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Hello from Yokosuka Japan!

8K views 33 replies 6 participants last post by  JacobAllison 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello everyone!

I've been riding for a while on my 1988 Honda VTZ250 (JDM-spec VTR-250 Interceptor Naked) and I've gotten pretty fed up with maintenance, especially carbs. Also, I just don't fit that well on the old Japanese-spec VTZ.

I recently found a 2011 CBR250R-J Tricolor for sale on one of the local FB resale pages and went to take a look and a test ride. The price was great and I made an offer and it was accepted. I'll be picking her up Thursday!



She does need a bit of work- she's been unridden for a number of months and needs a new chain and battery and probably new tires. I'll be getting an EK QX-series chain and Bridgestone S20 Evo tires, unless anyone has other suggestions for me. Grips will be replaced with Renthal Diamond Pro grips and the stock end-weights.

After that, I'll be looking into replacing the clipons, rearsets and seat. She may need a new coat of paint as the clear-coat is a bit faded, but we'll see how she looks after a good bath and wax.

Primary reason for registering is so I can see photos in threads, and it seemed silly not to start posting a bit at least.
 

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#2 ·
Hi Jacob. That make three of us active on both VTR and CBR forums now, you, me and Spot. Shame you had the problem with your VTZ, the one I ran for eight years was largely trouble free, just a dirty connection taking out the indicators and horn and a worn cam chain replaced on the rear cylinder.
Looks like the previous owner of your CBR has had a bit of a thing for white paint but that hopefully indicates the bike's had enthusiasm and care in it's life. When you get out on it you'll probably find it a lot less frantic above 60mph than the VTZ.
 
#4 ·
Hah! I knew I'd seen Spot!

I'm not dead set on the CBR yet but the price was too good to pass up. So I'm buying it and seeing if I like it and we'll go from there. I can keep both bikes for a bit before I'm forced to sell one or the other. This may just be the opportunity I was looking for to do a bunch of really silly stiff to my VTZ and completely rework it into something custom.

As for the paint, it looked like that was factory paint. I'm trying to do some research to find out if this was a Japanese color scheme.

anyone who thinks something 'a bit silly'
and refers to their motorcycle as 'she'
is most welcome here, imho...

son had an all black [naked] vtr250
which i particularly liked, but he lusted for
more power, as the young and silly
are wont to do, so someone else got lucky
and he found a de-restricted cb400r
which is now part of the family..

this is the world of no carbs, no kickstarter,
virtually no plug maintenance and long
service intervals..
my cbr250r [black beauty] had pirelli sd's
[intended michelin radials] which went well
and suited this motorcycle for general riding..

the horn can do with upgrading..
check out the gearing threads as well..
Thanks for the tips! Those Pirelli may be a better option - I'll have to check the pricing on them here in Japan.
Horn seems to be a standard upgrade for these little Honda bikes! As for gearing, I'm getting it all plugged into Gearing Commander so I can replace everything at once. But I may leave it stock - the maximum legal speed in Japan is 100km/h and the fastest you'll see anyone going is about 120.
 
#3 ·
anyone who thinks something 'a bit silly'
and refers to their motorcycle as 'she'
is most welcome here, imho...

son had an all black [naked] vtr250
which i particularly liked, but he lusted for
more power, as the young and silly
are wont to do, so someone else got lucky
and he found a de-restricted cb400r
which is now part of the family..

this is the world of no carbs, no kickstarter,
virtually no plug maintenance and long
service intervals..
my cbr250r [black beauty] had pirelli sd's
[intended michelin radials] which went well
and suited this motorcycle for general riding..

the horn can do with upgrading..
check out the gearing threads as well..
 
#6 ·
Thanks!

I'll take a closer look at things when I have it in hand. If it's painted plastic, aircraft stripped would probably be a bad idea to get the white paint off?

I'll add a 13T front sprocket to the purchasing list and a SpeedoDR.
 
#7 ·
Welcome! It's fun to hear from someone living in Japan.

I think you will find the CBR250R to be a revelation in terms of "ridability" compared to the older model you're familiar with. Too bad about the carbs. What's needed is a carb magician and they are getting rare these days.

If you're in need of a new chain, front and rear sprocket replacement is in order. Personally, I stayed with the original DID chain and original equipment sprockets because it was A) what Honda thought was appropriate and B) not expensive. Even though your likely max speed is 120 kph (75 mph), I still think the stock 14T front sprocket is preferred to keep the revs down if you plan to do much highway riding. Plus it's easier on the chain.

Also be sure to take a close look at the brake pads.

I would not bother removing the white paint to bring the appearance back to original. A simpler option would be to simply replace the incorrect white-painted parts with new. I'd think the parts are not too expensive.
 
