Honda fly Adhish Alawani to Thailand and give him a taste of their latest offering in the form of a quarter-litre machine – the CBR250R. Should the competition fear slaughter?
Photography: Rishad Cooper & Honda Press
Honda fly Adhish Alawani to Thailand and give him a taste of their latest offering in the form of a quarter-litre machine – the CBR250R. Should the competition fear slaughter?
Photography: Rishad Cooper & Honda Press
Five years ago, if a motorcycle enthusiast in India went out to buy a motorcycle that would give him all the kicks that he dreamt of, the best he could hope for was probably the Karizma. Then slowly the market started opening up with the grown up Pulsars. In 2008 Yamaha revolutionised the way a motorcycle was conceived in India by introducing the R15. A new era of performance motorcycles was unveiled. The pace at which the performance two-wheeler market was growing quickened and the Kawasaki Ninja 250R made an entry for the niche customers. While all this was happening, there were some engineers, somewhere in Japan, who were scratching their heads and pondering over the idea of making a motorcycle that would kill the competition in one fell blow. Perhaps, that is how the Honda CBR250R was born!
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The concept was simple – make a bike with a quarter-litre mill, enough juice to click at least 150 km/h, enough comfort for everyday use and styling to die for. With inputs from the south-east Asian market, the engineers came up with something seen in the images around these pages.
The Honda CBR250R is a stunner to look at. Drawing cues from the VFR1200F, the 250R has a (pseudo) twin fairing, a bulging headlamp, a sharp tail and a meaty tank. However, without a doubt, the CBR looks much better in its smaller form and proportional figure than does its elder sibling, the VFR. The exhaust looks a little bulky, but not so much out of place. The way the lines flow from the headlamp to the tail clearly show the amount of thought that has gone into the styling of the bike. The 250R’s properly gelling fairings are not just good looking, but offer a lot of functional value by providing good aerodynamics. Move on to the finer details of the bike and everything from the front visor, clip-on handlebar, switches, instrumentation console to the grab rails and foot pegs impresses you with its quality, styling and functionality.
If the aesthetics of the bike are the first thing that strike you (and they impress you to the extent of making you fall in love with them), then your expectations of the motorcycle are bound to rise all the more. The CBR250R lives up to them in a splendid manner!
After spending a day just looking at the motorcycle, I finally got a few minutes in the saddle the next day at the Bira Circuit in Pattaya. More excited than ever, I hopped on to the bike and went out for a few laps around the 2.41-km racetrack.
The first thing that one notices as soon as the motor comes to life is the typical single cylinder note along with Honda’s trademark smoothness. After a couple of orientation laps, I got off to a race-like start and the CBR250R responded without the slightest effort. Impressive! The engine revved easily through the low and mid ranges. However, the motor did not rev as briskly as one would expect it to considering its short stroke configuration (76 mm x 55 mm). A little hesitation was perceptible towards the top revs. The red line is at 10,500 rpm and yet the bike did go up to almost 10,800 before hitting the limiter.
Since I didn’t have data logging equipment with me, the top speeds on the speedometer were all that I could note. For the first four gears these were 50 km/h, 85 km/h, 110 km/h and 136 km/h respectively. Going by these and considering a couple of more cogs to choose, there is no doubt that the CBR will give one speeds past 150 km/h. The good part is that reaching those speeds does not take much time either thanks to the 26 PS (approximate peak power output in the Thailand spec motorcycle) and 23 Nm of torque. While the peak power is achieved at 8,500 rpm, the max torque is delivered at 5,500 rpm, according to the company. It was surprising that Honda did not quote these figures in their official press release or in the spec sheet of the motorcycle and talked about approximate figures only.
