Having the bike for less than 2 weeks and after more than 5 years of
moto-dormancy, how better to catch up on lost time (while giving it a thorough break-in) than banging out 900 miles in 3 days?
This is exactly what my wife and I did the past weekend. Its been unusually cold here in Southern California so Phoenix seemed an ideal destination.
I gave the bike it's first oil change (at 758 miles) and did thorough chain-cleaning and lube prior to departure. Worth noting the used oil had an almost metallic shimmer, lending to the importance of changing oil early on as prescribed.
With my wife on the back, we headed out at 11am and arrived in Phoenix at 9pm, stopping every 40-60 miles to stretch and get refreshments. Our longest, uninterrupted leg was 90 miles.
Being avid cyclists certainly helped our stamina and ability to hold a prone position for long periods of time. Breathable mesh jackets helped us deal with temperatures that reached 100°F.
Some posters have cited vibration in the foot pegs at high speed. Perceptibly, this is much less pronounced after break-in. Speeds of 70-80mph held for long periods yielded no foot discomfort, but we did wear touring boots. I did however experience a buzzing effect in my hands when stopping after long distance, which quickly dissipated.
Considering our combined weight of 334 lbs, this bike was a surprise on the open road. It'll never be mistaken for a 1K but I was genuinely surprised by its ability to accelerate at speed. Sure, at 22hp you're limited but 6-8K on the tach gives you plenty of pull to get past other vehicles.
You do have to be judicious with when and where you apply power. Having a cycling background, I'm used to measuring tempo on climbs and making use of slipstreams when available.
We scored 76.4 mpg on the first tank, largely assisted by a strong tailwind (20mph winds that day). Subsequent tanks yielded 64.3, 67.1, and 65.9, which included city driving.
The long distance seems to have done the bike good. It had already been past it's break-in but seemed even smoother and more powerful when we got back.
Super, thanks for sharing! It's so amazing how well your bike performed two up. That mileage is really good, I don't remember any reports of any bike doing that good two up at speed over such distance.
It must feel like more than 22 hp, I bet your imagination is ablaze! Keep us posted, thanks again.
fantastic report! I am looking forward to doing some medium distance road trips on my cbr. Right now i don't feel like i have the endurance to do more than a couple hundred miles a day, I hope to pull down a 1200km road trip next summer, or two days or so, through the mountains of BC. Love this bike!
Faux! Great ride report. This should help to minimize the concerns of folks who think the CBR250 may be inadequate for the highway and two up! Thanks for sharing!
I neglected to mention... the value of an audio system for long trips like this cannot be under-appreciated! Our Sena SMH-10's helped take the tedium out of the ride. Aside from listening to music, placing/taking phone calls...the intercom feature helps you get the most out of the shared experience.
Why does the bike idle at 5k up to 6.5k on a start up after sitting for 2 years without no start and three new gas has done seafoam and Techron in the fast as well.
i buy and sell a good amount of bikes, coming back to the sv650 whenever i find a good deal, or the honda 250/300 bikes. the deal on this one wasnt super, but i really wanted a good bike that i could use to teach my oldest kid how to ride.
we picked up the bike around 9 yesterday in college...
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