Honda CBR250R ABS (2011 model) Review

Honda, the brand of racing spirit, is known for its sport bike. But sadly the Indian market was largely focused on commuter bikes. But back in 2011 when Honda launched their quarter litre bike, excitement in Indian fans began. It was not only a first bike in 250cc segment in India, but also it was a single cylinder bike which kept its manufacturing cost very low. CBR250R ABS is one of the most popular sports tourer in India under 2.5lakhs price bracket. We Indians fell in love with the Honda CBR with its big-bike looks and pleasing ride quality and with an all rounder package this bike is. Comfort is guaranteed with a plush suspension setup as it eats up all the road undulations. With Honda CBR's peppy little 250cc single cylinder engine, munching mile is fun. Now let's start with our review.

Design:-

"Timeless" is the word that comes into my mind when I see it. The design language is borrowed from the iconic HONDA VFR 1200V4 sports tourer. The CBR250R looks like a younger sibling in comparison and has almost identical proportions to highlight its design. The front face is neutral looking rather than aggressive. The headlight uses a clear lense setup for illumination and big bike like front proportions looks purposefully done. Coming to the side profile, the bike screams stability. The tank, the fairing, foot pegs, exhaust all look in sync with the design- nothing feels out of place. Even the pillion seat looks comfortable and spacious. The tail section is good to look at but nothing to brag about. The rear 150 section tyre looks good and gives a reassuring visual confidence for stability. The instrument cluster is part analogue and part digital. It is functional but not pleasing and provides the rider with minimum information. The analogue tachometers is small but uses almost 70% area of the console. We have raised clip on for relaxed riding posture. The seat is well padded for long distance tours. The bike offers plenty of leg space to move around during long journeys. 

CBR turns easily in corners. 

Engine:-

We have 23.7bhp and 17.2Nm of power and torque generated by a single cylinder 249.5cc liquid cooled engine. The engine uses a wet multi-plate clutch with 6 speed transmission. Final drive is a chain drive with tall gearing setup. The engine produces it peak power and torque at the higher end of the rev range. The engine is smooth and delivers the power in linear fashion, but once across the 7k rpm there's a subtle urgency in the power delivery and the bike feels faster until redline at 11k rpm. Being a sports tourer it misses out on low and mid-range torque. The engine is not fast revving and takes its own sweet time to get there. The fuelling is typical Honda. The bike isn't fast but can cruise comfortably at 90- 110 km/hr. The mileage achieved is around 30-33 km/ltr in combined riding conditions in city and highway.

The side profile is the best angle to look at the bike.

Handling:-

One of the USP of the CBR is its ride quality, with plush suspension setup and comfortable ergonomics, it’s a very happy highway traveller. The steering is light and turnings are quick. The CBR came equipped with Continental tyres which are of the worst kind, changing them to Metzeler or MRF is a lot more sensible thing to do. The Metzeler tyres provide excellent grip and feedback to the rider under all condition. The motor is packaged inside a lightweight diamond-shaped twin-spar chassis which is outstandingly communicative and tells the rider every single detail about what is happening between the road and the tyres. Touring for long hours in the saddle is breeze and thanks to its relaxed engine even at high speeds of 140km/hr, it feels indestructible. The bike feels planted during cornering with excellent mid corner stability. While exiting the corner and rolling back the throttle on, the gaining speed is slow due to its small power output, the braking is spot on, thanks to its dual channel ABS.

Honda CBR 250R is jack of all trades.

Verdict:-

While the the Honda CBR250R is an all-rounder and shines in every aspect of motoring, the ownership is costly due to its higher servicing cost and spare parts. The parts availability is one thing that Honda has to improve in, a single part can sometimes take up months to arrive and until then the bike would be sitting in the service centre accumulating dust. The fairing rattles sometimes but nothing to complain about. Overall the bike is a perfect blend of highway tourer and a sports bike for weekend’s gateway. With the newly launched CBR250R 2018, nothing major has been overhauled from the old generation. Except for the new graphics and LED lights, pretty much everything is same. Honda has to up their game as the level of competition has increased. 

With the safety net of ABS we can brake hard.