Could This Be The New Cbr In Thailand

[Baytur]

I'm 75kg and 175cm. I find the great CBR250R to be so stable while WOT that you (I) can cruise with the throttle pinned all day long no bother at all. Some bikes are so rattly and unstable that when WOT they feel like they're going to fall apart. The CBR250R is so smooth and stable at top speed that cruising at WOT is simply a pleasure.

Left my house in Don Mueang at 7am, was in Chiang Mai before lunch time. Outside lane and WOT until Lampang.

Only drank 3 tanks of gas! 555.

With the great fairings and wind protection, and thus almost no affect on the body, it was back on the bike for a ride up Doi Suthep and still enough energy to see to two Loi Krohers.

This was part of a 2,500km 4 day tour of the North and N.Western (MHS down to Mae Sot) Thailand.

Can't imagine those speeds for such periods of time on a naked bike. But the great little CBR250R simply devours the miles at such speeds with little to no affect on the body!

Go Honda!

Edited May 29, 2012 by Baytur

[JonnyF]

...

Back to the subject, I don't think too many people are really bashing Honda but they're just hoping that Honda releases something more adventurous than a single with their new bike (assuming it's not just a rumour). A 400cc V4 or inline 4 would immediately put a stop to the critics of Honda's latest offerings. A modern 'Baby Blade' would be absolutely awesome but unfortunately I don't think it will happen.

Would that it were to be... but the BigJapFour are 'Bottom Line' corporations, with CEOs and accountants chasing the designers around with sticks, and a high performance Inline-4 engine cost about the same to make whether the displacement is 400 or 600. A few kilos of material being the main difference. The profit margin would have to get sacrificed, as the market won't bear the cost at the smaller bike market price, and that's not likely to happen. So unfortunately, I really doubt we'll see a new era of four-cylinder 400's from them again. Much less likely would be a V-4 400, as I believe this is an even more expensive engine to produce.

Yes I understand the reasoning behind it, I just wish that a company with the massive capability and resource of Honda would focus on producing some cutting edge, exciting bikes along the lines of Ducati, Triumph, KTM etc.

It seems some people on this forum get more excited about the sales figures of a bike and the profit margin of the manufacturer than the actual bike itself. A very strange phenomenon, unless you're an employee of Honda like Mr. Baytur, Master Baytur or whatever the latest incarnation of hehehoho has called himself.

You are obviously referring to someone besides me, I'm a rider for four+ decades. But do let me apologize for bringing in economic realities into the conversation. They ARE the reason BigFour don't answer your dreams. They don't stay in business using said 'massive capabilities' and handing out their equally massive 're$ource$' to buyers via smaller margins on bikes.

You're right I wasn’t referring to you, no need to apologize or take it personally.

In terms of margin, I wouldn’t expect a high spec bike for a low spec price. Obviously they’d have to charge more than they do for a cheap single, that’s simple economics but it’s not like there’s a shortage of cheap workhorse bikes available in Thailand is it? As a bike enthusiast it would be nice to have something a bit higher spec available locally. Seems to work for Ducati selling as many of the Monster 795 for 399,000 baht as they can get their hands on. Why is it an economic reality for Ducati but not for Honda to produce higher quality bikes at a higher price?

[Baytur]

You must be lightweight because most I've managed is 150 but that was upright

When I'm going this fast I'm usually on a tour, so I usually have a tank bag, which you can kind of rest your body on, for wont of a better description. I also have the Touring Windscreen (1,500b or something at Sumet), this takes the wind off your body and over your helmet.

Cruising at 160kph indicated is smooth and simple. Shooting up to 165kph depending on the air I suppose.

I'm not too sure why the trolls want to claim the CBR250R fairing isn't useful, but I suppose they're just trolling. :( Sad when trolls need to start talking nonsense about a bike just so they can feel better about themselves.

Edited May 29, 2012 by Baytur

[JonnyF]

I'm 75kg and 175cm. I find the great CBR250R to be so stable while WOT that you (I) can cruise with the throttle pinned all day long no bother at all. Some bikes are so rattly and unstable that when WOT they feel like they're going to fall apart. The CBR250R is so smooth and stable at top speed that cruising at WOT is simply a pleasure.

