New Rebel rider

**sandiegorebel** · 08-02-2010, 03:29 AM

Hi everyone...Brand new motorcycle rider here and a 2001 Honda Rebel 250 is my first bike. I'm really glad I ran across this website and it is cool to see what so many people have done with their bikes and so much great info.

My question is.... I have been easing myself into getting familiar with the handling by mainly limiting my riding to the city streets and staying off of the freeway for now. I did have an opportunity to hop on a highway for just about a mile or so and in 5th gear I felt like the bike was at a max speed of 55mph or so. I was being fairly conservative with the speed and didn't want to overwork the bike but didn't want to feel like I was holding up any traffic as well.... not to mention I was a little nervous being a new rider.

Is this normal for the 250 to feel maxed out at that speed? Are there any modifications that would make it feel like it had better performance on the freeway? What are speeds that you all have felt comfortable keeping for longer periods of time?

Thanks...would appreciate any advice.

**flitecontrol** · 08-02-2010, 09:48 AM

Welcome sandie. If you haven't taken it, I highly recommend you sign up for the MSF basic rider course. Self taught and taught by a friend riders are in the group most likely to be in an accident. The course will teach you techniques that will make you a better rider and keep you safer out on the road.

The 250 engine is fairly high revving, giving those unaccustomed to the sound the impression it is about to blow up! But that sound is normal. Many here ride their Rebels at wide open throttle for long distances on the freeway/Interstate with no reported problems. I have ridden around 15 miles at a time at WOT on the local Interstate. My bike tops out around an indicated speed of 75 mph. But the Rebel speedometer is very optimistic, and I am actually only going around 68 mph. So keep that in mind.

You can change the front or rear sprockets to modify the gearing somewhat. A 15 tooth front sprocket or 30 tooth rear (not both!) will reduce the rpms in the top gears somewhat, but also reduce your ability to climb hills without downshifting. So it is somewhat of a trade off; the engine isn't working as hard, but it reduces hill climbing power. Ther than that, there isn't much in the way of performance enhancements you can do.

**sandiegorebel** · 08-03-2010, 01:20 AM

Thanks for the input flitecontrol. I did take the safety course and it was a big help since the last time I had ridden a bike was as a teenager riding a kawasaki 125 dirtbike. Quite a difference riding amongst 70mph traffic.

I think my front tire felt a little squirly.... would it help or is it possible to get a wider front tire?

**Guba** · 08-03-2010, 02:30 AM

Hi Sandie, one of the best things I ever put on my bike was a wind shield. For highway riding it made everything waaaaaaay more comfortable. If you ever had to scratch an itch on the highway without a wind shield, you'll know what I mean.

If your worried about damaging the engine by running too high of RPM's, you can use the speedometer as a guide. The red numbers labeled 1 through 5 are the max engine RPM's for that gear. If your in third, just don't let your speed go above the three. I you use this system you'll see just how high the engine revs can be. And Honda considers this all in the safe zone!

Personnally, I like to ride around 45 mph. Most of my riding is around 55. When no traffic is behind me I'll do 45.

I have the 30T sprocket on back and positively love it! But, like flite mentioned, on the highway, going up hill into a wind, I lose speed.

As I stated, most of my riding is at 55, so I think it suits my needs just fine.

**mad hatter** · 08-03-2010, 02:33 AM

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