Query approved.

Do you intent to take a loan? If not, do you have Rs 350000 in your hand or can you get that amount in 6 months of time? If yes, Ninja 250, otherwise look for alternatives depending upon the money you have in hand. If you've more money, then opt for Ninja 650. Key point being, pls strike a balance between your needs & money in hand.

If that is the case, Your best option Go/Wait for Ninja 250r 2013 upgrade. Bike like Duke & PNS are extremely easy to drive,you may fell asleep. No idea how reliable (ASS perspective) GT250r here in India but it got the pretty aggressive riding posture.

No Idea about CL500 though.

I would have to extend my budget by a lot, but as I mentioned I would do that for a Ninja250r(650 is out of question), but I am not sure how long I need to wait for the 2013 version, there's nothing concrete anywhere on its arrival, I dont want to wait for an entire year or so.

Kool!!
When i read your lines for expressing R15, then i feel you love aggressive riding, you like the cornering and braking of the R15 to fullest!!

So where does CBR250 comes into picture??

CBR250 is a Sport Tourer, with comfortable riding posture with great power and top end.
But you said you don't want to choose just on power and top end!! Think again on CBR 250, whether it should be in your list or not??

Ninja 250r would be costing anytime over 3.5L are you really ready for this??
Do you know the maintenance part of this bike, rear wheel alloy cost around Rs 17k-24k. It's fairing damages will cost you 14-16k.

This an awesome 250cc bike from Kawasaki, but are you ready with this maintenance when needed ?? ask yourself. Good power, top end, good cornering and braking , Yes this one is suitable to expressed views above as per R15.
My personal view here is once owing an R15 you won't enjoy NS200, Duke 200 at all. Because R15 is a Sports bike, riding style is different, stability of R15 on higher speed is more than these. and the difference would be of 10-15kmph only. R15 does 130+kmph with stability!! Yes if you have an issue with riding style then NS200 or Duke is awesome!!

GT250r is awesome bike very close competitor to Ninja.
How did this come to your list ??
If you are looking for relaxed riding with Touring capability then i will suggest you CBR250 over CL500 anytime.

Because if you evaluate the CL500 practically apart from mamooth torque you won't find a single + point over CBR!!


From above lots, i would say GT250 makes practical sense if you are ready to invest 3.4-3.5L on bike ...lol...

Ninja is something if you own 2 cars atleast!! because it's maintenance is very high!!

BTW what is your budget mark!! not expecting mark!!!

the natural pogression from a r15 should be a ninja or a cbr or a hyosung.

cbr=barring the first lot quality issues,the recent lots are further improved.
now tell me has any honda ever been unreliable?
afaik 2013 honda's are meant for abroad,are they supposed to come to india?may be.

ninja=tempting........if you have the moolah.

gt 250 r=people may say loads of things about it's reliability,hyosung ass,lack of lq,but the thing is it is bike you should watch out for apart from ninja.


duke,200ns​=you don't really like naked bikes,do you?

So now you fell back to the million dollar question - When is Ninja 250R coming to India; FYI, I read in 250R ownership thread that Chennai PBK has stopped N250R's booking; it only shows, they're over booked OR...the sweet news

And...I don't know what does "LOT" means above; to me lot is striking a balance between money & my needs; eg, I would think 10 times if I were to choose between R15 & C150R, while I wouldn't even think on blink of an eye to pickup any of the 250cc's in India but for the account of price. So naturally your choice is much much easier. I don't know why the confusion.

Hehe...that's the old model, with the new model, prices are subject to increase too, isn't it

Right; on 250's in India, there should be no confusion as each of them has unique offering

On CBR 250R's front - I was initially happy to see the bike hoovering around 140ish, but, these days I feel it's under powered for my interstate runs or my endurance has gone up ; whatever, I feel Honda could've made it a little more powerful on the top end keeping the same relaxed engine. But on city & state highways, yes CBR 250R rocks, no complaints.

Exactly, if budget is a constraint and practically making sense of money is what CBR 250 comes in, I am not at all a CBR fan, Becuase of it's handling and cornering.
I expected Honda to give a better Sports bike but Honda dissapointed me on these terms i.e handling and riding position. But this is now a boon to other peoples too.

I have been seeing people planning for R15, but put more 30k and go for CBR 250 which makes sense fully!!

I would like to see this CBR 250 transforming to real sport bike rather than a Sports tourer!!

But everyone must understand: what money is? , How money will be tomorrow?? How we will be today?? How we will be tomorrow?? These questions practically narrow downs to need/requirement and our limit of budget!!

and currently i feel CBR still makes more sense in 250cc. If a person has itching money then yes he can go for Ninja or GT250!!


But what happen to the news of assembling the bike in India which will cut down the GT250r to 1.8-2.0 L machine ???

Thank you all for the suggestions.
@somen1984
CBR250r is in the list purely because of better topend and power and the VFM quotient and if you read my post it does indicate that i love r15 for what it does best but i am open to changes as well if they make up for what they lose in handling by what they have to offer in topend and power without compromising on the quality.

and bro if someone who plans to buy r15 and goes for a cbr250r for 30k more makes sense, then why do you find it so strange if I am considering it? My reasons are same as theirs. Its just that I cannot get the best of both worlds so I'll have to make a compromise. And considering the total package, it is a strong contender in my list.