Left my house in Don Mueang at 7am, was in Chiang Mai before lunch time. Outside lane and WOT until Lampang.

Only drank 3 tanks of gas! 555.

With the great fairings and wind protection, and thus almost no affect on the body, it was back on the bike for a ride up Doi Suthep and still enough energy to see to two Loi Krohers.

This was part of a 2,500km 4 day tour of the North and N.Western (MHS down to Mae Sot) Thailand.

Can't imagine those speeds for such periods of time on a naked bike. But the great little CBR250R simply devours the miles at such speeds with little to no affect on the body!

Go Honda!

Cool story bro.

Must have been a late lunch. Even if 'lunch' is 1pm that would mean you averaged at least 125kph (140 on the speedo) for the whole 6 hours. How about gas stops, getting out of Bangkok (even at 7am this takes time), passing through towns, bad sections of road etc. In my experience to do BKK to Chiang Mai in 5-6 hours you need to be touching 180-200 for fairly extended periods on the open/well maintained bits of road to make up for all of the above.

Still, never let the truth get in the way of a good spam, right.

[kawapower]

You must be lightweight because most I've managed is 150 but that was upright

When I'm going this fast I'm usually on a tour, so I usually have a tank bag, which you can kind of rest your body on, for wont of a better description. I also have the Touring Windscreen (1,500b or something at Sumet), this takes the wind off your body and over your helmet.

Cruising at 160kph indicated is smooth and simple. Shooting up to 165kph depending on the air I suppose.

I'm not too sure why the trolls want to claim the CBR250R fairing isn't useful, but I suppose they're just trolling. Sad when trolls need to start talking nonsense about a bike just so they can feel better about themselves.

I have had mine flat out 155kph which is more than fast enough for me, it's a great bike and 1st service only 200bht, my mate had his 1st service on his Kawa 250 1500bht. Honda is great!! bike is so good in traffic unlike my previous Z1000 which was horrible in traffic. the fairing is great and I have the bigger front screen coming so should be even more comfortable.

Edited May 29, 2012 by kawapower

[Baytur]

Cool story bro.

Must have been a late lunch. Even if 'lunch' is 1pm that would mean you averaged at least 125kph (140 on the speedo) for the whole 6 hours. How about gas stops, getting out of Bangkok (even at 7am this takes time), passing through towns, bad sections of road etc. In my experience to do BKK to Chiang Mai in 5-6 hours you need to be touching 180-200 for fairly extended periods on the open/well maintained bits of road to make up for all of the above.

Still, never let the truth get in the way of a good spam, right.

3 fuel stops. One outside Tak included a 7-11 crapburger and juice.

Stopped for a drink outside Lampang and the GPS read an average speed of either 121kph or 126kph, forget which. I was a bit surprised as I had expected around 130kph average as it was 145kph+ for almost the whole way. From my house just shy of Future Park it's 566km.

I'll let you work out the time if you wish to.

From then it was a nice ride over the mountains to Rider's Corner where I met Phil at not long after after 1pm I believe.

Go CBR250R! and its perfect fairings.

Why do you need to troll?

Edited May 29, 2012 by Baytur

[kawapower]

I'm 75kg and 175cm. I find the great CBR250R to be so stable while WOT that you (I) can cruise with the throttle pinned all day long no bother at all. Some bikes are so rattly and unstable that when WOT they feel like they're going to fall apart. The CBR250R is so smooth and stable at top speed that cruising at WOT is simply a pleasure.

Left my house in Don Mueang at 7am, was in Chiang Mai before lunch time. Outside lane and WOT until Lampang.

Only drank 3 tanks of gas! 555.

With the great fairings and wind protection, and thus almost no affect on the body, it was back on the bike for a ride up Doi Suthep and still enough energy to see to two Loi Krohers.

This was part of a 2,500km 4 day tour of the North and N.Western (MHS down to Mae Sot) Thailand.

Can't imagine those speeds for such periods of time on a naked bike. But the great little CBR250R simply devours the miles at such speeds with little to no affect on the body!

