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

Good to see that the thread helped you @ Mitz in deciding to go for a pre-owned CBR250R with full knowledge of what you are getting into....

Regarding Problem 1) it seems to be the Air rushing against the fairings which is causing the noise , since your engine is not noisy .I am sure you will not hear this sound in traffic, due to elevated ambient noise.

2. Surprised to know that the CBR250R has repeat Cam Tensioner problem at less Kms . The Honda engine is very reliable, and many owners so far had complained of Tensioner problems only after many Kms of riding ie., at least 20~30K Kms. The earlier batch were more prone to having shim noise and replacements were not easily available then. So please observe now that the shim and Tensioners had been replaced recently by the owner..

Do keep sharing your views and opinions for the value it brings to the Thread

Take care
Ride Safe.

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

[MENTION=32286]psr[/MENTION] sir. I too have the cam tensioner issue. I got mine replaced at 4k+ kms and now again @ 9.8k I can hear that annoying sound. I will have to go again for a replacement soon.

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

Thank you for quick inputs PSR sir. You are right, there is negligible noise in traffic conditions. I'm trying to discover the source of this noise everytime I ride and I noted this morning that the sound may change (amplifies or diminishes) on the different type of tarmac. This makes me feel the sound can be related to the tyre noise. Quick google search reveals this is not a common issue for Michelin street. I'm waiting to get my hands on another CBR with Michelins to see if I experience the same sound.

Shim and Cam Tensioner noise is something I would always lookout for and take precautionary measures based on suggestions of experienced riders such as yourself sir. I have made up my mind to replace the cam tensioner for myself and see if and when the problem crops up again. This is a 25k kms run vehicle so I guess these issues are not very unexpected.

Nevertheless, looking at the bigger picture, I'm willing to slightly overlook the minor nuances and enjoy the ride for now and exploring the many positives that the CBR brings on to the table at such an affordable price point.

Edit:
Googled for this issue beyond CBRs and turns out it's not such an unknown issue after all on international forums for other bikes. Some quick links below on this topic.

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

Ave2592..Unbelievable that you should replace the first Timing Chain Tensioner at 4 K Kms and need another replacement now at 9.8 K Kms...I think there is something not right with the tensioners you are replacing..I vaguely remember some post wherein the Honda Unicorn tensioner was used in CBR250R due to non availability, and the replacement failed in about 5~6 K Kms. Please do check for the same..

Good to see that you had done some further knowledge exploration, regards the wind noise through the fairing... When you replace the Tensioner please ensure it is for CBR250 and not some equivalent...The CBR250R is a reliable bike which can clock 1,00,000 Kms without major engine problems , so be relaxed and enjoy the bike trips..
Good Luck Ride Safe.

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

Hi All,

A small update: now that i have tasted the true meaning of adventure, i really couldn't help myself but plan another one (before time and other responsibilities related to work and family take over!!). So this time it is going to be the beautiful country - Nepal But before i could commence with the journey, i wanted to take care of some small remaining niggles, luckily stars aligned and things worked out..

REAR BRAKE OVERHAUL & OTHER ITEMS

It just so happened that i had to visit Guwahati, Assam for some personal work so as it is a norm with an OCMD rider , the first thing i did was to land up at the Vinayak Honda SVC, Guwahati and enquire about the status of the parts. Luckily they had the rear Disc rotor and cush dampers with them in stock so without waiting any further i picked up the lot quickly! After reaching back home, the local mechanic was contacted and the date to carry out the replacement job was set.







Pic 1 - 3: Rear disc rotor for ABS variant and the rear wheel cush dampers picked up from Damper. Note the part prices for easy reference.

I was present at my mechanic's workshop early morning and we initiated our work with dis-assembling the rear wheel. It was a straight forward job so took a very little amount of time to remove the rear wheel from the bike. The mechanic then began the work of removing the rear brake disc rotor. First the ABS speed sensor pulser ring was removed. Both the mechanic and me were quite astonished to find that there was a very minute dent on one of the sides of the rear pulser ring. Perhaps we might have located the real culprit behind my ABS system going bananas and remaining non-functional. I already made a mental note to get hold of a new pulser ring when i am back from my Nepal trip.

