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

Thanks bro for the sea of information in this thread. Will be very helpful to many owners for years to come. Good luck with your new upgrade & do post a link here as well when you start a new thread.

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

[MENTION=32641]shv18[/MENTION] - that's a nice read, please update us with the cost of the shim job, and a complete initial Ownership experience of your new bike. Im sure a lot of people are waiting to read it!

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

Quite a write up there Shv18...Happy to see that the noises have died down post ASC service..which only confirms that the ASC knew what they were doing..a rare thing these days. I had also seen the Honda announcement of the CBR250R confirming to new BS stds., and hope they maintain the reliability and the total VFM of this bike...
Looking forward to the new Experience with the Higher cc engine..I am sure your OCMD is also working with the new love..
Good Luck
Ride Safe.

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

Hi All,

So i finally managed to drop my bike at Vinayak Honda SVC, Guwahati for the shim job in the mid month of January 2018. However, due to some personal commitments i was unable to be present during the task carried out by the mechanic. Anyways, post completion of the job, it took me nearly about a week to collect the bike from the SVC as i had to travel back and forth between cities being loaded with work. I was finally able to take delivery my bike from the SVC on 3rd Feb, 2018: Thanks to the rapport built up with the staff, they didn't charge me any parking fees for the same which was very kind of them. This is one thing i always insist on: for any rider to get VIP treatment, one has to develop people skills, treat them nice and trust me it does go a long way . Regardless, i inspected the bike and then started it after a sabbatical of near about a month. She took a little more time to crank then she normally would (probably due to slightly tighter clearances which again brought back the natural the valve overlap. Refer to this link to get a better understanding: https://www.xbhp.com/talkies/general...ml#post1027790) but the shim noise was more or less non-existent. I cleared off my bill at the SVC and then after 3 -4 days of stay in Guwahati started my return leg of the journey. The remaining 500 kms of riding was somewhat boring as i now had done this same route many times. the ABS was non-functional and the error light kept on blinking on the MID console and the bent exhaust heat shield looked quite hideous. Luckily all the required spares had already arrived and was shipped to my place of stay in advance by Vinayak Honda, Guwahati.

GRAND FINALE: PENDING JOBS & A GOODBYE?...

The day after i arrived at my place of stay, a call was made to the local mechanic to confirm his availability. After his confirmation, i got the bike at his shop and then we began the process of taking care of replacing the exhaust shield and also to sort out the non-functional ABS system. The vehicle was first mounted on the paddock stand and then the mechanic took out the old exhaust shield by simply unscrewing a single retainer bolt. Since, the rubber grommets/dampers were found to be in good health, we decided not to bother replacing them. The price of the shield is shown in the picture below.









Pic 1 - 4: Exhaust shield getting installed on my CBR 250R. Note the simple nature of work for removal and installation of the same.

It hardly took about 5 mins to complete this task. Post installation, the vehicle look much better and newer if i might add so i was really pleased with the end result. Thereafter, it was time for rectifying the ABS issue. As discovered by the local mechanic earlier, the rear tire pulser ring was damaged: which was in all probability done by the mechanic at Vinayak SVC, Guwahati most likely during process of re-fitting the rear tire. Anyways, now that we knew the issue i had placed an order for a fresh piece of pulser ring for the same. And yes!! it is frekkin expensive!! i was surprised to find that such a simple piece came all the way from Japan (as labeled in the packaging) and costs close to Rs. 1600/- bucks.

Now in order to get the ABS pulser ring replaced, the mechanic first removed the rear tire from the swingarm and then placed it on a flat surface. He then started to unbolt the retainer screws for the same. He placed the new ABS pulser ring in the designated location, evenly put the screws and started to torque them in even criss-cross pattern to provide even pressure on each side. Once, the installation was complete he went ahead with re-installing the tire back into the swingarm. If one pays a close attention to the rear swingarm, while the re-assembly of the rear tire is going on, one can clearly see that the rear ABS sensor has been removed from the rear brake caliper. This has been done to ensure that the brake disc rotor doesn't end up hitting the ABS sensor while the mechanic was busy wriggling the tire back in its place. Once, the tire was fitted and aligned properly, the mechanic then tightened the locknut and re-installed the ABS sensor back in its place: the job was completed without too much of a hassle. It took roughly about 15 minutes to finish this task.
















Pic 5 - 11: Rear tire being disassembled from the swingarm. Old Pulser ring getting replaced with a fresh one. Note the ABS sensor removed before re-installation of the rear tire to the swingarm assembly.

Right after this, i requested the mechanic to kindly open up the front sprocket cover side to inspect and clean out any muck that might have got collected in over 4,000 kms of journey from my last stint to Nepal. When he opened up the front sprocket, understandably there was plenty of crud and muck deposition inside. The mechanic then gently scraped it out from the same and re-installed the front sprocket cover. Now my CBR was back in shape and the ABS warning light stopped blinking for good which confirmed that the error was rectified. At the end of this whole exercise i was a happy man!





