bearings) designed to match the specs for a Honda CBR 250R will be the first priority as simply purchasing a matching tapered roller bearing from another manufacturer will be a worthless exercise. As far as i am aware of no other indian manufacturer (SKF/FAG etc.) provides outer race for similar application for motorcycles manufactured in India. If one can custom build it using a VMC/CNC machine then this will open up doors for a lot of riders who are on the lookout for an alternative bearing in place of the OEM one... just a thought!!

The next step literally made me sweat throughout the process as we were now progressing towards installation of bottom bearing onto the lower triple tree. Since, i didn't have any access to hydraulic press we had to route for the traditional "hammering" method. Thanks to Mr. Vikram & @gopakumar s pillai for giving me useful pointers on the same, the installation was relatively made easy though i was on the edge throughout.



Pic 9: installation of bottom bearing onto the lower triple tree

Once the installation was complete, i started looking for a good grease to lubricate the bearings. Thanks to a weekend, all the oil & lubricants selling shops were shut. I was very adamant and made it clear to the SVC mechanic that using dust & grime mixed lithium grease which was lying outside and used on other motorcycles & vehicles in their SVC will simply not do. The mechanic then suggested going for Honda supplied high grade, high temperature resistant & waterproof silicon grease. A mere 30 - 40 gms tube costs whopping 260 bucks! I then decided what the heck, let us go for the best and not compromise on such a critical component. So then we went ahead with smearing liberal gobs of silicon grease onto the bearing to ensure that it receives a good amount of lubrication and also forms a layer: creating a barrier for the bearing from interacting with the outside elements.





Pic 10 & 11: Honda High grade silicon grease. The silicon grease being liberally applied on the tapered bearing.

Both the top and bottom bearings were greased liberally and we also lubricated the outer races for the top and bottom bearing with the same Honda silicon grease. This was going to pinch my wallet a bit however, i didn't want to compromise on anything. Once, the lubrication work was completed we then installed the triple tree onto the chassis and the tightened the holding mechanism.

We then progressed onto dis-assembling and putting in fresh fork oil into the front forks. For those who are keen the learn a bit more about proper servicing/overhauling of front forks for Honda CBR 250R do check out the video link below:



Once, the front forks were disassembled, we then took out the fork spring, washers, preload OEM spacers from the fork and drained the old fork oil from the fork pipe. The old fork oil looked like dirty gutter water which was expected given non-preventive maintenance by the previous owner. The mechanic then started cleaning all the components using petrol. Since, the fork oil seal and the dust seal was in good health we didn't bother dis-assembling the whole fork unit and simply carried out the cleaning process of the innards of the fork tube using petrol. Once, all the components were cleaned and dried, the mechanic then poured the new fork oil into a measuring jug and the put in into the front forks.









Pic 12, 13, 14 & 15: The front fork components being removed and cleaned using petrol. The innards of the fork tube getting cleaned by pouring in petrol and then sloshing around, pumping the fork tube a couple of times and then draining the contents.

Once, the fork oil was put in the mechanic then started pumping the fork tube a number of times in order to ensure that any residual air remaining inside is removed completely. We then wen ahead with putting the fork spring, washers and the OEM spacer inside in the order we had taken them out. However, one more thing was added into the recipe. I had got hold of a 1" spacer in order to test out a high pre-load setting with the OEM forks. Honda CBR 250R has been traditionally softly sprung into order to provide a much more compliant ride. However, this same OEM set up is also the "achilles heel" for Honda as it doesn't provide confidence for any rider who wants to do a bit more of corner carving. Also with the OEM set up, the front forks have a tendency to dive in too much during hard braking which i felt at times lead to the front tire losing a bit of grip and also the feeling on the front brake lever was not consistent.









Pic 16, 17, 18 & 19: The mechanic pumping the forks to let out any residual air from inside. The 1" spacer getting installed for custom suspension set up test.

I wanted to try out a custom set up with 1" spacer and using 340 ml of fork oil instead of 331ml to see if this floats my boat. I will have to do some extensive runs on the moon cratered roads of the North East and then see if the set up feels more stiff then what other combinations can be tried out to get a set up of my preference. Once, the front forks were re-assembled, the mechanic then put them back onto the triple tree and then began re-assembling the fairing back on my CBR. Well then the money was paid off and the mechanic was tipped (quite well!!). The top locknut of the steering bearings have been kept slightly lose in order to see how much tightening will work best for my CBR. I wanted to be sure that the mechanic didn't end up over tightening the locknut which may damage the tapered bearings and prove to be an costly affair for me.

