Yamaha continues to impress me!

[pajkrubi]

It may seem kinda dumb but I was very happy and impressed with yamaha today when I decided to look at my tool kit that comes with the bike. I about fell over when a whole slew of wrenches and other tools came falling out! My Honda cbr250 came with a "tool kit" that included an allen wrench......ONE allen wrench, that's it! I've also read that even on their bigger bikes they don't provide squat with them. Pretty pathetic in my eyes. You had to buy the spanner wrench to adjust the preload from the dealer even. I didn't, I used a big set of channel locks.

And people always talk about hondas fit and finish. Well I haven't got to ride my bike but once because it's been so cold and we've been getting snow flurries so I've been out just staring at it and going over it checking everything out. Well in my opinion the yamaha has as good or better fit and finish than my honda did. I even get to compare it side by side with another cbr250 because my wife has a 2012 parked right next to my FZ8. I can't wait to get out and ride this thing some more though! It's killing me to have it just sitting there.

Oh and I've also already read the manual front to back. The only thing I didn't really like about it was their answer to everything was "take your bike to a yamaha dealer". LOL It did kind of have me concerned though because in the battery section it said about how you can't use a normal battery charger on it because of it's "special" battery so I started thinking "great I can't use my battery tender on this bike". Well after some googleing I realized they were talking about you can't use an old school car battery charger on it and the term they used was basically a fancy way to say maintenance free non vented battery.

 

[ausfz8]

They are a great bike, just dont forget that the smaller bikes like the CBR250 i aimed at the beginner rider whose just gotten their licence and try keeping the costs down as much as possible to get someone out riding. I guess they wouldn't want them playing too much either being a beginner. like the rest of us on here you are going to love it when you actually get out riding it.

 

[Rotaryknight]

Love the tool kit that comes with the bike, I only had to add in 2 other allen key sizes a small rachet with 10 and 12mm sockets, and gear wrenches and I was set.

 

[villhelmromero]

I was highly impressed with the fit and finish of my 2012 cbr250r for the price. did a partial trade towards my 8. now the fit and finish on my fz8 I think is better. of coarse it cost much more too. I wasn't impressed with the 1 allen wrench though on the cbr. the fz8 has a great tool set.

 

[pajkrubi]

Yeah I understand that the cbr250 was definitely a low budget bike. I mean they were made in thailand instead of japan so you can't really expect too much. Lol I'm just thoroughly impressed with this bike! I can't wait to get some riding in. I'm itching to ride it so bad I almost went for a ride today before I had to leave for work at 2pm and it was only 29 degrees out! Lol

 

[ausfz8]

Yeah I understand that the cbr250 was definitely a low budget bike. I mean they were made in thailand instead of japan so you can't really expect too much. Lol I'm just thoroughly impressed with this bike! I can't wait to get some riding in. I'm itching to ride it so bad I almost went for a ride today before I had to leave for work at 2pm and it was only 29 degrees out! Lol

Made in Thailand? with only one Allen key I would expect it to be assembled in Sweden at some unamed furniture maker

 

[pajkrubi]

Lol, Yeah the cbr250's are made in thailand instead of japan to save money. If you think that's bad the very first few batches were actually made in India! They had quite a few problems with those bikes and pretty much only sold them in India. In all honesty it was a very good bike and makes a great beginers bike. It just gets really old once you've actually learned how to ride a bike pretty good. If I lived in a city where I never really had to do much passing and everything was lsower speeds I'd probably just stay with it because it was VERY light and easy to control and got insane gas mileage. If I was riding hard beating the crap out of the bike I'd easily average 65mpg and my wife consistently averages low-mid 70mpg on hers because she rides a lot easier than me and weighs a good chunk less.

 

[villhelmromero]

I loved the cbr250 but damn I was craving more power. so the FZ8 fit the bill perfectly. its actually a very identical riding position and I can throw it around quite well. just not as well as the 250. only by a bit though

 

[master paper clip]

Just layer up and get out there, as long as your not going crazy far you should be good, I can ride about an hr before my fingers get cold, the rest of me is nice and toasty, your base layer is most important... Get your self some snug fitting thermals that's what I wear along with my icon Stryker rig, and for warmth I have my fuzzy hoodie.... Best thing u can do to help kill the cold is stop the wind from getting to you, I wear a rain liner from my old jacket under my hoodie, rode 30 min in 23 degree weather the other morning and I was sweating every time I stopped, all that gets cold is my fingers cause I don't have winter gloves.... Rite now for my hands i have some fleece gloves I wear inside my ridin gloves, I got some of those hot hand things and I throw one of them in each glove between te layers... My set up May not be ideal but I'll be damned if the colds gonna stop me from curing my itch to ride .... Plus once your out on the bike enjoying your self u don't notice the cold as much

 

[pajkrubi]

What sucks is that I have to leave my hous eby 2pm to get to work on time so jut when it's getting tolerable out for a ride I have to leave. I have plenty of warm clothes to ride in because I start riding my bike as early in the year as possible and as late as I can. I have a nice set of winter riding gloves (which suck because they're so bulky that I lose a lot of "feeling" and it makes riding kind of akward. But I have a heavy liner for my jacket and thermals bottoms. One of the BEST things I got this past year for keeping warm was a nice under armour balclava to keep my head/neck/face warm. Even with a fullface helmet my head always got cold from the air coming up in it and my neck got blasted even with my jacket zipped all the way up. Keeping my head warm has helped dramatically in the rest of my body staying warmer. And now tomorrow they're calling for snow here. It sucks too because normally I LOVE the snow and winter but not this year.

 

[ausfz8]

Lol, Yeah the cbr250's are made in thailand instead of japan to save money. If you think that's bad the very first few batches were actually made in India! They had quite a few problems with those bikes and pretty much only sold them in India. In all honesty it was a very good bike and makes a great beginers bike. It just gets really old once you've actually learned how to ride a bike pretty good. If I lived in a city where I never really had to do much passing and everything was lsower speeds I'd probably just stay with it because it was VERY light and easy to control and got insane gas mileage. If I was riding hard beating the crap out of the bike I'd easily average 65mpg and my wife consistently averages low-mid 70mpg on hers because she rides a lot easier than me and weighs a good chunk less.

Yeah fair enough, talking about India I have seen good reviews on the KTM Duke 200 and 390 that are made their. guess is all depends though.

Definately layer up take a backpack or something for extras or if you do get too hot you can take them off. theres plenty of motorcycle thermal gloves, balaklavas etc. I would recommend which cut out a lot of that wind or the chill going straight to your skin. DriRider do some great all weather gear with removeable liners you could look into.