Vroom Vrooooom… to a lake near Wildlife Sanctuary, Medak

A biker pal needed couple of video shoots done at a particular location, and we decided to join him[Dhiraj] and see if we can be helpful in anyway.
So three of us, drove away to this beautiful location and amidst the video shooting we managed to get some supercool still photographs .. Thanks to Vinfred who was slaving off behind the camera.

The lake wasn’t overflowing but still was beautiful.
(I’ll try to put a pic of another biker[Ravi] who’s been there in monsoon when lake overflows.. pretty awesome)

Here’s couple of pics for my blog readers and as usual the full album is available on Facebook. <– Click to see

Machines Resting at the verge of valley at the lake.

Making phun of me huh..
Here, take my contactless air ‘ki’ punch …. HUAAAAAA
In pic: Dhiraj and Me

Probably the only pic of Vinfred we got.
He’s happy

Blueeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Look Look .. I got myself invisible Guns

Swim .. anyone? (See next pic)

Ok.. NOW swim anyone?
Btw, that’s “Xenochrophis piscator” or “Checkered KeelBack”.
Man, if I wasn’t living in India … I’d definitely have snake pets (Will write another post someday about which snakes I’d like to have as pets).
Note: Snake as pet is illegal in India.

All that touring on a Sports Bike that is meant for track racing….. definitely asking for body stretching.

Now, for pics from Ravi’s album (when the lake was overflowing):
Note: Following two pictures are copyrighted to Ravi Varma. I am using them with his permission.

Beautiful isn’t it?
You see people cautiously walking there… well you can drive your bike there, but you need to be extra cautious.
A tiny slip and you’d be inside the lake with your bike (minimum depth 25 feet)

Now this is Ravi’s classic signature move … Everywhere he goes touring, he finds a waterbody to wash his bike
Play in water anyone?
I’ll definitely go again during monsoon

Honda CBR 250r Review

One would ask, why I am writing this review now when the bike was released in 2011.

Here’s why:

1. Initial unavailability of test drive bikes for mango people (aam admi/common man) like me .. sure press and bike blogs/sites got a warm welcome

2. Initially I was also put off by the design of CBR/VFR. Too me it looks like we skipped few generations of design in between and launched ourselves 5-7 years ahead.. felt a bit weird and took time to get used to it.

3. Been busy with earning to feed self – roti and occasional chicken. Yes.. aam admi ke roz ki roti ka kaam.

4. Giving time to honda to fix the initial teething problems that any new design launch is prone to have.

So finally the day came, when 2 of my friends decided to accompany me and that build my guts up to ask for a test drive.

I took test drive of CBR250r (Tri color – which looked like old shit bike because of the horrible way the dealer was maintaining it)
“Super intelligent” showroom guys also removed the rear mirrors due to which I couldn’t test flick-ability of the bike.

The CBR 250r

Drive area: City

+ve:
Great seating comfort

Great wrist relaxation.. no pain.

Balance – there were moments when I felt that the sales guy behind me will hug me. He was moving on his seat but still the bike kept pretty stable.

brakes (non-ABS) – pretty confident. Bike was straight lined during braking .. I’ve had bike slanting in apache rtr while braking in high speeds.

Clutching – absolute accurate. didnt slip even once for such a hammered test bike.

Option of having ABS on this bike (for not paying a fortune for it) is a big plus.

CBRs

-ve

Color/Paintjob – Wasn’t turning heads. More or less same for other colors too, unless you maintain it shiny. Red attracts more.

Engine roughness – Was surprised. I heard otherwise!!!
I was trying hard to find a better feel that P220 engine.. wasnt getting so much… it was just a slight bit. Although I should say its a test bike.. but then (and so what) .. if you dont maintain it like pampered bike.. will it go rough? <– Current CBR owners should enlighten me here.

Gear Ratio – Was pretty much in 4th gear before I could finish like 200 meters. 1st gear doesnt take me anywhere more than 4 feet but has good pickup. 2nd gear lacked any pickup whatsoever. 3rd was fine but too quick. 4th came quicker.
May be I was expecting a sportier ratio. I’m probably looking at it from a wrong angle.

front suspension – felt a lot harder.

Power – constantly felt for need of more power across all gears. (didnt switch to 6th) .. as soon as I feel “ok now the max rpm for the current gear is going to come and I’ll get a bit more power.. the engine was roughing out and I had to switch to next higher” .   Probably because it is a single cylinder?

Honda CBR 250r – Sports Bike or Not?

Overall – Close to Satisfactory.

I don’t know if bad maintenance from the showroom guys is to be blamed or is it how it is!  ..  If it is, then it shouldn’t be.

This is definitely not a “super sport” bike, or even a proper “sport” bike.. It’s more of a “really well made city/tourer 250cc bike” that comes closer to being a “sport” category.

I feel utter astonished when I see fanboys call it the best sports bike or supersports on various biking forums. Really, the term “supersports” is misused so much!