Honda CBR 150R - First Ride Experience
‘Taste the First Blood’ W hen the CBR 250R hit the market it was a dream come true for a lot of people, a much more cheaper 250cc(than the ...
‘Taste the First Blood’
When the CBR 250R hit the market it was a dream come true for a lot of people, a much more cheaper 250cc(than the only option of Ninja 250R) as the replica of the super hit liter bike the CBR 1000RR Fireblade. Even though it turned out to be a replica of the VFR with the CBR name it still looked gorgeous, and fulfilling most of the people’s dream to own a sport 250cc who could not afford the hefty Rs 3 lac price tag of the Ninja 250R. Still lots of people were disappointed with the more touring oriented set up. After a year of the 250R’s Success Honda launched the 150R at the Auto Expo stating that it will be of more sporty nature, satisfying the spirited race oriented people who wanted the CBR. All the people who left their seats after the CBR 250R were back and had fasten their seat belts for the 150 to hit the showrooms which Honda stated would be somewhere around may. But one evening our team member Amritansh Mishra spotted the CBR 150R getting unloaded at the Shree Grand Honda Showroom Allahabad and do you think we would have wasted any moment to pack our bags, kit up and hit the showroom for the first ride experience or in other words ‘ to taste the first blood’.
LOOKS :
Even though both CBR 250R and 150R almost looks the same still you can easily tell the difference from a distance as it clearly is smaller than the 250. Just after its launch there were speculation that the 150R is very marginally smaller than 250R but I would like to contradict that and tell you that it is significantly smaller than its elder sibling, not that it is very small but u can convincingly tell the difference between the two if u just spot it on the road going the opposite direction. The 150R has got the black treatment on the alloys and the engine (Though not the whole of it, the cylinder has been exempted from the black treatment). The CBR 250R already looked gorgeous and now with all the black treatment on the 150R, it just fills you with pure lust. The exhaust looks the same as the one on 250R apart from being shorter. The front forks are thinner and what surprised us was the position of the coolant chamber, in between the engine and the rear mono-shock suspension which is very weird. For a 150cc and even for a sub category of a liquid cooled 4 valve 150cc the tyres are beefy with 100/80 – 17 MRF Zapper FQ front and 130/70 – 17 MRF Zapper Q. With such tyres to add to the overall styling and as I mention the black theme the biked does look irresistible.
ENGINE :
The 149.4 cc 4 stroke, DOHC, 4 vave, PGM-Fi engine with a bore and stroke of 63.5mm x 47.2mm belts out a max power of 17.82 PS @ 10500rpm and a Max torque of 12.66 Nm @ 8500rpm and is mated to a super slick 6 speed transmission. The Double Over Head Cams (DOHC) help in delivering high performance even at very high rpms. As I pressed the electric starter the engine came alive with a deep base. The idling was smooth and hiccup free for a cold engine and the exhaust note was music to my ears with a deep base to the note and hint of crispness. The engine is typical Honda, it felt like it was dipped in melted butter and revvd happily. The Liquid cooler will take care of whatever abuse the bike gets from the rider and even though it was a pre-run engine the engine did not get heated as much as it should be after being ridden in heavy traffic.
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| The Pent roof type single cylinder |
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| It’s a trusted Honda Mill |
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| The Short exhaust |
HANDLING :
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The clip-ons and the top yoke are of top notch quality |
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The Large 130 section rear tyre gives a solid feel to the bike. The bike has got good flickability and is more flickable than the Yamaha R15 version 2.0 . As I didn’t get the bike for a thorough ride I can only say that the bike feels planted and will be fun to ride in the city and would be a breeze on highway. How it will fair on a track is yet to be seen when we get it for a full road review.
