Japanese reports: twin-cylinder CBR250RR planned
…Or will it really be a V-twin VTR250R?
JAPANESE monthly mag Young Machine has mocked up a parallel twin-cylinder CBR250RR for the cover of its March issue to claim that just such a bike is set to be launched into the fast-growing small-sportsbike market.
And with the likes of Yamaha’s R25 (and the 321cc R3 version that we get over here) and Kawasaki’s Ninja 300 already doing strong business in several markets around the world, it seems to make sense.
As with most of these small sportsters, Europe isn’t really the target, but the huge Indonesian market – which massively favours sub-250cc bikes – and places like India have shown a growing interest in high-spec, small-capacity sports bikes.
Young Machine’s mock-up is lashed together from pieces of existing bikes – the bodywork is largely from the CBR300R and the frame, suspension and wheels, along with what can be seen of the engine, are CBR650F – and isn’t likely to be a terribly accurate representation of the bike, if it exists at all.
While the magazine’s picture, and the use of the CBR title, suggests an in-line engine design – and the mag says it will be a twin rather than a four – several Indonesian sources suggest that Honda is actually planning a new V-twin-engined sports bike to take on the R25. To be made in Indonesia, and currently codenamed ‘K64A’, the supposed V-twin arguably makes more sense, since Honda already has an existing V-twin engine it can draw upon as the basis for such a model; the Japanese-market VTR250.