Anyways, i will provide an initial experience with the new set up in a separate post as due to time constraints i will have to wrap this one rather quick.

Till then watch out more on this space...


Cheers,

Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R

Hi all,

this post will be slightly off-course due to recent developments that have taken place. So without waiting further, let us get on with the story.


RIDING GEAR UPGRADES

My ageing Scoyco JK17 riding jacket has served me well for the last 4 years. I am happy to report that not a single zip or stitch has failed since the day i got it. However, discolouration/fading of the jacket has slowly become very prominent understandably due to continuous usage over a period of time. So while i have been busy restoring my CBR 250R with utmost care, deep inside i knew time has come to also start looking into and investing on rider safety gears. Most of us in general purchase a helmet and may be gloves and then leave it to that as the cost of procuring good riding gears is definitely an expensive affair.

However, learning from the senior riders in xbhp and remembering the gyan shared by @abhimanyu31 one should never compromise on safety as far as possible coz god forbid if the unthinkable happens the actual road to recovery and the monetary expenses will be much more difficult to digest. As always, it was time to pester my friends and riding buddies to help me narrow down from the list of good riding jackets which i can wear almost 80% of the year in this part of the country. Due to the nature of changing seasons in the North East India, i chose to go for a textile mesh jacket which provides a good amount of air flow and the protective armours could be later upgraded as in when the budget permits. While having rounds of discussion with my fellow riders it was very clear to me that i wanted to go for a brand which is focused and specialises in making rider protective gear and has been in the market for a long time.

So it was pretty obvious that the choice was going to be one and only "Alpinestars". For those who may be interested the video link below will give a clear cut idea why it was the "one":



I would like to sincerely thank senior rider @gopakumar s pillai who took time and personally visited Planet DSG showroom, Pune and helped me to shortlist the jacket for me.





Pic No. 1,2 & 3: Alpinestars TGP Plus R Air Jacket imported and sold by Planet dsg (PlanetDSG : Motorcycle Riding Gear, Accessories, Apparel and..), Pune.

After going through a range of options offered by Planet DSG, it was decided to go for Alpinestars TGP Plus R Air Jacket with the colour pattern shown in the pics above as i felt this will offer high road visibility for oncoming traffic. I will opt for Nucleon KR-2i back and KR-ci chest protector upgrades at a later stage and take safety a notch higher.

Hopefully in sometime i will end up going for proper street riding boots either from Alpinestars (SMX-6, link: PlanetDSG : Motorcycle Riding Gear, Accessories, Apparel and..) or else TCX (S Sportour Evo: Buy Motorcycle Riding Boots in India | High Note Performance). Just trying to celebrate a second Christmas (confessions of a OCMD rider!! )

i Would personally like to advise all my fellow riders, as in when possible always invest on good riding gears. Safety should never be taken lightly. Anyways, the order has been placed. I am also in the process of getting some more farkle for my CBR 250R but more on that later...


Cheers,

Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R


QUICK UPDATE:

Hi All,
I managed to cover a quick 370 kms since, the last oil change and the vehicle is seemingly becoming smoother, effortless the gear shifts and acceleration is linear as ever. I am happy with the results so far and i am eagerly waiting for this round of Rimula R4 to get done with so that the fresh run with FS oil can be started at the earliest... impatience does take a toll on someone suffering from OCMD.

So what does a mad biker do to keep himself busy??? the answer is plain and simple: SHOPPING!!



Pic 1: Shell Advanced Ultra 10W 40 Fully Synthetic motorcycle engine oil.

I guess my impatience is the reason why my bank balance keeps on dwindling every month! Couldn't resist the temptation so manage to procure 3 bottles of Shell Advanced Ultra 10W 40 FS oil for the future engine oil change. I already had about 500 ml remaining from the 1st round of Ultra run on my CBR 250R. I believe this stock is good enough for the next 10,000 kms eh?? Anyways, i am really hopeful that post the completion of Shell Rimula R4 HDEO oil treatment, the internals by the end of the 4th round would have more than enough ZDDP coating. The moment i put in Shell Advanced FS oil, it will maintain the ZDDP coating even though it has comparatively lesser ZDDP content PPM and also being FS oil, i may witness further increase in smoothness just like rider @John Niranjan Paul experienced first hand. However, i believe only time will tell and give us concrete data what will be the end result of all this experiment carried out so far with my CBR 250R.

