My Pre-Worshiped Honda CBR250R ABS REPSOL Edition

History about me...

I started riding two wheeler at a very young age. At 11, I was riding my Dad's Bajaj Sunny within my building compound (which made my dad sell it off so that I don't take it to Road at such a tender age without license). My first bike (my very own) was the Yamaha RX100 which was bought for me at age 17 by my grandma as my bday gift. I used this bike for couple of years.

Below are the other bikes that I have owned in some point of time till 2009 (in correct order). List below
1.Hero Honda CBZ
2.Bajaj Pulsar 180 Classic
3.Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTSi
4.Bajaj Pulsar180 DTSi V2 with Alloy
5.Bajaj Pulsar 200 DTSi
6.Bajaj Pulsar 220 FI - 2007 edition

I also own few ungeared scooters in the family for wife and Dad like the TVS Wego (sold), Hero Honda Pleasure (sold), currently own Honda Dio and Honda Aviator.

In 2009 while riding the Pleasure to pick up my kid from school, I met with an unfortunate accident, which left me with a broken right knee and dislocated left shoulder which took me out of action for 2 months. Due to this my Dad sold off my Pulsar 220 at throw away price (35000 only) and I was not allowed to buy any new bike. 2011 Honda launched the CBR250R at a mouth watering price. For 1.75 lakhs you can get the ABS version OTR mumbai. I was very happy and went ahead and booked the bike. Since the bike was in high demand, I had a waiting period of 45 days. Somehow my Dad got the info that I had again booked the bike and he made lot of fuss (read that as lot of gyan and shouting to me) and I had to cancel the booking and take the entire amount back. Since the Honda dealer was a friend and also since the bike was in huge demand, I was handed over the entire money without any cancellation charges. Thank god.

Fast Forward to 2015 - I was now without bikes for 7 years and the itch to get back on the bike was growing by the Day. Started looking at the options that I had and by now the biking world in India had changed completely. We had many options - the KTMs, Hondas, Suzukis, Kawas etc. It was a feast for me to check the bikes and decide which will be ride after 7 years. Did lot of research and test rides and short listed few bikes. But heard Mahindra is launching the Mojo after 5 years from the dekho that they had in the Auto Expo. I waited for the bike and when it was launched, I booked the bike and was part of the first 100 customers to book the bike in Mumbai. On 1 Dec 2015, I was back on bike after 7 years. It was a dream come true for me. Luckily this time there was no fights from anyone in the family and it seemed like GOD himself was helping me go back to the two wheeled World that I missed so much.

Fast Forward to 2016 July - August period. Mahindra Mojo has served me well but it has lot of issues. Specially since my bike had done Mumbai - Delhi in Feb 2016 for the Auto Expo, the bike started giving me issues and the rust on Mojo was unbearable, but the most hated part for me was the brakes - they are just not upto the mark and I had many situations where I had braked hard to only feel the rear tyre slide out. Pillion seat is just not there at all and other than my kids, no one else could sit comfortably behind me. Hence I started looking for another bike which I can ride without any worry. During one of my rides, I got a chance to ride my friend's CBR 2011 model. I was just bowled over again with the bike. Also when I took it home, wife was like this is a sofa set on two wheels. She could enjoy the ride with me without any fuss. She hated Mojo seats but was in love with the CBR pillion seat. Hence I had more or less made up my mind to buy the CBR. Now when I went to buy the bike, I was surprised that the bike now costed 2.21 lakhs in Mumbai OTR for the ABS. Which is cool 50k over the price in 2011. I did not want to block so much in a new bike and anyways, I did not like the colour options provided. Hence started looking at options in the used bike sections of Quickr, OLX, Bikewale, Zigwheels, Team BHP classifieds etc. Short listed few bikes and started followup with the owners. Somewhere, I was able to find the 2015 CBR250R with only 4463 KMS done and the seller was asking for 1.7 lakhs for the bike. Negotiated with the guy over the phone and went to check out the bike.

On 4th Sep - I went to check out the bike and I was in love with the bike in the first look. Bike was 1 year old, but looked like a virgin and straight out of the showroom. The bike was used by the son of the person who had listed the bike and his son was in US for further studies and hence they were selling the bike. Let the pictures do some talking here.

This is how the bike was standing when I first saw it. It was an instant click for me.


