cb250t?

[Maha]

Looking to buy a 250 as a commuter, saw this CB250T and want to pick over the KB brains trust as to the pros and cons of this bike. Was this model any good in its day?.... your thoughts please.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=120134133

[dangerous]

been there done that, old heavy shiters but ideal for what you want, great bikes.

[Maha]

been there done that, old heavy shiters but ideal for what you want, great bikes.

Yea if i can pick it up feck all it will do nicely....Anne only works 2 K's from home and we feel driving the Holden that far everyday is probably not all that good for it.

[98tls]

Cant see how you could go wrong,perfect.

[dino3310]

shes an oldie if its been looked after shell be a goodie,my uncle had one for
a number of years did twenty odd klms a day to work it never missed a beat
wasent an open raod grunter but was magic getting through commuter traffic in the 50 & 70k zones pretty cheap to run to

[xwhatsit]

I'd be slightly wary.

Very, very heavy. Based on a heavy 400cc bike, basically just a downsleeved version. So a very heavy 250cc bike with not a particularly powerful engine. I know it's just commuting, but I think you could pick a more enjoyable ride.

Engine is reasonably reliable; three-valve head isn't so prone to cracking, it's based on 400 cases and most everything so it's a solid piece of kit. Probably at this stage though the aluminium has turned to goo, so don't plan on threads being very reliable. Camchains, as with most Hondas of the era, are complete shit and don't last long. Manual camchain adjustments too, although when I adjusted a mate's one it wasn't very hard. Performance is piss-poor for a 250 twin, though. Fuel consumption not flash either.

Suspension, utter shite. The usual story -- FVQs on the back (my light little RS struggles with FVQs, how the hell does a huge heavy lump like the 250T/250N cope?), spindly 32mm forks.

All in all, I would say there's better options. I don't want to sound silly recommending my own bike, but a CB250RS is from the same era, but is lighter, more economical, a hell of a lot more fun to throw around, and the drawbacks it does have it mostly shares with the CB250T. It's only one or two horsepower short, but it is only 125kg dry, compared to 160-170kg dry for the 250T/250N.The 250T isn't the sort of bike that inspires people; it's a reliable plodding boring lump of a thing. You'd have more fun on a GN250, honestly.

There's better options. Keep looking.

[dangerous]

I'd be slightly wary.

Engine is reasonably reliable; three-valve head isn't so prone to cracking, it's based on 400 cases and most everything so it's a solid piece of kit. Probably at this stage though the aluminium has turned to goo, so don't plan on threads being very reliable. Camchains, as with most Hondas of the era, are complete shit and don't last long. Manual camchain adjustments too,

3 valve head? new to me
aluminium goo? ahhh crap, what about older bikes they still exist.
cam chain? fark off man manual adjustment was the best, Honda sliped up with the AUTO adjusters... that era bike will go for ever.

Of course the bike in question is only worth so much, a 250RS may well be a beter bike for what the thread starter is wanting, but they are worth over a grand... Id pull the pin on the T at $500

[nudemetalz]

Yup, the 400T was Honda's answer as a replacement for the sublime 400/4.....the designers must have drunk some strong sake to do that !!!
At least the later CB400N had reasonable performance.

[xwhatsit]

The CB250T/400T/250N/400N indeed had three-valve heads. No idea why -- perhaps just a small step up from the two-valve CB400/4.

Yeah I suppose nothing that can go wrong with manual adjustment -- unless the previous owners completely neglected it and you have chunks missing out of your barrels.

That's true though, if you could get it for $500 and just use it as a rat until it dies, then flog it off to Malcolm at Econohonda for parts... but it's at $400 and the reserve is not met (and nor is it within 15% of the reserve).

@Nudez: Yeah I've heard people say relatively nice things about the 400T/400N. That's probably because the bike was designed as a 400cc bike, whereas the 250 was a dog because it was the 400 with sleeves in the cylinders. I have no idea what Honda were thinking when they replaced the CB400/4 with this

[MadDuck]

we feel driving the Holden that far everyday is probably not all that good for it.

What is 2 kms too far for the big Holden beastie on a daily basis ?

[Maha]

What is 2 kms too far for the big Holden beastie on a daily basis ?

Yer but no but yer.....the bike is Holden red anyway.....

[Bonez]

Should be fine for your intended purpose, 2k commute. Just don't expect stunning performance. They are a tall bike with a large comfy seat. They have a chain driven couter balancer setup wich usually needs regular adjustment, this needs at least one of the engine covers to come off. On later "N' models there was an access cover made to perform this task.

From memory pick of the jap four stroke two fiddies of that era was the GSX250 as far as performance goes. But it suffered from cracked heads in a similar way to the CB250RS does. CB250 twins didn't.

I owned a 400T and it performed on a par with my brothers 400/4 and was a damn sight more comfortable for a 6' tall rider travelling a 800km round trip every other weekend.

The basic engine layout with three valve head engine was in production right up to the 450 Rebel/CB450/350 twins I believe. We never got the sohc 3 valve per pot CB450/350 just the Rebel but a few have been privately imported. So the basic layout had been in production for a while.

Oh and there was also an automatic varient of the 400- CB400A

[dangerous]

The CB250T/400T/250N/400N indeed had three-valve heads.

Well bugger me then, ya do indeed learn something every day, I had a 250T and I set the tappits on it a couple a times... I just cant remember 3 valves, mind you it was 24 years ago

I owned a 400T

haha... and I the 250T

[deanohit]

Will be one large intake valve and two smaller exaust valves. Dunno about it being a sleeved down 400, must be pretty heavy with less hp doesn't sound like a winner to me.

[Bonez]

Well bugger me then, ya do indeed learn something every day, I had a 250T and I set the tappits on it a couple a times... I just cant remember 3 valves, mind you it was 24 years ago


haha... and I the 250T

Still got a 250/400/400A manual as well a some leftover bits n bobs off the "Blimp"(250T) I scrapped a year or so back.