I was also on the lookout for a fresh can of WD 40 but due to some odd reason it is currently not available in the local market. So i got hold of Zorrik 88 which is more or less similar to WD 40. I will be using this product extensively on the electrical switch gears and the lockset and report my observations post usage of the same.



Pic 2: Zorrik 88 anti-rust spray from Pidilite.

I am eagerly awaiting to see whether the 4th round of Shell Rimula R4 is able to surpass the 2,000 kms barrier and successfully manages to last till 3,000 - 3,500 kms. If at all this is the end result then as a cheap alternative one may look at this oil especially for those who cover very little mileage per year. Anyways, shall update this thread with fresh reports as i continue clocking kms on my CBR 250R.

Till then, stay tuned..


Cheers,

Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R

its good to have you back sir

Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R

Sir, glad that you are fine. yes plenty of stuff happening this year on my CBR.. some useful and some completely pointless ones too!!

Well in response to your OT.. i am fine and actually was busy snoring when the earthquake struck. The epicenter was quite far away from where i live and majority of buildings in this area being made as per the municipality code under earthquake prone Zone - V. So all well and good here.


Thanks for sharing your concern... much appreciated..

Cheers,

Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R

OT:

Shivang, I'm reading reports of a strong jolt in the NE. I hope you (and family) are fine and doing just good. Please let us know about your well being and if we can do something somehow if needed.


Glad you're fine sir. I was beginning to worry seeing you being absent from the couple of platforms I'm used to seeing you in.

Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R

What a load of information I had missed in the last month,since my home got flooded....Good to catch up, and needs a re-reading to soak it in...
Good Luck .

Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R

Hi all,

i would like to wish all the members and readers of this thread a very happy new year (2016). With new year on the cards, my CBR demanded her usual TLC during the treatment phase and who was i to ignore her request eh? So without further adieu, let us start with log.

ROAD TO RECOVERY (PART - 8)

The 3rd round of CBR 250R's HDEO treatment definitely changed her characteristics. This time the engine oil was able to go past 1,500 kms rather easily. However, as i inched closer to the 2,000 kms mark, the gears slowly started sticking both during upshifts and downshifts and finding neutral was becoming tricky. This was a clear indication that additives and ZDDP in the Shell Rimula R4 HDEO engine oil was more or less used up by my CBR quickly. I had already got hold of a fresh stock of 1 ltr pack of R4 HDEO oil and this was the sign i was waiting for. So an appointment was fixed today with my local SVC and i carried the stock (engine oil & oil filter) along with me.



Pic 1: Fresh 1 ltr bottle of Shell Rimula R4 HDEO engine oil along with remaining 500 ml oil from the last oil change.

The readers may take note that the 3rd round of Shell Rimula R4 HDEO oil lasted about 1,936.7 kms which is way more than the earlier 1557 kms. To me this is an indication that the engine is responding well to the Rimula treatment.



Pic 2: Trip meter indicating a total of 1,936.7 kms (trip meter resets after crossing 999 kms) with the 3rd round of Shell Rimula R4 HDEO oil run.

Surprisingly for a Sunday, today was relatively a very relaxed one for the SVC mechanics. I presume new year celebrations while soaking in and around the natural beauty of river banks and Arunachal Pradesh on a weekend, most of the motorcycle owners couldn't resist the temptation. So it was a simple "walk in" job for me. The mechanic along with his helper immediately put the vehicle on a paddock stand and started with the process of dismantling the panels.











Pic 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7: The CBR's panels are getting dismantled from the bike. Engine oil drain plug was opened up and the oil collected in the oil pan.

When the drained oil was inspected, it had a lot of particulate matter but was still flowing smoothly. Unlike the burning smell experienced with the 1st round of Shell Ultra motorcycle FS oil used on my Honda CBR 250R ( http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/general-...r-250r-12.html), the 3rd round of Shell Rimula R4 HDEO oil: there was no burning smell from the oil. Regardless, the mechanic then went ahead with removing the engine oil filter from the vehicle. The engine oil filter of Yamaha FZ/Byson has quite a lot of trapped particulate matter but the filter was still in good shape. I have also put a comparo picture below of a new one taken out from the OEM packaging Vs that of the one which was taken out from the engine bay just minutes before.

