Never mind....
A month since purchase and so far my experience is...
good...
So I got the bike almost a whole month ago (used with about 500 miles on it) and I have road it many times (more recently than initially). I still don't have a license or insurance so I've been limiting my rides so not to push my luck with legal issues. I also have no riding experience prior to riding it away from the dealership and am hoping I'll be able to take the riders courses this coming weekend so I can finally go for my license and insurance. Texas requires that you take the courses before you can even take the written test which makes legally starting on a bike more expensive than a car.
But anyway. At first riding was slightly scary because I always worried I would push the bike too hard while turning at slow speeds or would shift up improperly, but now I'm almost completely confident while riding it as after some practice, I realized the bike is much easier to handle than I thought and have manage to figure how to shift smoothly and quickly.
I also realized one night while riding that at least on the bike, that MPG ratings for motor vehicles are determined using a poor method. They base it on distance of highways and streets, when its really about how long the gas lasts at lowest appropriate RPMs. I realized this when I compared my first time riding to when I was more experienced, as when I started out, I would always shift up when I was at high rpms and at the end of about two hours of low speed riding my bike at lost about half its tank (according to the digital meter). Although now that I know the lowest rpms I can smoothly ride at in the gears, my gas lasts MUCH longer. It really has NOTHING to do with distance, just how much work your making your engine do. So I have no idea why they base MPGs on distance.
I also learned quickly that I didn't need to hold the clutch slightly in at all after I got the bike going, lol. I did that at first because I thought the bike would stall if I didn't have it slightly pulled in while riding. My left hand was killing me for holding it so long. lol
I have yet to pop the clutch and have no intention of mistreating the bike in such a way as it sounds and feels painful to the bike when I've misjudged to smoothly shift up and end up over revving and the bike slightly jerks and makes a popping sound when it gets into gear, so I've gotten better on smooth shifts.
My least favorite part about riding is engine braking. At first I didn't even attempt it because I didn't want to risk stalling the bike, so I would pull the clutch in and use just the brakes to slow down, but when I found out how it actually works, I was introduced to a new more forceful method to slowing down, and I honestly DO NOT like it. The lower the rpm, the slower and gently the bike will slow down, whereas the higher the rpm, the more quickly the bike will slow down resulting in stronger negative force, which to me gives the feeling that the bike is trying to throw me forward, which is a scary feeling if not prepared for it.
I also think that for those who don't know how to properly engine brake, it would be a dangerous affair as the other night I was coming to a stop at a light, I was engine braking, and as I shifted into first gear I didn't think about my speed, so as I released the clutch I was doing close to 20 MPH and the bike forcefully slowed down, pushing me forward and I swear my rear tire locked up and skidded for about half a second until I pulled in the clutch again to brake on my own. So yeah, I'm getting the hang of it, but it just doesn't feel like I'm the one controlling how I stop.
As for performance, its more than I need. I may even prefer to have less power if it saved more gas. I like the sport bike look, but I don't want the sport bike performance, but that's not to say I haven't tried pushing the bike on the highway and I certainly have when there are big gaps between traffic. My max speed on a short but steady leveled road was 91MPH and there was definitely room for more speed to be had, but my max overall is 95 MPH on a short decline, which could have easily reach 100 at redline.
As for maintaining, its more of a pain that I originally thought, mostly because I didn't realize a mile was so short, so the gaps between when I need to maintain it are going to be shorter than I originally thought. I've just put over 400 miles on top of the original 500 and it makes me sad because its happened so fast and don't feel like I've been riding it THAT much.
I've managed to clean and lube the chain on my own and that was a real pain because I didn't have the tools to make the process easier and I decided NOT to try to change the oil myself so I took it to the only Honda Bike dealer closest to Austin which is about 20 miles south of downtown into the next town. My only regret in getting it serviced there was that I didn't watch them do it to make sure they actually did anything that I asked, but I'm sure they did, otherwise my bike will let me know soon.Lesson learned.
So at the moment my experience has been a learning process, but after just getting the bike, I'm really not all that excited about it at all. Its cool to ride and I really enjoy just cruising around town with no real destination to get to. I think my lack of enjoyment has much to do with the fact that I don't know any other riders, the fact that I feel more of a loner with the bike than I did without it (but I was expecting it to happen), and the fact that I DO NOT like the black version of this bike. Its just horribly bland to me. I wanted the red and silver, but they didn't have one available and used, so I will have to settle with it unless I decide to have it painted white and black, which I'll have to be careful about doing.
So that is my experience with the Honda CBR250R so far that I wanted to share. I certainly am not going to get rid of it. Its an investment and I will do my darndest to put my hard earned $4000 plus machine to good use!
