[furious_blue]

I just finished a week on the bike getting in a last big ride before the weather turns in the Pacific Northwest where I was headed. I have a few impressions that stick in my mind about the bike and this trip.

With the SAENG wind deflector that I added to the stock fairing, the wind/rain protection is excellent. Nothing wanting there.

On cool mornings I used a electric jacket with no apparent ill effects to the electrical system. The jacket draws more current than a vest because the sleeves are heated.

The Corbin seat pretty much disappeared underneath me. I know that the stock saddle would have forced me to stop more often, but I prefer not to have a pain in the rear be the reason to pull over.

The bike is fine maintaining 65-75 mph all day (as many others have pointed out). I do wonder how long it'll last though. The highest mileage bike that I have is my 70,000+ mile Blackbird. Figure that the 250 crankshaft and valves have to cycle at 2x the frequency of the Blackbird's at 75 mph in top gear and a rule of thumb would have the 250 going for at least 35,000 miles... It occurs to me that maybe the 10-30 oil is better for such a high revving engine than 10-40.. don't know.

It would be perfect for touring (for me) if the bars were about 1 inch higher and 1 inch back.

The chain didn't show any additional slack after the trip. I only lubed the chain once at about 1000 miles after riding through a rain storm.

The new Racer 'Multitop' gloves that I got for this trip are completely waterproof (as they claim that they are). I had some waterproof winter gloves but I got the 'Multitop' gloves because they aren't so bulky and it wasn't going to be really cold on this trip.

The bike handles getting dirty from rain really well. The upper part of the bike doesn't get any spray. The side fairing got just a little. All the muck is on the engine cases and the coarse lower fairing. Cleaning the lower fairing will be easy since there's no delicate paint finish to worry about (no news here for most of you I guess).

I notice how there isn't a lot of bug splatter on the bike while by way of contrast my helmet was constantly getting it. The sharp edge of the headlight got it the most. Every other part of the fairing must have quite a 'layer of air' flowing around it.

I changed the oil and filter before the trip. Honda full synthetic 10w-30. At 1,000 miles in, the oil in the sight glass shows no darkening of the oil yet (makes me feel better that the rings have probably seated properly during breakin).

The bike now has about 5,000 miles on it and the rear tire looks barely worn. The stock rear will last more than 10,000 miles, easy.

Except for not being able to take off like a rocket from 70-80 mph, for a solo rider, touring on this bike doesn't feel much different than on a full liter sport touring bike.

Good bike.

Photo: An impressively expansive lava flow in Central Oregon, where the lava flow on the right stopped and did not intrude on the forest to the left.

 

[ou827]

A good review

 

[CBR-STL]

Very nice post! 70000 on a Blackbird...impresive. I find it hard to believe that you would consider or like the cbr250 after a Blackbird but it sure makes me feel good and thrifty to hear that. Thanks for sharing. I too was wondering about moving up the handle bars for touring. Finally, got a Dowco tailbag last night myself. I can finally take something on my bike with me! I do 4/5 hr. rides but yet to take a road trip on a scoot. I think it's finally time! Glad to hear about the Corbin. I may purchase that eventually?

 

[r100]

Thanks for that writeup.
Synthetic vs dino oil is (I think) a bigger difference than 10w30 vs 10w40.
The 10w40 is probably better in very hot weather, but with thermostaticly controlled liquid cooling it's not a big deal.

 

[sendler]

8 Days

How did you make 8 days out of your trip. Did you camp out or stay at hotels?

 

[bungie4]

Way to go furious!

I just came back from Southern Kentucky last week (on my FJR). Good trip, but we spent a couple of hours bombing around SE Ohio where the roads are 'return worthy'. I'd so love to take my CBR down there.

 

[spdklls]

Awesome right up dude...I too am so far impressed with my Corbin...Its much more comfortable and I can ride for much longer than I ever could have on the stock.
If I have a complaint about the CBR , it is riding at night on curvy country roads , they can be a bit tricky since the headlight is on the fairing and all the light stays pointed straight ahead....some Denali2 LED driving lights this spring at income tax should fix that problem

BTW, How old is the lava flow?

 

[CBR250R]

It would be perfect for touring (for me) if the bars were about 1 inch higher and 1 inch back.

The new Racer 'Multitop' gloves that I got for this trip are completely waterproof (as they claim that they are).

Except for not being able to take off like a rocket from 70-80 mph, for a solo rider, touring on this bike doesn't feel much different than on a full liter sport touring bike.