Regardless, the new Yamaha FZ/Byson engine oil filter was wetted with fresh oil, then put back in the engine and a fresh and final round of Shell Rimula R4 engine oil was poured into the engine.











Pic 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12: Note the engine old vs new Yamaha FZ/Byson oil filter. 4th and final round of Shell Rimula R4 HDEO oil being poured into the CBR250R's engine as a part of the high ZDDP & high detergent content oil treatment.

On my way to the SVC, I did notice that the front suspension has slowly started diving in too much. I believe the time has come to follow the footsteps of @gopakumar s pillai and get the fork oil replaced as i am pretty sure the fork oil has turned into a mucky drain water due to absorption of moisture, ageing and also losing its properties with over 25,000 kms of usage. I am planning to get the tapered roller bearings installed as well whenever the forks are getting removed from the CBR. That way the two major irritants will be taken care of at one go, a job which i have been postponing due to hectic work schedule. I have already got hold of new fork oil pet bottles from the manufacturer Valvoline as Motul was nowhere to be found in the vicinity. Shall give my feedback about this brand of fork oil once the installation is complete.



Pic 13: Valvoline fork oil. Each bottle contains 175ml of fork oil.

I would also like to point out that before the 3 round of Shell Rimula R4 engine oil was drained, mild shim noise has started emanating from the engine bay. I was actually expecting this to be happening sooner or later purely because of the fact that Rimula has been slowly but steadily stripping off deposits of from the engine internals. No wonder the tolerances set in with the topped up oil was also affected as the layers of deposits starting coming off. Though the shim noise is not yet irritating to the point where my OCMD would kick in.

As per my discussion with Senior riders, 0.01 - 0.03mm of valve clearance is within the acceptable limit, so i can continue running around till the shim noise is quite prominent. It is also to be noted as per the Service manual, the first inspection window for shim clearance is @25,600 kms. My vehicle has roughly done close to 25,600 kms so well within the limits. Once, the indications from the engine bay is clear that the typical shim noise has become prominent, i shall follow the service manual instructions and get the shims replaced as per the measurements found using a by a feeler gauge.



Pic 14: Maintenance schedule as per Honda CBR250R's service manual.

So a lot of things are pending, the way i see it the learning experience has been immense thanks to the series of surprises thrown at me with purchasing a pre-owned motorcycle. At times she did frustrate me, but common sense and with the support from senior rider in xbhp, i have been able to slowly bring her back to her former glory (may be even better!!). Anyways, post oil change this is what i had experienced...

OBSERVATIONS:

* The engine note became smoother and muted
* All vibrations became completely nullified
* Gears were back to being butter smooth and slick shift
* Finding neutral was very easy
* Acceleration was really smooth & linear
* Engine was rev happy as ever

Post 4th and final round of Shell Rimula R4 HDEO oil treatment, i will shift to regular Shell Ultra 10W 40 FS motorcycle engine oil. As of now my CBR 250R has covered 2392 + 1936.7 = 4,328.7 kms. With final round of Rimula treatment, my CBR would have covered around 6,000+ kms . If by then everything is still ticking based on my observations, i believe we can then safely state that Shell Rimula R4 HDEO engine oil can be used on a Honda CBR 250R without any repercussions. We will also take a note of how long this final round of Shell Rimula lasts as this will clearly give us an idea whether this oil can be used for an extended no. of kms or the maximum life of this HDEO mineral oil is within 2,000 - 2,500 kms.

Till then, stay tuned for more updates...


Cheers,

Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R

It is i who must thank you for inspiring me to go ahead with this tapered roller bearing mod .Sir with my limited knowledge i have tried to give an honest opinion in my previous post of what i actually felt about the handling characteristics of my bike after the steering stem bearing replacement,it was my experience of the 50 km ride from pune back to my home.I am neither an expert nor a professional rider to delve deep into the intricacies of bike handling however purely as a simple bike lover i will try my level best to share my experience in future.You know that i really wanted you to carry out the installation of the Tapered roller bearings first in your bike and was so desperate to get a review from you but i am also aware of your extremely tight work schedule and the difficulty in finding a competent mechanic in your place is what's holding you back momentarily.As far as my personal feeling is concerned no words can do justice in expressing my delight of my 50 km ride back home.Thanks once again @ shv 18.

Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R


Regarding installation of the above.. I am glad that you beat me to it!!! I guess the real answer about whether this simple mod is indeed a worthy upgrade shall come into the picture once you cross another 200 - 300 kms and share your experience with the tapered roller bearings. If compared to stock OEM ones the tapered roller steering bearings do provide a better, stable, planted feel even while on the corners then one of Achilies Heel syndrome of CBR's wonky handling characteristics has already been taken cared of by a great extent post this mod. I am yet to get the old fork oil replaced and the tapered roller bearings installed so would like to reserve my comments until then. But thanks for sharing.. at least i am happy that whatever we have learnt in theory is actually turning out to be true in this regard.

Hope you will end up sharing more on this thread.

Cheers,

Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R

It's been quite some time since i wanted to get the bikes front fork oil renewed and was getting it delayed so that steering cone set renewal could also be carried out at the same time.


Master mechanic Laxman Chavan Can completely dismantle, clean and reinstall both the front forks under 30 min.












Thanks to Pruthviraj for providing me with the spacer for stiffening the front fork and helping me find the front setup to my liking. In the past we have tried with spacers of different length but eventually i settled down with the current setup.



DID X-Ring chain with JT sprocket.Chain cleaned and lubed.

I hold @shv 18 responsible for luring me into the Tapered roller bearing setup from All Balls which i managed to procure from U.S. I must say they are very prompt in replying to any query,they even mailed me a drawing which was of great help in understanding the correct setup.


Side by side comparison of ball and tapered roller bearing.















After installation rode the bike for around 50 kms,the riding experience put a smile on my face,the front feels much more stable and planted,if you manage to hit a pothole it doesn't unsettle the bike and vibration through the handle bars has reduced drastically.

Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R

QUICK UPDATE

Hi All,

I hope as winter sets in, riding at some places in India has become much more fun, coz at least in this part, the cold really gets you if you know what i am saying Anyways, as the story progresses new things have come up and the findings are really interesting. My honda CBR 250R has now clocked a total of 1682.3 kms with the third round of Shell Rimula R4 and so far things have been really holding up well.


Pic 1: Trip meter showing a total no. of 1682.3 kms (trip resets to "0" after 999 kms).

I have still not witnessed hard gear shifts and notchy gears when upshifting or downshifting. Though the colour of Shell Rimula R4 HDEO oil is more less going towards very dark brownish-amber which is a clear indication of a lot more particulate matter are currently under suspension in the oil. If the readers may recollect, last time the same grade of HDEO oil had given up roughly post 1557 kms. However, this time the HDEO oil is able to surpass the 1,600 kms easily. To me this is a sign that the HDEO engine oil is doing its job rather well.



Pic 2: Shell Rimula R4 HDEO engine oil's status @ 1682.3 kms. Note the brownish-amber colour of the oil.


Just a quick no. check for those readers who may be interested: i have now covered around 2392 + 1682.3 = 4,074.3 kms on Shell Rimula R4 HDEO oil and so far nothing has blown off, leaking or any signs of deterioration to any of the engine components have been witnessed so far. Also 4,000 kms+ has been covered using Yamaha FZ/Byson engine oil filter and my vehicle is functioning just fine as it would with an OEM engine oil filter. So the nos. and data speak volumes about this oil! I believe, if something had to give away due to using an experimental, unapproved HDEO oil it would have already happened by now... but seems to be the case that my CBR is actually responding to the HDEO engine oil treatment rather well!!

Though the results so far are extremely encouraging, I will continue monitoring the health of the engine and will be on the look out for any untoward noise emanating from the engine bay but so far things are really going smooth. I hope that with this 3rd round of Rimula R4 engine oil currently doing duty, i should be able to surpass 2,000 kms easily.

