[iamahunter]

Originally Posted by Ratan Prabhu

It*only leaks after the bike is parked for few hours after a ride. Basically when I park the bike after riding, there is no puddle for the next 1 hour. But when I come to the bike the next morning, there is this puddle. See pic below. Should I worry ?

​​​​​​​Any help appreciated. Posted on other forum too just to have more opinions.

By any chance did you over fill it?

Check the area below the radiator, and the pipes and hoses. As you've just changed it, check the openings where the coolant can be drained and where it can be filled. There can be minor hole or leakage which is not really affecting now. Also keep and eye on the coolant level.

Originally Posted by aargee

US; please count me in your hand numbing club; I thought it was forward leaning posture on CBR & GT650, but I had a very mild numb from our recent trip on Interceptor.

I can only attribute that with the age

+1 for me in the numbing issue. However, its far less than what I used to have on the HH Hunk.

I've noticed at certain speeds, the bike is completely buzz free, for me its 95-105 kmph. There is minor buzz before and after that. I've ridden for hours at those speeds on highways before stopping before of butt soreness.

[Ratan Prabhu]

Originally Posted by iamahunter

By any chance did you over fill it?

Check the area below the radiator, and the pipes and hoses. As you've just changed it, check the openings where the coolant can be drained and where it can be filled. There can be minor hole or leakage which is not really affecting now. Also keep and eye on the coolant level.

I've noticed at certain speeds, the bike is completely buzz free, for me its 95-105 kmph. There is minor buzz before and after that

The main problem is, I'm on motocool coolant which is light yellow in color exactly same as the reservoir tank color. I went down putting my head below the reservoir area and used mobile flashlight and just couldn't notice the level as the color is same. Just to be doubly sure, got my wife to check it too. And she couldn't spot the coolant level either.

Regarding overfill, if it was over filled, I'm wondering why it didn't leak in the 2 months after it was filled. The leak is occuring only since last 2 weeks. That too only after few hours after parking the bike after riding.

I will be visiting the ASC for the oil seal issue in February (or to get the entire clutch cover changed). At that time will get the coolant leak issue checked too.

Regarding the handlebar vibration/buzz it is fairly smooth on 6th gear from 80 to 90 kmph speeds which is between 5k and 6k rpm. As I cross 6k rpm, the handlebar vibrations are very noticable. It is more than just buzz.

The people in cbr250 dot net international forum
Said it can be due to a faulty "balancer shaft" which is responsible for reducing the vibes. Or it can be the shims. So I will insist on getting that checked too. The mechanic at ASC finds my bike having no vibration issues but I just can't accept it. I sometimes feel they just don't want to do the extra job of opening the engine and check the shims/valve clearance maybe.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

I have this hand numbing issue after riding 20-30mins, but in my case it isn't anything specific to the CBR (tried other commuter bikes/scooters and have it with them too after 20kms or so). Something to do with me I guess.

BTW, has anyone fixed a main-stand to the CBR ? I would like to get one fitted and wanted to know any cons (I don't do corner carving or such stunts, so the stand scraping the tarmac isn't an issue for me).

You won't believe it. I rode my friend's 2013 duke 200 and I found it to have less handlebar vibration than my cbr. Faced no hand numbing issue even after riding for an hour on it.

Regarding your main stand query, I don't have an idea. But I feel it will reduce the already low ground clearance even more. I think our bike has 145mm GC ? So reducing it further would cause scrapping due to speed breakers.

[maheshm619]

CBR250 with a shaving mirror

Hi everyone,

This is my first long post in this forum. Fast-forward some months from my query in this forum regarding picking up a used CBR250 and after clearing my doubts with bhp-ian @aargee , I brought the CBR250 home. It’s a 2011 model but has less mileage on the odo, ~15000 kms only. The bike wasn’t pampered or even maintained to say the least. I anyway took the plunge as I needed a bike and wasn’t feeling good to plonk nearly ~1.9 lakhs and get a new one (almost paid for an RTR200), considering my less usage.