@sayank yeah i dont really like nakeds, but having heard so much about the duke200 and pure pleasure it offers, i get inclined sometimes. As far as gt250r is concerned, apart from the reasons that you mention, isnt the riding stance too aggressive? r15 has an aggresive stance as well but I can ride it all day long, doesnt look like thats goiing to be possible on a gt250r
Secondly, when i mention 'reliability', almost all bike's from the bignames (desi ones as well) bike are reliable if you maintain them well, dont push them to the limits. But once they are subjected to rough use(tough terrains/adverse weather conditions) thats when they show their true colors. I can vouch for the yammie anyday, its bulletproof, never-ever given up on me and trust me I've put it to extreme tests. Is the CBR this reliable?

@aargee regarding my budget/needs/wants.. it comes down to whether i like the bike or love it, lets just say i will bear the extra cost if r15 is scaled upto r25(i hope you get my point) and comes for 3lacs. Since thats not around I am looking to satisfy my need for more power by looking at other options. And there's lot that goes into making a decision call it practical or impractical. I am an average IT professional who loves to ride, looking for something powerful that does not cost me a bomb (a bike upwards of 3.5-4lacs is not an option). I should be buying a car (thats what my parents will say), but in some ways this is my last resort to get a bigger bike. One year down the line, i'll be getting married, starting a family, what seems like an impractical choice now would be an impossible one to make then. Even if i consider, solely the riding part, I take my bike for spin quite frequently currently, go for a tour when I get the chance(chances arent too hard to comeby), with increased responsibilities a few years down the line, even if i may have a better chance to buy a bigger bike I wonder how often would I ride it. It may not make much sense to everyone but thats they way I see it. All this makes me wanna wait for 2013, Ninja250r(it comes closest to what I want (not considering the 1.5-2lac premium that I will have to shell out)) but the hows and whens and whats clutter my mind, is it even coming to India? We arent even sure of that. Hence the dilemma.

Yes absolutely people who hoped from R15 to CBR 250 where totally for power and top end. I was just amazed with your lines that you wrote earlier.
I thought after riding R15 your perspective angle would be handling and braking, where R15 scores over any other bike, the confidence we get whle cornering or braking.

CBR 250 is anytime a more sensible product over R15 with 30k more.
If you are considering the power/topend over handling/braking then Yes nothing beats CBR250 on comfort/power/topend/SVC/maintenance @ price what it comes.

But i would recommend ABS model rather than non ABS. Because ABS does wonder on highspeed and you will surely need it in 150kmph+

Single most important factor that carries entire weight-age when coming to buy something, you HAVE to keep this at #1

Hypothetical; start with what's available today OR any concrete news on what will be available tomorrow; if you've spare cash then, keep allotting it for some future unconfirmed for "SAY" factor.

Perfectly got; want to hear my real piece of mind that is very practical? Put your money on buying an asset, like a plot, apartment, Gold or invest in MF, share markets if you're an expert; continue with what you're riding today; less than 10 years, you CAN close any big loan (housing for instance), by then, you can afford even for Hayabusa for weekend & Ninja 400 for daily commute and taking a loan for a motorcycle will be comparatively less risky at that point

To answer for the sake of your heart, define clearly, do you need a weekend ride OR daily commute? DO NOT club both of them (the mistake I did with C250R); Also remember, a 250cc is too under powered (including Ninja 250), esp living in place like TN, to name few stretches, Salem-Erode-Avinashi, Tindivanam-Pondicherry, Krishnagiri-Salem, Tambaram-Porur. Also remember, buying is one time affair, but maintenance is for lifetime, so evaluate your needs very carefully, work BACKWARDS on your financial.

I'm not suggesting a bike directly to your needs because...frankly...I don't know anything about your life as much as you do; if I were to say something, it might be close or totally be ridiculous

Edit - Just noticed your question...

I don't know how to answer this & I'm seriously confused; what defines reliability? Vaibhav has taken to Khardungla, I've rode GQ without the bike entering into any Honda ASC in the 5890 Km; have rode from 80 Km to Srilanka (Gulf of Mannar) to 80 Km to Pak (Jaisalmer); fastestindian has done 2400 Km in 36 hours & I've personally done 1300+ Km in a day stopping only for refueling, that too more than twice & riding non stop (except refueling) is joke with C250R and...34300+ Km approx 16 months that includes 45+29 days of not riding; have rode in pouring rain for over 600+ Km & scorching summer of around 47 degree through AP. Do these qualify reliability or pls let me know what qualifies for that word in your terms, let me see if I can provide some facts on the same lines.

Nothing could have answered better than this para here!! Excellent Aargee Sir!!

@aargee I'll definitely take into account your inputs.

It perhaps makes sense to extend my romance with R15 as of now, let the dilemma stay a dilemma

Araey...I just state facts that's all

Good, don't go by them though LOL

After riding C250R...I'm in love with the more & more aggressive riding stance; I'm sure you won't believe if I say, had I a little more cash in addition, I would've not hesitate to become a proud owner of R15 right today

Choose well

Edit - Forgot to add another important point on reliability; Chitra Priya completed her SS1600 with CBR 250R; she's probably the first Indian girl to complete SS1600 - http://www.motorbeam.com/bikes/honda...he-saddlesore/