If anyone has a comment to share or would like to give some advice it'd be welcomed!
So I got the bike almost a whole month ago (used with about 500 miles on it) and I have road it many times (more recently than initially). I still don't have a license or insurance so I've been limiting my rides so not to push my luck with legal issues. I also have no riding experience prior to riding it away from the dealership and am hoping I'll be able to take the riders courses this coming weekend so I can finally go for my license and insurance. Texas requires that you take the courses before you can even take the written test which makes legally starting on a bike more expensive than a car.
But anyway. At first riding was slightly scary because I always worried I would push the bike too hard while turning at slow speeds or would shift up improperly, but now I'm almost completely confident while riding it as after some practice, I realized the bike is much easier to handle than I thought and have manage to figure how to shift smoothly and quickly.
I also realized one night while riding that at least on the bike, that MPG ratings for motor vehicles are determined using a poor method. They base it on distance of highways and streets, when its really about how long the gas lasts at lowest appropriate RPMs. I realized this when I compared my first time riding to when I was more experienced, as when I started out, I would always shift up when I was at high rpms and at the end of about two hours of low speed riding my bike at lost about half its tank (according to the digital meter). Although now that I know the lowest rpms I can smoothly ride at in the gears, my gas lasts MUCH longer. It really has NOTHING to do with distance, just how much work your making your engine do. So I have no idea why they base MPGs on distance.
I also learned quickly that I didn't need to hold the clutch slightly in at all after I got the bike going, lol. I did that at first because I thought the bike would stall if I didn't have it slightly pulled in while riding. My left hand was killing me for holding it so long. lol
I have yet to pop the clutch and have no intention of mistreating the bike in such a way as it sounds and feels painful to the bike when I've misjudged to smoothly shift up and end up over revving and the bike slightly jerks and makes a popping sound when it gets into gear, so I've gotten better on smooth shifts.
My least favorite part about riding is engine braking. At first I didn't even attempt it because I didn't want to risk stalling the bike, so I would pull the clutch in and use just the brakes to slow down, but when I found out how it actually works, I was introduced to a new more forceful method to slowing down, and I honestly DO NOT like it. The lower the rpm, the slower and gently the bike will slow down, whereas the higher the rpm, the more quickly the bike will slow down resulting in stronger negative force, which to me gives the feeling that the bike is trying to throw me forward, which is a scary feeling if not prepared for it.
I also think that for those who don't know how to properly engine brake, it would be a dangerous affair as the other night I was coming to a stop at a light, I was engine braking, and as I shifted into first gear I didn't think about my speed, so as I released the clutch I was doing close to 20 MPH and the bike forcefully slowed down, pushing me forward and I swear my rear tire locked up and skidded for about half a second until I pulled in the clutch again to brake on my own. So yeah, I'm getting the hang of it, but it just doesn't feel like I'm the one controlling how I stop.
As for performance, its more than I need. I may even prefer to have less power if it saved more gas. I like the sport bike look, but I don't want the sport bike performance, but that's not to say I haven't tried pushing the bike on the highway and I certainly have when there are big gaps between traffic. My max speed on a short but steady leveled road was 91MPH and there was definitely room for more speed to be had, but my max overall is 95 MPH on a short decline, which could have easily reach 100 at redline.
As for maintaining, its more of a pain that I originally thought, mostly because I didn't realize a mile was so short, so the gaps between when I need to maintain it are going to be shorter than I originally thought. I've just put over 400 miles on top of the original 500 and it makes me sad because its happened so fast and don't feel like I've been riding it THAT much.
I've managed to clean and lube the chain on my own and that was a real pain because I didn't have the tools to make the process easier and I decided NOT to try to change the oil myself so I took it to the only Honda Bike dealer closest to Austin which is about 20 miles south of downtown into the next town. My only regret in getting it serviced there was that I didn't watch them do it to make sure they actually did anything that I asked, but I'm sure they did, otherwise my bike will let me know soon.
Lesson learned. So at the moment my experience has been a learning process, but after just getting the bike, I'm really not all that excited about it at all. Its cool to ride and I really enjoy just cruising around town with no real destination to get to. I think my lack of enjoyment has much to do with the fact that I don't know any other riders, the fact that I feel more of a loner with the bike than I did without it (but I was expecting it to happen), and the fact that I DO NOT like the black version of this bike. Its just horribly bland to me. I wanted the red and silver, but they didn't have one available and used, so I will have to settle with it unless I decide to have it painted white and black, which I'll have to be careful about doing.
