If we made a list of motorcycles available in other markets that we don’t get here in the United States, surely the Honda CBR250RR would be a bike near the top of the list.
The plucky twin-cylinder sport bike is nothing like the Honda CBR250R or Honda CBR300R, in that it is a proper sport bike, not just some budget machine in wolf’s clothing.
Honda is taking the quarter-liter market very seriously. The debut of the Honda CBR250RR street bike proves as much, with Big Red doubling-down on the segment, just three years after the debut of the Honda CBR300R.
The small-displacement category hasn’t converged on a single-displacement yet, with anything from 250cc to 400cc seemingly filling the gap, all of which makes the Honda CBR250RR an even bolder choice from the Japanese manufacturer, as it’s on the smaller end of the spectrum.
We have yet to see the Honda CBR250RR come to the western markets, but in Asia, HRC is getting ready to go racing with its 250cc twin-cylinder platform. As such, the above is the Honda CBR250RR, in its Astra Honda Racing trim, which debuted this weekend at the Osaka Motorcycle Show.
The rumor was that we would see the 2017 Honda CBR250RR debut this week, and that news didn’t disappoint.
Getting our first glimpse of the machine today, the Honda CBR250RR is finally breaking cover, and we can bring you the first images and technical specs of the quarter-liter sport bike.
As we already knew, the Honda CBR250RR will use a 250cc twin-cylinder, DOHC, eight-valve, liquid-cooled engine that revs to a 14,000 rpm redline. There’s no word yet on power, but we would expect it to surpass the other 250cc offerings from the Japanese manufacturers.
We also expect a 350cc version for markets like North America and Europe, though there’s no official word on that, just yet.
The reliable Indonesian news source TMC Blog is reporting that the 2017 Honda CBR250RR could debut next Monday. The news stems from Astra Honda Motor, the importer for Honda motorcycles in Indonesia, which sent out a press invite for a new Honda model that is to debut.
While an announcement like that could mean almost anything, the fact that Astra Honda Motor posted a teaser video of the Honda CBR250RR last week though gives us a pretty good hint as what to expect next week from Big Red.
TMC Blog reports that the Honda CBR250RR will sell for 60 million Indonesian rupiah, which at the current exchange rate is roughly $4,500 USD.
The Honda CBR250RR is getting closer to breaking cover, with a teaser video of the quarter-liter sport bike coming to us this week from Honda’s Indonesian importer.
The video doesn’t give away too much on its face, but it does confirm the “RR” status of the new bike, and shows that many of the details that we have seen already on the Honda “Light Weight Super Sport” concept have made it into the production machine.
This bodes well for small-displacement motorcycle fans, with the upcoming Honda CBR250RR likely being the bike that many hoped Honda had initially produced, instead of the Honda CBR250R and Honda CBR300R combo.
The above photo seems to be the first leaked image of Honda’s new quarter-liter sport bike, which many have dubbed as the Honda CBR250RR. First debuted at the Honda “Light Weight Super Sports” concept, our sources say that the Honda CBR250RR has been green-lit for production.
Patents showing the Honda’s LED headlight seem to confirm that news, and many expect the twin-cylinder sport bike to be a response to the machines that Kawasaki, KTM, and Yamaha in the small-displacement space.
As such, we can expect the Honda CBR250RR to make north of 35hp from its 249cc lump that revs to 14,000 rpm..
The styling on the “Light Weight Super Sports” concept has been very aggressive, and if the image above is to be believed, the finished product doesn’t lose any of the concept’s razor-sharp edge.
We are literally marking time until Big Red debuts the Honda CBR250RR, the sportier sibling to the Honda CBR250R, which should rev to the moon and make more power with its two-cylinder engine.
We have seen the prototype of the Honda CBR250RR already at trade shows, and the new CBR250RR is definitely on the edgier side of things, which is surprising coming the ever-conservative minds at Honda.
How much of the edgy design will remain in the production version has yet to be seen, but we do have our first glimpse of some of the machine.
The headlight shape has been filed with European patent offices, which is sort of a weird thing to be reporting on, but it does show insight into where Honda is headed.
Episode 7 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is locked and loaded, with both Jensen and Quentin back from their adventures in California and Texas, respectively.
The guys talk about the on-road differences between the Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory ABS and KTM 1290 Super Duke R, catch-up on the new models that debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show, and talk about the new water-cooled Triumph Bonneville. We think you will enjoy this episode!
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The first images are starting to emerge from the Tokyo Motor Show, and already we have some excitement. Naturally one of the items we are most keen to learn more about is the Honda “Light Weight Super Sports” concept, which many are saying is a pre-cursor to a Honda CBR250RR successor.
A product from the glory days of small-displacement warfare, the Honda CBR250RR was a screamer of a machine, even by today’s standards, and the CBR250RR made big horsepower from its quarter-liter engine.
While the Honda “Light Weight Super Sports” concept may not rev into the stratosphere like the CBR250RR did, reports show that the LCD dash does indicate a 14,000 rpm redline – significantly higher than the CBR250R/CBR300R.
Reports also show that the concept has a parallel-twin engine, confirming our suspicions. All indications point to Honda producing the small-displacement sport bike, though many questions about it remain.
When it comes to the small-displacement trend that we’ve seen from manufacturers, Honda’s offering is competent, but lacking when compared to what has come out from Kawasaki, KTM, and Yamaha.
If the Honda’s “Light Weight Super Sports” concept (super high-resolution photo above), which will debut at the Tokyo Motor Show, is any indication though, the Japanese manufacturer is about to blow the competition out of the water with what will likely be the Honda CBR250RR.