If one checks out the images below, the name of the rotor manufacturer is Yutaka (Japan) and the recommended disc thickness for the rear brake rotor is 4 mm. After removing the rotor and inspection it was pretty clear that earlier harsh treatment of the first owner combined with running HH sintered pads finished it off pretty quick.











Pic 4 - 8: Condition of the rear brake disc rotor. note the given limit of rotor wear by the manufacturer. the rear rotor was a goner after 42XXX kms.

The mechanic then went on with installing the new OEM rear brake disc rotor onto the rear wheel along with installing the old (damaged) pulser ring. All the bolts were torqued to the right specs so as to ensure that nothing falls off when i am travelling in the middle of nowhere. The mechanic then flipped the rear tire and removed the sprocket assembly. on inspection it was pretty clear that post 20,000 kms of usage, the rear cush dampers were a goner. The old worn out pieces were replaced with fresh ones from the pack and the rear tire was then re-installed into its place.

We also inspected the Brembo HH sintered pads for the rear and quite a lot of meat was left on it. Now for the un-initiated do remember that when one installs either new set of pads or a new rotor the braking will not at all be efficient. One will have to break in the rotor/brake pads for some period in order to get the brake bite needed to stop your vehicle in time. With my earlier experience with HH sintered pads, i knew it that the break-in for the rear disc-rotor will be nothing less than 100 kms.













Pic 9 - 14: Note the condition of the worn out rear disc brake rotor. Recommended thickness is 4 mm. New rotor installed and new set of rear cush dampers installed. Expected break-in period for the rotor is 100 kms.

While we were at it i asked the mechanic to again attempt to open the LHS clutch bar end weight holding bolt in order to replace the old clutch side rubber grip. He fiddled around with it a bit more and was able to unlock the stubborn locknut after a good 10 - 15 mins of trial. We then installed the new grip and then re-assembled the bar end weights but not before me liberally applying Locktite 243 threadlocker on the nut which will ensure that nothing comes out due to harmonics and high rpm vibrations naturally taking place during riding.



Pic 15: New LHS clutch side rubber grip installed. Threadlocker - Locktite 243 applied on the bolt to lock them in place tightly.

Post the completion of work when i took my bike out for a long ride, it was apparent that my bike's front tire was wobbling at certain speeds from left - right. This meant that i will have to get the locknut of the coneset inspected (it was adjusted the last time) and also check out the condition of the F&R alloy wheels. hopefully before the commencement of the trip, i would be able to resolve this small problem for good.

Besides non-functional ABS system, my bike is more or less ready to take on Nepal. Hope that it turns out to be as memorable as Arunachal Pradesh was...


Hi @mitz , and yes i do remember you... i am happy to note that you have made a sound logical choice on a bike which is simply as bulletproof as one can get. A Honda is Honda.. reliable as ever and it has proved its mettle every time i have asked for something more than what this bike has been designed for...

I wish we could have connected earlier so that i could have hooked you up with Mr. @gopakumar s pillai who has recently decided to put his immaculately maintained CBR 250R for sale.

IMPORTANT:
Before i forget.. taking the opportunity on this thread if any rider in Maharashtra is desperately looking for an overly pampered and loved - showroom conditioned Honda CBR 250R do contact @gopakumar s pillai . I would highly recommend this CBR: https://www.olx.in/item/honda-cbr-24...tml#103f418fc6 as i am well aware of the intricacies involved with OCD level scheduled maintenance right down to the bone- well to the extent where a Parsi will also run away after listening to the kind of attention to detail undertaken of by the owner till date.. worth every penny!

coming back to your queries:

1) I am not sure which sound are your referring to. Michelins are not known for scalloping or on-road rolling noise. Please do check the tire tread life and the alignment. Also do check the condition of the front wheel bearings. If moisture ingress has taken place then it is recommended to replace them as each bearing costs hardly 110-120 bucks each.