#8 ·
Thanks!

Of course everything will be getting a good going over, and I'll be replacing sprockets and chains as a set.

There are actually a couple Carb Magicians over on the VTR250 forums and I may be sending my carb out to them if I decide to keep that bike to bring back to the States. More concerning is that it has a concerning vibration about 4000RPM which I can't pin down - the petcock failed when I first got the bike and leaked fuel into the cylinders and past the rings. I'm very concerned this setup the potential for some catastrophic failure in the future. (Yes, oil was changed within 200km of this happening.)

The reason I'm looking at the EK chain is because they're stupid easy to put on yourself without a chain tool. The screw-type joint works just like a rivited link, but without the rivet-tool!

Brake pads are in the cart, going for sintered pads and a stainless front line. I noticed on the test ride this thing has a WAY better rear brake than my VTZ- I locked the rear twice just on the test ride.

As for the sprocket, I haven't decided where I want to go with it but the 13T is an option and doesn't cost much.

I'll look into faring prices out here.
 
#11 ·
Pardon the double post-

The person I'm buying it from is the 2nd owner, and this was his 2nd bike. Unfortunately I'm not sure he took that great a care of it. He used it for riding from Ikego to Yokosuka every day until his sport rider's license expired earlier this year, before going on a deployment. When he left for deployment, I get the feeling he didn't do much in the way of 'hibernation' on the poor thing and she wasn't covered up. The chain has 100% surface rust on the links and will be replaced immediately. (I'll have it in the shop the afternoon I pick it up to replace chain + sprockets.) She also wasn't covered which led to quite a bit of fading on the plastic controls and mirrors. Oh well - these parts aren't too expensive.

Luckily, she's got no evidence of being flogged or abused or dropped. There's some surface rust on the fasteners and on the clutch lifter. A bit of rust-converter should take care of all that without too much trouble, and then I'll hit the clutch lifter with some paint. Not sure why this part wasn't painted from the factory.

Oil and filter will also be changed immediately due to having sat for several months. I need to look inside the tank to see if there's any rust. If there is, I'll be replacing the tank outright and getting started on murdering out the colors a bit faster than expected.

The battery was left in the bike and may be completely shot. I won't know til I get it on a charger and give it a proper charge. He started it up and ran it for a bit at idle before I got there to 'charge' the battery. I'm not positive what the alternator specs are on this bike and I don't see them easily referenced in the service manual, but I'm guessing at idle the answer is 'not much'. Anyway, while we were chatting and I was looking over the bike it was off but with the ignition in the on position. The lights killed the battery in those 10-15 minutes which meant we had to jump it off a car to get it started.

Mods that have been done to it so far are limited to a pair of ugly grips and a cheap tank pad. These will be replaced with proper grips, the stock bar-ends, and a quality tank pad. I'll run through the maintenance items in the service manual short of pulling the valve cover to check the clearances, as I don't have the proper set of feeler gauges available at the moment and with only 10k KM I doubt they've gone wrong.

Tires may be replaced immediately or I may wait until next payday, depending on their condition.

Longer term, I'll be looking to black out the bike, replace the seat, change the riding geometry with clip-ons and rearsets, and possibly swap the exhaust. (Simply because I find the stock exhaust terribly ugly. Maybe one off the 2015 CBR250R- CBR300R to everyone else.)
 
#16 ·
Got the bike back today- unfortunately the DMV here needed some paperwork we didn't have and there wasn't time to get it before the long weekend.

She rides MUCH nicer with properly inflated tires. When I checked the tire pressure picking her up I about passed out- 100KPA on the rear and I couldn't even get a reading from the front. Very stupid to have not checked that before going on the test ride.

Closer inspection of the tires makes them look quite serviceable, actually. I don't see any immediate 'must replace' signs except that the rear is a touch flat across the center. New tires are still on the menu. Tank is in perfect condition.

The white plastics aren't painted, they're white all the way through, interestingly. Or else someone did an outstanding job painting them, except that they don't 'quite' perfectly match the white on the front fairings. I'll be able to tell better after I give her a bath.
 
#19 ·
Fun fact: Rear solo cowl for the 2014 CBR250R (Japan) is NOT the same as the 10-14 CBR250R! But, you can still get it on and secured and it looks about 1000 times cooler.
The 2014 CBR250R you are referring to is an Asian market only bike, and has all the same body work as the 2015 CBR300R.



Whereas your bike, which is a 2012 model, has the same body work as all of the other first generation 2011 - 2013 CBR250R's. Also 2011 was the first model year, and 2013 was the last model year for the CBR250R in all other global markets... there was no 2010 model.