Me checking out the bike on 4th Sep


While taking the delivery


I am in love with the CBR and have already done 1000 kms in 10 days that I had spent with her. All local runs within Mumbai and enjoy it thoroughly.

On 5th Sep - Ganesh Chaturthi Day.

Since I got the bike in the night - we did not conduct puja for the bike. On 5th Sep, it was an auspicious day of Ganesh Chaturthi and hence did Puja at the temple in Mulund.

Post that Its been just nirvana for me.


Few issues that I have faced with the bike till now are as follows:
1.Front Suspension is very soft
2.Number plate touches the front mudguard
3.Few Vibrations in the fairing. (need to check)
4.Both tyres have multiple punctures - hence looking for new tyres.

The positives are as follows:-
1.Brakes with ABS - One of the best brakes is what I feel.
2.Pillion Seat is spacious
3.Sitting position is not that committed like the RC and can be used for long rides

I have planned few mods for the bike which I will install soon. No particular order though.

1.Adjustable levers
2.Bolt Charger
3.Earth Wire Mod (Already done - thanks @psr and [MENTION=32641]shv18[/MENTION])
4.Michelin Pilot Street Tyres
5.Panniers and Rack for touring.
6.Frame Sliders and Fender protectors
7.Powertronic Piggyback ECU
8.Tank Pads

Let the pics do the talking now. This was on one of my ride to a friend's farmhouse near Talegoan.



The Smile says it all.

Re: My Pre-Worshiped Honda CBR250R ABS REPSOL Edition


Approved and merged!

Congratulations on a very meaningful acquisition and it really looks lovely.

Re: Honda CBR 250R

Guys my question is what amount of performance gains we can expect in a piggy back ecu?

Re: Honda CBR 250R

Which piggyback, powertronic?

If so it can the preloaded with multiple maps and customised to your needs. You can download dyno tested maps that's already available from their website.

Stock CBR cannot redline in 6th gear, but this can be over come with piggyback. Expect a bump of 2~4hp power bump, but there are also downsides.

P.S - I have not used it, just providing my limited knowledge about it. I always suggest sticking to stock.

Re: Honda CBR 250R

Not sure in terms of numbers. Roughly about 5-8% from the ECU alone, if you combine air filter and exhaust mods, you can see up to 15-20% bump in peak power figures ~30-31 hp (all mods included).
In practical terms, your ride-ability would improve, not that it is bad in the first place. Top end would not increase (maybe a couple of kmph), but you'd reach there considerably quickly.

But you can kiss your bike's reliability good bye with all of this. Let's just say, you'd spend 3-4x the amount/time than you spend now on a bike which is not even 50% as reliable as it used to be (conservative figures).

Re: Honda CBR 250R

Hey correct me if I am wrong there are exhausts which comply with stock CBR maps right? Unless of course you change the airfilter, I have a old spare 2009 r15 which is coming handy to me atm, my bikes been at the SVC for the past 3 weeks due to a unfortunate accident , but as you've said about reliability these 3 mods itself would affect the bike sooo much, air filter, exhaust and tuning? The time period of oil change should be 2500-3000kms if these mods are done which will maintain the life of the engine? I plan to do these mods but also keep my stock exhaust and airfilter and the map on the laptop. I have a laptop we which has the race Dynamics program installed should it shouldn't be a task, i plan to test out these mods n see how the engine and bike performs n feels.

Re: Honda CBR 250R

Well, what's the point of a mod if intake and exhaust remain stock?
If you want to run fast, you don't just need good trainer shoes, you need to eat more, build your core and expel waste fast so that you can intake more (metabolism changes). Same goes here.
With any kind of mod that increses engine output, please note that stress on clutch, transmission, sprockets, engine oil etc increases. They'll need quicker replacements. Engine being a mechanical unit would need very close inspection and replacements (camshaft, shims, rings etc) would be more frequent w.r.t stock.

Re: Honda CBR 250R

+ true that. any motorcycle coolant will work as they come pre mix . cars ones we need to mix distilled water in ratio suggested by SVC.


[QUOTE=onlinesatish;1254903]Thanks guys. But i would want know the quantity. Would 300-400ml of brake oil be enough for both front and back? Mine is a ABS. And also how much quantity coolant should i purchase?