2) In my humble experience and as mentioned many times on this thread: timing chain and tensioner are well known culprits for this 250cc engine and most of single cylinder Hondas... don't know why but they just fail/go out of spec the moment the bike is about to hit 25 - 30k kms. If the previous owner has replaced only the timing chain tensioner and the irritating noise is back then the usual recommended procedure is to replace both the timing chain and tensioner together along with the timing chain guides. While one is at it, one should also get the shims inspected. After this work is carried out, the noise will not present itself for another 30-40k kms. The recurrence of noise will also depend on how you treat your bike and ride it. Hard acceleration and redlining it like crazy will lead to early demise of the timing chain and tensioner.. that is a given and plenty of riders have reported the same for CBR 250R on international platform as well.. In fact, post completion of this upcoming trip i also intend to get the timing chain, tensioner and associated parts replaced and will get the shims inspected as well..

hope this helps


Cheers,

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

Sir the bike is less than 25kms and I've seen atleast 2 chain cam tensioner purchase and replacement bills maintained by the owner so I guess this was indeed a repetitive issue for earlier models or some specific models although the ODO count was quite less. After a while, the ex-owner simply started to live with the chain tensioner noise rather than pointless replacements. Nevertheless, I'm going in for a full change CCT setup change this weekend provided the parts are available in any of the Honda ASCs in mumbai

Missed out on Mr. Pillai's ride. Nevertheless, hope that pampered CBR finds a worthy home soon.

Coming back to the topic, tires have quite a bit of tread left and they seem to be in a good shape overall but I can't be too certain as they seem to be the culprit to me somehow. If I can't find a solution, I'll try and replace the tyre with a some other CBR250 for testing purposes soon. I'll get the wheel bearings replaced nevertheless.

As suggested by you, I'll go for a full replacement of chain tensioner set and then check it for myself how long does it take for the issue to crop up again. I'm more on the touring side of things as well so I usually resist from redlining all the time (barring the initial test rides since I wanted to check out the engine characteristics). Shims job was done as evident from one of the maintenance bills so thankfully no apparent shim noise (or maybe I'm not technically capable to identify it based on youtube video demonstrations)

I'm planning a couple of long rides starting next month, hope the bulletproof reliability lives upto its name

Also need one more help from you, can you please state the color name mentioned on you RC card for your HRC tricolor model? Mine is originally a red silver model but the ex-owner had replaced the entire body kit some 2-3 years back when the tri color was launched. Sounds shady I know but no it wasn't accident related. It was an official Honda cosmetic upgrade (worth 19k) as he still has all the original panels/tank which is probably up for sale now. However, he missed out on upgrading the color change in RC & I need to do it at my end now as I do not want to take any chances with the law.

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

Well on my bike's RC it is just mentioned as white (i guess typing pearl sunbeam white is not possible given the space limitations in the digital RC card). Legally - one is supposed to intimate the RTO whenever colour change is done. Ground reality - nobody bothers to do so! However, in the event something happens remember this: the insurance company will look for every excuse in their books to give you the least possible claim so as to maximize their profits... so going by the book is better.

I would also recommend that you should do the earth wire mod even if your bike at the moment is not displaying any signs of electrical issue as it is dirt cheap and is an easy install. Also it serves as an insurance given the salty and proximity to coastal area your bike is currently based. This will ensure that even if for any reason the stock wiring earthing fault occurs, this secondary wire will take over seamlessly and you don't have to get stranded anywhere.


Cheers,

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

Thanks Shivang. I shared your views and have no intentions of not updating the color in RC while I complete the transfer process. I'm being presently quoted a hefty fee of approx 7-8 k by RTO agents to get the NOC for old owner, change color and get new RC transferred on my name. Trying to find a good agent or do all these formalities myself soon.

I've realized the due importance of earth wire mod based on this thread and it is most definitely on my list of TO DO stuff this weekend.

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

Finally got my CBR [emoji4] (bs3) STD model

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

Congrats ravi kiran!

Even i am a new buyer of honda cbr 250r

Are you facing issues with the stock contigo tyres?

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

Thanks Ashok....No issues as of now

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

[MENTION=32641]shv18[/MENTION] This is by far the best thread for the CBR250R I ever came across. The information on this thread is fantastic and helped me a lot in understanding the bike more. I might try the earth wire mod soon. Keep this thread going.

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

This thread is the reason I bought the CBR 250R :-)

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

A TRIP TO NEPAL...

