Long term review Honda CBR250R AC-2011 Ruby Red/Silver

Long term review Honda CBR250 R AC Ruby Red and Silver—2011, bought it at 13,000 Kms used and now at 23,000 kms.

Have been a biker for all my life, however lost touch for around 20 years from biking after getting married, hhhmmmmm, I found my love for biking back in Dubai in 2015 and since the place demands for biking are different went through the rigorous process of licensing in Dubai and through a lot of research as wanted a bike to ride off road and on road as the terrain in UAE is mixed and highways are scary fast, since I am not a huge speed demon, wanted something which gives me the pleasure of riding around 120 kmph comfortably and also go off road , so after a research of almost 5-6 months (5-6 months, that’s the licensing time) chose the Suzuki DR650 Dual Sport a very popular bike in the World for Round The World and Dual Sport riding experience, with amazing amount of upgrades and accessories available to tweak the bike to your specific requirements,

Very happily rode the bike for almost 11,000 Kms. In a year and ½ with almost 9,000 kms off road had to part with it as my time in the Gulf was over,

Back to India since the biker bug had bitten me badly started hunting for a bike to ride in India and through OLX zeroed in on a Royal Enfield Classic 500 cc, already painted matt black with blacked out rims, rally handle bars and with an aftermarket exhaust to match it was love at first sight, took a test ride liked it and bought it, it had its flaws, so got it fixed the chain, sprockets and brake linings a good through service and started my bike riding journey again in India,

The trouble started when started riding it with our group of bikers, any long distance rides and it was World of pain (Contact me separately to know the WOP), my point of telling you about the Suzuki becomes more relevant here as I used easily clock around 200 to 300  kms in a day in UAE without any heavy discomfort, despite of many sections riding off road while standing on the pegs with the kind of heat of the UAE, that Suzuki was also a Single Cylinder Thumper and again a motorcycle designed in the 80’s but super comfortable through long distance high speed travel, off road, gravel, sand, hill climbs, slate rock tracks, camel tracks, scrub, bush and it just used to go anywhere, had many spills also since off roading was quite new to me but the bike stood up as it is on many many gnarly trails and falls, a few dings and scratches which bike and me used to easily shake off and enjoy the rides,

After the World of pain experienced with the Royal Enfield, finally decided to part with it and the search began again and since I was now more inclined to ride paved roads more than off road in India, I zeroed down again on OLX for a used Honda CBR250R, which my friend was always talking about all the time, as being super comfortable, reliable and can easily do all India (in fact he has done Dahanu to Leh Ladakh and back on it 8000 Kms with no issues at all)

I zeroed in on a 2011, Red and Silver Honda CBR 250R, ABS version, which had done about 13,600 Kms and bought it for just 51,000/-, which was a very good deal for me as my last purchase from OLX had turned out to be a nightmare in terms or riding and the money spent on that RE was ridiculous and in the end it had come to a point where the whole engine needed to be done so sold it off informing the buyer clearly of the work to be done.

 In fact when I went it to see it, it was dark as I had gone to the sellers place in the evening after work, he had not been riding it since his accident and he had moved on to a 4 wheeler under his parents strict instructions, he took me to the bike and his family driver started the bike for me and as I was standing behind the bike, she started with a growl and the exhaust hit me on the face and ruffled my insides and my ownership was confirmed, looking at the tires, test ride, paint, instrument panel inspection were just a mere formality after that.

Next day in the morning had a good look at what needed to be done and started work on it with a good service, since it was lying in unused condition for quite some time, also on inspection noticed the existing Contigo’s were 2011 fits and now all cracked and super hard, so decided to change them immediately, since I did not want to lose the opportunity of riding mild off road if an opportunity presented itself, chose the Michelin City Pro 50% on road and 50% off road tread for the back and the Apollo Alpha H1 for the front as in fast riding on paved roads did not want to risk the front coming off in case some gravel is present on the Indian roads usually, the chain and sprockets were also quite worn out due to not being maintained properly and oiled regularly, bought the whole set from Honda dealership and replaced, also the whole set of brake pads and Spark plug cap has been replaced

The fun started with many many joyful long distance rides across Gujarat, without the world of pain and all rides became pleasurable and enjoyable, faced a few glitches on the way due a bad insulation on the spark plug cap, took some time to identify the problem but once it was identified it was pure fun all the way through, one major service was also done to clean the Throttle body, PC valve and full circuit check and service, all this was done at a professional mechanics workshop as the Service centers are not adequately equipped or ready for doing major services  

I did some mods also to it and quite happy with their performance, a small one was changing the front sprocket to 15 T, changed the exhaust to Akrapovic first copy, which again was found on OLX, but did not quite enjoy the noise and also did not improve the performance but anyone looking to make some noise can definitely take it off my hands, a luggage carrier has now even made it more convenient to fit on the saddle bags and tail bag, the seat which was bothering me a bit as the foam had become hard after enduring the heat of 9 years upgraded with a new layer of 25mm foam has brought it back to its original comfort, the handle bars height was raised by using Apache RTR 200 4V clipons which are direct fit onto the CBR as my arms are a bit short so too much pressure on my shoulders on the earlier rides and since making it super comfortable for long distance and definitely plans are on for a long distance tour across India,

It gave me more confidence and we did a 1100 Kms. Gujarat coastal ride with another of my buddies riding a Repsol version of the Honda CBR250R and we just flew through those kilometers in 2 days and without the World of pain and thoroughly enjoyed the ride, the blog on that ride is on the link below

Now my bike is at 23,000 Kms., had gone for short ride yesterday with the 15T sprocket with the sprocket cover back on, original exhaust back on it, it was easily cruising at 100 plus with miles left on, it with a lot of the throttle left on it, it’s an amazing feat of engineering and truly a design classic that needs to be celebrated by Honda, for making such a super reliable, comfortable, mile cruncher, fill it shut it just go motorcycle

Credits and Links

My instagram is Ajbikerr,

Blog on my 1100 Kms. Ride

https://1089-1.blogspot/2018/12/adding-10891-kilometers-to-my-life

www.webike.in for the front sprocket 15 Teeth from Kitaco

#hideoutcustoms for the Luggage carrier

www.mayasticker.com for the stickers of the panthers

www.100kmph.com  for 100 kmph stickers

www.punjabhonda.com for all the spares Chain and Sprocket set, Brake pad set, Air and oil Filters, Grips,

My local neighbourhood mechanic Mineshbhai for helping me with the handle bar mods

XS Overland, Sharmajee for the Front sprocket change, Wurth dry lubricant, Petrol additive

Useful information for all CBR owners

Models

CBR 250R            AC stands for Ruby Red/Silver 2011-2012 Model

                              AC stands for Millenium Red 2013 only

                              2AC All black

                              3AC Tri color

                              4AC Repsol edition