... First fill of the tank today- she did about 120km in about half a tank, judging by the fuel gauge. NOT what I was expecting - but since I have no way of really knowing how full it was, I have no way to actually calculate the mileage. She was blinking the 'low fuel' bar while I was riding but had a full bar when I stopped. About 8l to fill the tank- if it took her 8L to do 120KM there is a really, really big problem somewhere. I also added a bit of fuel system cleaner with the fresh gas, so we'll see how she behaves for the next week or so while I get things worked out. This weekend, if the weather cooperates I'll go on a nice longer ride.
Yeah, going by the number of bars on the fuel gauge won't give you an accurate idea of mileage. You'll need to start with a full tank, and set the trip meter to zero. Then at the next fill up you can accurately calculate the km's per liter.
 
#18 ·
Finally made the LTO (DMV in the states, MOT in the UK) run and she's properly registered in my name!

Dropped by NAPS Riding Art on the way home and dropped (a lot of) money on a set of Bridgestone S20 Evos. Mmm, radials.

The techs were VERY concerned about my chain and rear brake pads! I had to show them pictures of the chain, sprockets, and pads sitting at home before they'd agree to let me take the bike home! I noticed QUITE a bit of vibration when she's up at speed- this is the first time she's gone fast at all. Buzzy, nasty, numbing vibrations. I'm guessing this is 90% that chain and I'll take a look at the engine mounting bolts as well. The auto hobby shop opens up again tomorrow (finally!) so I'll be able to get the last bits and pieces put on her.

First fill of the tank today- she did about 120km in about half a tank, judging by the fuel gauge. NOT what I was expecting - but since I have no way of really knowing how full it was, I have no way to actually calculate the mileage. She was blinking the 'low fuel' bar while I was riding but had a full bar when I stopped. About 8l to fill the tank- if it took her 8L to do 120KM there is a really, really big problem somewhere. I also added a bit of fuel system cleaner with the fresh gas, so we'll see how she behaves for the next week or so while I get things worked out. This weekend, if the weather cooperates I'll go on a nice longer ride.
 
#21 ·
Honda intentionally calibrated the fuel gauge so that owners wouldn't run the tank too low on fuel, which would cause the in-tank fuel pump to run too hot, which then will lead to a fuel pump failure. So to keep the fuel pump adequately submerged in fuel and running cool, the gauge typically shows 1 bar when there is still approximately 3/4 to 1 gallon remaining in the tank.
 
#22 ·
its not a reserve tank, just an indicator..
it indicates, relative fuel levels..
leaning over, up and down steep hills,
braking, acceleration, etc must move
whatever fuel - ie, pump lubricant -
thus necessary to keep a minimum level..

first and only time those lights started flashing
[first non-reserve tank bike, no owner manual]
i thought something terrible had happened..

what does it matter, a few mins to fill her up,
then peace of mind..
 
#23 ·
MotoMike said:
Honda intentionally calibrated the fuel gauge so that owners wouldn't run the tank too low on fuel, which would cause the in-tank fuel pump to run too hot, which then will lead to a fuel pump failure. So to keep the fuel pump adequately submerged in fuel and running cool, the gauge typically shows 1 bar when there is still approximately 3/4 to 1 gallon remaining in the tank.
OK, I see the point but I doubt that more than a gallon is needed for that. My bike shows a flashing last bar after just going 250km (~155 miles) and then I can only pour 8 liters into it.

what does it matter, a few mins to fill her up,
then peace of mind..
It doesn't matter, it's just strange that the bike will start screaming for fuel (last bar flashing) after just 250km while people have managed to get more than 400 from a full tank. I always refuel when I reach the last bar for peace of mind but it's an IMHO unnecessary limitation of the bikes true range.
 
#26 ·
Holy cow, getting that rear sprocket off was a pain in the butt! I had to clamp the sprocket in a vice and have someone help me get the nuts off. Thank you to MotoMike for posting the torque settings in another thread as I forgot to save the shop manual to my tablet!

New chain and sprockets are installed. There was a lot of surface rust on the drive shaft, yikes. Cleaned it up with a brass wire brush and put a good helping of anti-seize on it for good measure.

On the (short) ride home I noticed a bit of 'humming' that I think is coming from the chain. I'll check the tension again tomorrow. Should be about 1" of upward travel when the bike is on its own weight, right?

Ran out of time to replace the rear brake pads, but they 'do' have some life left in them, they aren't all the way through the slots yet. Still, I want them replaced so they better match the fronts. Also didn't have time to investigate the engine mounting bolts while I try to find where the vibration is coming from.
 
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