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Considering that there is quite a good amount of power that needs to be transferred to the tarmac, one expects equally good handling and grip. The CBR250R scores well on this front too with good handling from its diamond frame and monoshock prolink rear suspension. However, don’t expect earthshaking stuff, because the motorcycle is not meant for it. The CBR is basically aimed at everyday riding and weekend touring. It is meant to take on the traffic of the bustling metropolises and glide comfortably at 130-140 km/h on the highways. Honda have addressed these needs perfectly well. The suspension is slightly on the softer side to provide the requisite comfort and ease of riding. The footpeg–seat–handlebar geometry is relaxed and easy, neither too aggressive nor too upright. And don’t expect this Honda to demonstrate point-and-shoot precision, for it is not designed for hardcore track purposes. The power is put down to the surface through a 140/70-R17 tyre at the rear and a 110/70-R17 tyre at the front. 
The task of slowing down has been entrusted to disc brakes on both the wheels and, for the first time for a bike in this segment, the option of Combined-ABS is available. Seen in bigger machines like the Fireblade and the VFR, the Combined-ABS comes as a part of the bike’s safety features. The ABS unit here is not as advanced as that found on the CBR1000RR. In the event of hard braking, the ABS kicks in and prevents the wheels from locking up. However, the unit is a little jerky and pumps out the brake lever quite a lot. Furthermore, soft suspension at the front results in a tremendous nosedive under hard braking.
All this brings one to one most crucial question. The power is good and so is the handling. The bike offers great comfort as well. But will it sell in India? The answer is most definitely ‘Yes’. Honda have done the smartest thing. They have made a bike that is more powerful than any other bike manufactured in India at the moment and priced it at approximately Rs 1.5 lakh. Yes, you got that right. The CBR250R will carry a tag of a little less than Rs 1.5 lakh (ex-showroom) for the non-ABS version. As a package at that price, Honda have offered a deal that is too hard to resist. So start saving right away, because this Honda is expected to appear in Indian showrooms by April next year!
BIKE India smokes some fresh rubber at TVS Tyres’ facility in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and rediscovers interesting facts about the wheel. You can smell a lot of fun already, huh?
Roland Brown gets an impression of Yamaha’s 800cc urban brawlers, the FZ8 and the Fazer8
The FZ8 is playing its part, too, which is probably just as well. For if any manufacturer has ever needed a new bike to succeed, it’s probably Yamaha right now. The world’s second biggest bike firm had a horrendous 2009, losing more than US $2.3 billion, which cost its President his job. That seemed a bit unfair given that the firm built some superb bikes and won MotoGP and World Supersport championships plus a first ever Superbike title.
At least Yamaha have managed to come up with a pair of new models, the naked FZ8 and half-faired Fazer8, which look suited to these impoverished times. The 779cc fours are intended to plug the gap between the entry-level, 600cc XJ6 and Diversion, and the 1000cc FZ1 and Fazer. (The FZ6 is discontinued.) And because some parts are shared with the larger machine, the new bikes were relatively cheap to develop. 
Some chassis parts are borrowed from the FZ1, including the aluminium beam frame and swing-arm. Suspension is relatively simple, with non-adjustable 43mm usd forks, and a shock that’s tunable only for preload. Bodywork — in white, black or blue — is new, although styling has a strong FZ family resemblance, both with the cut-down FZ8 and the Fazer’s taller, half-faired look.
The FZ8 also worked well when I wasn’t in a hurry. It’s reasonably light, and its tank and seat are slightly narrower than the FZ1’s, so average height riders should be able to get both feet on the ground. Footrests are set 10mm lower and 15mm further back, adding some welcome legroom. Pillion passengers won’t be so happy, though, unless you’ve paid extra for the accessory grab-handles.
Handling was pretty good, with the Yamaha’s agility again proving useful when flicking round the inevitable gaggles of multi-coloured cyclists. The bike was stable at speed, and its suspension was soft enough to give a smooth ride, even on one short stretch of pot-holed road on the otherwise smoothly-surfaced route. Steering was light, thanks to reasonably sporty geometry (25 degrees rake, 109mm trail) plus the leverage provided by the wide and slightly raised bars.
The Yamaha certainly cornered well enough to be fun, but when ridden hard it lacked the tautness of a good sports bike, and unlike the FZ1 it doesn’t give much scope for fine-tuning. When under pressure the Kayaba forks felt slightly soft and vague, especially when braking into a turn. And although the Soqi shock generally worked well, it occasionally felt a bit harsh when the bike was accelerating hard out of bumpier bends.