Go Honda!

Cool story bro.

Must have been a late lunch. Even if 'lunch' is 1pm that would mean you averaged at least 125kph (140 on the speedo) for the whole 6 hours. How about gas stops, getting out of Bangkok (even at 7am this takes time), passing through towns, bad sections of road etc. In my experience to do BKK to Chiang Mai in 5-6 hours you need to be touching 180-200 for fairly extended periods on the open/well maintained bits of road to make up for all of the above.

Still, never let the truth get in the way of a good spam, right.

As you was not with him it is a storey to believe, why would someone lie?

Edited May 29, 2012 by kawapower

[JonnyF]

I'm 75kg and 175cm. I find the great CBR250R to be so stable while WOT that you (I) can cruise with the throttle pinned all day long no bother at all. Some bikes are so rattly and unstable that when WOT they feel like they're going to fall apart. The CBR250R is so smooth and stable at top speed that cruising at WOT is simply a pleasure.

Left my house in Don Mueang at 7am, was in Chiang Mai before lunch time. Outside lane and WOT until Lampang.

Only drank 3 tanks of gas! 555.

With the great fairings and wind protection, and thus almost no affect on the body, it was back on the bike for a ride up Doi Suthep and still enough energy to see to two Loi Krohers.

This was part of a 2,500km 4 day tour of the North and N.Western (MHS down to Mae Sot) Thailand.

Can't imagine those speeds for such periods of time on a naked bike. But the great little CBR250R simply devours the miles at such speeds with little to no affect on the body!

Go Honda!

Cool story bro.

Must have been a late lunch. Even if 'lunch' is 1pm that would mean you averaged at least 125kph (140 on the speedo) for the whole 6 hours. How about gas stops, getting out of Bangkok (even at 7am this takes time), passing through towns, bad sections of road etc. In my experience to do BKK to Chiang Mai in 5-6 hours you need to be touching 180-200 for fairly extended periods on the open/well maintained bits of road to make up for all of the above.

Still, never let the truth get in the way of a good spam, right.

As you was not with him it is a storey to believe, why would someone lie?

Because he's a professional spammer, who's now on his 5th username after being banned 4 times and comes on here to spam Honda products. Pretty good reason to not believe too much of what he says in my book.

[JonnyF]

Cool story bro.

Must have been a late lunch. Even if 'lunch' is 1pm that would mean you averaged at least 125kph (140 on the speedo) for the whole 6 hours. How about gas stops, getting out of Bangkok (even at 7am this takes time), passing through towns, bad sections of road etc. In my experience to do BKK to Chiang Mai in 5-6 hours you need to be touching 180-200 for fairly extended periods on the open/well maintained bits of road to make up for all of the above.

Still, never let the truth get in the way of a good spam, right.

3 fuel stops. One outside Tak included a 7-11 crapburger and juice.

Stopped for a drink outside Lampang and the GPS read an average speed of either 121kph or 126kph, forget which. From my house just shy of Future Park it's 566km.

I'll let you work out the time if you wish to.

From then it was a nice ride over the mountains to Rider's Corner where I met Phil at not long after after 1pm I believe.

Go CBR250R! and its perfect fairings.

That's funny, on your original post you said BKK to Chiang Mai which is 750 kms. Nice editing work.

[bbradsby]

You're right I wasn’t referring to you, no need to apologize or take it personally.

In terms of margin, I wouldn’t expect a high spec bike for a low spec price. Obviously they’d have to charge more than they do for a cheap single, that’s simple economics but it’s not like there’s a shortage of cheap workhorse bikes available in Thailand is it? As a bike enthusiast it would be nice to have something a bit higher spec available locally. Seems to work for Ducati selling as many of the Monster 795 for 399,000 baht as they can get their hands on. Why is it an economic reality for Ducati but not for Honda to produce higher quality bikes at a higher price?

COol, thx for the clarification.