Hi all,

been a while since, i have posted something on this thread... it has been almost a month since i was out of my residence: part travelling and part resting so couldn't do much but delay the updates over here. Though i am not much of a writer nor i am technically sound: but as it was followed earlier, would like to share my adventure with the readers and thereafter the aftermath and respective steps taken to ensure that my CBR is healthy and happy... ofcourse while trying to keep everything brief and let the pictures do the talking.

Regardless, on 14th November 2017 i started my journey and reached Guwahati, Assam. As a precautionary measure the vehicle was taken to Vinayak Honda SVC for a final check to confirm if any issues need to be addressed prior to commencement of the ride. Mechanically she was given a go ahead however, the ABS Pulser ring for the rear tire had still not arrived at the SVC - which meant that i had to do the whole ride without ABS being functional.. Personally, to me it made no difference as i always believe in being alert on road and presence of mind rather than becoming completely dependent on electronic wizardry and also if i do end up hitting patches of off-roading ABS system actually increases the braking distance which would be something i would like to avoid at all costs. After checking with my friend based in Nepal, it was decided that i would make to Kathmandu on 23rd of November while taking two halts: First leg of the journey would be Guwahati - Siliguri (on 21st November) and the Second leg will be Siliguri - Kakarbhitta - Bardibas (22nd November). At no point of time would i be interested in doing any sort of night riding especially in a country completely unknown to me. So now i had about a week to kill while being in Guwahati hence, went along meeting all my friends including the old gang with whom i recently ended up doing the Arunachal trip.

However, as luck would have it and sheer ignorance on my part, i ended up having a small accident which may lead to my earlier comment on ABS being put on question!! One is not supposed to overtake any form of vehicle from the left especially in Indian cities. However, call it my sheer ignorance, frustration or over-confidence: i committed the mistake of overtaking 3-4 buses from the left hand side till the last one - while i was doing so, out of nowhere a motorcycle came in front of the bus and then stopped right ahead of me. Luckily, i was not doing high speeds so managed to brake but ended up hitting the front motorcycle under 10-15 kmph (factoring in reduction in speed thanks to braking element). The end result was cracked front mudguard but neither the rider on the other motorcycle or i had any injuries and were unscathed. And yes given the situation and distances involved - ABS would have not saved me at all! Then and there itself learning from the experiences of @abhimanyu31 i did a post crash analysis and realised my mistake - thereafter promised myself never to repeat the same thing again!!



Pic 1: First crash on my CBR 250R. Front mud guard cracked.

However, the damage was not so severe and since, i also had a spare mud guard lying with me back at home: i decided not to let my OCMD go on hyperdrive mode and instead carry on with my journey. Now thanks to my earlier stint with trip to Bhutan, almost 75% of the road till Alipurduar, West Bengal was known to me. So on the First day of commencement of my trip from Guwahati - Siliguri with small butt-breaks and heavy traffic in Siliguri (due to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's visit to the city), after covering 485 kms i was able to make it to the hotel in around 9 - 9.30 hours flat! My CBR performed flawlessly and never complained throughout the journey. I was happy that post Arunachal Pradesh trip, all the necessary service and parts replacement ensured that the first 1000 kms was done without any issues. I was happy and content that from hereon in a matter of less than 24 hours, i would be entering a country which i have only heard, read and seen in different forms of media: but this time i would get the opportunity to experience it first hand!

Next day, after lubing the chain the loading the luggage i started off from Siliguri at around 7:00 am sharp as i was told by the hotel staff that the Immigration office at Kakarbhitta (Nepal) only opens up at around 8:00 am IST. The Indo - Nepal border from Siliguri was hardly a 30 mins ride, after which i crossed the famous Panitanki and entered Kakrbhitta. As an Indian, i don't need any permit but i had to pay for permit to take my Indian registered motorcycle and ride inside Nepal. One has to get the permit called "Bhansar" and the maximum permissible days allotted to an Indian vehicle is only 30 days. I managed to get 15 days permit and after registering myself at the check post and picking up local sim card (NCell), i started my second leg of the journey to Bardibas which is kind of a mid point between Kakarbhitta - Kathmandu (Capital city of Nepal). Just like Bhutan i was surprised to witness a very well behaved traffic (minus crazy taxis and buses) and absolutely no honking (considered a legal offence for which one can be fined in Nepal!). The road conditions were butter smooth, i literally had to work really hard to find potholes throughout the journey to Bardibas, Nepal. It seems India can definitely learn a lesson or two from such a small but interesting country like Nepal when it comes to maintaining highways (ironically most of the highways were constructed by India!!). Everybody followed speed limits and people were nice and friendly. I managed to reach Bardibas in under 4.5 hours and checked in my hotel but right after ensured that my beloved gets a thorough wash from the local bike wash shop.