RIDE :
The 150R is marginally sportier than the 250R and if you sit on both of them back to back you will be able to make out the difference in the seating position. The cushioning of the seat is soft and I am pretty sure that it will keep you comfortable throughout your trip however long it may be. My team mate Amritansh Mishra felt the same when he hopped on the pillion seat for a brief ride. The ride was almost Plush of what I could make out of the short ride. The suspensions is neither too stiff nor too soft, it is somewhere in the middle, it gives you good feedback though. All in all the ergonomics is sporty but comfortable; seat has good padding and provides good comfort to the rider and the pillion and along with the suspension setup the CBR 150R gives you best of both worlds.
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| The Mono shock Suspension. Notice the coolant box behind the mono shock |
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| Surprisingly the chain is not o-ringd but a standard one |
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| The seats are very comfortable and are perfect for long rides |
PERFORMANCE :
I know that all of you have been waiting for this section specially and eagerly. As soon as you leave the clutch in the first gear the bike smoothly rolls forward without any jerk or surge and gathers speed gradually till 7000rpm. Since it has got a considerably low output of torque of 12.66 Nm and that to at such a high rpm of 8500 it lacks initial get up and go and is a bit sluggish but not as much as the Yamaha R15 version 1.0 at lower revs, the 150R’s power delivery feels more linear than that. But unlike the R15 version 2.0 where the mid torque kicks in at around 4500 rpm and pulls the bike away the CBR’s power delivery’s remains the same all the way up to 7000rpm. But past 7000rpm boy o boy it pulls insanely, it’s a sudden transition. It is like from 1400 to 7000rpm it behaves like any 150cc but from 7001rpm it surges ahead like a 200cc beast till the high 11500rpm red line with which I can conclude that the bike will have a very healthy top speed which could match or even exceed some bigger cc bikes in the current market. Though the figures can only be posted when data lodging equipment is strapped on but I think it deliver a better top speed than the Yamaha R15 version 2.0. I would like my reader understand over here that the CBR hasn’t got a concentric torque curvature and in fact has a more linear power delivery till 7000rpm but since the overall torque figure is low so you don’t feel it until things get wild after 7000. I tried the roll-ons as well on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th gear also. The roll-ons are a different scenario altogether, the bike doesn’t feels that sluggish at all, not saying that it pulls right away our has a great pull but doesn’t let you feel that the machine under you only produces 12.66 Nm. If you have ridden the R15 version 1.0 you won’t be disappointed at all. Just keep it on the boil and you will have lots of fun, guaranteed.
BRAKING :
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| The Large 276mm Front disc lacks bite but is sufficient for shedding speed |
The large 276mm front disk with twin piston Nissin calipers disappointed me as it felt spongy and lacked bite. Not that I had a tough time shedding speed but I would have definitely liked more bite from the front disc. The bike was new though and the disk may get better after some kilometers on board. The rear 220mm disc with single piston Nissin caliper had the appropriate amount of bite as the rear disk should be a little spongy. There was excellent response front the tyres and they performed well under sudden braking.
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| Nissin braking |
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| The Meaty Tyres inspire a lot of confidence |
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| The rear 220mm disc |
OTHER FEATURES AND STUFF :
One of the feature which all of you is gonna love is the bright 65/55 W H4 headlamp powere by a decent 6 Ah Maintenance Free battery; this will aid all the tourers at night. There are no Radial tyres but both the tyres are of course tubeless. Unlike the CBR250R the 150R has an amber backlit speedo and the tacho lines are neat white. The dash consist of an analogue tacho redlining at 11500rpm, Fuel Gauge, odometer, 2 trip meters, low oil indicator, engine temperature, engine malfunction, clock and other tell tale lights. The bike has a low seat height of 780mm which makes it a deal for people of all heights. It has a high ground clearance of 190mm perfectly suited for the Indian conditions. The Honda has not complicated the bike with a lot of panels and cowls and instead kept it simple with minimal cowling to keep it as light and fuss free to reach the engine. The switch gear is also typical Honda with all the switches on the left hand side and only the electric starter on the right, what bothered me was the lack of kill switch on the bike which is nowdays a standard feature on bikes of smaller capacities as well. The single horn of the 150R though loud had a squeaky tone and resembled the one on Yamaha R15 version 1.0. Honda Claims a mileage of 50kmpl in mixed riding conditions, though seeing the revy nature and the low torque output of the bike I would advise you to keep your expectation low, anything 35+ will be a win-win. We all know Honda’s Service quality so there are no questions there. After the startup of Honda’s 3rd plant the parts of all the bikes are also readily available and this may sound soothing to your ears if you are planning to buy this bike, the Free service charge will be approximately Rs 450 only, we say pretty cheap for a premium bike.