I'm too lazy to actually look it up, but Honda likely make in one day an entire year's production by Ducati. So - no criticism here - but I guess Honda can't be bothered to make sub-species within a market segment such as '400cc sporting roadbikes.' They build to a price point within a competitive market. I remember a Honda dealer's GM telling me they'd never make another 400cc Inline four like my old '76 Honda 400-4 due to high engine cost. Too bad, as the V2, V4 and I4 motors are lots of fun.

Ducati build to racing & their passion first, then to a market - which explains why theyve needed cash infusions from time to time to keep afloat like a few Italian motorfanatic enterprises... So their bikes are astoundingly passionate in engineering, visual design, sound & performance. I've owned four since 2001, and currently own one back in Kali. They are singular bikes. Then there's the 'Brand' they've built that helps them define a niche market more pricey than Japanese bikes. This last bit I'm less comfortable with, as it has nothing to do with excellence and all about marketing... movie product placements, fashion house tie-up's like AMG and Diesel... makes me kinda queasy.

[dave_boo]

I've cruised at 165kph indicated which was just short of 150kph on the GPS, on the CBR250R.

I found the fairings were certainly welcome while cruising at this speed for a few hours.

Can others who feel the CBR250R doesn't need fairings explain the disadvantage of having them at 150kph?

I read those with the Er-6n find it uncomfortable cruising at 140kph (isn't that 10% optimistic speedo?, so really only 126kph-ish?), so I cannot see how cruising at a real 150kph on a naked bike would be comfortable... especially compared to having those sexy, ultra-cool and well designed CBR250R fairings.

Cruised or been flat out at 165kmh. You must be lightweight because most I've managed is 150 but that was upright and I'm not exactly light

sent from my Wellcom A90+

I can do 134 km/h (GPS) bolt upright on my Ninja and you and I are the same size. Fully tucked in and chasing Tony on his Versys down the AH1 I went over 160 GPS...

[kawapower]

I'm 75kg and 175cm. I find the great CBR250R to be so stable while WOT that you (I) can cruise with the throttle pinned all day long no bother at all. Some bikes are so rattly and unstable that when WOT they feel like they're going to fall apart. The CBR250R is so smooth and stable at top speed that cruising at WOT is simply a pleasure.

Left my house in Don Mueang at 7am, was in Chiang Mai before lunch time. Outside lane and WOT until Lampang.

Only drank 3 tanks of gas! 555.

With the great fairings and wind protection, and thus almost no affect on the body, it was back on the bike for a ride up Doi Suthep and still enough energy to see to two Loi Krohers.

This was part of a 2,500km 4 day tour of the North and N.Western (MHS down to Mae Sot) Thailand.

Can't imagine those speeds for such periods of time on a naked bike. But the great little CBR250R simply devours the miles at such speeds with little to no affect on the body!

Go Honda!

Cool story bro.

Must have been a late lunch. Even if 'lunch' is 1pm that would mean you averaged at least 125kph (140 on the speedo) for the whole 6 hours. How about gas stops, getting out of Bangkok (even at 7am this takes time), passing through towns, bad sections of road etc. In my experience to do BKK to Chiang Mai in 5-6 hours you need to be touching 180-200 for fairly extended periods on the open/well maintained bits of road to make up for all of the above.

Still, never let the truth get in the way of a good spam, right.

As you was not with him it is a storey to believe, why would someone lie?

Oh okay I stand corrected!!

[Baytur]

That's funny, on your original post you said BKK to Chiang Mai which is 750 kms. Nice editing work.

No editing out work.

I left my house in Bangkok at 7am, and I was in Chiang Mai for lunch.

My house to Lampang is 566km, checked on google maps for the route I took. That is where I first checked the average speed which was 121 or 126kph GPS. From there it is 80km or so(?) to Chiang Mai.

If my original post mentioned an off-the-top-of-me head 750km to Chiang Mai it is as good as irrelevant, as I'm sure everyone, including you has driven it.

Thanks to the great CBR250R and its great fairings, you can leave BKK at 7am, have lunch in Chiang Mai, then go for an afternoon ride up Doi Suthep before going out and hitting the bars. Great bike that it is.

The next few days through the MHS Loop and down to Mae Sot were splendid! The light n nimble CBR is a joy in the twisties.

