Hmmm I enquired in cochin and Kollam, they are telling April 28th. There are already 7 bookings in Kollam Showroom, May be we all will get our bikes next month. Also the Truck is passing through kollam to Tvm . Will find out tomorrow whether there are any hidden bikes in the garages in Cochin.

Any tuning difference???!!!
Fantastic colour options by the way. Complete black with black alloys, yummy!!!!

I vote for the colour silver in India.

Has anybody done world tour on CBR ??? !!! try it

Honda CBR250R : TOURINGLOBE

Its Quiet addictive

All awards are rigged man, theres not one which is unbiased. The winner for each individual is his opinion on his own machine irrespective of what others say.

Anyways, a CBR is being delivered this week in my circle. Stay tuned for some cool updates

Beautiful, simply beautiful advice. Great applause & well said

Wow!!! Can't wait to hear from you

LMAO , absolutely hilarious!!!

all you guys going mad about the paint job, i saw this particular bike Friday evening and the paint on the upper part near the rear seat had got damaged while transferring from the truck so they have done a sticker job here. Thats all ! So please dont go on with that issue. The bike is good quality and i have spent nearly three hours. cheers everybody.

I just went to Vihaan Honda in Thane for a test-ride. They have a dedicated test-ride bike (not for delivery...I hope) according to the sales lady there. I rode there on the MT-01 for shock and awe effect and it worked

Threw them the MT-01 keys...told them I only ride alone and took the bike out for a short but sweet test ride.

First impressions:

1. The bike is about the same size as the Karizma but due to the low bars it feels shorter and smaller. Decent enough for tall riders and I am as tall as they come at 6'3".

2. Not as POWERFUL as I expected. The Ninja when properly ridden will show a clean pair of heels to the CBR -BUT- allow me to change this impression of mine because this bike was pretty new and not yet run-in. Maybe with 2-3000 kms on the ODO it might smoothen up and open up some more. Think of it as a fast ZMA and not as your first superbike...I've ridden P220s and R15s that had a bit more *ZIP* than the CBR.

3. Clutch is light but there is NO TORQUE down low (pulling away from the stops). Felt identical to the Ducati Monster 796 in the way you had to give it some slip before it caught and went. This could be a problem if I take the bike to Ladakh because slipping the clutch when you are in the middle of nowhere can lead to tears! (the kind that comes out of your eye...)

4. Brakes - GOOD! This was the C-ABS model

5. Suspension - GOOD! Just like a good 600cc superbike. Firm without being harsh. The road they asked me to ride on was pretty awful but on decent tarmac it should be a joyful experience.

6. Handling - a bit too "quick" for my taste. If the terms oversteer and understeer are applicable here then it oversteers. The ZMA was quick to steer...R15 much more controlled. This is somewhere in between but still too quick. It loses the "big bike" feel because of this. I think this is due to steering geometry and narrow tires. The rear tire is nice and meaty for a bike this size but the front tire feels too thin. I think aftermarket tires are a must on this bike to make the most of it.

7. Seats - comfy. Firm without sag. Will be a boon over a long ride.

8. Instrument panel - looks good but I found it a bit distracting in the night because it is quite bright. Not sure if there is any way to dim the panel brightness.

I looked all over for paint defects and I must tell you that there were none (this was the BLACK bike). Panels look alright even if quality is perhaps a couple of steps below the Ninja and maybe 1 step below the R15 which I rate very highly when it comes to build quality.

I still think the R15 is the better bike simply for the way it FEELS when you ride it. It absolutely feels like a track machine. Very precise and predictable...almost like a Ariel Atom to the CBR250R's Dodge Charger.

Is it worth the money? Unlike some of you who probably get carried away by the illusion of big-biking, I don't think this is a BIG-BIKE killer. I don't think it is worth the asking price...at best I would have put the pin on 1.3L for the non-ABS and 1.5 for the ABS. So the pricing is off by 30k for the non-ABS and 40k for the ABS model...