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| The Parking Lamps |
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| All the switches are on the left side except for the electric starter |
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| The 60/55 W H4 Head lamp |
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| Rear brake lever, I would have preferred the foot peg without the rubber |
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| The indicators are the same which are on 250R |
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| The Tacho rages till 13500 rpm redlining at 11500 rpm |
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The Sporty Speedo with a beautiful Amber Display |
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The right side only features the electric starter |
It comes in four colours with 2 colour options each in the standard and deluxe variants.
- Standard Variant colour options
· Sports Red
· Black and Pearl Sunbeam White
- Deluxe Variants colour options
· Black and Candy Palm Green
· Vibrant Orange
The booking amount for CBR 150R is Rs 5000 only and the waiting period is around one month.
VERDICT :
With a price tag of Rs 1,31,985 on-road Allahabad for the standard version and Rs 1,33,105 on-road Allahabad for the deluxe version many may think it is overpriced but considering that you get the looks and features of CBR 250R in Rs 30,000 less and with a performance oriented Engine embedded with Honda’s racing DNA along with the sporty ergonomics giving you the comfort and touring abilities of the 250R and additional racing instinct for a racing enthusiast it is a great deal. To understand the feeling you have to taste Honda’s first blood. Go and get a Test Ride as soon as possible at Honda’s Nearest Showroom.
- Ride Safe
150R & 250R face to face
Technical Specification
Engine | Liquid Cooled, 4 Stroke, SI Engine |
Displacement | 149.4cc |
Bore & Stroke | 63.5mm x 47.2mm |
Compression Ratio | 11.01 |
Max Power | 17.82Ps @ 10500rpm |
Max Torque | 12.66Nm @ 8500rpm |
Valve system | DOHC, 4 valve |
Fuel System | PGM-Fi |
Starting System | Electric Start |
Lubrication | Forced Pressure and Wet Pump |
Air Filter | Viscous Paper Filter |
Drive Train | |
Transmission | 6 speed manual |
Final Transmission | Chain Drive |
Gear Shift Pattern | 1 down 5 up |
Clutch Type | Manual Clutch, wet multiplate type |
Dimension | |
Kerb Weight | 138 Kg |
Length | 2000 mm |
Width | 825mm |
Height | 1120mm |
Wheelbase | 1305mm |
Saddle Height | 780mm |
Ground Clearence | 190mm |
Fuel Tank Capacity | 13 liters |
Chassis | |
Frame Type | Diamond Type |
Suspension | Front: Tube type one side operation Rear: Tube type both side operation |
Tyres | Front: 100/80 - 17 Rear: 130/70 - 17 |
Brakes | Front: 276mm disc Rear: 220mm disc |
Electrical & other | |
Ignition | Digital ECU based |
Battery | 12V 6Ah/ Maintenance Free |
Head Lamp | 12V 60/55W H4 |
THANK YOU NOTE :
Story by: Ankit Williams
Photography by: Amritansh Mishra
Ankit Anthony
Ankit Williams
Photography by: Amritansh Mishra
Ankit Anthony
Ankit Williams
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1 comments :
"The Mono shock Suspension. Notice the coolant box behind the mono shock"
Replybehind mono sock that is Rear-Break Fluid reserver....not Engine coolant box.
Nice & first review I read for 150R (Indian).
Regards, Neel