2012 Honda CBR250R Motorcycle Review

At first glance you may think that the CBR 250R is a punched out version of it’s baby bro the CBR 125R… a popular runner that’s been around since 2008. However to dismiss the new 250 as just a bigger 125 would be a big mistake. The all-new lightweight sport machine is powered by a liquid-cooled and fuel-injected 249 cc single with twin cams and four valves. The bigger CBR also sports 37 mm fork mounted up with a 296 single disc brake with optional ABS. And the wheels, well, there’s no comparison.   Then there’s the gorgeous VFR1200 inspired bodywork. The whole package looks good standing still, but after Honda threw me the keys I have to say the riding experience completely took me by surprise. But to be perfectly honest our riding time down in Charleston at the press launch was limited so when we go back up to Canada we invited a regular contributor and current CBR 125 owner Dave Fox to come down to the County and sample the new 250 first hand and he’s what he had to say after a weekend in the saddle.

David Hatch
So Dave I thought you would be the perfect person to try this bike given that you are a CBR 125R owner. So, what did you think when you saw the two side-by side.

Dave Fox
Dave, your show cost me a lot of money. I rode the CBR 125 when it first came out and fell in love with it. As you know I’m a cruiser rider but just the uh enjoyment of being able to ride a light easy to handle sporty bike caught me and I really enjoy riding my 125. However, I can be faithful but I can also be falling in love with another bike. The 250 is just that much better. Obviously a little bit heavier, a wee bit more comfortable, um, the fit and finish, it’s just a really nice package.

David Hatch
Right. So obviously, you know, you’re used to the 125, this is a 250. What did you think of the engine?

Dave Fox
It’s got lots of get up and go, especially in the low end. It had no trouble keeping up with the other bikes we were riding with today on the highway with that you would think with a small motor there would be a lot of rev to it, but they’ve got the counter balance built in somehow that the vibration is absent. It’s a six speed, which helps even it out given the fact that the horsepower is not a lot but you feel comfortable on the highway.

David Hatch
Yeah I was surprised. I was on the press launch with this and we took it up on the freeway and it had no problem pulling me along at fifty-five, sixty miles an hour.

Dave Fox
That’s right.

David Hatch
How did you like the way it stops?

Dave Fox
The brakes seem more than adequate to handle what it weighs. I believe it weighs about three hundred and sixty pounds or so, which is light, but the brakes are certainly adequate for that. This model doesn’t but Honda has the 250 of course with the ABS as well.

David Hatch
For me I think the biggest difference of this bike in all, besides the power of the engine, are those tires. Like when we talk about the way it handles it really does feel just a little more planted through the corners. Would you agree?

Dave Fox
I agree and my first choice in bikes is often based on the appearance of the bike and I like the look of the 125, the fact that it looks like a sport bike, but as soon as you get within a few meters on the bike the tires on the 125 are a dead give away ‘Oh this is a pretty small bike’. But this tire does have a little more meat to it.

David Hatch
Yeah. Now what did you think of the cockpit because obviously when you make the jump up you get this really nice looking tack and a little bit more of those bells and whistles category right.

Dave Fox
That’s the part that amazed me, how Honda’s able to deliver the quality that they have here for the money and for the size, again, we’re talking about a pretty small motorcycle and yet, you’re right, they have the analog with the digital clock, they have the fuel gauge so this bike has most any feature you would need in a basic motorcycle.

David Hatch
One of the things that blew me away about this bike is the 250, I’m six foot tall, just how comfortable it is. I can’t believe the reach to the saddle and the foot pegs.

Dave Fox
I’m not six feet tall and I still found it comfortable. I guess it helps our viewers know it’s comfortable no matter what size you are and it is amazing how they are able on such a small frame bike to have the pegs and the handle bars configured just right. I don’t find it a lot different than the 125. It’s for me, it’s good as well. But this one, for me, is pretty comfortable. Probably just a little bit more upright on this one than the 125. Just a little bit.

David Hatch
What did you think of the bike’s fit and finish? I mean, clearly Honda must have a budget in mind in order to make the bike affordable. Is there anything budget about it?

Dave Fox
Really, I don’t think so. That’s, again, going back to my earlier comment about the cockpit. I think the whole package looks like it’s worth more than you have to pay. I don’t want Honda to put the price up necessarily but the fit and finish, just the way everything’s configured, um, the quality of things, the lights the mirrors, the paint job. I think it’s very well done.

David Hatch
So who are we going to go tell to go out and buy this bike?

Dave Fox
Anyone that wants to have some fun. Yes it’s geared for beginning riders and it would be a great bike for a beginning rider. I’m not a beginning rider and I still have lots of fun on it. So I think it’s for someone who wants to ride it to work everyday, who wants to just have fun on a sport bike. I’m a cruiser rider like I said, if someone wants that contrast for not a lot of money, like I think it’s forty-four hundred dollars Canadian to buy one of these out of the showroom…pretty good deal.

David Hatch
Yeah

Dave Fox
So you’ve got affordability, ease of handling and at the same time you’ve got fuel economy so what better combination.

David Hatch
You forgot the fun factor.

Dave Fox
Oh yes, fun.