210 replies to this topic

[arn]

This is not actually related to this trip, but to the next. Throw away those spanners and buy good quality combo spanners such as Eastman/Gedore/Taparia. It's unlikely that you will need them right away, but if you DO need them.....

Coz this is what happened the first time I tried to use one of these "drop forged" products of the world famous "Moonlight" company.

[NikhilB]

Loved the ABS explanation doc... Very eloquent and insightful... Thanks a ton...

[NeoAkshay]

Doc, need some advice on modding an R-165 seat for touring. Will PM you.. sorry for the OT.

Lovely review of the CBR. Gave me a very REAL impression of what owning the bike would
feel like. thanks a ton!

[satyenpoojary]

LMAO On the 'handy' tools doc

[arn]

I think I got the vibes licked.

Ride coming up, will post the mods if successful (and they should be). Feels like a different bike, and I dont miss the 5K alarm or the 6.5K rattle either

[nav75]

So you managed to replace the entire front fairing.  

Going where to and for how long? Need company?

[Revmaster]

Met Arn yesterday. he was on his way to Guhagar to chill out for a day. Rode his bike too - it has begun its journey away from its stock form already . Rode it for a good 30-40 km.

Just before the pillion seat we have a pair of hooks coming out to hold the bungee cords. Neat mod. The bar grips have been given some additional thickness. I personally like it slightly thin, but it's strictly subjective. Valves are currently making a lot of noise, very jarring. it'll take a bit before the service guys fix the issue, Arn said.

Loved the handling of the bike, very reassuring.

[arn]

1 month update

The bike has done almost 4000 km and we have an unhealthy high rpm rattle from the engine.

What has become apparent is that Honda are at sea regarding the spares. Oil filters have just recently made an appearance at the service stations. Shims are still nonexistent. So I am supposed to go once to chnage the filter and then again to change the shims (as and if they become available).

Even more irritating, the Honda website has been set up such that that you cannot possibly contact anybody via the "contact us" page. There is no mail ID, or any other contact information of any sort.

It gets better. The Pune office (02027240026) was not contactable the whole morning, with neither the operator picking up the phone nor the service department (ext 114).

Has the Hero group bought over Honda with the vast amounts of money they have made reselling Karizma body panels???

[PatienceWins]

This is the most honest review I have read on CBR 250.

I am 6' 2" and do not find the seating postion of CBR comfortable. Otherwise, I find the bike meeting my requirements. Most probably, I will go for CBR as I do not find any other choice in that budget. I hope I will get used to the riding position.

Doc, I am keenly watching the modifications you are doing to your CBR, especially the seat. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.

[satyenpoojary]

Doc, is there a run in proceedure documented in the manual?

[arn]

satyenpoojary, on 12 June 2011 - 11:37 PM, said:

Doc, is there a run in proceedure documented in the manual?

Yes, it mentions that during the first 500 km, you avoid "full throttle starts (what IS that??), and rapid acceleration". At least none of that BS about crawling along at 30, then 40 then 50 and so on.

My actual "break in" as it were consisted of avoiding keeping it at any fixed rpm over the first 400 or so km, with a max of 7000rpm, and doing repeated acceleration and deceleration to help seat the rings. That and the first oil change at 50km.

@ patience : thanks for the kind words. The seat mods are more or less done, there is only one very minor change over what has been shown in the thread (beveling the rear aspect of the front seat), otherwise nothing more is planned as far as rider comfort is concerned. I am planning to put something in place to dissuade assholes from sitting on it while it is parked, though.

[arn]

Spares update:

Basically there are none yet. No valve shims.

The customer care official Mr Sandeep Rai is not replying to any mails and neither is he picking up the phone, as of 1125am today.

Honda has clearly been learning things from their erstwhile Indian collaborator.

[Samy]

So can we say that the CBR has qualified as a 140kmph all day bike, leaving the crappy seat aside.

Own a zma and doing 120kmph for 300kms nonstop is like pushing her to the limits. Though am impressed with zma outright after a bullet, wish it had longer cables for a more upright position.


Don't want to touch any cbu or ckd's due to the price fall it might go through next year.


So can we say that CBR250 fits the bill due to longer touring range and decent 140kmph capability.


Thanks
Samy

[Silver Phantom]

arn, on 13 June 2011 - 12:13 AM, said:

I am planning to put something in place to dissuade assholes from sitting on it while it is parked, though.

First try a Biometric Starter. The bike recognizes your fingerprint and then only starts.
Next try, retractable Seat Blades. Instant Vasectomy, to the @$$#0(&$.
Just ensure that they are tucked safely away when you want to mount the steed

[arn]

Coming back to my bike, the service centres STILL have not been supplied with the set of shims, with the liars at Honda promising them that "it will come in 2 days" for the past 3 weeks.

Finally I got fed up and went there and asked them to open the head so that we could MANUFACTURE the shims. A lot needs to be removed for this as all the body panels have been designed such that to get one off, you have to work on the adjoining ones as well. To cut a long story short the valve clearances were off by as much as .06 on the exhaust valves - so we realized what we had to fit.

The problem - shims are VERY hard. So lathe work will have to be followed by surface grinding to the necessary thickness, followed by hardening. Hopefully the "new" shims should be with me by Monday (or if I'm lucky the factory made things will be available by then), so I can then look forward to a smooth engine developing the power it is supposed to.