Good bike.

Thanks for the insight and recommendations. I agree with the bars - it would make touring on the CBR250R more comfortable for me too.

I haven't found any gloves that can stand rain on a motorcycle yet. All waterproof gloves have leaked like sponges. I'll have to check those ones out!

I like what you said about the bike being a fine touring mount. Sure - it won't be as comfortable as a bike built specifically for touring. But I've ridden with some people on bigger touring bikes and this bike holds it own quite well. Granted it won't cruise at 90+ mph, but most of the touring bikes I've ridden along with seem to prefer cruising at around 60-65 mph anyway. They prefer to "relax and enjoy the experience".

Mike

 

[Rick]

watch that rack!

I just finished a week on the bike getting in a last big ride before the weather turns in the Pacific Northwest where I was headed. I have a few impressions that stick in my mind about the bike and this trip.

With the SAENG wind deflector that I added to the stock fairing, the wind/rain protection is excellent. Nothing wanting there.

On cool mornings I used a electric jacket with no apparent ill effects to the electrical system. The jacket draws more current than a vest because the sleeves are heated.

The Corbin seat pretty much disappeared underneath me. I know that the stock saddle would have forced me to stop more often, but I prefer not to have a pain in the rear be the reason to pull over.

The bike is fine maintaining 65-75 mph all day (as many others have pointed out). I do wonder how long it'll last though. The highest mileage bike that I have is my 70,000+ mile Blackbird. Figure that the 250 crankshaft and valves have to cycle at 2x the frequency of the Blackbird's at 75 mph in top gear and a rule of thumb would have the 250 going for at least 35,000 miles... It occurs to me that maybe the 10-30 oil is better for such a high revving engine than 10-40.. don't know.

It would be perfect for touring (for me) if the bars were about 1 inch higher and 1 inch back.

The chain didn't show any additional slack after the trip. I only lubed the chain once at about 1000 miles after riding through a rain storm.

The new Racer 'Multitop' gloves that I got for this trip are completely waterproof (as they claim that they are). I had some waterproof winter gloves but I got the 'Multitop' gloves because they aren't so bulky and it wasn't going to be really cold on this trip.

The bike handles getting dirty from rain really well. The upper part of the bike doesn't get any spray. The side fairing got just a little. All the muck is on the engine cases and the coarse lower fairing. Cleaning the lower fairing will be easy since there's no delicate paint finish to worry about (no news here for most of you I guess).

I notice how there isn't a lot of bug splatter on the bike while by way of contrast my helmet was constantly getting it. The sharp edge of the headlight got it the most. Every other part of the fairing must have quite a 'layer of air' flowing around it.

I changed the oil and filter before the trip. Honda full synthetic 10w-30. At 1,000 miles in, the oil in the sight glass shows no darkening of the oil yet (makes me feel better that the rings have probably seated properly during breakin).

The bike now has about 5,000 miles on it and the rear tire looks barely worn. The stock rear will last more than 10,000 miles, easy.

Except for not being able to take off like a rocket from 70-80 mph, for a solo rider, touring on this bike doesn't feel much different than on a full liter sport touring bike.

Good bike.

Photo: An impressively expansive lava flow in Central Oregon, where the lava flow on the right stopped and did not intrude on the forest to the left.

Be careful and watch for cracks at the base of your honda rack. I had a similar setup with a 52L givi box. The rack cracked then broke after a few trips. The design is flawed, with the peak stress point located on a FLAT bar instead of a CIRCULAR tube, which would have handled the stress easily. Dealer told me they are having many returns and the rack is NOT being produced any more. it MIGHT be redesigned for future release. I could not get a refund since, admittedly, I used the rack over its max gross weight. (but still, a full tube construction would have not broken)

 

[Ibex250R]

The Corbin seat pretty much disappeared underneath me. I know that the stock saddle would have forced me to stop more often, but I prefer not to have a pain in the rear be the reason to pull over.

Sounds like a cool fun trip! Glad to hear the 250 did not disappoint
How long have you had your corbin for? Others here on the forum have mentioned that the break in period is a bit long. Any thoughts?

 

[furious_blue]

>> I find it hard to believe that you would consider or like the cbr250 after a Blackbird but it sure makes me feel good and thrifty to hear that.

