[NinjaNife]

I'm looking to purchase my first bike, and would love some insight into my purchase. I'm a college student who is somewhat tight on cash, so the price and mpg of the 2012 CBR250R looks great to me, but some of my friends have been telling me that the CBR250R might not have enough power for the highway (most of my current driving is in the city, but I want to be able to take it out on the highway to go to/from home if needed).

I have seen a lot of different opinions on the forums, but I would like any new (or old) ideas you may have. Is the CBR250R powerful enough to take out on the highway at 75-80mph (while still having enough power to pull out of any bad situations), or should I look for an alternative? Any sport bike 500cc or under would work for me (mpg is an important factor; probably can't go for anything less than 50mpg); I can't afford the insurance on anything bigger.

Just as a final note; if I were to get a CBR250R, I would probably be putting a Two Brothers exhaust and a K&N filter in it just to help with the power, and maybe change the gearing a bit. So I guess the final question is would a CBR250R with the above mods be good enough for the highway? Sorry if that got repetitive lol. Thanks for your help.

Brendan "NinjaNife" West

*EDIT*
If this should have been in the "General Discussion" section of the forums, please move it or let me know and I will repost. I wasn't sure if this was a performance issue or a discussion. Thanks.

 

[BoiledEgg]

Well... ninjaboy...

I encourage you to use the search function as this question has been addressed multiple times...

Good luck

 

[Matao87]

I've done over 400 miles in one day at about 80mph most of the time only stopping for gas. She'll do it just fine and get about 60mpg at those speeds. The Ninjette will do it too, but get about 40-45mpg. (ridden a lot with a buddy with a Ninja 250)
Around town expect 70+ mpg. I live outside DC, if this bike can handle I-95 and the other Rts. through nothern Virginia, it can handle any public road.

 

[NinjaNife]

Well... ninjaboy...

I encourage you to use the search function as this question has been addressed multiple times...

Good luck

Would you mind giving an example? I have been trying to use the search function, but I haven't seen a thread listing alternatives bikes with under 500cc.. Maybe I am using the wrong search parameters? Thanks for the help.

Brendan "NinjaNife" West

 

[NinjaNife]

I've done over 400 miles in one day at about 80mph most of the time only stopping for gas. She'll do it just fine and get about 60mpg at those speeds. The Ninjette will do it too, but get about 40-45mpg. (ridden a lot with a buddy with a Ninja 250)
Around town expect 70+ mpg. I live outside DC, if this bike can handle I-95 and the other Rts. through nothern Virginia, it can handle any public road.

Thanks, this is exactly what I was looking for! Out of curiosity, do you have any mods on your bike, or is it 100% stock? And were you able to accelerate at all at those speeds?

Brendan "NinjaNife" West

 

[Steve_47]

Welcome to the forum NinjaNife. I use my CBR250R mostly for commuting. My daily trip is 74 miles total, with 90% of it being highway miles. It does quite well in the 60 - 70 mph range. In town this little bike rules. I enjoy riding it both in town and on the highway, and don't feel like I would get in trouble due to a lack of power at the speeds I mentioned.

It really depends what you want out of the CBR250R. If your looking for a fun, good looking, easy to ride, commuter bike, that has a low buy in price, gets excellent gas milage, is fast enough for the highway, works very well in town, has amazingly low insurance rates, then this bike would be a good choice.

But if part of your criteria would be traveling a 75-80 mph, rolling on the throttle and leaving everyone else far behind, then no this is not the bike you want. It's a 250 and you will be working around the upper limits somewhere between 80 - 90 mph for most people.

 

[Aufitt]

If its your first bike you dont need mods, they make no difference anyway.

regardless of where you ride it, improving your skills is what 'makes it go on the highway'

 

[Conundrum]

...regardless of where you ride it, improving your skills is what 'makes it go on the highway'

I'd say more improving skills is what makes it go faster in the twisties/keep up with larger bikes. As for going fast on the highway, it doesn't take much riding skill to twist the throttle 100% and try to keep up with the flow on a straight highway.

 

[etiainen]

Crossed America with it and had a passenger on the back.

I'd say it can do highway.

 

[Aufitt]

I'd say more improving skills is what makes it go faster in the twisties/keep up with larger bikes. As for going fast on the highway, it doesn't take much riding skill to twist the throttle 100% and try to keep up with the flow on a straight highway.

Riding at 90-100mph might not seem like you dont need any skill... till things start going pearshaped VERY quickly.
And that is what worries me about this attitude of new riders buying a cbr then 2 months & 2000miles later they say its not good enough.

 

[mstree09]

I rode mine to Duluth, MN from the Twin Cities metro area, about 150 miles, and with a passenger I could still manage 80-85mph with no tuck. I also drive an underpowered Saturn S-series, and never have I ever been in a situation where more power is the answer in that car as well. There is almost always a better way out, but we Americans think speed and size is a replacement for paying attention and proper training.

