CB"R" 250

[A_morti]

As already mentioned/spoilered on the Mule thread...

The mule is gone! I've straight-swapped it for a 2012 CBR 250.

In monetary values I'm losing, but it's worth it to me to not have to deal with Joe Public to sell the BMW.

The CBR is a one owner bike with @9000km on the clocks. New tires on it, it has lived in a garage and is in decent condition if not as good as the fz6.

250cc bikes have a huge advantage as second bikes... 25€ road tax, where the mule was 177€ in this it's 13th year, then 195€ yearly thereafter until/unless it's still running at 30 years old when you can apply for a classic tag.

The CBR is small, light, and generally feels like a Honda. Just my kind of thing. It should be just what I need for running around the island, and letting the fz6 stay cozy when it's wet out.

I'll post more about it once the logbooks are done and it's in my possession (should be this week).

[Skub]

Izzit a twin or a one lunger?

[A_morti]

Izzit a twin or a one lunger?

Eintopf*

*This is German meaning literally "one pot", and can be used to describe both a single cylinder motorcycle and a stew.

[A_morti]

I've just had the insurance policy by email, and noticed they insured me on a cbr250r (grey). That's the 45hp 4 cylinder bike, versus my single with 25hp, on a good day.

Try again, lads.

[Rockburner]

I've just had the insurance policy by email, and noticed they insured me on a cbr250r (grey). That's the 45hp 4 cylinder bike, versus my single with 25hp, on a good day.

Try again, lads.

Well done for spotting that.

[A_morti]

If I didn't have bad luck...

The seller messaged me this morning, while I was on the ferry from Gozo back to Malta having cut an Easter break on Gozo short in order to sort the paperwork for the bikes.

He'd taken the CBR to an early morning meeting, on the way to the Transport Malta office to meet me there late morning.

Somebody kindly knocked the bike over in the street for him / me:



Damage appears to be limited to the headlight cowl, top right fairing panel, exhaust shield, footpeg, and brake lever. With potential damage to the headlight stay and footpeg bracket which we won't know until the other parts are replaced first.

Fortunately he got the lady who did it's insurance details after a colleague stopped her leaving the scene. So, it'll be repaired properly using Honda parts.

Awaiting further news, specifically if the parts are still available from Honda, and how long the repair is likely to take.

[Count Steer]

Crumbs! Have you broken a mirror and spilt the salt while walking under a ladder recently or something?

That's a bit of a to say the least.

[mangocrazy]

Good grief. As the old saying goes - if you fell in a barrel of t1ts...

[weeksy]

Oh man... you have proper shit luck at times when it comes to motorbikes !

[A_morti]

The CBR is due in at the dealership on Wednesday for inspection of the damage.

Also today I got an update on my order of a Givi rack coming from Italy.

Fingers crossed for speedy resolution to the repairs.

[A_morti]

The repairs were approved yesterday, and the parts are on order from Honda to the dealership.

The rack is at the local post office, I'll fetch it soon.

Getting there...

[A_morti]

Fetched the rack. A couple of corners got scratched on the way from Italy but I have some black paint.

Parts are due in 4 weeks. Labour has just a 2 day wait once the parts arrive. Total cost to the insurance - 602€.

Why am I so excited for a 10 year old 250?

[Nordboy]

Shit luck with the bike but hopefully it will be spot on when you get it.

I didn't realise you lived in Malta? just back from Valetta after a 5 day trip. I have to say, I loved Malta, never been there before, never really thought too much about it, but it really was a great place. Me and the wife are definitely going to return.
And as a (small) bonus, we watched all the swearing in of Malta's new President on the big screen in St Georges Square.

[A_morti]

Should be in my hands in about 2 weeks.
I'm thinking about an exhaust for it already...



Remarkably cheap for a full system at £225 in UK (about £250 shipped to me, which also isn't bad)

https://delkevic.co.uk/honda-cbr250r-mc ... M2249.html

I'd add a catalyst in the link pipe like I did on the cb300r, both to quiet it down more and make it run cleaner.

But I'll give it at least a fair shake on the stock exhaust first. Maybe stealth is good on a wee un.

[A_morti]

She's now all legal and in my name , and in my garage



The eagle eyed may notice the top right cowl is still damaged by the mirror attachment point. The dealer forgot to order that part, so it's been ordered now and will be put on when it arrives.

Today was spent in the garage with Jules, doing some jobs in his recently-acquired vfr800x, and going over a few bits on the CBR.

The VFR got a fancy aluminium Givi plate fitted that was meant for a BMW but went on fairly easy, chrome (!) barkbusters and lowering footpegs fitted, pedals and levers adjusted to suit.

The CBR got a Givi rack and plate. Well done to Givi for welding it up so the plate can't touch all 3 tubes of the rack, but otherwise it was all very easy.

Then all the usual hits on a new bike: gear pedal, indicator switch, and hand levers stiff with old grease; adjust lever and pedal heights; remove foam grip covers to find barely-used OEM grips underneath.

