The Honda CBR250R media Test Ride group

A simple e-mail from the Honda PR people stated thus “While thanking you and your team members for your continued support to HMSI, we would like to take this opportunity to request you to block your calendar for May 4th, 2011. We are organising a select media test ride for the new CBR250R from Delhi to Sohna.” Well, not an opportunity we’d let pass us by. And so yours truly, accompanied by Rishi (xbhp ID R.D.) for photo-duties, showed up at the Honda Wing World, Naraina, New Delhi on a cloudy morning. A dozen CBR250R’s, all C-ABS equipped, were neatly lined up on the side-walk and being polished for the ride. It was good to catch up with Bunny and Aryan there amongst others and we moved around in the cool confines of the Wing World premises, looking longingly at the three big ones on display, vis a vis the ‘Blade, the CB1000R and the VFR1200 while waiting for the action to begin.


The gleaming Ceebers lined up!


Catching up with Aryan - good to meet old friends.

Soon it was time for the pre-ride introductions and briefing. The latter was a three part presentation wherein we were given a broad overview of HMSI’s current status and future vision. This was followed by a special presentation on the CBR250R, both from a market placement and technical stand-point. The tech aspects included a detailed video on the working of the C-ABS system. The third part of the presentation was about group riding rules, aspects of safe motorcycling and introduction to our designated ride-group lead and sweep. A brief overview of the route was followed by gearing up for the much awaited ride.


Pre-ride gearing up


All set to go!!

Honda are meticulous about safe riding (yes, yes..as much as we at xbhp are) and stressed on all riders using ATGATT (All the gear all the time). They had plenty of riding gear available for those who hadn’t carried their own. It was still somewhat cloudy but with the temperature hovering around 40 deg C, people were getting impatient to get moving once the gear was on. And so without much ado, we were flagged off into a heavily trafficked road on our way to the Botanix Resort situated next to the Damdama Lake, some 70 odd kms from our starting point


launched into traffic.

Even though we were restricted to riding in a tight group and told categorically not to overtake the leader, the ride still was fun both because the leader was not a slouch himself and the bike felt great in traffic. I guess my ride impression would elicit more interest than factual reporting of how we spent the entire day. And so let’s talk about what the CBR250R delivers and lacks.


On the road

Since I’d already ridden the CBR on an earlier occasion, the bike was not entirely new to me. But being able to ride it the way I would ride a properly run-in bike, without the restrictions on speed and rpm’s, was what I was looking forward to. And barely a few kilometers into the ride, I really began enjoying the ride. The bike has a good flat torque curve and with substantial torque available at low rpm’s, it pulls quite briskly through the gears. Fueling through the FI system is spot-on, with no apparent delay even just off the throttle and tapping your way through the 6-speed gearbox is fun. But what I loved the most was the absolutely neutral handling of the bike. It feels so very light, the ‘feel’ being nowhere close to the 170 kg dry weight it carries and responds almost telepathically to steering inputs. That when allied with a torquey engine makes it a real pleasure in traffic.




The pool-side beauty

The route we followed provided occasional opportunity for us to give the bike the stick and as obliging riders, we did so generously whenever we could. The engine red-lines at around 10,600 when its soft ignition interrupter cuts in. Through the rpm range, the engine pulls hard till about 9000 RPM whereon the thrust starts petering off till the CDI cuts off. Apparently this engine is not tuned for attaining high power at stratospheric rpm’s and the mid-range is its forte. And how. Anywhere between 4-7000 rpm, just roll the throttle and feel the bike surge ahead. A real boon during overtaking and of course something that’s responsible for a grin-plastered countenance beneath the helmet. Pull it hard through the gears and you hit a 100 kph in third gear pretty quickly. No, we didn’t time it as we were on heavily trafficked public roads that allowed just very short windows of opportunity for speeding up.

The engine remained thermally stable despite the abominably hot day. In fact, the high ambient temperatures would have quite adversely affected its power output and I’d love to put it through the paces in cooler environs. The mid-range would get even better then. The ergonomics are pretty relaxed and long hours on the saddle shouldn’t be a problem. The entire controls and switchgear are well placed, operate as expected and feel robust. I just felt that the horn button is a bit too much of a stretch for the thumb. For the initial few kms, I had to divert my attention momentarily to locate it with the thumb and had to shift my left hand a little inward to use it. A trifle closer to the left hand grip would have been better.

There apparently is one weakness in the bike’s suspension set-up and that is its soft front end. There’s lots of fork dive under hard braking. So much so that the front tyre squeals under hard braking before the ABS cuts in. Maybe softer and better rubber would make the squeal go but the dive needs attending to. All the more since the rear seems so close to perfect and that is in fact harder to get right than the front. Probably a result of biasing the suspension more for comfort than sporty performance. Potholes and speed-breakers don’t ruffle this bike even at 3-digit speeds and its superb maneuverability makes things easy. The rear brake is surprisingly effective and the C-ABS thing works well. I released the clip-ons above 80 kph and momentarily stomped on the rear brake pedal….the bike just braked but tracked straight and true. (Wouldn’t recommend this test though if you don’t really understand what bike geometry is all about. But even if you do try it, keep your hands hovering very very close to the handlebar grips).

All said and done, it turned out to be a fruitful experience. We were back by early evening and realized the heat of the day only when off the bike. Honda has a potential winner on its hands in the CBR250R (if they spruce up the deliveries...and fast!). And the Indian motorcycling fraternity have a real ‘common man’s sports bike’ at just about the right price.

We shall be doing a full fledged and exhaustive review in the coming June 2011 issue of the xBhp magazine. Do look it up for all the details you want.

Ride long and safe...
Old Fox