Thanks to the "earth wire" mod the early morning cold starts have been a breeze. I have not witnessed any issue on this front: the engine starts happily at one crank and the engine settles down to a steady 1,400 rpm post the initial warm up phase which lasts about 35 - 40 seconds. Though once or twice my vehicle did randomly shut down when decelerating from 3,000 rpm - 2,500 rpm and i pulled the clutch to change gears. However, after having a chat with my local fellow riders, i had a strong suspicion about the fuel quality at the regular filling station so i immediately changed my petrol bunk. I believe thanks to the winters setting in, any kind of adultrated or bad fuel will act up really quick in an FI engine. I am happy to report that post changing of the petrol bunk, there has been no repetition of the same. I also managed to pick up a fresh 1 ltr Rimula R4 15W 40 HDEO engine oil bottle for the next upcoming and final round of HDEO engine treatment post which i shall shift to Shell Advanced Ultra 10W40 FS oil and report my findings on this thread.





Pic 3 & 4: Final round of Shell Rimula R4 engine oil being kept ready. Four new Yamaha FZ/Byson engine oil filters for the purpose of oil changes that will be done in the near future.

Thanks to the cheap cost and readily available Yamaha FZ/Byson engine oil filters, i got hold of four pieces for a meagre price of Rs. 160/-. So Four more rounds of future engine oil changes along with an oil filter which is still almost half the cost of one OEM Honda engine oil filter for my CBR 250R. I sincerely hope that all the TLC done for my CBR, she will give me the returns in a different manner. I have no doubt about her reliability and capability, but thanks to this ongoing "road to recovery" exercise, i have ended up learning a lot many things and happy to share them here on this thread. But there are still tons of stuff lined up for my vehicle: mods, upgrades, farkle and experience... so do watch out this space for the upcoming updates.


Cheers,

Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R

Yeah, well, i rescued my bike when she had 7,600 clicks on the odo , and have been taking care of her ever since. Might be an explanation to as why the HDEO lasted 1.7K+ kms.

Still need to try the earth wire mod, but work always gets in the way .

Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R

Thanks for the update.. really appreciate it.

I am waiting for this round of oil to go bad then will do a final run of Shell Rimula R4 treatment and switch back to Shell Advanced Ultra FS oil. I presume that in your case, using a high ZDDP and high detergent oil has led to cleaning up of internals really well and also ZDDP forming a protective layer on top of the metal surface. Now with using Ultra what you are witnessing is natural and hopefully will keep things ticking really smooth. It is interesting to note that in your vehicle, HDEO oil changed its colour at 1,765 kms whereas in my case the engine oil changing its colour to dark amber red has now slowly shifted from 300 - 500 - 800 kms. I believe the 20,000 kms of its initial life with topped up oil has left its mark inside the internals of my CBR and it will take a bit of time and kms with the Rimula treatment to slowly dislodge all the gunk and varnish inside the engine. I believe the next round will do the trick and from thereon shifting to normal FS oil will keep things in check as ZDDP by then would have already coated every part inside and the detergents by then would have removed most of the deposits (4th round is actually an overkill but the Obsessive Compulsive Motorcycling Disorder is something i can't control if you know what i am saying ).

All the best with your ride and do report your findings as you continue clocking kms on this thread.


Cheers,

Re: The story so far.. My Honda CBR 250R

@shv18 I tried out the HDEO treatment on my CBR as well, since mine is also a pre owned vehicle which was manufactured on the 21st Dec 2011 and had been neglected until November of 2013. I ran the HDEO for 2342kms exactly, and after that, the gear shifts started sticking, so changed back to Shell Advance FS Ultra.

Initial impressions: (During the HDEO treatment)

1. The bike had become less vibey.
2. Slick gear changes
3. The annoying vibes that creep in around 4.5K~5K rpms vanished.
4. However, when revved to 9K rpm, there was a prescence of more vibes when compared to the earlier Advance FS scenario.
5. I felt the bike to rev more freely in the lower RPMs (upto 7K) over the stock condition.
6. The HDEO in the engine turned dark amber at 1765kms.

Impressions post oil change: (Reverted back to Shell FS)

1. Surprised at engine purr, it's much smoother than before.
2. Engine heats up less frequently(it might be due to the FS oil itself, but it has reduced from before)
3. Lesser vibes.

I havent tried redlining yet, will probably check this weekend to feel any differences. need to also check the FE. My neighbour has a CBR as well, and as a direct comparison between a regularly maintained bike and a not so regularly maintained bike, there did seem to be a huge difference. His bike had solid low end torque, but had weak mid end (his sprocket is almost dead), mine was weak on low end torque but punchy post 6K rpm.

These are just a few personal opinions though, i might be wrong too! :P