[Sheel]

Originally Posted by RX135

(not to mention uninspiring test ride).

I do agree that the R15 V2 appears more rich.

Uninspiring? Compared to what?

IIRC, the places where R15 struggled to hit 120kmph, I do 140 on those stretches w/o crouching if I may add. Compared to R15, braking is a worry, but shall get that sorted soon. (A braided line is made available thanks to a dear friend )

And honestly, quality (the perceived lack of it) of the CBR is a bit exaggerated.

And really sorry to go a bit OT, lets get on with the discussions.

[Ricci]

Originally Posted by Shivank

The 150R, at least from the promo with Stoner astride, looks more track focused than its big brother, the 250R.

If the Indian-spec bike can hit 165kmph like seen below, then who cares about its puny torque or engine displacement!

And, I don't think Honda is commanding a premium on the 150R just because of its Honda badge. The 150R is DOHC setup and has an O2 sensor too-both of which are missing in the R15. Plus, it will rev like a maddy which would be sweeet to any rider's ears!

Honestly, if it could go beyond 160kmph, handle like an R15, be reliable as any other Honda, I see it as a great VFM bike for us enthusiasts!

165km/h from a 150cc 4 stroker ? I'd say big speedo error , mate ! The CBR250R with 25bhp does not crack 150km/h true.

Yes, the DOHC and higher power is good, but I doubt it's going to overwhelm the R-15. As for handling, too early to say but those accounts I dod read months ago, mentioned the R-15 as a much better handler.

I'll say it's a worthy rival for the R-15 for those who want a Honda R-15 , or didn't find the handlebar/ergos comfortable enough.

Oh, and apologies for the earlier post - I made a type, it should be 16.76hp for the R-15 and not 17.67.


@Sheel : "Compared to R15, braking is a worry"
Oh, that's a downer. How bad is it compared to the R-15 ? Have you checked if other bikes also brake the same way?

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Ricci

@Sheel : "Compared to R15, braking is a worry"
Oh, that's a downer. How bad is it compared to the R-15 ? Have you checked if other bikes also brake the same way?

Its like the Karizma.

The R15 had tremendous braking force and I could modulate it the way I desired. Gave tremendous feed-back. Dr. Arn has put in a braided line on his 250R & have bugged him for one. Shall be putting one soon. From what I know, its the N250R>R15>Others

I have really started to exploit a bike's capabilities post the R15. Earlier I used to ride wrongly :0 The RTR's have good brakes, but I am yet to ride it on a very long stretch to form an opinion.

OT: - The N-650R's braking too has been a cause of worry for most folks and they too are going for after market brake lines.

[Ricci]

Thanks Sheel. Looking at the Ninja 250R's brake rotor and calliper, it looks distinctly 1980s or 1990s, I expected mediocre braking from the Ninja 250R ( never ridden one). So it is surprising to hear it's best in braking among all bikes upto 250cc - but I have read this same opinion elsewhere recently from 3-4 more others, so I'll take your word for it. About your R-15 , was it a 2008-pre-Q3-2009 model ? I have heard the Indian made ones since July 2009 have poorer braking than the ones with more Indonesian made components.

Do update when you get the SS braided brake lines. IIRC, yours is the non-ABS model, the ABS ones run Nissin callipers, to determine if they're better.

As for the 650 - yes, I read about the braking woes , but as per one of them, it gets better after some mileage , the pads need to be run in too ! Still it's not in the league of sport bikes.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Ricci

So it is surprising to hear it's best in braking among all bikes upto 250cc - but I have read this same opinion elsewhere recently from 3-4 more others, so I'll take your word for it.

I too have read it and from users I can depend upon, hence...

About your R-15 , was it a 2008-pre-Q3-2009 model ? I have heard the Indian made ones since July 2009 have poorer braking than the ones with more Indonesian made components.

I honestly do not find any difference in braking or that in performance of the R15's pre Q3 '09 ones & the later ones. What I can recall is the pre Q3 ones were more *tight*

Do update when you get the SS braided brake lines. IIRC, yours is the non-ABS model, the ABS ones run Nissin callipers, to determine if they're better.

I will up-date on my thread. Yes, mine is the non-ABS one.
I am too caught up with life at the moment. Don't think can ride much for the next 6 months at least :(

As for the 650 - yes, I read about the braking woes , but as per one of them, it gets better after some mileage , the pads need to be run in too ! Still it's not in the league of sport bikes.

Dunno about the later part, so can't comment. But once one gets more comfortable & in sync with one's steed, the -ves are over looked a bit.

[surbhit]

Originally Posted by Sheel

IIRC, the places where R15 struggled to hit 120kmph, I do 140 on those stretches w/o crouching if I may add. Compared to R15, braking is a worry, but shall get that sorted soon. (A braided line is made available thanks to a dear friend )

OT: The braided line will not make a vast difference in overall braking, it will just reduce the sponginess of the brakes. If you want to upgrade the brakes you should also go for braided lines+better pads(from EBC/Galfer) combo.

[Shivank]

Originally Posted by surbhit

I will be taking a test ride of the CBR150 this weekend and posting my first impressions here.

Rip it in the test-ride itself, and do keep us posted.

