Honda CBR250R Sportbike coming to America

[Sarchi]

Looks are subjective, but I like the looks of this bike.  I can tell you with absolute certainty that this bike will not compete well with the Ninja.  It WILL cost appreciably more than the Ninja and won't compete with it in performance.  A bike that costs more and delivers less performance will NOT sell against the Ninja even with FI and ABS.  Noobs are driven by looks, image, price and performance.  While ABS make sense for noobs, it just won't compute in their heads.  I like this bike.  It will not sell at Honda's price.

Honda's little 230 dual sport and Kawasaki's KLX250 are worlds apart in features and performance, but are priced the same.  I see this bike being priced at least a grand above the Ninja.  

+1  That seems to be the Honda way with bikes...give the consumer what they didn't ask for, and price it beyond their reach.  I like Honda stuff as much as anyone (I've had one bike and seven cars).  But I like them a lot more once they've depreciated to something like a reasonable price.

[rajflyboy]

I beg to differ.  If Honda gets the price right and doesn't try to run a premium price point, this slick little Honda will definitely eat into the baby Ninja's sales.  The ONLY reason the Ninja 250 has sold so well over the years is because it has had NO real competition in that segment.  This Honda 250 is DEFINITELY competition, and I daresay it might even be a little better.  It's down on power by a couple ponies, but up on torque and lighter by a bit, and the FI is going to make this a different beast, which should even up the power difference.  They'll probably be pretty evenly matched performance wise.  I can't wait to see one in the flesh, and the black and red units look just as good as the baby Ninja.

They won't

This bike will be in the $6000 dollar range

[Squareman357]

They won't

This bike will be in the $6000 dollar range

C'mon man...no f'ing way.  For $6K you can easily get into 650cc bikes.  Why would Honda price this bike THAT far out of its segment?  Doesn't make any sense at all from a financial standpoint if they want this thing to have the kind of success that the baby Ninja has.  No more than $4500 MSRP.

[rajflyboy]

C'mon man...no f'ing way.  For $6K you can easily get into 650cc bikes.  Why would Honda price this bike THAT far out of its segment?  Doesn't make any sense at all from a financial standpoint if they want this thing to have the kind of success that the baby Ninja has.  No more than $4500 MSRP.

Honda is pricing many of their bikes well above their competitors.   I think this bike will end up being way overpriced too.    Thats just my opinion.  

at any rate "Let the Good Times Roll"

[Galo]

26 hp and 369 lbs?? After a few demon tweaks, my 1966 Bultaco Metralla had about 32 hp and weighed about 230 lbs, and that was 44 years ago......
Is this Honda what some people call progress?

[forester]

That is REALLY pretty, but needs 2x the horsepower it currently has.

[rajflyboy]

That is REALLY pretty, but needs 2x the horsepower it currently has.

 

[scorch]

some people here still think the honda cbr is a 6000$ bike. But honda has priced it at 3999$ just in case you didnt know. Very competitive

[atadaskew]

This bike will be in the $6000 dollar range

 

Just to re-iterate what a great deal the CBR250 is at $3999, Honda is asking $4500 for their SH150 scooter!

[rajflyboy]

some people here still think the honda cbr is a 6000$ bike. But honda has priced it at 3999$ just in case you didnt know. Very competitive

I just read that too.    Maybe Honda does finally realize that they have priced themselves out of the sport bike market in the USA.

At $3999 they will do ok even against the mighty Ninja.  

I must say that the Kawi is a much better looking machine.    I wonder how much the ABS Honda 250 will cost?

[CheesyRider]

I wonder how much the ABS Honda 250 will cost?

$4,499
http://powersports.honda.com/2011/cbr250r/options.aspx

[Kraz]

Awesome price - makes me think "I can afford that."

I typically like Kawasaki a lot, but that Honda is a good looking 250.

I really like the WR250x, but that's like 6 grand...

[Ceolwulf]

http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2011/01/found-the-missing-link/

They really, really like it. I'm not surprised.

I found on the Honda Canada website that they estimate 320km range. That's around 100km better than my 600F3.

MPI is raping me on insurance yet again, yet another 20% hike. Thanks for nothing communist Manitoba. This little 250 would cut my premiums from $1300 to $750 or so.

And it would be new. With a warranty. I've never had a new bike, or new car for that matter ...