[kawapower]

That's funny, on your original post you said BKK to Chiang Mai which is 750 kms. Nice editing work.

No editing out work.

I left my house in Bangkok at 7am, and I was in Chiang Mai for lunch.

My house to Lampang is 566km, checked on google maps for the route I took. That is where I first checked the average speed which was 121 or 126kph GPS. From there it is 80km or so(?) to Chiang Mai.

If my original post mentioned an off-the-top-of-me head 750km to Chiang Mai it is as good as irrelevant, as I'm sure everyone, including you has driven it.

Thanks to the great CBR250R and its great fairings, you can leave BKK at 7am, have lunch in Chiang Mai, then go for an afternoon ride up Doi Suthep before going out and hitting the bars. Great bike that it is.

The next few days through the MHS Loop and down to Mae Sot were splendid! The light n nimble CBR is a joy in the twisties.

I have to admit you do sound like a Honda sales person!! but anyway it is a great little bike!!

[JonnyF]

That's funny, on your original post you said BKK to Chiang Mai which is 750 kms. Nice editing work.

No editing out work.

I left my house in Bangkok at 7am, and I was in Chiang Mai for lunch.

My house to Lampang is 566km, checked on google maps for the route I took. That is where I first checked the average speed which was 121 or 126kph GPS. From there it is 80km or so(?) to Chiang Mai.

If my original post mentioned an off-the-top-of-me head 750km to Chiang Mai it is as good as irrelevant, as I'm sure everyone, including you has driven it.

Thanks to the great CBR250R and its great fairings, you can leave BKK at 7am, have lunch in Chiang Mai, then go for an afternoon ride up Doi Suthep before going out and hitting the bars. Great bike that it is.

The next few days through the MHS Loop and down to Mae Sot were splendid! The light n nimble CBR is a joy in the twisties.

Your first post said BKK to Chiang Mai (which is 750 kms). Now it's 'your house' which is somewhere north of Bangkok to Lampang. Always a good idea to edit your posts, knock 200 kms off the journey and make your BS story believable when someone calls you out on it, well done .

[karlos]

I was enjoying reading through this page until someone stated that the 1st service on a Kawasaki 250 'cost a friend 1500B'..........

It's strange that the first service on my Ninja 650 came in at half the price of his Ninja 250......... A tad over 750 baht (inc oil and filter)

For '200 baht' do Honda even change the oil filter during the first service???? :S

[kawapower]

I was enjoying reading through this page until someone stated that the 1st service on a Kawasaki 250 'cost a friend 1500B'..........

It's strange that the first service on my Ninja 650 came in at half the price of his Ninja 250......... A tad over 750 baht (inc oil and filter)

For '200 baht' do Honda even change the oil filter during the first service???? :S

What oil filter? if there is an oil filter on this bike I can not find it, I questioned the dealer as to weather they had changed the oil filter, dealer says "no oil filter on this bike, just change oil"

The owners manual does not show an oil filter, it does not mention the oil filter in the oil information page, if there is an oil filter could someone tell me where it is on the bike!!

Edited May 29, 2012 by kawapower

[karlos]

I was enjoying reading through this page until someone stated that the 1st service on a Kawasaki 250 'cost a friend 1500B'..........

It's strange that the first service on my Ninja 650 came in at half the price of his Ninja 250......... A tad over 750 baht (inc oil and filter)

For '200 baht' do Honda even change the oil filter during the first service???? :S

What oil filter? if there is an oil filter on this bike I can not find it, I questioned the dealer as to weather they had changed the oil filter, dealer says "no oil filter on this bike, just change oil"

The owners manual does not show an oil filter, it does not mention the oil filter in the oil information page, if there is an oil filter could someone tell me where it is on the bike!!

I'm sure you are right, i didn't realise that the CBR250 has no oil filter, explains why the CBR is a little cheaper to service than the Ninja 250, but 1500B for the Ninja 250's first service???

What dealership screwed him over, it most certainly wasn't any of the dealerships in Bangkok.

[kawapower]

I was enjoying reading through this page until someone stated that the 1st service on a Kawasaki 250 'cost a friend 1500B'..........