About the bike, it still had original tyres.Yes,you read that right. The owner had tall claims regarding him maintaining the bike prior to my visit. During my inspection, I found the tires worn out (later on found a tube inside rear tire ), handlebar bolts rusted, coolant reservoir cap broken, rear tail lamp top piece broken, worn out rear brakes, pillion seat torn, key not working with pillion seat lock and many more. But then the engine note was fine and no ticking noises or abnormal smoke/heat indicating things which mattered were OK. Seeing the negatives, any sane person would drop the idea of a purchase. But then considering my budget and expenses I would incur, I made the asking price low and took the plunge.


Two weeks later, I went again and then took the bike (along with the owner) to a Honda service center and asked the mechanic (who claimed he was trained to work in CBR) to check the bike. He validated my observations and both of us had a doubt that the clutch plates were slightly worn out as the bike revved non-uniformly after 6k rpm up to 7.5k rpm. I had also asked then to replace the rear brake pads, but it was not in stock. I knew this was something I was going to hear multiple times in future.

Anyway took the bike from there to a local mechanic and swapped the rear pads to new OEM pulsar 220 brake pads, they are a direct fit. Got the rear seat fabric stitched, completed the RTO formalities, paid the guy and started riding 60kms to home. I didn’t push the bike as I wasn’t confident about the condition and the back tire was wagging whenever brakes were applied at high speeds. On reaching, parked the bike safely and started making a list of parts to order. Got new tires & oil from Amazon, got OEM spark plug, oil filter, chain sprocket set from my hometown and had a friend bring it over to my location.

Now, I live in a rural area and had no clue where to carry out tyre change as none of the nearby garages would have never seen a paddock stand (the Honda service station was 60kms away).But then there were a lot of R15s, KTMs in my area which made me think that the mechanics would have some sort of a Jugaad solution. Finally got those changed from a nearby mechanic. I the meantime, got the alloy wheels and muffler cover repainted.



After getting the required spares in hand and getting tyres changed, I went to the Honda svc. The earlier CBR mechanic was not working there anymore and a young chap was assigned to work on this bike. The workmanship was terrible and I had to stick around the working bay to make sure he wasn’t breaking anything. The sprocket looked fine upon inspection and was left as it is.After a basic service and few broken clips later, I went back home. The bike rode OK, better than before.

That night, I observed a few drops of coolant on the ground after parking the bike. Suspected that it was maybe due to over filling from service center and went to sleep. Next morning, I found the whole coolant out on the ground and the reservoir empty. Now whoever designed CBR was almost playing a joke when they decided to place the reservoir in such a location that half of the bike needs to be taken out for inspecting it. With great discomfort, I got under the bike and tried to pinpoint the source of leak. The next discovery brought horror to my face. The previous owner had almost applied half a kilo of Mseal to arrest leakages before. Even after applying another kilo of Mseal here and there, I couldn’t stop the leakage fully. This continued for a few days and in the meantime I was using the bike for short commutes while keeping a constant eye on the temp. bar (winter here also helped).

A friend was travelling from Delhi through whom I got new coolant reservoir tank (costs 110rs only).Now the main problem was to replace it. The workshop manual (with pictures) shows one to remove the shock linkage assembly and rear tyre while suspending the bike from rear. The previous Honda service experience was a horror and hence I approached my local mechanic who is confident to work on anything from auto-rickshaw to Rafale jet. I went to him with printout of workshop manual pages and explained what to do. He then took a good look and assured me that he’d do the whole thing but in his technique. He then removed the entire silencer (which gave more working space), shock linkage assembly and then comfortably replaced the reservoir tank. I was hugely satisfied by his work and paid handsomely and vowed never to go back to Honda for minor service.



The left mirror was looking funny and the edges were blackening out. On close inspection, I found that the previous owner had replaced the mirror part with shaving mirror cut in the exact shape. My respect for the previous owner increased ten folds. Immediately ordered the mirror along with replacement bolts for handle and fairing clips from an online seller.



A few weeks after (after start of winter here), one fine day the bike was refusing to start. The fuel pump was failing to prime although all lights were working. I was terrified thinking whether fuel pump went kaput. But the after checking the battery, I felt it was nearing death. Changed it straightway and the bike came back to life once again.

The only remaining gripe was the nonlinear rpm rise beyond 6k. I thought I’d do a clutch overhaul but after a few months of usage to see if something more is to be addressed. Once during re-fueling found that the tank internals had great amount of rust and even when sliding my fingers inside the tank mouth, rust was sticking to my fingers. Subsequently asked my brother back in hometown to get a fresh fuel filter and the part reached me in a couple of weeks. I planned to replace this after getting the tank cleaned.