The highlight of a memorable day was following another rider through a series of 150km/h curves on the D3 near Ollières, the bike railing through with the power on while I gripped the raised bars tight with the adrenaline flowing. That section was followed by a couple of long straights on which the Yam sat smoothly at an indicated 170km/h until my neck muscles were starting to complain.
A naked bike isn’t likely to be outstandingly practical, but the FZ8 was useful in most respects. Fuel capacity is 17 litres, good for 200km or more which is fine for a naked bike. The seat was comfortable, mirrors excellent, finish good. The list of accessories includes flyscreen, heated grips, crash bungs and a centre-strand, plus the grab-handles that the Fazer gets as standard. There’s also a top-box, though strangely no hard panniers.
On a gorgeous spring day in Provence, it was fun to charge around on the naked FZ8, but Yamaha’s new four comes equipped for cold climates and winter weather too. The Fazer8 is basically the same bike with the addition of a protective half-fairing. It also gets those pillion grab-handles as standard fitment. In some markets it will come with ABS as standard, in which case it will also get a belly-pan to hide the anti-lock parts.
This allowed effortless cruising at 150km/h, which had soon become tiring on the naked bike. It’s a key difference that makes the Fazer a potentially excellent long-haul machine, although it would be limited by the tank’s range of not much more than 200km, depending on riding style. Some riders will be disappointed that although a top-box is available, the accessory list doesn’t include hard panniers.
Mahindra’s assault on the Indian two-wheeler market commences with the unveiling of the Stallio and the Mojo. Here’s a photo feature and full dope on the two motorcycles 
The bike features fully digital instrumentation that is reminiscent of the one on Mahindra’s Rodeo scooter, but with chrome surrounds this time. LEDs are used for the tail-lamps and pilot headlamps, however the former looks jaded already. The single-bar grab rail does not help matters either. The front is slightly better in that department, with an ‘inverted arrow design’ bikini fairing and the aforementioned twin LED pilot lamps. Another aspect of the Stallio worth mentioning is the pass-light switch which is still a novelty amongst Indian commuter bikes although the bike does lose out on bar-end weights which would have reduced the vibrations at the handlebar. The fuel tank cap is also fully flush with the tank itself, which is done up in matte black, lending the bike a sporty appeal. 
The Mahindra Stallio will be available in two variants – self start/cast alloy wheels/digital console and kickstart/spoke wheels which are available at Rs.44,699/- and 41,199/- (ex showroom Pune), respectively and inDerby Red, Colt Black, Equus Blue, Buckskin Yellow and Ranch Green colours.At this price point the bike will look at ruffling the feathers of the likes of Bajaj Discover 100, Hero Honda Splendor / Passion, TVS Star City and the recently launched Yamaha YBR 110, when it goes on sale in the coming weeks to make the most of the festive season.
The front suspension is courtesy Italian specialists Paioli, and is complemented by a horizontally mounted monoshock at the rear. Radially-mounted calipers and discs (the stylish 320mm petal disc at the front has the largest diameter amongst Indian bikes) handles the braking duties at both front and rear. When it launches, the Mojo will also be the first ever motorcycle in India to sport Pirelli tubeless radials as standard – 100/80 and 150/60 medium compounds at the front and rear respectively. The Mojo (we wish Mahindra would have kept the codename they used in the developmental stages – Diablo) will go on sale early next year, for approximately Rs 1.75 lakh (ex showroom Pune) and be available in two colours – red and black. Customers also have the option of customising their bikes with a range of decals from the showroom itself and both bikes will come with a comprehensive four year warranty. With big names like Ducati Energia, Paioli, Pirelli, J Juan (Spanish manufacturer of brake calipers) and Engines Engineering behind the two motorcycles, expect them to deliver the best of both worlds during that period.
It has got loads of chrome, classic attitude and it is perfect cruising material. Better still, it’s on its way to India. Adhish Alawani delivers the exclusive ride report of Hyosung ST7 Photography: Sanjay Raikar 