Pic 2: CBR getting her first bath in Nepal.

My main priority was to witness Nepal and the beautiful Himalayas so i decided not to pursue any local sight seeing in Bardibas. Instead, took plenty of rest to get myself ready for the next leg of the journey to Kathmandu and surprises kept ready for me by my friend there. The next day since, i only had to ride about 196 kms, i decided to take it easy and after having a sumptuous breakfast started off from Bardibas by 9:00 am(IST). Since, the roads till Bardibas were situated mainly in plains and that now i would be ascending to higher elevation, based on my earlier experience in Arunachal Pradesh i was actually expecting the road conditions to be not good. However, to my pleasant surprise the B.P. Koirala highway to Kathmandu was exceptional and scenic too! As i approached near Kathmandu, heavy traffic and tons of dirt flown around by long cues of trucks and taxis slowed down my progress by a long shot. I finally managed to reach Kathmandu by 2:30 pm (IST), met my friend and then headed along with him towards his residence. I was covered in dust, bit tired but nonetheless very happy that this was something i had been dreaming about for a while and finally... i was here!!

Kathmandu is the commercial capital of Nepal and situated at quite an elevation so nights get pretty cold here. The weather was simply amazing and i was loving every moment of it. Since, my friend was a local, navigating through an unknown city became rather easy for me and i was able to witness the city from places perhaps alone i may not have been able to do so. The good thing is even though the city is quite crowded, the traffic rules and regulations are followed to the T by citizens. One will rarely get to hear a single honk from any of the vehicles plying on the road to the extent that i had to practically get myself re-acquainted to the new noise free riding i am not at all accustomed to back in India if you know what i am saying!!





Pic 3 & 4: Kathmandu - capital city of Nepal. Hustle & bustle reminded me of Mumbai minus the constant honking which was quite a welcome change.

I was quite hungry by the time i reached Kathmandu so i pestered my friend that nothing but a nice plate of local momos will do! I have heard so much about exquisite momos one can find in Nepal: again thanks to local knowhow of my friend, i was led to a small un-recognisable shop somewhere in Kathmandu which had a huge waiting line (an obvious sign of quality food being served here). When the momos arrived, i was taken aback by the fact that unlike in India, here the momos were served in a plate of tangy - spicy cold broth also known as "achaari" - something i had never seen before. But nonetheless, they were totally worth it and tasted delicious!!





Pic 5 & 6: A small shop specialising in serving only Momos. They are served with a cold tangy & spicy broth called achaari by the locals. Worth it!!

Now here was the fun part: The plan of my visit was actually without any plan whatsoever!! I had specifically requested my friend to surprise me in his country and surprise he did! When i visited Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu, Nepal there were visible signs of the aftermath of the earthquake which happened sometime back. But largely the whole city was devoid of any visible signs of the same. I was led to the usual touristy places Like Thamel and in and around the city which was really nice but yeah after a while: for someone who has been a city dweller for a while, visiting another city after sometime becomes boring. So it was quickly decided that we shall push off to Pokhara and then will ride to Mustang Valley and then hit the route to Muktinath temple. That was something which brought back the excitement in my mind and off we went to get the necessary luggage and gears ready for the ride...



Pic 7: A section of Pashupatinath temple being restored post the mega-earthquake that had destroyed it completely.

After staying in Kathmandu for about 4 days and finishing all the necessary shopping in the city, both me and my friend then pushed off to Pokhara which was about 200 kms away from Kathmandu. Since, my buddy was on an enfield we both decided to ride together and keep the speeds under check though this meant that i had to ride my CBR more or less at gears - not more than 3rd or 4th with the rpms on the higher side but nonetheless, the agenda was the ride not how quickly we make it to the destination. The road condition in between few sections were not good as the road widening projects were on-going which meant tons of dust and a bit of off-road right on the national highway... but nonetheless it was fun.