Originally Posted by Ricci

165km/h from a 150cc 4 stroker ? I'd say big speedo error , mate ! The CBR250R with 25bhp does not crack 150km/h true.

Yes, the DOHC and higher power is good, but I doubt it's going to overwhelm the R-15. As for handling, too early to say but those accounts I dod read months ago, mentioned the R-15 as a much better handler.

I'll say it's a worthy rival for the R-15 for those who want a Honda R-15 , or didn't find the handlebar/ergos comfortable enough.

Waiting for the real-world tests now. However, I would like to believe that it'll handle on a par with the R15, if not better. Could it be more nimbler than the R15 (around 40 mm wheelbase difference between the two)?

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by surbhit

OT: The braided line will not make a vast difference in overall braking, it will just reduce the sponginess of the brakes. If you want to upgrade the brakes you should also go for braided lines+better pads(from EBC/Galfer) combo.

The braking doesn't require a vast difference. The oil needs to travel faster.

The line is cheaper to source & pay for (close to Rs. 1000) while the search for pads will be end-less.

[Kevciti]

HMSI site has been updated. Wierd colour combinations for the bike. Why cant it just come in solid colours instead of combinations???

[surbhit]

Just back from a short test ride of the CBR 150 and these are my impressions:-(All comparisions are with the old R15)

1.) Saw 2 color options there :- Green/black combo and White/black combo and both of them looked quite nice. The bike looks and feels a bit smaller than the 250 and it looks perfect from all angles unlike the R15. If I were to choose a bike which looks better it will be still the R15.

2.) Riding position is as sporty if not more than the older R15 and I can't compare it with the new R15 as I have not got a chance to sit on it.

3.)Handling and flickability felt as good as the old R15 though the test ride duration was too small to decide whether it was indeed better than the old R15.

4.)Brakes were spongy and felt weak.

5.)Now the main part, I am really disappointed with the performance of the bike. First I went with the pillion and was shocked with the pickup(poor). Then I asked the pillion to get down and then checked the acceleration. There is absolutely no pickup till about 7500 RPM, it improves a bit in the 8-9K range and after that there is nothing. It will rev till 12K but no point doing so as it feels strained after 11K. I think the low torque does 1.2Nm is very much responsible for the dismal performance.

6.) I had planned earlier to take pics and note other finer details about the bike bit I was so pissed of with the performance decided to skip everything.

Overall this bike does nothing better than the older R15, the latter also had an addictive powerband from 7.5 to 9.5K where as Honda has no power band and also doesn't rev faster than the R15.

I have owned Karizma, R15 earlier, my requirement was a bike for daily use which is also fun to ride. I went to take the test ride of the bike and also get the bike(as they had stock) but the bike failed to impress big time. End result:- I am going to book the Duke today.

PS:- This is my honest opinion about the bike, do take a test ride yourself too before deciding.

[Shivank]

Originally Posted by surbhit

Now the main part, I am really disappointed with the performance of the bike. First I went with the pillion and was shocked with the pickup(poor). Then I asked the pillion to get down and then checked the acceleration. There is absolutely no pickup till about 7500 RPM, it improves a bit in the 8-9K range and after that there is nothing. It will rev till 12K but no point doing so as it feels strained after 11K. I think the low torque does 1.2Nm is very much responsible for the dismal performance.

Thanks for sharing your first impressions of the 150R.

The low torque figure is sure a downer. Even the R15 with 15N-m of torque feels strained under 6k rpm. So, honestly there's nothing one can expect from the CBR below 7-8k. However, I was expecting it to be a bit mental, much like the R15 after 6-7k rpm. I hope it revs freely as the R15 though, otherwise reaching 10.5k rpm to squeeze the max out of it would be tiring!

Anything on the handling and stability? Did you manage to carve some corners in it? Also, do you think it can come good given a free stretch of road-highway etc?

[surbhit]

Originally Posted by Shivank

Thanks for sharing your first impressions of the 150R.

The low torque figure is sure a downer. Even the R15 with 15N-m of torque feels strained under 6k rpm. So, honestly there's nothing one can expect from the CBR below 7-8k. However, I was expecting it to be a bit mental, much like the R15 after 6-7k rpm. I hope it revs freely as the R15 though, otherwise reaching 10.5k rpm to squeeze the max out of it would be tiring!

Anything on the handling and stability? Did you manage to carve some corners in it? Also, do you think it can come good given a free stretch of road-highway etc?

I too was not expecting much in 7-8K RPM range but was expecting hell to break loose once past 8K RPM but sadly it just revs cleanly till 10K after which feels a bit stressed before reaching 12K RPM. I guess the performance should improve after running in but in current tune it is pathetic . This bike though has huge modding potential(check out various CBR forums) and it will not be long before Joel brings a kit for CBR bumping the power output substantially.

Handling is as good as R15 V1 and stability is a bit better(R15 V1) due to fat tyres.

[rajatsingh78]

Now launched

CBR150R

[Blue_V]

Its raining bikes

The bike is overpriced? 1.25 lakh seems to be the limit for a dream machine now. Manufacturers should get some more bikes like the KTM duke that dont break ur arms or back.

[zaks]

I went to the dealer but they still didn't have the TD bike, said it would arrive this week. They have already started the bookings though and said it would formally be announced for Apr-15th.