Cbr300r

[Tazz]

looks like its going to replace the 250.
doesnt have a whole lot of appeal to me though

Yup, that's how I read it.

Honda wise, dont bother with the 250 or this 300.

The CBR500 is a mint learners bike. Rode one recently, and its a torquey little motor, with a good setup, and still very nimble.

With almost all of these learner bikes, you can tell you'd be gagging for an upgrade after a year or two, but I can see CBR500R owners keeping their bikes when they get their full.

Yeah nah, I've just gone down the learner route and I'm happy with getting a 250 for now. Sure it is slow but it's still fast enough to be able to push some limits without death being the consequence if you get it wrong XD Also the cost difference is pretty huge to step up to the 500. You'd be wiser to put it into decent gear.

Did you start out on a 500cc road bike?

I reckon my mc22 would carve this up all day long this looks nice but.....

That's probably all it could carve up =P

So, correct me if I'm wrong, but this new Honda CBR300R (sorry '286R') still has less power than my 24 year old 250cc Honda, doesn't it?
(Ok, aside of that, it has much better brakes, suspension and it has ABS, but still...)

I assume they're producing the 300 now to keep up with Kawasaki, but it seems like they are now making the CBR250R kinda obsolete.



With a curb weight of nearly 200 kg I don't see the CBR500R as the best beginners bike, and even though that weight drags down the power to weight ratio, not everyone here grows up on dirtbikes and starts road riding with any kind of throttle or clutch control. So starting on a 250 or 300 is still the best way to go in my opinion. And why limit yourself to just one bike over such a long time frame, if there are so many out there, especially when as a total beginner you don't have a clue what you actually like. The 500 seems to me like a good bike after one or two or even more years on something else.

The power vs mod cons is probably a fair trade off really. Plus parts are going to get harder to find, and although lacking in power I'm sure the single cylinder engine is a MUCH cheaper rebuild if it dies an ugly death.

One thing I'll say for the MC22 (and it is one of the reasons I bought one), they do seem to hold their value pretty well so you can buy and sell without losing a fortune (touch wood).

Everyone has different natural abilities so there is no one bike fits all for learners, I'm sure some people could start on a litre bike and be fine where as most others would be on the pavement pretty quickly.

Back to this 300 though, comparative to the competition it's not the most attractive option on paper in my mind, but the price might be right to shift it so time will tell.

[baffa]

Yup, that's how I read it.

Yeah nah, I've just gone down the learner route and I'm happy with getting a 250 for now. Sure it is slow but it's still fast enough to be able to push some limits without death being the consequence if you get it wrong XD Also the cost difference is pretty huge to step up to the 500. You'd be wiser to put it into decent gear.

Did you start out on a 500cc road bike?

Plenty of us have learnt on bikes that were a fair bit faster than the current lams list. I rode a two stroke dirt bike, two stroke NSR, and various other things before I got a sensible bike of my own (VTR250) but within about 6 months I was on a CBR900RR.

the 500 is a torquey little thing, without a huge amount of puff up top, which is much easier to learn to ride with than something that you have to rev the ever loving shit out of to go anywhere, has better and bigger tyres, brakes and suspension than its little brothers.

Superior in everything bar "nimbleness" but it is still agile as hell, if you are over 5'4 and cant handle a CBR500R, buy a pitbike and tear up your license sunshine.

[Tazz]

Plenty of us have learnt on bikes that were a fair bit faster than the current lams list. I rode a two stroke dirt bike, two stroke NSR, and various other things before I got a sensible bike of my own (VTR250) but within about 6 months I was on a CBR900RR.

the 500 is a torquey little thing, without a huge amount of puff up top, which is much easier to learn to ride with than something that you have to rev the ever loving shit out of to go anywhere, has better and bigger tyres, brakes and suspension than its little brothers.

Superior in everything bar "nimbleness" but it is still agile as hell, if you are over 5'4 and cant handle a CBR500R, buy a pitbike and tear up your license sunshine.

I would have thought something torquey would be bad for a learner? Sliding the arse around in the wet while still mastering throttle control and slipping on white lines when over taking etc etc?

I know having the arse of my diesel (re:toruqey) ute coming around beside me to say gidday when I'm plodding along uphill in 4th at 1800rpm is not something I'd want my learner brother to have to deal with XD

Quite keen to jump on a 500 and try it out after your glowing review though haha

Interesting to hear how different everyones opinion is on these things.

[Erelyes]

I would have thought something torquey would be bad for a learner? Sliding the arse around in the wet while still mastering throttle control and slipping on white lines when over taking etc etc?

I know having the arse of my diesel (re:toruqey) ute coming around beside me to say gidday when I'm plodding along uphill in 4th at 1800rpm is not something I'd want my learner brother to have to deal with XD

Quite keen to jump on a 500 and try it out after your glowing review though haha

Interesting to hear how different everyones opinion is on these things.

I'd surmise that something with an flat torque curve would be best, rather than something top-endy.

That way you get a similar result yanking on the throttle at 5000 as you do at 9000.

Means that being in the right gear for the corner is less of an issue and one can focus more on lines etc.

Just my hypothesis.

[Tazz]

Ahh, I see, cheers for that. I was just thinking torquey in general, not the curve, which I've never had to pay toooo much attention to in the past.

[baffa]

Yeah, torque isnt so much the issue, its spikes in the powerband that get you.

Had a couple of guys in the 300zx club write off their cars as they were auto and twin turbo, going round a corner, give it gas, 'box kicks down a gear and the engine hits full boost, boom sideways.

Damn right it was a glowing review!

Personally if I had to start again, id go a VTR again, or hornet, then buy a 600cc+ sportsbike as soon as I was able, but I like the idea of buying a bike that you can learn on, and not grow out of a year later.