Are there any choices in the market at this price? - NO...

Should a P220/R15 rider feel the desperate need to upgrade? - NO...

Doing 150+ on a bike like this would feel scary...on an MT01 or R1 it feels slow, controlled and safe. I did 100 on one stretch and I didn't quite feel like the bike was entirely in my hands.

So buy the bike - but ride safe...speed kills!


Best Bit - I have a video of my test-ride...I'll try to upload it in a few hours.

Finally saw the Autocar episode with the CBR. Shows the bike from all angles and was well presented. I thought it could have been a little more exciting. They mentioned Sakinaka, but hell there wasnt much to be seen. A thumbs up from them in short.

Heres a short take on the ceeber, from a friend back in the states. Even they are facing supply deficit and the same irritating wait for it. The no of bookings have almost exceeded the years supply! That truly is a fabulous response.

Most of this you've probably already read in the professional reviews:
Fit/finish is very nice for a bike at this price point. The controls are solid and the cockpit is surprisingly well thought out. (It makes the Ninja 250 look very outdated.)
Quiet. At idle, you can barely hear it - but it does have that little Honda "whine" that my ST1300s had. Actually, kinda' cool.
Although it's no RR, the ergos are a little more lean-forward than I expected. In fact, the lean forward and peg position feels much like a Kawa Ninja 1000. This will be something to keep in mind if you're trying to decide between the CBR and a more upright ride like a scooter or cruiser.
As far as the actual ride:
In traffic and doing parking lot maneuvers and u-turns, it's phenomenal. The thin tires (140 in back) and light weight make it feel like your throwing a bicycle around.
You will NOT get a ticket for doing burnouts or wheelies. Just keep in mind that you're riding a 250cc thumper and plan your passes carefully. In fact, once I got on the freeway, I was being passed by mini-vans. Freakin' mini-vans!!!! I'm still reeling from the shame - but I didn't want to abuse the bike - this was not a demo model.
Once you get to about 6k rpm, you start feeling the buzz through the grips and pegs. For someone who has to do a lot of freeway riding, this could be a problem - or it just may be a matter of getting use to it. (Because this bike was new, I was riding conservatively and didn't try to wring it out.)
For a new rider - or someone looking for a 2nd bike for commuting and just having fun, I think this is an ideal bike. It's a shame that Honda has curtailed shipments so drastically.

One other little factoid... The dealer markup on the non-abs model is less than $200 yet because Honda has cut back the number of units they're shipping, dealers are trying to buy from other dealers @ up to $500 over invoice. So I don't expect to see discounting any time soon - nor should they have to. At its current price point, the CBR seems like one of the best values out there.

100 as compared to R15/ZMA/R? OR 100 as compared to MT01/R1?

@myg124 - Nice to hear your report

Found a review on Motoroids:

I request everyone not to bribe for speedy delivery, PLEASE, if possible escalate the names to HMSI customer care or even put their names here and shame them for thier greed.

And please don't think Honda dealers are Gods, rap them on their knuckles if they don't deliver right quality bike.

if you have already booked it and planning to cancel.. please give me ur booking number.. there is a friend who missed it out when i booked and now feeling like a donkey.. it will make him happy.. thx

yap thats what thai people said.. and the power is also different. 19.42kW which is 26.04BHP and ours is 1BHP lesser. may be tuned for mileage (Fuel map) even ninja have the same problem. the 33PS on the website is not seen on the Dino.. Indian ninja is also de-tuned for mileage.

News for me. Can you confirm??? he he

@aargee - You asked me few days back that why I said that I didn't liked the CBR that much or not thinking it as a worthy upgrade. Well Guru summed it up very well, exactly my thoughts!

It is always a bigger Karizma for me and the real upgarde of Karizma. This is the real Karizma ZMR for me. If I look at it that way then its a very good bike but not as a CBR250

P.S: I waited these many days to reply because yesterday only I saw it in real for the first time.