Honda CBR250R ABS – Long-Term Test Update #1 Town, highway, track day.

We’ve had so much fun every time we’ve ridden Honda’s quarter-liter machine that we decided to add one to our long-term fleet. Over the first three months of “ownership,” we’ve piled on a lot of fuel-sipping commuter miles, and staffers always return from a ride grinning.

The biggest smiles came at a Streets of Willow Springs track day (that’s Eric Bostrom at the controls, by the way). Even with the stock, built-to-a-price suspension, the CBR could be run hard into an apex trailing the brakes. Then, it was chin on the tank, throttle to the stop and all extremities tucked in as tightly as possible while leaned well over to get a good drive and maximum speed down the next straight. A couple of laps was all it took to feel like Romano Fenati holding a screaming Moto3 pack at bay.

Great fun, but most of our miles have been on the road. The engine has loosened up a bit and now pulls stronger on top, although in general riding, it’s happiest (and meatiest) revving between 6000-8000 rpm.

Fuel mileage has averaged from 61 to 70 mpg, the lowest reading coming from a partial tank run at the pictured track day and the highest from a tailwind-assisted freeway run.

We’ve dutifully filled up when we got down to the last of six bars on the LCD fuel gauge, but the tank has only taken 1.9 to 2.1 gallons, well short of the 3.4-gallon capacity listed in Honda’s published specs. The tripmeter has generally shown 120-140 miles, so we’ll soon attempt a nail-biter run to 190 miles.

But the CBR is not limited to economical commuting and roadracing-fanboy activities. We took the 250 on a couple of long trips, including one 400-mile day in the saddle. It’s a willing long-distance traveler, but speeds are best kept in the 70-75-mph range.

Up next are a few inexpensive mods to help the CBR250R do what it does best: provide all the fun that motorcycling delivers for the cost of a fancy bicycle.