A month later while I got discharged from my duty as diaper-in –charge, as family was away, I took the bike inside parking shed and started dismantling. The fuel tank was drained after removing the fuel pump assembly and part of remaining fuel appeared dirty due to all the rust at bottom. Gave the tank for pressure washing and cleaning.




Meanwhile I removed the air cleaner box along with the throttle body assembly. Cleaned all the sensors; the plate and body had little bit of deposits which were cleaned to my satisfaction. The air cleaner box was rattling from the inside. On checking I found a broken rubber part moving freely inside the box (thanks to Honda service).









The fuel pump assembly had a lot of rust deposited inside. Cleaned everything using a brush and generous amount of WD40 and then replaced the fuel filter set .



Got the tank a day after but I wasn’t satisfied with the amount of rust still left inside. Since I had one more day off, I thought why not to try rust removal by electrolysis. Went ahead and did it for the next 8-9hours.The results were better than pressure wash cleaning, but an exo dish wash bar commercial like output is not to be expected. Cleaned the tank a couple more times using compressed air and left it to dry overnight.







The next day morning, started assembling everything back. After fixing the throttle body and connecting all sensors and fuel lines , tried to start the bike after priming the pump 3-4 times. The bike started on 2nd attempt and was idling just fine. Then to my horror, the engine check light started flashing (8 pulses in a cycle).While opening the throttle the bike kept on dying and I was thinking that I had damaged any sensor or clogged the injector while cleaning and cursed myself for ruining the bike. The ECL pulse (8 flashes) meant incorrect throttle position and I was almost sure that I damaged the sensor assembly.

Shortly, I started checking tightness of all connectors and only then I noticed that that the throttle body sensor assembly connector was not connected (it wasn’t visible from top side).After connecting the cable, the malfunction light disappeared and the bike responded well to throttle input. During this, I cleaned the under tank area and all parts up to my satisfaction. Fitted everything back in a couple of hours and went to top up fuel.

The bike now responds better than ever and is eager to accelerate. The whole DIY job gave immense satisfaction than wasting money at Honda SVC. The issue with non-linear RPM is almost gone and the bike is a pleasure to ride.

The whole episode has increased my confidence with this bike. Even though it’s a decade old, the engine still sings beautifully and for me is terrific value considering what I paid. Hope the bike serves me for some more years until I can welcome a RE twin to my home.



Signing off.

[saitvsk23]

Originally Posted by maheshm619

CBR250 with a shaving mirror

[left] Hi everyone,

[left] This is my first long post in this forum. Fast-forward some months from my query in this forum regarding picking up a used CBR250 and after clearing my doubts with bhp-ian @aargee , I brought the CBR250 home. It’s a 2011 model but has less mileage on the odo, ~15000 kms only. The bike wasn’t pampered or even maintained to say the least. I anyway took the plunge as I needed a bike and wasn’t feeling good to plonk nearly ~1.9 lakhs and get a new one (almost paid for an RTR200), considering my less usage.

About the bike, it still had original tyres.Yes,you read that right. The owner had tall claims regarding him maintaining the bike prior to my visit. During my inspection, I found the tires worn out (later on found a tube inside rear tire ), handlebar bolts rusted, coolant reservoir cap broken, rear tail lamp top piece broken, worn out rear brakes, pillion seat torn, key not working with pillion seat lock and many more. But then the engine note was fine and no ticking noises or abnormal smoke/heat indicating things which mattered were OK. Seeing the negatives, any sane person would drop the idea of a purchase. But then considering my budget and expenses I would incur, I made the asking price low and took the plunge.

Good work👍. How did you get the wheels to be so clean? I had bought a bottle of LiquiMoly wheel rim cleaner and never used it. I'll be using it this weekend to clean it thoroughly. I hope it works.

Thank you for considering this gem of a motorcycle. There was a thread in the last few weeks discussing this bike's history and legacy it had left behind (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ml#post5228476 (The last of enthusiast ICE motorcycles upto 400cc)). The fact that you decided to pick up such a neglected machine and help it reach its former glory, it's just increased my respect for you.