@s1d

Aman anna is currently doing what he enjoys, traveling

Here are the pics

[QUOTE]

looks good bhai. i am back in town. i have a 250 ml can if you need for brake fluid. one 250 ml can will suffice for flush and bleed.
DOT 4 or 5.1 will do. dot 5 to be strictly avoided and will work only for harley's specifically.




no need to change parts as suggested by [MENTION=16602]s1d[/MENTION] . a good flush , bleed will do and rebuild calliper with new seals for floating pistons and a master cylinder kit will suffice besides that there are no moving parts.


hobby turned me into a hoarder sid bhai

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ECU remap will work out well only with a FFE and revised air flow else nothing more than 5-6% gains.
you should have a new air filter , correct ECU remap as per weather conditons and then a FFE to get gains upto 10-12% thats a lot of money for a 2L rupee bike.
spend wisely.



Suspension : not to offend you but you must be 90kg plus hence CBR will nosedive at that weight. its set too soft and there is no preload settings.
alternative Stage 1 : remove old oil and refill 20w motul/castrol and fill 350 ml compared to 331 ml stock. it will be better.
Stage 2 : remove the old fork spacer and get a bigger one say about 15 mm longer than the old one and use 350 ml. you will be set perfectly.
( splendor fork are 28 mm and match the exact spec of the fork spacer inside. ask any lathe guy to make one ) cost 150 bucks.


issue 2 : will be fixed with the above mentioned solution.

issue 3 : identify where the vibes are from and what rpm and report back will tell you what to do. also some vibes will always be there. its a single cylinder.

issue 4 : get rid of the conti's and get michelin if you can , for lower price get front MRF rev FC and rear michelin.

Re: Honda CBR 250R

Ok, so I have a question.

Right from the day I got the CBR, there is a vibration that I can feel on my legs exactly at 4k RPM in 4th gear. It's like grr, grr for every revolution. I chalked it to the sprocket/chain issue and had it replaced last month.

But still I could feel it happen, just a little less.
Could it be the chain sliders?

Re: Honda CBR 250R

I see, cause I remember talking on the CBR 650f forum with Rachit, he was telling me he changed into a full Akrapovic and didn't need additional fuel Tuning cause it was compatible with stock map. Only and unless he changed the air filter he had to tune the vehicle, so that kinda put me off. As I said I'm going to use my bike to test, I have the means of making sprockets, (milling ,drilling, welding) or I would be a fool to try this. The stock map is saved, stock exhaust and air filter will be there too, so just testing what happens, will update as soon its done. I understand the risks of doing it, but I want to see it from a ownership point of view, how does the bike behave and all.

Re: Honda CBR 250R

I booked an RTR200 a month back and I found out that delivery will take more than 3 months. I zeroed in on either ZMA or a CBR250R as my next options.
I couldn't find a good condition ZMA in Bengaluru, hence I wanted to try for the second option.

In Bengaluru low run non-ABS bikes are easily available but finding a low run ABS bike is proving to be very difficult. Is ABS a necessity considering my usage (city commutes and weekend rides)?

Among ABS models I found a 2012 tricolor 250R ABS run 18000kms. The owner is quoting 1.3L for it. Is it a good price or is he overpricing it?

Sorry for OT.

Re: Honda CBR 250R

chain slider will make noise at low speeds at higher gears and thats a distinct knocking sound.
make sure that chain slack is correct. over tight chains cause the same.



1.3 is definitely high.
1L. - 1.1L would be apt given the bike must be in mint condition. either ways ist 4 years old now. each year price depreciation to be taken into account.

Re: Honda CBR 250R

What about ABS? Is it necessary for my usage (city and weekend rides)?

Re: Honda CBR 250R

Is it every revolution of the wheel? In that case, it may not be the chain, sprockets or slider. Check for disc pad scraping against the disc at a particular point.

Re: Honda CBR 250R

ABS is not a necessity if you don't ride hard. IF you love riding hard, any safety gear is a welcome requirement. I have a mojo which becomes a slider if you have emergency braking and it does not come with ABS. Loved the brakes on Ninja 650 and they are also without ABS. But the difference is evident between my two bikes, MOJO and CBR and I will only recommend ABS.

In fact for my next upgrade, I will ensure that I pick an ABS bike.