Pokhara is a city dedicated purely for leisure and tourists. It is lets just say Goa minus the beach and the sand! The night life is amazing and the music scene is well worth it. Thanks to my friend i had a great time checking out the local bands performing in the Rolling Stones pub at Pokhara.



Pic 8: Rolling Stones Pub at Pokhara. Local band Oviraptors performing on stage.. what a night it was!!

After a grand night staying over at Pokhara, the next day we started our journey towards Muktinath. Right after a few kms from Pokhara, the view of The Himalayas simply takes your breath away!! Me and my friend kept a steady pace and made it to Banlung Kalika in under 3 and half hours. Had a nice breakfast while munching on the local Wai Wai noodles and the started off our journey towards Muktinath. Right after Beni, the roads completely disappeared and i got a clear understanding of how much off-roading we both were going to witness en-route. Lets just say my last trip to Arunchal Pradesh was "cute" when compared to the ongoing ride to Muktinath!! It was downright tough, challenging and very dangerous if i might add...

As a rider, one will have to witness literally chunks of stones, dust, mud, slush, crazy elevated roads with rivers flowing right on top of it, crazy local buses trying to kill you and the insane dust storms which practically make the rider's visibility to nil. i had witnessed near-crash experiences 2 -3 times only to later realise that if the local bus is right ahead of you, never bother overtaking, instead take a small break of 5 minutes and then commence your ride as the dust storm that follows right behind the bus would make you fall off the cliff and land up at the bottom of the gorge!! We had crossed countless rivers and high altitude dry river beds en-route. By the time we managed to reach Muktinath, it was already dark (something i was trying to avoid at all cost but didn't work out!!) and the outside temperatures had dropped rapidly to -13'C. It was freezing cold at 13,000 ft and we two clowns were making our way to the hotel we had booked earlier.













Pic 9 - 14: Post Beni it was pure off-roading. One of a kind experience and the view of the mountains was well worth all the trouble!

We reached the hotel but couldn't freshen up as the water in the pipes completely froze so with the help of packaged water cleaned ourselves of the dust pile up on our respective faces but not quickly enough... the water literally started to freeze then and there itself and both of us were running to warm clothing to save our lives! However, the worse was yet to come. Somewhere in the middle of the night i simply couldn't sleep and was getting a severe headache, thirst and palpitation. Initially i thought it was simply me being tired but after a while when the headache became unbearable, i knew that something was not right. Luckily the local mobile network (NCell) was fully functional. After browsing for a while, i was certain that AMS (Altitude Mountain Sickness) had hit me really hard and the recommended procedure was to get down to a lower altitude as quickly as possible or else get induced with artificial oxygen to relieve one from the symptoms. As luck would have it, there is no way on earth at 2 a.m. i was in a position to ride down to Jom Som nor i was in a mood to give up after making it all the way up here. So popped in Diamox tablet and started having lots of water to relieve myself of AMS. The Diamox and water intake did help a bit but i still couldn't sleep at all! Regardless, i was determined that come what may i will make it to Muktinath.. the next day - even though i felt like an 80 year old man as taking every step towards the temple became a lot more difficult (with AMS doing its deed!!) i was able to reach my desired destination after almost 45 minutes of tough laborious ascend to the temple... Task Achieved!!

The scenic beauty is more than enough to make anybody feel spiritual regardless of whether one believes in god or not! After a while i started feeling a little bit better, offered my prayers and after having a small meal in the hotel decided to take a small power nap. After 30 mins of sleep: i was feeling a lot better so me and my friend quickly packed our luggage and mounted it on our respective bikes. However, here comes the kicker!! With ambient temperature still being -7'C and elevation being over 13,000 ft both our respective bikes were having a hard time to crank. Let us not forget that the air is much thinner and the -'C temperatures drastically affect the CCA output capability of the battery. After letting the bikes soak the sun, i partially opened the throttle and cranked the bike and once she started, i kept the throttle open and engine idling @ 3,000 rpms for near about 4 minutes till the engine becomes slightly warm. After 4 minutes of high rpm run-in, my CBR was back being normal and was happily idling @ 1400 rpm. My buddy on his RE was experiencing massive power loss as it was carbureted version but nonetheless it soldiered on slowly and steadily decending towards Jomsom, Mustang Valley, Nepal.