Pic 12 - 13: Front sprocket cover removed to clean up muck and crud deposits inside.

i still had to get the front mudguard fender to be installed but just that i felt quite lazy so decided to get the job done later. All in all my bike was back in top notch condition as she should be after the kind of torture session she has been through i couldn't help but provide the best of the care i could possibly do.

Anyways, it is time for an announcement!! while all this process of prior servicing on my Honda CBR 250R was going on, something sudden, something major happened in my life: Un-expectedly i ended up getting myself a higher CC spec motorcycle. It was in a quick spur of a moment, i took a decision which completely turned my life upside down. Considering the amount of OCMD i have, i had no choice but to take a tough decision to eventually part my ways with this wonderful and ever-reliable machine as i would not be in a position to neither ride her regularly nor give the well deserved parking space in my garage due to constraints.

I follow a simple philosophy when it comes to vehicles: pick one, use one, maintain one and then move on to the next one!

I am happy about the fact that i was able to go through the process of bringing a slightly un-loved motorcycle to the condition she is in today: she taught me a lot of things which hopefully now i can confidently apply with my new higher CC spec acquisition. I will be putting her up for sale shortly and i guess the future potential owner would probably end up getting a shock of his life when he finds a plethora of spares offered along with her, worth nothing less than Rs. 10,000/- which will allow him to keep this bike chugging along for the next 1,00,000+ kms . I guess that would be my parting gift to her. I hope this thread has been able to successfully help all those who wanted to take a step further in the pursuit of knowledge and also to share it amongst those who were upgrading or planning to upgrade to the 250CC class.

I was very happy to hear that Honda has re-introduced BS-IV CBR 250R in the Indian market yesterday (7th Feb 2018) again: which means that this ever reliable vehicle will entertain a lot of potential riders who wish to have ruggedness and reliability while discovering the unknown just as i had the privilege of doing so. Also the availability of spares will remain for a very long long time. If anybody asks me whether "this is the bike" i would recommend to anybody looking for upgrading from 100-150CC class, my answer would always be HELL YES!!

This thread will remain open for the public so that in the event readers wish to have a meaningful and healthy technical discussion, all of that can be carried on rather would be encouraged. I shall soon start a new thread related to my next noble steed. Hopefully it too will somewhat end up benefitting all those who wish to learn and share.

Until then...


Cheers,


Well,

i am not sure about the shim noise since, i have not seen your bike personally. But i guess there is no harm to get your vehicle inspected once. Based on my experience, if the clattering noise is prominent between 4,000-5,000 rpm i would advise to replace the timing chain, tensioner and chain guides which will take care of this issue for at least 50,000 kms (provided proper care with good engine oil, regular maintenance and repeated hard accelerations are avoided).

For the sake of learning, this is what pitting and scoring looks like on a worn out cam of a CBR 250R due to failed/non-lubrication:





Pic 14 - 15: IN & EX cam lobes of a Honda CBR 250R which show scoring and pitting marks. All signs indicate to lack of lubrication.

My faith in Shell Rimula R4 15W 40 HDEO oil increased 10 fold when i witnessed the whole of the engine internals to be in pristine condition as if it was just assembled at the engine plant. The pics shared earlier also gave conclusive evidence that using Yamaha FZ oil filter had no detrimental effects to the health of the engine and @ 4,000 kms of service life for just Rs. 740/- (Rimula oil + Filter + Labour), maintenance wise it is a steal!! at least to me the whole ownership cost came down drastically (besides my usual OCMD of course!! ) I am sure, as you start raking kms on the odo you will have nothing but sheer appreciation for this well-engineered vehicle. It just needs a little bit of love and care and then will remain loyal and reliable to you regardless how many miles you clock and how many hours you wish to ride non-stop!

All the best buddy..

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

Yes, i had read that. But i misunderstood it. Now its clear.

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

Read the earlier posts and the recent post fully of shv18 to understand ...

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

[MENTION=32641]shv18[/MENTION], did you really run 13,000kms without oil change? Is that normal and is it ok for such a huge interval of changing oil?

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

Hey Aji if you are from Trivandrum you can try Riders Garage.Though I haven't been there personally there I have been getting a good review of the place.
You can google search and get the accurate location of the place.

Hope this helps

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

Thank you, I did learn a lot. Yet another splendid post buddy. A bit advanced for a CBR noob like myself but the specifically detailed write-up is really helpful along with the appropriate pics. (It's great you are able to lead the repair jobs & click pics all the while. I couldn't even get close to CBR service bay in Mumbai Honda ASC last time, need to build up more rapport i guess)

I had some doubts with FZ filter since I had a heavily leaking oil filter cap on my long ride to Rajasthan from Mumbai. But it was an error on my part rather than the filter since I/my Mechanic did not replace the filter gasket at the time of plonking in the FZ oil filter.

Looking forward to your shim replacement updates. I think my CBR is up for a shim replacement as well after 4000+ kms of high speed highway run recently.

Keep updating & ride safe.