The rear shock may have had a hard life, or the linkage might just need some love but there's a little squeak coming from that area. I'd forgotten how shit it is working on those parts without a centre stand, so that's on pending for now.

The rear brake caliper might be sticking. The gear pedal mounting peg was finger tight. The bike is kinda caked in chain lube. But nothing tragic in there, and she's generally had an easy life of hanging out in the garage.

She rides lovely, with really smooth fuelling even on on/off throttle openings. The clutch is light and the gearbox sweet as a nut - and that was even before I noticed that the pedal was loose. The exhaust is very very quiet and I've not yet decided if it's too quiet.

Happy new bike day to me!

[Skub]

Here's hoping for a smooth passage with this bike. By frig,you are due one.

[A_morti]

Yesterday I went down to the garage with the intention to inspect and clean up the rear brake.

The bike is without ABS, so it's easier to remove the whole assembly than to fight with cleaning the caliper while it's hanging between the bike and exhaust.

Right?



I got as far as removing the rearset, but the electrical connector for the brake switch disappeared up behind the middle panel.

To remove the middle panel you have to remove the seat cowl to access the rearmost of the 3 screws (I'd probably just pull the panel away next time). To remove the rear panel which comes off as an assembly of both sides and the brake light, you have to first remove the rack. That's about when I stopped (pic1) and saw that it's been quite some time since she'd had a wash under the skirts (pic 2).

From there, to remove the panel, it needs unclipped from the right side panel. I now know that the side panels are held on by 3 screws each side, plus 3 wedge clips which you can't see. So seeing dirt all inside and underneath, I took the upper cowl off as an assembly, both sides and the headlight. Then the belly pan because it was full of chain grease and the chain guard so I could get the brake hose out easily - which needed the left rearset removed to access one screw.

Anyway... I soon ended up with no plastics, chain guard, footrest assemblies (pic3), clocks, sidestand, or rear wheel on the bike, a dead phone battery, and a whole lot of chain gunge and general dirt to remove. From *everything*.

After several hours cleaning, I got her all buttoned back up (pic4) with not a single leftover fixing and a much better idea of how it all goes together.

The back brake is still shit though. A quick wipe down with brake cleaner wasn't enough, I need to take the disc and pads upstairs to the apartment for a proper scrub. This worked great on the fz so I'll try here too before buying new pads.

Even better, I let some air into the line while fighting with it (pic1 already shows the reservoir upside down). I reckon it will look nice with some wezmoto lines (both for under £50!) so bleeding can probably wait til then.

But don't worry, I'm still having fun! And the bike is really a genuine one.

[weeksy]

Yesterday I went down to the garage with the intention to inspect and clean up the rear brake.

The bike is without ABS, so it's easier to remove the whole assembly than to fight with cleaning the caliper while it's hanging between the bike and exhaust.

Right?



I got as far as removing the rearset, but the electrical connector for the brake switch disappeared up behind the middle panel.

To remove the middle panel you have to remove the seat cowl to access the rearmost of the 3 screws (I'd probably just pull the panel away next time). To remove the rear panel which comes off as an assembly of both sides and the brake light, you have to first remove the rack. That's about when I stopped (pic1) and saw that it's been quite some time since she'd had a wash under the skirts (pic 2).

From there, to remove the panel, it needs unclipped from the right side panel. I now know that the side panels are held on by 3 screws each side, plus 3 wedge clips which you can't see. So seeing dirt all inside and underneath, I took the upper cowl off as an assembly, both sides and the headlight. Then the belly pan because it was full of chain grease and the chain guard so I could get the brake hose out easily - which needed the left rearset removed to access one screw.

Anyway... I soon ended up with no plastics, chain guard, footrest assemblies (pic3), clocks, sidestand, or rear wheel on the bike, a dead phone battery, and a whole lot of chain gunge and general dirt to remove. From *everything*.

After several hours cleaning, I got her all buttoned back up (pic4) with not a single leftover fixing and a much better idea of how it all goes together.

The back brake is still shit though. A quick wipe down with brake cleaner wasn't enough, I need to take the disc and pads upstairs to the apartment for a proper scrub. This worked great on the fz so I'll try here too before buying new pads.

Even better, I let some air into the line while fighting with it (pic1 already shows the reservoir upside down). I reckon it will look nice with some wezmoto lines (both for under £50!) so bleeding can probably wait til then.

But don't worry, I'm still having fun! And the bike is really a genuine one.

I like stripping a bike to components as soon as i can (both motorbike and MTB) just so i can check everything but also to get knowledge of how it all goes back together, things like linkages, wheels, suspension etc...

[Skub]

I think manufacturers deliberately make the rear brake crap on a lot of bikes,especially the machines that may be used by new blood. Less chance of an accidental lock up. Quite often this is done by mismatching master cylinder and caliper piston size. Sometimes different pads can help give a bit more feel and is easier to try.

[A_morti]

This one is really shit though. It pretty much hasn't shown up to the party.
I already cleaned some chain gunge off the pads so I know for sure it's been contaminated, but as I found with the fz, it takes more than a quick wipe with brake clean.