Naveen has submitted this review in our Ownership Review Contest No 13, ensuring himself an assured prize. The contest also offers a chance to win Riding Jacket, Helmet and more…Here are all the details.
Hi Guys, this is Naveen from Chennai. Like all of you, I am also a great fan of bikes. I like faired bikes than naked ones. I’m here to share my riding experiences of my baby blade CBR 150R, It’s been with me for nearly 5 months now. This is my 1st ownership review. I may be a pretty bad writer, so kindly bear with me.
I started bike riding at my age of 18, my first bike riding started with Bajaj Discover 125, it was a good bike for daily commuting…
My First Bike
After getting a job with handsome earnings, I decided to buy a bike for me. I was not much aware of bike technicals that time. I started searching on Google and thanks to BikeAdvice & team, which helped me in learning a lot about bikes. After searching a lot, I decided to go for a 125cc and my choices were Stunner (from Honda) & SS125 (from Yamaha). I found more features in Stunner than its rival. It has semi fairing, split seats & tubeless tyres. I had two options to choose, FI (not available now) and carb version. But not much of a difference on technical figures over a premium of 6k…finally I ended up with carb version.
Stunner was a good bike, it can reach 0-60 Kph in 5.3 secs and has a top speed of 115 Kph. But vibrations after 70 Kph are annoying. After riding 8000 kms in 18 months of ownership, I decided to go for a performance motorcycle…
How I Choose the Baby Blade..?
When I decided to go for a performance motorcycle, I had three options… Duke 200, R15 V2 & CBR 150R. As I mentioned earlier, I’m a diehard fan of full faired sports bikes. So there was no way considering the Duke. Otherwise Duke 200 is a great bike, a good combo of performance, handling & comfort.
I heard that KTM is working on RC series of full faired motorcycles, But budget was a constraint for me, moreover RC series have an influence of their super sports RC8 motorcycle, so I doubt about the riding posture. And at last I have to wait for some more time.
So excluding KTM’s Duke & RC series, I started comparing the remaining two. R15 V2 is a more track oriented bike. It has great styling, handling & performance. But again it’s aggressive riding posture was an issue for me. I like the relaxed riding posture of CBR, that’s why people call CBR as a perfect sports tourer. I know that R15 is more VFM than CBR, but considering riding posture and high positioned pillion seat, I ended up with baby blade.
I booked vibrant orange on 15th of July. I was given one week waiting period for my baby delivery…
My Baby Blade Delivery
It was a wonderful day for me. I reached showroom, finished official procedure’s and collected all papers. Finally got the keys of my baby. As the showroom person was instructing me about the run-in, but I was looking at my gorgeous baby. After all that, I started the engine and raised the throttle, it sounds amazing. Still now someone asks me about the price and mileage of bike. Owning a sports bike gives a great feeling, proud to be a ceeberian…
Run-In Period
The worst scenario like every biker. As instructed, I used to ride at 5000-7000 rpm (60-75 Kph) up to first 1000 kms. It was really hard to keep the throttle at that limit on open highways…
Maintenance
CBR150R doesn’t need any special care. But some general maintenance is needed like other bikes. I service it as instructed in the manual. Clocked 3800kms and two services completed, engine oil & oil filter changed in second service, Since it has got an open chain, it needs cleaning and lubing after every 500 kms.
I use to clean and lube whenever I hear any chain noise mildly even if I haven’t covered many kms. I use Tribocor Chain Clean & lube. A well maintained chain will last long. I also frequently check for chain slackness and set it to right slackness as suggested…
Performance & Engine
Being a high revving engine, it performs well after 7k rpm. Because of low torque, it lags to compete with its rival below that. It has Honda’s patented PGMFI, engine has no vibes even at higher rpm’s. But there are little vibes from visor and RVM’s. The 6 speed gearbox is smooth and does its job pretty well. Being a sports bike it never regrets to perform, I have reached a top whack of 130 Kph at 11500 rpm, still there is some enough throttle to go further…
Look & Feel
CBR 150R is similar to that of CBR 250R in styling. It looks more like a VFR, but the high rev engine strongly has a CBR character in it. The multi layered fairings, Y-shaped headlamp, short stubby exhaust all makes the bike a unique look. But the painting of frame doesn’t look well, matt finish could be better instead of glossy…
Comfort, Handling & Braking
CBR 150R has a perfect riding posture, a good combo of sports as well as tourer motorcycle. The bike is rock solid on straights, but cornering doesn’t give much confidence because of its hard compound tires.
CBR 150R comes with 100 mm front & 130mm rear MRF Zapper Q tires as stock. It sticks well on dry surfaces but doesn’t give much confidence on wet & muddy roads. Soft compound tires can do better than stock.
The Nissin brakes does it job very well. The response is good and sharp, but it lacks ABS (at least as an option as like 250R)…
Accessories & Features
CBR 150R comes with a basic tool kit of two spanners and a screwdriver. It comes with an analogue tachometer & a digital speedometer which gives all basic information like fuel level, odometer and temperature & turn signal indicators…
Mileage
Well my baby is not a pocket burner, it returns 35-40 Kmpl on mixed riding conditions. I got 45 Kmpl on highway, that’s pretty good for a sports tourer…
Pros:
- High revving refined engine
- Razor sharp brakes
- Shorter exhaust pipe
- Comfortable riding posture/usable pillion seat
Cons:
- Sluggish performance at lower rpm
- Lacks ABS
- Poor switch gear & foot pegs
The bike is in proper stock condition now, but I would like to do some mods in near future. I have a plan to install LED pilot lamps, which look cool & more powerful too and instead of stock MRF Zappers, I will switch to Michelin pilot street radial tires…
Verdict
In simple, CBR 150R is a perfect sports tourer, a bike which gives great feeling every moment…I hope my experiences may help others to make right choices, I thank BikeAdvice & team for giving me this opportunity. Thanks to my fellow friend Rajesh selvamani for some nice snaps. Thanks for reading…
Ride Safe…Happy Riding…
Technical Specs
- Engine
- Type Liquid Cooled, Single cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves
- Displacement 149.4cc Bore/stroke 63.5mm x 47.2mm
- Power 17.6bhp @ 10500rpm
- Torque 12.7 Nm @ 8500rpm
- Transmission 6-speed Manual Gearbox (1 down, 5 up)
- Clutch Constant Mesh-Wet sump
- Chassis & Body
- Weight 138kg
- Wheels 17inch alloys
- Tires 100/80-17 (F), 130/70-17 (R)
- Suspension
- Front Tube type telescopic forks
- Rear Tube type monoshock
- Brakes 276mm (F), 220mm (R)
- Fuel Tank 13-litres
Thanks,
Naveen
Check All Reviews From Contest No 13
Check out all Bike Ownership Reviews at BikeAdvice