Kudos to you on doing this on your ride.

[maheshm619]

Originally Posted by saitvsk23

How did you get the wheels to be so clean?

Thank you for considering this gem of a motorcycle. There was a thread in the last few weeks discussing this bike's history and legacy it had left behind

The wheels were in a shabby state when I picked this up.During the tyre swap, I took the rims and muffler cover to a car painting shop and got a fresh coat.The finishing is acceptable considering where I live currently. Hope it stays that way.

The CBR250 is a very desirable bike back in my hometown, Kochi. The prices quoted in OLX are insane , even for older models.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by saitvsk23

How did you get the wheels to be so clean?

Used acid for cleaning - cheaper solution

Originally Posted by saitvsk23

I had bought a bottle of LiquiMoly wheel rim cleaner and never used it

Or this expensive solution


Congratulations maheshm619

[supremeBaleno]

The other day, I was going through the CBR manual trying to see the replacement interval if any for the chain-sprocket (it just says Inspect & Lubricate every 1000kms till 36000kms). Yeah, inspite of you guys saying that the 20K kms I got isn't bad given other CBRs and similar bikes.

And that is when I notice that while the oil-change interval is 6K kms, the oil filter needs to be changed only every 12K kms (Honda cars also are like this). I have been changing both oil & filter every 6K kms. What about you all ?

Originally Posted by maheshm619

I brought the CBR250 home. It’s a 2011 model but has less mileage on the odo, ~15000 kms only. The bike wasn’t pampered or even maintained to say the least.
.....Even though it’s a decade old, the engine still sings beautifully and for me is terrific value considering what I paid. Hope the bike serves me for some more years until I can welcome a RE twin to my home.

That's a terrific restoration you have done - the last picture is wow.
How much did you pay for it ?

[aargee]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

the oil filter needs to be changed only every 12K kms (Honda cars also are like this). I have been changing both oil & filter every 6K kms. What about you all ?

Yes, the engine oil filter replacement is every 12K & I would change every 6K as well.

BTW, did you know the air filter replacement is every 12K as recommended by HMSI? And much before 5K, the paper gets super clogged up obstructing the flow of air.

[SnS_12]

If you plan to continue using the OE tank, it would be better if you can get a epoxy coating done on the inside of the tank to prevent further rusting.

Also, what is the reason for so must rust on the inside? Is the drain hole blocked leading to water entering the fuel tank?

[Black_Star]

Originally Posted by maheshm619

CBR250 with a shaving mirror

Your whole experience was both comedic and informative to read.

This experience reminds me that normal Honda service guys are not trained to handle the CBR250R, TBH this was/is one of the failings of the CBR. This is one of the reasons behind Honda's Big Wing strategy and why normal service centers are told not to service Big Wing bikes.

Two weeks later, I went again and then took the bike (along with the owner) to a Honda service center and asked the mechanic (who claimed he was trained to work in CBR) to check the bike...... The earlier CBR mechanic was not working there anymore and a young chap was assigned to work on this bike. The workmanship was terrible and I had to stick around the working bay to make sure he wasn’t breaking anything.

The next discovery brought horror to my face. The previous owner had almost applied half a kilo of Mseal to arrest leakages before. Even after applying another kilo of Mseal here and there, I couldn’t stop the leakage fully.

This sort of thing should have been noticed by the service mechanic who worked on the bike.

[hgps]

Originally Posted by Ratan Prabhu

I think 2021 and 2022 will go down as the years with most issues I've faced in my CBR250R.

Since a week I have been noticing a small puddle (maybe 10 drops) just behind the side stand. From touch and feel, it is the coolant (I'm using motocool which is not as green as the stock Honda coolant. So identifying requires touch and feel as my engine oil also looks similar yellowish when on the floor).

I had faced similar problem on my 2015 CBR250R a few years ago. After going thru a lot of troubleshooting including replacement of thermostat and its cover + O ring. Problem was later found to be a loose coolant hose.
Get all hoses checked and try to find the source of leakage.
If you're going to workshop then please ditch that motocool coolant and get something that is silicate free. Liqui moly RAF12+ or similar. As far as my research goes, motul motocool contains silicate that will ruin water pump seal.

