Honda cbr250r

[Speedracer]

I'm gonna buy one (1987 hurricane model), any issues these things have I should watch out for?
I understand they are long lasting (100kkms+) good bikes, but I'm gonna do 1600km over a weekend to ride it home.. if it blows up I'll be real late getting back ;-)

[MattRSK]

Nice Choice.

[monkey99]

good choice, strong motors..got a CBR rr..even better but making me ride to fast..& its a matter of time before I either get sensible or a ticket..i hope the former

[vtec]

Let us know how much it cost. I've got one at the moment that I'm fixing up for a family friend (for cost price dammit).

Yep, great bikes. Check that the forks aren't leaking, check that the power is pretty smooth right up through the range (above 8000 all the way to redline), if so that means it's getting a good mix of fuel and air to all cylinders. Don't full throttle it below 10,000rpm. Let her warm up, and she'll treat you well. Make sure you check the oil level every time you ride it for the first few weeks, just so you know how much she is using. Some use more than others. Check chain tension and condition.

[bobsmith]

good choice, strong motors..got a CBR rr..even better but making me ride to fast..& its a matter of time before I either get sensible or a ticket..i hope the former

Well I'll hope the latter for you since the former generally is accompanied by getting too close to the aspalt or the scenary.....

[Speedracer]

Let us know how much it cost. I've got one at the moment that I'm fixing up for a family friend (for cost price dammit).

Yep, great bikes. Check that the forks aren't leaking, check that the power is pretty smooth right up through the range (above 8000 all the way to redline), if so that means it's getting a good mix of fuel and air to all cylinders. Don't full throttle it below 10,000rpm. Let her warm up, and she'll treat you well. Make sure you check the oil level every time you ride it for the first few weeks, just so you know how much she is using. Some use more than others. Check chain tension and condition.

$2300 w 24000km
Yeah it has damaged fairings which is why it's cheap.
so these bikes do use oil normally? how much is normal? 1L / 1000km??
I'll be checking the forks and chain, but what things go wrong that are expensive to fix particular to this bike?

I've got a compression tester if anyone knows how much compression it should have.

Also why no full throttle below 10,000rpm?

[vtec]

Nah, it's nowhere near 1l/1000k's. It's probably close to 500ml/5000k's or 100ml/1000k's. But you have to keep it between the marks. The full capacity is about 2.4l. So if it changes by about 200ml, it might put it out of the correct level.

Some use oil some don't. My race one didn't used to, but it does now. Doesn't bother me though, cause it still runs sweet.

To use your compression tester, just compare all the different cylinders. If you've got one or two lower than the others, then you're losing compression. It's very rare that all 4 will be low on compression equally.

Don't full throttle below 10,000rpm, well I don't always stick to that rule. But it's because the engine is designed to rev. And full throttle below 10,000 is kind of lugging it a bit. It's just something that people have said on the CBR250 forums. www.cr-x.org/cbr250 This is a bloody handy site, and I have learnt heaps off it. There's a few very clued up people who are often quick to help. There's also plenty of cocks who just want to lecture everyone though.

[FlyingDutchMan]

$2300 w 24000km
Yeah it has damaged fairings which is why it's cheap.
so these bikes do use oil normally? how much is normal? 1L / 1000km??
I'll be checking the forks and chain, but what things go wrong that are expensive to fix particular to this bike?

I've got a compression tester if anyone knows how much compression it should have.

Also why no full throttle below 10,000rpm?

I've never had to top up the oil on my one... I just change it every 3000-3500km. Do change it regularly - 5000km at the tops. Its the one single thing which will extend the engine life.

Expensive things for the bike: any thing you try and OEM from honda (except oil filers for some reason). They rip off something chronic. I've had quote of $700 for an instrument cluster mount. made me very happy to pay $70 to a wrecker for one.

[imdying]

And full throttle below 10,000 is kind of lugging it a bit.

Wouldn't the CV type carbs prevent this?

[Speedracer]

Don't full throttle below 10,000rpm, well I don't always stick to that rule. But it's because the engine is designed to rev. And full throttle below 10,000 is kind of lugging it a bit. It's just something that people have said on the CBR250 forums. www.cr-x.org/cbr250 This is a bloody handy site, and I have learnt heaps off it. There's a few very clued up people who are often quick to help. There's also plenty of cocks who just want to lecture everyone though.

Hmmm finally found the thread you're talking about... had a good look om there to see what kinda problems I could have...
http://www.cr-x.org/cbr250/forum/top...TOPIC_ID=35770

2 people in there saying it's bad, but no explanation.
What does lugging it mean?

[imdying]

Lugging or labouring the motor is when you're operating it grossly down in the rev range. For your example, in your car, using <1500rpm in top gear, you'll notice the motor struggles (or lugs, or labours).

Of course any motor suffers the same problem. A CBR250 will not labour below 10000rpm, that's crazy.. it's peak torque is somewhere near 11-13000rpm iirc. Bike motors are reasonably flexible, and since they're pulling less weight about they suffer from this less than say a car motor. Your motor will tell you what revs it wants to be in... if it feels sluggish, or feels like it's struggling, drop a gear Regardless, CV carbs will to a greater extent limit your ability to lug the motor because they won't open further than they need to, so it's pretty much a moot point.

[imdying]

Oh yeah, the NS250R will rape the 87 CBR250. Keep that instead

[vtec]

Yeah but keeping the NS250R going will rape your wallet. On gas, oil and maintenance.

[imdying]

A small price to pay. But having said that, maintenance isn't that much of an issue on those. You need to keep the ATAC valves clean, maybe twice a year, and they're not particularly heavy on oil. Definitely drink more petrol than a CBR250 though.

You'd probably keep the NS250R when you get a bigger bike, cause they're damn fun to ride. The early CBR250s have few redeeming features in comparison when you've got a bigger biker to contrast against.

/edit: Oh yeah, and the NS250R will wheelie off the throttle which the CBR250 won't do

[Speedracer]

Yeah but keeping the NS250R going will rape your wallet. On gas, oil and maintenance.

You don't know how right you are!

You can't get pistons for it anymore... OEM pistons $300ea... wrecker with $$ signs in his eyes, $500 for 2 well used pistons with 2 bores. Supposedly in excellent condition yet not capable of reaching minimum compression.
It took 6 months to find them and I looked at every alternative that exists. Most wreckers told me to buy new ones instead of being helpful.

Plus this model is well known for blowing pistons. Spoke to one guy who blew 6 (yes six) pistons. Then he cleaned out the exhaust which apparently fixed it.
Having now blown 2 myself in about 1000km (first one came with the bike, second one lasted about 100ks) I am fully aware that there are some low quality pistons. The ones that blew looked kindof matt silver, whereas the ones that are still going are both not matt silver textured. Not to mention the chunk looked fatigued rather than something hit it.

They blow the chunk of piston between the rings about the size of the exhaust port (and in the same place). After that my first one dropped the top ring, and after 400ks I blew the top bit off and it lost compression. Bike still ran with 1 piston till I got some more. I replaced the second one at the blown bit between the rings point.

And no, the NS250R only makes 45hp, same as the CBR... sadly no 2 stroke raping going on here..

And did I mention it sucks petrol like a dirty whore? I reckon I'm getting 10k/L...

It may be damn fun to ride but I want to be able to ride more than 20ks from home without worrying that the piston might blow on me.