 

[Soul Searcher]

Basics, You've Got to Learn the Basics First.

Just some information to Think About.

To accomplish the type of Speed you Desire.

Your Motorcycle must be able to exceed the speed of all the orher Vehicles on your choosen Route.

At this Speed, how much time are you looking forward to see what is in front of you. Also in your time you will have to be looking for unforseen Dangerous Conditions, which also includes Law Enforcement Officer(s).

An example to think about.

You are at 80 mph on your motorcycle.
Your are approaching a vehicles in your path that is at 40 mph.

Question. In less than 1/4 of a Second. What is your closing rate, in Feet Per Second. Do you have enough time to advoid a Crash?
.

 

[TheoR]

If your goal is to go 75-80mph tops, then you'll have absolutely no problem w/ it, even if the bike is completely stock. 80mph comes pretty easy, even w/o a tuck.

Now, if you want to go over 85mph, then it's work.

 

[Aufitt]

Last December I rode 500km (City to home) in 3.3/4 hrs with a fuel stop, and didnt go under 152kph the whole way (up big hills) and topped out at 171kph a couple times.

yes it can go on the highway, in 40 degree heatwave Aussie summer.

I know the road, been travelling it for 30-40 yrs, wind up for the overtaking lanes, not sit near cars & trucks, love the sweeping bends, know where the country cops always sit.. anticipation for wildlife etc... a whole lot going on at once and even more could go wrong in a millesecond .... REGARDLESS OF HP.


*However, those speeds are best left for the track,
but I wanted to give it a good hard run while it was still in road trim to free the engine up a bit, did 1350km in 2 days that weekend.

I still got 47-49 US mpg.

 

[TheoR]

Last December I rode 500km (City to home) in 3.3/4 hrs with a fuel stop, and didnt go under 152kph the whole way (up big hills) and topped out at 171kph a couple times.

yes it can go on the highway, in 40 degree heatwave Aussie summer.

I know the road, been travelling it for 30-40 yrs, wind up for the overtaking lanes, not sit near cars & trucks, love the sweeping bends, know where the country cops always sit.. anticipation for wildlife etc... a whole lot going on at once and even more could go wrong in a millesecond .... REGARDLESS OF HP.


*However, those speeds are best left for the track,
but I wanted to give it a good hard run while it was still in road trim to free the engine up a bit, did 1350km in 2 days that weekend.

I still got 47-49 US mpg.

Those speeds are quite impressive, Aufitt. You must have been in a full tuck. I don't think I've gone over 145kph.

I do agree w/ you that speed like that belong on the track. Too many things can go wrong on the streets.

 

[Aufitt]

yet still that kind of riding is nothing compared to the belting i give it on the track.. guess Americans are gonna tell me the cbr cant do that either??

Bikes have gearboxes.. the cbr is terribly overgeared, so use it.

 

[TheAOP]

New riders have no business learning on 500cc+ bikes.

 

[Aufitt]

What i want to understand is then psycology that comes up with this '250's cant do this or that blah blah' phenomenon.

My mind imagines some lard sitting bolt upright with a death grip of the bars in 6th gear totally unaware or their surroundings and the bike goes nowhere... so he thinks the bike is ****************************** and he needs a Hireabus because its 'better' ???

But.. i'd like to have more faith in motorcyclists, common sense, road safety, and humanity than that.

Ive seen that type of rider turn up to level trackdays and they come ask me wtf have i done to 'that learner bike'
I tell em Ive got a fully worked flux capacitor.

 

[knersis]

Riding at 90-100mph might not seem like you dont need any skill... till things start going pearshaped VERY quickly.
And that is what worries me about this attitude of new riders buying a cbr then 2 months & 2000miles later they say its not good enough.

Aufitt, you're hitting the nail right on the head there!!

...FINISH HIM!!

My mind imagines some lard sitting bolt upright with a death grip of the bars in 6th gear totally unaware or their surroundings and the bike goes nowhere... so he thinks the bike is ****************************** and he needs a Hireabus because its 'better' ???

 

[Conundrum]

Aufit, I've never seen those types of speeds on my bike, as the fastest sustained I could ever reach without going full tuck is about 145km/h indicated. I'm also not debating the need for avoidance and mental skills when riding at those speeds, I'm just saying the "it's only a 250 and can't do x" argument holds less weight on the twisties (where a light bike can shine) than it does on the superslab.

Granted, each time I've had it on our major highway here (401) in traffic, I've felt a little uncomfortable, as the giant SUVs, pickups, and cars are doing approximately 120-140km/h around me. This means I'm quite often in someone's blind, and cannot easily accelerate and get ahead of them. This is where I'd be more happy with our 250 if it had say 10 more rwhp and could easily hit 160-170km/h without doing a 100% tuck. This is why if something like the new Ninja 300R had existed when I was first getting a bike, I likely would have went that route vs the CBR250R.

Off the highway however, where limits are typically max 80ish (and people don't go over 100), this bike really does shine and is still in it's element completely.