It's strange that the first service on my Ninja 650 came in at half the price of his Ninja 250......... A tad over 750 baht (inc oil and filter)

For '200 baht' do Honda even change the oil filter during the first service???? :S

What oil filter? if there is an oil filter on this bike I can not find it, I questioned the dealer as to weather they had changed the oil filter, dealer says "no oil filter on this bike, just change oil"

The owners manual does not show an oil filter, it does not mention the oil filter in the oil information page, if there is an oil filter could someone tell me where it is on the bike!!

I'm sure you are right, i didn't realise that the CBR250 has no oil filter, explains why the CBR is a little cheaper to service than the Ninja 250, but 1500B for the Ninja 250's first service???

What dealership screwed him over, it most certainly wasn't any of the dealerships in Bangkok.

It might have been 1200bht but definitely over 1000 baht, it was kawasaki Phuket so that would explain it, the 1st service on my Z1000 was 2500bht I think kawasaki are just expensive!!

They also hit him for 17000bht 1st class insurance!!

Edited May 29, 2012 by kawapower

[Baytur]

Your first post said BKK to Chiang Mai (which is 750 kms).

Bangkok (Where I Iive) to Chiang Mai (Old City), ie the city center, is 659km according to google maps.

BTW, you know that when you get the distance from google maps (which you obviously did by typing in Bangkok to Chiang Mai) it sends you to the middle of the province (ie, Chiang Mai province) and not the city, so you have to change it manually?

Bangkok to Lampang.

What's with your lies? That was only the first part, which as I said had a GPS average speed of 121 or 126kph. From there it was over to Chiang Mai for lunch!

A great morning ride on the brilliant little CBR250R.

Sorry to bite for your (presumingly) trolling bait.

Edited May 29, 2012 by Baytur

[karlos]

I was enjoying reading through this page until someone stated that the 1st service on a Kawasaki 250 'cost a friend 1500B'..........

It's strange that the first service on my Ninja 650 came in at half the price of his Ninja 250......... A tad over 750 baht (inc oil and filter)

For '200 baht' do Honda even change the oil filter during the first service???? :S

What oil filter? if there is an oil filter on this bike I can not find it, I questioned the dealer as to weather they had changed the oil filter, dealer says "no oil filter on this bike, just change oil"

The owners manual does not show an oil filter, it does not mention the oil filter in the oil information page, if there is an oil filter could someone tell me where it is on the bike!!

I'm sure you are right, i didn't realise that the CBR250 has no oil filter, explains why the CBR is a little cheaper to service than the Ninja 250, but 1500B for the Ninja 250's first service???

What dealership screwed him over, it most certainly wasn't any of the dealerships in Bangkok.

It might have been 1200bht but definitely over 1000 baht, it was kawasaki Phuket so that would explain it, the 1st service on my Z1000 was 2500bht I think kawasaki are just expensive!!

They also hit him for 17000bht 1st class insurance!!

Yeah i read about the insurance quote in another thread, however the cost is 10,000baht for 1st class coverage here in Bangkok through Realmotosport. Seems Phucket is an expensive place to live in more ways than one.

2500B for the first service on a Z1000 also seems a little steep to me, the labor charge would be similar to my bike (200-300B for the hour) and perhaps an extra liter or engine oil which would add to the cost a little. Perhaps the oil used in the Z1000 is fully synthetic which would account for the full 2500Baht service charge, but if it's the same semi synthetic stuff used to fill my bike i think the cost of that service was a tad too high when compared to the dealer i use...

Back on topic, can't see this 400 coming anytime soon, a bigger version would make more sense but with the CBR250, CBR600F and CBR600RR, is there any need/desire for a 500...... I do admit that the jump in power from a CBR250 to the CBR600F is huge and demands respect if you're to last any length of time on such a bike, a 500 twin would make logical sense in terms of a rider's power progression but perhaps not financial sense to Honda

Edited May 29, 2012 by karlos

[kawapower]

Yea the oil used was fully synthetic, labour was 400bht plus the oil filter, I'm happy with the 250 it is fast enough for me, and much more fun to drive than the big powerful bike, my opinion of course.

