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2011 Honda CBR 250

Chim Chim said:
Honda decides what the consumer should want and then plows blithely ahead with whatever jackassery they've decided we need. VTEC?, linked brakes? giant cruiser/scooter abortion thing? bloat monster VFR? NT700? who the fuck was clamoring for any of these things?
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Dood, I am sooo sorry. My bad. I was baked and actually looking for Cheetohs when I asked for that stuff. I was just as surprised as everyone else when they actually made it. :facepalm
 
Var said:
You are exactly right, but for the same money honda can put in a 450 instead. If they put out a 450 for the same money I bet nobody would complain. You can buy an 883 sportster for 7k brand new and as much as I hate harleys it makes more sense than buying a 250 for the street. 250s belong on the track. Or if Honda can put out a 4 cylinder 250 that revs to 20k and makes 40+horsepower it would also justify the price.
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not to be outdone by harley or make any sense, Honda introduces the 2010 Shadow RS which cost more than the 883, slower, with drum rear brakes ....

:facepalm

2010_Honda_Shadow_RS%201.jpg
 
honda america motorcycle division is NOT run by motorcycle enthusiasts like it used to be...

it is now run by the car side which only reads numbers...

ask any "factory rep" about the CB1000R, XLV700, or even the CBR125 and they have no clue ...they only repeat what their training told them to say and nothing more..

this goes for yamaha as well who would rather ride KTMs and the kawasaki rep is just happy having a job ...
 
russ69 said:
When I ride my 250 to the local hangouts, I'm the only 250 out of 30 or more bikes, not good.
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That's why you're not seeing 250s. Because most don't sell to long-time, hardcore motorcyclists of the kind that would go to a moto hangout. They sell to beginners.

I will repeat it one more time for posterity: the ninja 250 is the best selling sport bike in America. If you want to know if a 250 will sell, stop asking folks that own big bikes and certainly don't ask dealerships that have never carried one and have only ever catered to big-bike owners. Ask beginners, scooter owners, and non-motorcyclists. Ask folks that buy Bonnevilles, Urals, and Royal Enfields. Ask folks that have been snapping up and fixing CB200s, 250s and 350s. Ask folks that buy Ninja 250s (there's a fuckload of them). Don't ask the guy that just bought a Gixxer, a Harley, or a Goldwing.
 
V4 said:
keep in mind the current ninja 250r for america is only available with carbs just to keep the cost down...the FI version cost more ($500+) which is available in europe but the american market complain too much about price to bring them over for kawasaki...
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Nah, its sold in Thailand as an FI version.

All the new Honda scooters in Thailand are all now PGM-Fi...going forward no more carbs for Honda. If they can do FI on all the scooters and sell them for the price they do it can be done on bigger bikes, the cost difference between carbs and FI now is probably negligible.
 
V4 said:
honda america motorcycle division is NOT run by motorcycle enthusiasts like it used to be...

it is now run by the car side which only reads numbers...

ask any "factory rep" about the CB1000R, XLV700, or even the CBR125 and they have no clue ...they only repeat what their training told them to say and nothing more..

this goes for yamaha as well who would rather ride KTMs and the kawasaki rep is just happy having a job ...
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They have to be the MOST CLUELESS FUCKS EVER IN TORRANCE!!!

Honest to god I could go in there and turn thier shit around inside of two weeks.

I have no idea how these people stay employed. Putting out some stupid chopper long after that fad was over, the ridiculous new VFR, the stupid ass NTV when they could have had a great new Hawk after Suzuki sold a shitload of SV 650's.

It is almost like they want to harm their brand and lose market share.
 
CaliRVF said:
Here's a rendering of a suppose 2011 release of a CBR250. Didnt state if is coming to the US. :(

"According to the Spanish website, Solomoto, Honda might launch a CBR250RR model for the European market in approximately a year from now. Obviously the bike would address to less experienced, but sport oriented riders and it will supposedly be built around an aluminum frame, while power should come from an upgraded version of the 250cc V-twin engine currently powering the VTR250. More information as we have it.
"

2011-honda-cbr250rr-w.jpg
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V4 said:
might be made in Spain or Italy Honda instead of thailand as the ninja 250r...

here's the vtr 250r that's available in spain..

honda-vtr-250_460x0w.jpg
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I'll take one of each please. :party
 
While it would cerainly SEEM to make sense that any serious motorcycle manufacturer would want to grow thier clientele by means of a GOOD entry-level bike ( not so fast Mr. Rebel 250 & TU250...) and Yamaha, Honda & Suzook would be stupid NOT to have one on the showroom floor, I think at some point the number-crunchers dictate that everytime they sell a new bike they need to make X revenue for the dealership, and it's just not easy to sweep X under the carpet on a little bike - which hardly explains how they sell all those scooters, does it ?