So that is my experience with the Honda CBR250R so far that I wanted to share. I certainly am not going to get rid of it. Its an investment and I will do my darndest to put my hard earned $4000 plus machine to good use!
If anyone has a comment to share or would like to give some advice it'd be welcomed!
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try to enjoy your bike rides by yourself....slow down...and take the riders course as soon as you cangood...
So I got the bike almost a whole month ago (used with about 500 miles on it)
[sucks that you bought the bike 100 miles away from the 1st service which costs around $250-$300]S
I also realized one night while riding that at least on the bike, that MPG ratings for motor vehicles are determined using a poor method. They base it on distance of highways and streets, when its really about how long the gas lasts at lowest appropriate RPMs. . It really has NOTHING to do with distance, just how much work your making your engine do. So I have no idea why they base MPGs on distance.
[I am the confused one here...would you prefer they configure mpg's by someone shifting at high rpms at in lower gears for a whole tank? It would have what? maybe a rating of 20mpg then...and my jeep which gets 13mpg would now only have 5mpg]
I also learned quickly that I didn't need to hold the clutch slightly in at all after I got the bike going, lol. I did that at first because I thought the bike would stall if I didn't have it slightly pulled in while riding. My left hand was killing me for holding it so long. lol
[This one really confuses me...what reason on this gods green earth made you ever think you had to RIDE the clutch ...you will be lucky if you didn't glaze the clutch (which is very bad)]
My least favorite part about riding is engine braking and I honestly DO NOT like it. The lower the rpm, the slower and gently the bike will slow down, whereas the higher the rpm, the more quickly the bike will slow down resulting in stronger negative force, which to me gives the feeling that the bike is trying to throw me forward, which is a scary feeling if not prepared for it.
[Engine braking is as much a part of motorcycle riding as is accelerating]
I also think that for those who don't know how to properly engine brake, it would be a dangerous affair as the other night I was coming to a stop at a light, I was engine braking, and as I shifted into first gear I didn't think about my speed, so as I released the clutch I was doing close to 20 MPH and the bike forcefully slowed down, pushing me forward and I swear my rear tire locked up and skidded for about half a second until I pulled in the clutch again to brake on my own.
[have you read your manual under your seat, it clearly states that first gear is good to i think it says 12mph... that goes both ways, including engine braking...your inexperience is clearly showing here]
As for performance, its more than I need.
[I would agree]
My max speed on a short but steady leveled road was 91MPH and there was definitely room for more speed to be had, but my max overall is 95 MPH on a short decline, which could have easily reach 100 at redline.
[I would think that the last thing you need to be doing at this point is going anywhere top end...its dangerous enough when you are an experienced motorcycle rider]
I've managed to clean and lube the chain on my own and that was a real pain because I didn't have the tools to make the process easier
[What exactly is so hard about a rag and a spray can of chain lube?]
So at the moment my experience has been a learning process, but after just getting the bike, I'm really not all that excited about it at all.
[It is what you make of it i guess, lets just hope you dont learn the hard way while your out pushing the bike at 90+ mph..or at the very least you dont take someone else out during your learning process ]
o. I think my lack of enjoyment has much to do with the fact that I don't know any other riders, the fact that I feel more of a loner with the bike than I did without it
[I enjoy going out for long rides alone immensely...once again, i guess it it what ever choose you choose to make of it...you feel alone and abandoned simply because you would rather have an experienced group of guys leading the way around for you to follow?, or maybe your just one of those people who would always prefer to be around other people...I would prefer myself to ride where i want at the speed i want and not have someone else leading the way or having to woryy about matching there speed or direction or them mine.]
and the fact that I DO NOT like the black version of this bike. Its just horribly bland to me. I wanted the red and silver,
[I agree...it was always red/silver for me....black was never an option....they got in 3 blacks ones at my dealer over the 2 months I was waiting for my red]
S I will do my darndest to put my hard earned $4000 plus machine to good use!
[Maybe you should have just ordered a new red one..mine was $4500 TOTAL OUT THE DOOR PRICE...I would expect to have payed much less than $500 off for a used bike]
Hey man, I wanted the black but after a while I think the color is not that important, and I do kinda like the red after all. Try to get your MSF course and look for people around. Also on the being lonely, just go to a Starbucks put your helmet on the table and see how chicks will smile
You're welcome and no worries. It is excellent your course is coming up. You will learn lots along with confidence gaining. As you said you were impatient which tells me you want to learn. A healthy fear is good so lets keep it that way. Enjoy and have fun on your MSF course. Get as much out of it you can. Ride safe and keep the shiney side up
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