[Baytur]

Yea the oil used was fully synthetic,

Kawasaki are putting fully synthetic oil in to their bikes at the first service?!?

I seriously hope that you're mistaken.

[Baytur]

I'm happy with the 250 it is fast enough for me, and much more fun to drive than the big powerful bike, my opinion of course.

Actually your opinion is shared by many around the World, I see in particular a lot of Americans have downsized to the CBR250R from larger bikes and they mainly share your opinion.

[kawapower]

Yea the oil used was fully synthetic,

Kawasaki are putting fully synthetic oil in to their bikes at the first service?!?

I seriously hope that you're mistaken.

No I am not mistaken, fully synthetic oil was used, the cost of the oil was 1600bht.

Edited May 29, 2012 by kawapower

[Baytur]

Fully synthetic oil halts the break in process.

It really shouldn't be used until a couple of thousand Km at least.

[kawapower]

Fully synthetic oil halts the break in process.

It really shouldn't be used until a couple of thousand Km at least.

Not a problem as the bike has been sold..

[RED21]

Back to the topic. I agree with karlos. The logical move would be to release the CBR600F or a CBR600R(R?). Maybe if they'll move production of the existing 600 sports bike models here . We'll never know what Honda thinks though. Personally, I'll be happy if they released a new "baby blade", though I wish more for a new version of the Hornet.

Edited May 29, 2012 by RED21

[karlos]

Fully synthetic oil halts the break in process.

It really shouldn't be used until a couple of thousand Km at least.

Back in the 80's and early 90's perhaps so. But with such manufacturing precision attained these days engines require very little in the way of 'breaking in'. There's alot out there with regards to 'break in' i'm a firm believer in the 'hard' method never had any issues but can't say if it would have been better to use the 'soft' method. Either method will result in zero engine failures which goes to show just how well made components are today.

I guess Kawasaki, along with other manufactures of big bikes are wrong when it comes to the use of fully synthetic oils from the 1st service onwards

[BigBikeBKK]

Would that it were to be... but the BigJapFour are 'Bottom Line' corporations, with CEOs and accountants chasing the designers around with sticks, and a high performance Inline-4 engine cost about the same to make whether the displacement is 400 or 600. A few kilos of material being the main difference. The profit margin would have to get sacrificed, as the market won't bear the cost at the smaller bike market price, and that's not likely to happen. So unfortunately, I really doubt we'll see a new era of four-cylinder 400's from them again. Much less likely would be a V-4 400, as I believe this is an even more expensive engine to produce.

Yes I understand the reasoning behind it, I just wish that a company with the massive capability and resource of Honda would focus on producing some cutting edge, exciting bikes along the lines of Ducati, Triumph, KTM etc.

It seems some people on this forum get more excited about the sales figures of a bike and the profit margin of the manufacturer than the actual bike itself. A very strange phenomenon, unless you're an employee of Honda like Mr. Baytur, Master Baytur or whatever the latest incarnation of hehehoho has called himself.

You are obviously referring to someone besides me, I'm a rider for four+ decades. But do let me apologize for bringing in economic realities into the conversation. They ARE the reason BigFour don't answer your dreams. They don't stay in business using said 'massive capabilities' and handing out their equally massive 're$ource$' to buyers via smaller margins on bikes.

You're right I wasn’t referring to you, no need to apologize or take it personally.

In terms of margin, I wouldn’t expect a high spec bike for a low spec price. Obviously they’d have to charge more than they do for a cheap single, that’s simple economics but it’s not like there’s a shortage of cheap workhorse bikes available in Thailand is it? As a bike enthusiast it would be nice to have something a bit higher spec available locally. Seems to work for Ducati selling as many of the Monster 795 for 399,000 baht as they can get their hands on. Why is it an economic reality for Ducati but not for Honda to produce higher quality bikes at a higher price?

Honda did make a real CBR 250 RR once upon a time that makes the new CB'r' 250 look like a turd-

157 kilos wet with a 19k redline and 45 horsepower! Awesome!

So obviously Honda is capable of making an awesome bike, they just chose not to...