You have beautiful works of art like the cbr600rr and the fireblade, and then you look at the cbr 250. And, by no means is it an ugly bike, it's just..not sporty, if you get what i'm saying.
Even the attempt at making the CBR500r sportier kinda fell on its face. It's closer to looking like a sport bike, but something about the white/silver/black multi-colored fairings and handlebars just makes it... bleh.
I'm sure they would see a 1000% increase in sales of CBR250s if they took a 600 and just dropped a lower displacement engine in it.
And it's not like it cant be done, just look at the hyosung 250r. Almost a direct ripoff of a GSX-600R, it even has clip-on handlebars.
Just look at how much an aftermarket exhaust, aftermarket fairings, and some lowered handlebars help the look:
Edit: It completely slipped my mind when I first made this thread, but the cbr250rr in the 90s was pretty much an almost identical to the CBR900 fireblade It was even an inline-4 culinder engine.
CBR250rr:
fireblade:
I wonder why they stopped making the 250 double r anyway.
Also, the NSF250R (race bike) is pretty stylish as well
You have beautiful works of art like the cbr600rr and the fireblade, and then you look at the cbr 250. And, by no means is it an ugly bike, it's just..not sporty, if you get what i'm saying.
Even the attempt at making the CBR500r sportier kinda fell on its face. It's closer to looking like a sport bike, but something about the white/silver/black multi-colored fairings and handlebars just makes it... bleh.
I'm sure they would see a 1000% increase in sales of CBR250s if they took a 600 and just dropped a lower displacement engine in it.
And it's not like it cant be done, just look at the hyosung 250r. Almost a direct ripoff of a GSX-600R, it even has clip-on handlebars.
Function over Form my friend. The Hyosung GT 250R has a huge drawback... i.e. the big bike feel on the small 250 isnt just limiting its performance, it even makes the bike very difficult to maneuver in city traffic. Not to mention the heat it generates underneath that full body panels that can deep fry your balls literally. Air/Oil cooled engine isnt helping any better.
Again the CBR250R was designed to appeal to all the international markets but its primary target were developing nations were pricing was the key factor. Thus behold a bike was born ala the CBR 250R which wasnt just easy on affordability, but maintenance and gas mileage was just too good to say no.
To give you an idea of how the parts are relatively cheap for us, for the cost of one side fairing on the N250R(Which is imported and carries hefty taxes), i could buy the entire body panels on the C250R and still save some cash.
The Following User Says Thank You to Nithesh For This Useful Post:
mate, isnt it wonderful,, different motorcycles for
different tastes,, honda cbr250r for me, hyosung 250
[with clip-ons] for you.. vive la difference !
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totally agree with you, it doesn't look that sporty but i still love my cbr. The ninja 300 for example looks a lot more sporty and the cbr500 looks pretty crap if you ask me.
You may think the hyosung looks a lot better but then again they don't call it a heapdung for no reason, they aren't the best and most reliable bikes out there. If someone you know says the love their hyosung and it's a great bike, make sure you check with them that they've actually ridden' it jks they aren't that bad but i agree, a 600rr sort of looking styling would make me love this bike even more and most likely see sales boost too, kinda like what kawasaki did with their 300 and its similarities it shares with the zx6r and zx10
however in saying that, the new 2013 600rr's look really old and pretty crap so i don't know what honda was thinking when they redesigned that bike!
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2012 CBR250R ABS Red/Silver
- Black Adjustable Levers
- HRC Carbon Fibre Tank Pad
- Hotbodies FE Kit
- 16,000km's in 12 months
To give you an idea of how the parts are relatively cheap for us, for the cost of one side fairing on the N250R(Which is imported and carries hefty taxes), i could buy the entire body panels on the C250R and still save some cash.
Very true, i just bought Honda Genuine OEM Side fairings, the left silver main side piece and rear piece and it cost a little over $20. To replace a whole side it only costs around $80
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2012 CBR250R ABS Red/Silver
- Black Adjustable Levers
- HRC Carbon Fibre Tank Pad
- Hotbodies FE Kit
- 16,000km's in 12 months
I think they went a little overboard on the styling of the Ninja 300. The whole bike has a very angular, sharp-edged look to it that is not flattering, IMO. The vented side panels and pointy nose with squared-off headlights seem like an attempt to make it look faster than it is and to me it only looks like they tried a little too hard. There's very little about the bike that pleases my eye. I wasn't crazy about the "butterfly" look of the headlight on my Ninja250R, but I'm not sure the twin headlights on the 300 are much of an improvement. It's like they took any line on the bike that was curved and decided to make it boxy and squared-off instead.
By comparison I think the looks of my CBR are very understated and reserved. Honda could have made the CBR250R much more racy looking, but they don't want to alienate potential first-time buyers by making it look like a total crotch rocket. I think Honda knows it's customer base better than most bike companies and they know a lot of women and first-time buyers are looking for a dependable commuter, not a canyon racer. I find the looks of the CBR very pleasing mainly because it's not trying to look like a bike it's not.
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The largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world would not task just one cartoon character to design a bike like the CBR... Goofy was only responsible for the muffler and rear brake reservoir. Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny worked together on the instrument cluster (hard to believe, I know... but that was before wabbit hunting season started). It was Daffy Duck who had final design approval on the bike.
Yup... turns out that the CBR's with stalling problems were assembled by Wily E. Coyote. Fortunately, he was fired his second day on the job for getting drunk, and smoking the wacky weed during his morning break. Luckily only 28 CBR250R's were affected. Those bikes were Red/Silver ABS models.
Last edited by MotoMike; 12-08-2012 at 11:43 AM.
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