Pic 15 - 19: Breath taking view of Muktinath and Nilgiri and Dhaulagiri mountain ranges visible from anywhere.

Given my condition with AMS, i was not in a position to ride it all the way to Pokhara. So we decided to halt at Marpha village which is about 2 kms ahead of Jomsom, Mustang Valley, Nepal. As we descended towards Jomsom i started feeling better and every pit-stop we took - it was impossible for us not to get awestruck by the beauty of mother nature and her creations. Mustang valley is what i would like to call it a combination of high altitude dry desert like terrain and snow covered mountains: i guess pretty much comparable to Leh - Ladakh. However the beauty of this place is completely different then that of Ladakh. When we reached Marpha, from the outside it looked like a very small quiet village with little but no facilities for a nice accommodation. Both of us were adamant on having a hot shower after freezing our bones for the last 24 hours at Muktinath and none of us were willing to compromise on it at all!!

We managed to check one small hotel which looked small and rickety from the outside but the moment one enters inside, it was a different ball game all together. The rooms were amazing and the hot water flowing through the taps was heaven.. without waiting for a bit, we checked in and took at least an hours worth of bath each!! Marpha village is literally in a different time zone and the buildings and structures will give one an authentic Tibetan culture experience.. Nepal so far was surprising me at every step and in every manner i was not expecting at all!!








Pic 19 - 22: Tough terrain but scenic view was worth all the effort. Marpha village was an experience i will never forget again!

I think i shall stop my travelogue rather abruptly... but i hope it will give my readers an idea of the kind of torture session i had taken my Honda CBR 250R through. There are tons of pictures and stories but i guess if i start writing all that it will defeat the intent of this post and deviate the technical side of discussions to mere travelogue based one right? To keep things short - by the time i managed to reach Guwahati, Assam my puny 'littlebird' Honda CBR 250R had managed to cover 3,300 kms. This time, nothing broke, fell off or failed! The chain slider did its job without eloping so all in all i was really happy and satisfied knowing the fact that this bike did all it was not designed to do.. took me places i didn't expect it would but in the end i managed to make it and back without a single incident! Yes post the torture session of Muktinath and off-roading that followed through, the shim noise emanating from my CBR's engine became even more prominent which was a clear indication that i had to take her for a major service and get the Cam Timing Chain, Tensioner and Timing Chain rubber guides replaced while getting the valve shims inspected and replaced as per the specification. I gave her whatever fuel i could find at Mustang valley and she happily drank it without complaining one bit. I guess the beauty of low compression (10.7:1) engine is willingness to run a low octane fuel (may be adulterated too!!) without any issues. The Fuel economy was rather satisfactory and i was getting in the range of 32-38 kmpl on the highway while on pure off-roading ascend to Muktinath, her FE dropped to mere 23/24 kmpl which is understandable based on my earlier stint with Arunachal Pradesh.

The next log will contain the detailed aftermath that took place post completion of the trip.. hope this l short but lengthy blabbering was fun for the readers...

until then


Cheers,

Thank you for your kind words. However i must confess the true credit should go to @psr sir who is always behind the scenes helping riders like me to learn and more importantly encourage to share it to all those who want to learn for the purpose of making the knowledge gained become something much more and within reach - put to good use and become a better motorcyclist as end result..


Hope that your new acquisition will serve you well.

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

Another good post of the places and the CBR250 experience. The pictures are now visible and looks good...if I had been in your place, would have joined in the exploration since the ride is quite challenging and same time rewarding. CBR 250R seems to be good for both city and off roading. The later part is quite surprising though I had heard from few riders of the CBR 250's capability . the terrain in your pictures of off roading shows only pebbles , rocks , and a lot of dust covered paths .
Kudos to you and the CBR250R...Sorry to see the manufacture stopping further production of this versatile all rounder...
Ride Safe..