Face it, when Buell saw fit to make an ad out of crushing a B-Last, the starter-bike market in this country pretty much said 'Uncle'. Meanwhile, KHI quietly sells EVERY ONE of the mini-ninjas they built - you'd think SOMEBODY would notice ? Naaaaah.....

I could almost understand a big company not wanting to put the R&D into a low-profit segment machine ( as short-sighted as that is, in terms of rider/customer development) - but the fact is, they ALL already make these bikes for other markets !!! I suppose they think they will just sell too many of the smaller alternative instead of a CBR600RR, but that just doesn't pass the sniff test - sure, you don't want to canabalize a profitable product with a less-profitable one, (see: Cadillac Cimmaron) but these bikes are far-enough away from thier others for MOST buyers to figure it out. I dig that little VTR, too - it's like a mini-monster - I think it would do fine at US dealerships - sell it naked and offer a body-kit for people that want it. Cha-Ching !
 
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ohio said:
That's why you're not seeing 250s. Because most don't sell to long-time, hardcore motorcyclists of the kind that would go to a moto hangout. They sell to beginners. I will repeat it one more time for posterity: the ninja 250 is the best selling sport bike in America. If you want to know if a 250 will sell, stop asking folks that own big bikes and certainly don't ask dealerships that have never carried one and have only ever catered to big-bike owners. Ask beginners, scooter owners, and non-motorcyclists. Ask folks that buy Bonnevilles, Urals, and Royal Enfields. Ask folks that have been snapping up and fixing CB200s, 250s and 350s. Ask folks that buy Ninja 250s (there's a fuckload of them). Don't ask the guy that just bought a Gixxer, a Harley, or a Goldwing.
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You make some good points but all the beginners that I talk to want to get a Harley or want to "start small" with a 600 Supersport? The guys that get Ninja 250s are the smart ones that have an expert to help them pick the right bike. It's more that they are influenced by others than beginners picking a 250 by themselves. It might be Kawasaki's best selling model but I bet it's a long way from being the best selling model in the USA. Small bikes are a hard sell.

Thanx, Russ
 
Actually I picked a 250 as a start bike because I was afraid of getting myself into trouble on a 600. :|

Oh and the CBR 250 has already been done... :D

800px-JoshHarrisCBR2.jpg
 
russ69 said:
You make some good points but all the beginners that I talk to want to get a Harley or want to "start small" with a 600 Supersport? The guys that get Ninja 250s are the smart ones that have an expert to help them pick the right bike. It's more that they are influenced by others than beginners picking a 250 by themselves. It might be Kawasaki's best selling model but I bet it's a long way from being the best selling model in the USA. Small bikes are a hard sell.

Thanx, Russ
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If it is Kawasakis best selling model, that indicates to me that a market exists for a sporty 250cc bike.

Kawasaki sold about 40k bikes in the U.S. in 2009, in a market that was off about 50%.

Seems that they sell around 4-10,000 Ninja 250s a year. Pretty big market if you ask me.

I don't see why Honda and Yamaha couldn't get in on that market.
 
russ69 said:
It might be Kawasaki's best selling model but I bet it's a long way from being the best selling model in the USA. Small bikes are a hard sell.
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I double checked my facts and indeed stuffed my foot in my mouth, after repeating and bolding no less!

The Ninja 250 is kawasaki's best selling bike in the US, in any category, but I have not been able to confirm its numbers vs sport bikes from other companies. Still I stand by the fact that it points to a real market over here.

I still think you're talking to the wrong beginners. The Ninja 250 is not an insiders secret. It couldn't sell in those numbers if it were.
 
ohio said:
I double checked my facts and indeed stuffed my foot in my mouth, after repeating and bolding no less!

The Ninja 250 is kawasaki's best selling bike in the US, in any category, but I have not been able to confirm its numbers vs sport bikes from other companies. Still I stand by the fact that it points to a real market over here.

I still think you're talking to the wrong beginners. The Ninja 250 is not an insiders secret. It couldn't sell in those numbers if it were.
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Technically I think it's the Honda Cub.
 
Actually, they do. It's labled with some Chinese brand - the outfit that makes them under license now - I saw them in a little specialty shop in Georgia last year, white plastic leg-fairings and all, 110cc, 4-stroke, 3-speed Super Cub. Haven't seen them out here at our Honda dealers, though.

It is the most-produced vehicle on Planet earth (read that someplace) - was built in 2-dozen countries over the decades and still goes well, HOWEVER - it isn't a MOTORCYCLE for purposes of our discussion - great as a transport tool that it may be, this is about the lack of US product in the 150-400 cc motorcycle segment.
 
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