The Blackbird (like all the heavy 'most powerful' type bikes) is great fun in open spaces. A good share of my riding is commuting in urban environments, not a great place for a big rather unwieldy bike. I've had a 250 sized bike in mind for many years. I'm glad that I procrastinated until the CBR250 was released. I don't think I ever made use of the Blackbird's capabilities but once, doing an indicated 165 mph down a long straight. Doing that just once, was enough. For a lot of the riding that I do, sensible touring and commuting, I have had to question burning up those expensive tires and chain and sprocket sets for the kind of rides that my old CB350 did just fine for way less money on parts. (edit: and the CBR250 with it's balancer is way more comfortable on longer journeys than my buzzy CB350 ever was).


>>How did you make 8 days out of your trip. Did you camp out or stay at hotels?

I'm an older guy now. My days of long weeks of riding AND camping are over. I wimp out and retire to a motel/hotel at night. Just as well. I took video footage of almost the entire trip so a bit of time was spent each night transferring the video footage from the SD cards to a laptop hard drive. As my neighbor across the street observed: 'we aren't getting any younger. It'd be good to have some of these trips on video so that when we're in the retirement home we can have the rides to look at when we can no longer do them'. To this I totally agree ! I'm also not quite as rabid a rider as I used to be so what fewer trips I'm going to do, better grab the videos while I'm doing them.


>> I just came back from Southern Kentucky last week (on my FJR).

Sweet ! If the FJR had been available when I got my Blackbird, that's the bike I would have gotten instead. Nowadays I guess it'd be the Kwacker Concours-14


>> If I have a complaint about the CBR , it is riding at night on curvy country roads ,

Country roads at night scare me the most. Mainly roads in deer country. My usual tactic for navigating these roads at night is to wait for a car to come up, let them pass and get ahead of me. Then I use them both for having their headlights light up the road way ahead, and more importantly, to let them hit the deer that darts into the road ahead instead of having me hit it. This is the one time when I'm glad to have a car in front of me on a country road.


>> But I've ridden with some people on bigger touring bikes and this bike holds it own quite well. Granted it won't cruise at 90+ mph, but most of the touring bikes I've ridden along with seem to prefer cruising at around 60-65 mph anyway. They prefer to "relax and enjoy the experience".

Agree... on bigger bikes, cruising at 90+ doesn't really feel any different than cruising at 65 (except for the scenery changes happening a little quicker).. but to the PO-lice doing 90+ is an affront. We cease being human beings and become silhouette targets in their eyes..
On this trip I saw numerous instances of speeders being pulled over by the most INNOCENT looking cars that happened to be police cars. The best stealth car being the bright RED unmarked performance sedan with blacked out windows in Washington.. If I had done this trip on the Blackbird, there's a chance that I might have been one of those in the 'got pulled over' category. On the CBR250 I just cruised by these scenes with an invisible halo over my head from being such a good citizen.



>> Be careful and watch for cracks at the base of your honda rack. I had a similar setup with a 52L givi box. The rack cracked then broke after a few trips. The design is flawed, with the peak stress point located on a FLAT bar instead of a CIRCULAR tube, which would have handled the stress easily.

Thank you SO much for the warning ! I had my concerns about the design of the rack the day I installed it. Mainly I can't tell what grade of steel that flat piece is AND I wondered if the welds would hold. I will stop carrying my heavy laptop on in the box while I look for another rack. I think I'll ask my local dealer if they can get hold of the GIVI rack.


>> How long have you had your corbin for? Others here on the forum have mentioned that the break in period is a bit long. Any thoughts?

I haven't had any issues with the seat not feeling right since day 1. I can't tell if it's 'settled or broken in'. I only know that I just sit in it without complaints I weigh about 170 (trying to get that down to 160, a week of eating convenient road food hasn't helped that much !).


>> BTW, How old is the lava flow?

While I was there I only knew that 'it was pretty old'... Some digging around and it looks like it has been there since at least the last ice age.. The pictures don't do justice to how vast that flow is. If anyone's ever in central Oregon it's worth a side trip on Highway 242. Added plus: if you're on the 250 it's a narrow tight road up and down. Just the kind of road in which the 250 shines the brightest

Happy riding !

 

[thaicbr]

just found these on the net..37mm riser bars.. look nice if a bit expensive (i'm cheap)

Drivenracing.com

the riser clip ons

 

[250 Tom]

Wow 2000 miles on the little 250. You must be a real iron ass. Every corbin seat ive ever seen was rock hard, they dont seem to me like they would be at all comfortable. Are they vary expensive? Thanks for sharing the info on your trip. Vary good.