Also, Good to see you after so many years. Know you from our ngfcommunity days (2010-12). Don't want to go OT. It'd be better to talk via PM route.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Black_Star

Honda service guys are not trained to handle the CBR250R, TBH this was/is one of the failings of the CBR. This is one of the reasons behind Honda's Big Wing strategy and why normal service centers are told not to service Big Wing bikes

On the other hand, a motorcycle like CB500X is easily capable of taking the rider to far NE region where BigWing should be hardly at Siliguir? Gangtok? Dispur? Basically the state capitals. When one goes as far as to Tawang CB500X really needs a real big wing to fly back to one of those ASC located far off.

However, if one asks how many such folks ride from Tawang to Lakpat, yes, there aren't many, but for some of them who do, ASCs are important; 2011 might seem not so distant in past, however, bikes during those times having 6K service interval was astounding compared to today's Tiger needing a service every 15K Km.

There's both good & bad in such strategies

[Black_Star]

Originally Posted by aargee

On the other hand, a motorcycle like CB500X is easily capable of taking the rider to far NE region where BigWing should be hardly at Siliguir? Gangtok? Dispur? Basically the state capitals. When one goes as far as to Tawang CB500X really needs a real big wing to fly back to one of those ASC located far off.

However, if one asks how many such folks ride from Tawang to Lakpat, yes, there aren't many, but for some of them who do, ASCs are important; 2011 might seem not so distant in past, however, bikes during those times having 6K service interval was astounding compared to today's Tiger needing a service every 15K Km.

There's both good & bad in such strategies

Yeah I agree, Honda's Big Wings strategy is very problematic to say the least, and now another issue has popup with Big Wing bikes.

Under Honda's current rules Big Wing showrooms are only allowed to service upto 500cc bikes, i.e. CB350, CB300R and CB500X. The rest 650 and above can only be serviced at Silver Big Wing showrooms and there are only 7 of these showrooms across India. So lets say you have an Africa Twin and you live in Guwahati, so now you have to travel halfway across India to Delhi or Hyderabad just for a service or parts change. Unless Honda does something about it this, it can soon become a major problem soon.

[Ratan Prabhu]

Originally Posted by hgps

please ditch that motocool coolant and get something that is silicate free. Liqui moly RAF12+ or similar. As far as my research goes, motul motocool contains silicate that will ruin water pump seal.

Also, Good to see you after so many years. Know you from our ngfcommunity days (2010-12). Don't want to go OT. It'd be better to talk via PM route.

Hey, pleasant surprise

Btw, if by water pump seal you mean the mechanical and oil seal "couple" that sit inside the right side crank case cover / clutch cover, then sadly, it is already gone bad few months back and have been leaking engine oil from the weep hole (covered this few pages back on this thread).

The sad thing is, since I was working from home, I thought of not replacing the cover at that time as the usage was very low and it was costing me close to 5k for the part+labour. And now, WFH phase is over and office is starting and the clutch cover is no longer available at the service center. I so wish I had got it replaced in October.

Also, weird enough, the coolant leakage from the reservoir area / behind the side stand has completely stopped since last 5 days.
I am pretty clueless about how it happened but as long as the temp remains at 3 bars and the radiator fan turns on on time in traffic, I shall not worry about it for now.

I am hunting for the clutch cover now in Mumbai and outside. And at the time of replacement, I will get the coolant replaced to either the one you said or go back to stock Honda. Atleast the Honda one is proper green. Helps differentiate when there is a leak if it is just the coolant or oil or a mix of both.

Thanks for responding....

[Travelling_Monk]

Originally Posted by Ratan Prabhu

I think 2021 and 2022 will go down as the years with most issues I've faced in my CBR250R.

Since a week I have been noticing a small puddle (maybe 10 drops) just behind the side stand. From touch and feel, it is the coolant (I'm using motocool which is not as green as the stock Honda coolant. So identifying requires touch and feel as my engine oil also looks similar yellowish when on the floor).

I have faced the exact same problem of leaking radiator. I have motocool coolant which is yellow but leak was green. With doubt, went back to the service center where I had serviced recently and found out service guy had topped up radiator coolant (Honda service uses green coolant) without asking or informing me causing the coolant to overflow. Got the excess coolant removed and problem was sorted.