finally something sensible.

Partly agree to you. The sales would be impacted, no doubt.

But keep wondering if the CBR could beat the pulp out of a P220 in the first place. If its top end is 150 and P-220 is 140 dont see much reason in why ppl sshould pay 2 times the amount to get the CBR250R in the first place. All would depend on the kind of acceleration it provides from 0-100. This figure for the CBR isnt available anywhere. Believe the P-220 does 0-100 in 12-13 seconds and the Ninja does it in 5.75 sec. If the CBR doesnt come below 9 seconds..dont see a reason why ppl should shift in the first place

Also the CBR in its current avatar is no good for pot-holed roads and off roads just like the Ninja. It needs a smooth tarmac.
Moreover its faired. Here the P-220 offers potential off roading as well. Hence do not see much of a value addition here.

If you are talking about purely city driving even a Honda activa can beat the heck out of a Ninja!!

Sales? What sales? A 1000 in a year? That too, after an initial flurry. Now its slowed to a crawl. The question we should ask is, how will it affect the sales of P220 and more likely the R15. I already see a lot of R15 owners moving to the CBR250.
What advantages does it have over the Ninja as far as touring is concerned?

Does it have better GC? Maybe slightly. But its still faired.

Does it have a longer range? With a 13 (or is it 14) L tank, I dont see the range to be too great. I think the range on a full tank of petrol would be equal to the Ninja, if not worse.

Lighting? Well I dont know the specs,but I expect it to be a 55W single halogen up front (please correct me if wrong), the Ninja has a more powerful setup here.

Torque low down? Yes, this is a significant advantage that the CBR has over the Ninja.

Riding Position? I think they are both the same.

So I dont think the advantage is clear.

I agree to some of the points you have stated. However, 5.75 secs for 0-100 on the Ninja is a little too optimistic. It would be somewhere in the range of 7-7.5 secs

Oops, forgot to put the disclaimer (for standard test conditions) which means this test was not done on a rainy day on an icy track

Forgot to comment on your comment . Kawi does say its a sports bike. See the attachment.

Too bad they dint put in under the super sport thou

A company image plays a important role. Honda n kawasaki r well known brands so any body blind folded can pick any one of these so people will go for honda due to much lower price tag. Does introduction of mojo has effected ninja ? no way !!! but honda will make a dent!!

I think there is no doubt that CBR will kill a lot of sales. But i think someone rightly pointed out it will be of the bikes which are closer to a lakh rupees.
Ninja is no hot seller by any means. But will a guy who have 3 lakhs go for a bike which will be more common? I don't think so. So it all boils down to money. Those who have the money i think will still go for it. But it will be tough decision nevertheless. Because the saved cash could be used to buy a kick ass lid, jacket and a yoshimura for the CBR.

Also one thing is for sure, India will see action on 250 cc front now. You never know NInja might see a price reduction. Not to bring it closer to cbr but say around 2.4. Interesting times ahead. I wish i was younger.

Launching the CBR250 at this price range is a great move by Honda. A lot of people who were lusting for a good 250 but couldnt afford the Ninja will have a chance to fulfil their dreams. It will also pull quite a few guys who had the money but didnt really want to spend so much for a 250 (for whatever reason, its a personal choice which I respect).

Would I have gone in for the CBR had i not bought the Ninja? Nope. Not because of any other reason but only because this was a dream i wanted to realize for the past 17 years. It may be the same for a lot of other guys too.

The only thing I am happy about is that finally us bikers are getting their due.
Cheers to that !!

Given the price diff...Honda will have to sell double of what Ninja does to match Kawasaki's sales...ABS version of CBR does cost close to Rs.2 lakhs...but this will be a small % of the buyers, given its not a track bike...and investing in ABS for a not-so-hi speed-machine is not a majority chunk...both are good (& different) bikes and as Jakrap said, its more a concern for R15, P220 and ZMA(ZMR) than Ninja...

My 2 cents...

I am also one of those.
Even at 1.75L OTR, there is a difference of almost a lakh between it&P220, 60-70K between it&R15. That's how much we can get another 150cc bike for!
Segments clearly defined.
This is a 250cc bike&it goes up against the Ninja, not just in India, but worldwide.

145mm. vs.135 mm. of Ninja. Significant advantage in city.

Agreed.

Agree to that too.

This is what will make the difference in city&on touring. No need to wring the neck of the bike to make it run, it will be a boon on touring. No need to downshift twice or thrice in city to overtake, again a very great difference.

Yes, similar.

A better GC, better low end torque for city riding, similar riding position, a poorer headlamp but better instrument panel, cruising happily on highways at 125-130kmph, topspeed maybe 10-15kmph less than the Ninja, with a price difference of 1.4L compared to the former, why will it not appeal to everyone including me?
These are real world riding conditions, where the CBR will shine its way through. Small falls, cost of spares, the list is endless brother.
The only place the Ninja will show its superiority is the track, where 99% of the buyers will not even go in their lifetime. You are a tourer&you know this very well. There are HIDs etc.for improving lighting too!

If we were in the U.S. where both the bikes were priced the same, it would have been a tough call, but here the price advantage itself is more than enough to divert everyone to Honda&its legendary reliability.
Maybe Kawasaki should start manufacturing Ninjas here&sell them at 2L!

This is what will make it deliver a better mileage compared to the Ninja. The range shouldn't be a problem (but a bigger tank would have been desirable), by the we have petrol bunks almost for every 50 kms I guess.

Bottom line is it is a 2011 ZMA, bettering it in almost every aspect.

@Saravjit :- Already thinking of Bangy-Hyd up and down

You bet buddy!

Only volume counts in a segment and not the price. ninja is not exceptional bike. it is in 250cc category like others and dont try give it a superior edge due to its price. i.e. Polo, micra, i20 are costly or feature rich as compare to swift (diesel hatchback) but all know better the rest.

On an average, every showroom has already got 10-15 bookings for the CBR already in a week's time.
Can you imagine the number of Honda showrooms all over India x 10 in just a week's time?

Looks like the guys on the waiting list for their Activa Scooters will have to wait even more longer due to the demand for the CBR250R.