Re: Quarter litre Quandary

Topic Approved.

A budget of 1.5 lacs is a bit short for a proper 250cc bike, if its on road price that you talk of. Very few bikes fall under this criterion.

Also, hardly any bike in these segments can match Karizma's low end torque- so be prepared to compromise on this aspect, sorry can't help it. I've ridden most of them and I can tell you- Karizma still rocks below 3000 rpm. But you can hope to get good mid range torque, which is good if you can maintain the rpm.



May I know why you think FZ lacks road presence? I saw it on the road, and it has its own unique presence and looks with that minimal headlight and sporty looks with quite a comfortable stance and ride..

And Why do you believe CBR250 is bad at low end torque? Its not bad by any means unless you rode a bad piece, and its mighty comfortable and relaxing ride too.


If you're looking towards saving some cash, think of Pulsar 220 Dtsi or Hero Xtreme 200.
Yes, I'm aware you must be thinking that 220's old and dated. True, but it still has the torque and mileage you want, alongwith the top end one may expect. 21 bhp is not too far from what you get from FZ/CBR.
Another good choice for torque and top end combo is Hero Xtreme 200..


And, If you want my final opinion, take a test ride of FZ25 and CBR 250R, and re-evalute their attributes once more.


If you're ok with second hand, go for Dominar. More than Enough torque, decent mileage (30-35 kmpl), and good weight and road presence too.

Re: Quarter litre Quandary

Many thanks for your reply Samarth. I quite agree to many of the points youve mentioned. budget of 1.5 lacs seems to be a sweet spot for a 250cc. i have done quite in depth search and the only other 250ccs that i could even for a higher budget are hysung gt250r, kawasaki ninja 250 and z250, and benelli 250. the multi cylinders are producing power at high rpms and benelli inspite of being same 250cc capacity, the performance is shameful. the best bets are still fz25 and cbr250 which coincidently fall into the bracket of 1.5lacs. i'd love to get a dominar but i really dont want to move to a heavier, higher cc segment, maybe if they come up with a full faired version im also waiting for the rumoured pulsar 250 based on duke 250 platform.

ive owned pulsar 220 and driven it quite a lot kilometers and i loved it. the only thing missing is fuel injection. i have an inclined pavement to the parking of my house. the 220 used to climb that on a 1700rpm ish.. i also own a 200ns which does it on 2500rpm and the zmr does it on 1300rpm. thats the kind of torque zmr has, i love it! i never have to revv the bike to extract power out of it.

FZ 25 resembles the fz16 too much. i have confused the 25 with the 16 just too many times. the stance, the posture the overall look. the bike is amazing no doubt, the refinement, the free revving nature, the torque etc. but just doesnt make the cut for a road presence a 250 should command(even the zmr has better presence). cbr250 is still a head turner even after so many years, specially the white colour with red and blue stripes.

you might be right when saying i might have ridden a bad piece of cbr250. The torque was not that bad. but the suspension was just too much stiff for day to day riding and the brakes were so pathetic that just escaped crash on my small ride(i understand i will get used to the bite style and pressure and all). i guess i should try a diff bike.

at the moment im still inclined to cbr more that the fz.. lets see.. id wait if there are more followup rumours about the pulsar 250 based on duke 250..

thanks again

Re: Quarter litre Quandary

Quarter litre is indeed a big dilemma, I am in the same boat, though I don't want sports or fully fared bikes as far as possible. If you can wait a bit and stretch your budget, you can buy Apache RR310, which seems to be a great package now.

Re: Quarter litre Quandary

Why not give the Fazer 25 a chance? This bike looks unique and fulfills all your criteria! good road presence.. Might not look good in pics but in flesh, the bike is appealing and has very good road presence.. Eye catcher and head turner!

Re: Quarter litre Quandary

Thanks for the recommendation bro.. i guess im gonna go for a test ride of fazer25 tomo and then decide. I really enjoyed the fz25 25 ride and it actually makes sense to see the bike in skin

Re: Quarter litre Quandary

Yes, I had also suggested you Fazer 250 in another thread as well and if you cover it with a nice vinyl wrap, it can really look hot and head-turner, if that is what you desire.

Re: Quarter litre Quandary

I think I'll agree with manish.
If you love the engine characteristics of Fz25 but hate the looks of it, the Fazer25 is the answer. Its the same bike with different clothes. I admit, its styling is on the fence, either you like it or you don't there is no in between, I also admit that majority of people do not like it (Not seen a single one on road yet). But standing on the pedestal, it had presence, the glowing DRLs look good once they are ON, and the fairing does improve aerodynamics and protects the rider from the wind blast. Take a look at it, ask for a test ride, and if you can digest the looks, go get it.

As manish suggested, some carefully and tastefully applied stickers, maybe some matte wrapping will do wonders to improve the looks of the bike.

You will have an exclusive feeling because no one has ever seen it on the roads, the road presence is good and you have the refined and solid engine that you like from a FZ25.

Re: Quarter litre Quandary

Update - Bought Honda CBR250R ABS - blood red(got a very sweet deal in the used market) after a long wait filled with speculation, test rides over and over. It is always a matter of heart vs brain.. this time CBR was with heart and fz25 was with brain. Took the heart filled plunge leading leading to CBR. I was in similar situation long back(between Yamaha enticer and Pulsar 150) had chosen heart at that time too but somehow Enticer started bugging me due to its many shortcomings. So was a little cautious this time to follow the heart.

But in the end i must say CBR has bested my every expectation, i am simply in love with it. I am sure if i had gone for the FZ25 there would always have been things which would have kept bugging me like 6th gear, full fairing, triple digit speeds performance, abs, road presence. CBR has that royalty factor or a feel good factor to it that you are riding something premium! No offense meant to FZ25 and its owners. But one thing im sure of is CBR250 and FZ25 is the perfect duo to own. So my next bike when i sell the NS200 would be FZ25 only.

I can say proudly the cult following the CBR has is not a hype!