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

Engine flush is only recommended for severely gummed up engines ie., heavy varnish deposits turning into a gooey gum which sticks to all internals...Still Flush is not recommended these days as we have oils with high detergent content which can do the job albeit slowly but safely.
Problem with oil /engine flush is that while it removes the deposits inside the engine, it can also lead to these deposits clogging up the internal oil galleys, leading to less or worse case scenario no oil circulation inside..the first to get affected will be the Valve drive train . ie., the Cam, Rocker and the bearings.. Of course this will cause severe engine condition leading to engine failure.
So it is safe to use a HDEO oil to do the flush as this will be a slow more controlled cleaning of the internals , and the lubricating oil is also present to ensure constant lube of moving parts...by inspecting oil color we can clearly see how fast the deposits are getting cleaned , and once oil turns dark, drain and use HDEO to continue with the process.
A bigger advantage of using HDEO oil is the higher levels of ZDDP in the oil.Over the past few years, Zinc , copper, and Phosphor additives in Gasoline oils have been reduced to very low levels , since it is supposed to get coated on the Catcon and reduce it's efficiency..but these additives are essential for the proper lubrication and protection of the engine moving parts, esp., the Valve Drive train.The reduction does not apply to the diesel engine oils since, typically the diesel engines are highly stressed due to their higher Compression ratio , and due to this blowby is also higher, which makes the engine oil go dark with combustion residue at an increased rate.So the HDEO oils also contain higher level of detergents and proprietary additives, which not only cleanse these deposits, but also keep them in oil ,suspended ,till it is drained.

For more read on ZDDP here is a link..

ZDDP Oil Issues


To give you a short answer , refrain from using engine flush, and use HDEO oil typically R4 for doing the job of cleaning and protecting the engine at the same time..Since R4 is a Mineral oil change interval will be less than Semi or Fully Synthetic oil..

Hope this clarification is helpful..
Good Luck.

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

Hai

I am very much fascinated by how clean the internals of the bike is maintained due to Shell Rimula R4. My Classic 350 has completed 47000 Kms on RE liquid gun 15W50. Since I do all the servicing myself (DIY) from day one. I follow a strict oil change interval of 6000 kms per oil change along with oil filter change. I am very much happy with how the oil and the bike is performing. I have never used a Oil flush like 3M, wurth or any other brand till now. Can I use Shell Rimula R4 15W40 instead of the normal Engine oil. This exercise is mainly to clean the internals. Or should I just go in for Engine flush. Please advise.

Cheers

Mathews

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

I am from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. I own a CBR 250R since Feb 2016. I like the motorcycle very much and enjoy riding it. It has clocked 12000 km now. The problem I am facing is the lack of experienced SVC guys. I am fed up with the quality of service offered in the SVC and I am changing the oil and oil filter myself (after watching the same in YouTube videos) due to their shoddy job. Also, the SVC guys do not allow me anywhere near my motorcycle when they are servicing/repairing it which makes me greatly uncomfortable.

I had changed the tyres to Michelin Pilot Street Radials a year back and the handling became excellent. There are no complaints as of now since it is a brand new motorcycle. Since I do not trust the SVC for even oil change, I am very much distressed over whom to approach for some major work like shim adjustment or timing chain replacement. Please advise me if there are any experienced CBR250R mechanic in Thiruvananthapuram or Kollam so that I can approach him for the service of my motorcycle and hang around while he is doing the job. Thank you.

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

If you are referring to using Shell Rimula R4 in your Yamaha R15 it is possible to use the R4. However please note that this is still experimental and so far no data available for Yamaha R15.. It had been used in my own Karizma and my Lancer Car without ill effect.
Shiv 18 had also used it extensively in his CBR250 R with no negative result.
A Yamaha R3 rider had also reported using it with good results...
Still if you choose to use it, you will be doing so of your own will , and request you to monitor engine noise and heat to be sure of oil flow ,and Lubrication
Good Luck.

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

Is it safe to use on my new R15- S with total odo of 10000 kms

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

Great write up sharing both your trip and bike experience in your posts... Even I was not prepared to see the internals of your engine to be so clean, because I do know that the engine deposits spoiled the Shell Ultra in less than 300 Kms on the first oil change, indicating the level of deposits which need to be cleaned . ..Still I felt that R4 with high detergents may not be as successful in cleaning as I am seeing now in your posts..

The ZDDP also seems to have helped the engine since I see no score marks on any of the moving parts , esp., the valve train..The lobes of the cam ,cam end bearings, and the timing chain all look clean . So do the clutch assembly, esp., I could see the friction plate color clearly...The High Detergent content seems to be working on stripping only deposits , evident from the presence of all the paint marks on bolts inside the engine where the R4 runs ....

Hats off to Shell for bringing out such a good oil with open specs which they share through their MSDS.

The combustion chamber is also looking clean showing how good the AFR is maintained by the Honda ECM and associated components like Injector, O2 sensor etc..

It is good of you to share these images and data for all to benefit...

@ AVE 2592..

I am one of the oldest contributor in XBHP and uplift my own knowledge by sharing it and learning here..So not just Mr.Shivang but any one can tag or ask for my view/opinion , and I will only be happy to share what little I know .

Ride Safe.