Buickguy

Long term impressions of a 1987 Honda Rebel CMX250C

Upon first inspection at the dealership, the Rebel has a charm that belies it’s size and enough style to turn a few heads.
This particular 1987 Rebel is in Candy Wineberry Red, a rich metallic that attracts the eye.
The frame and swing arm of the ‘87 in Candy Wineberry is painted body color instead of the usual black frame that one becomes accustomed to. With an MSRP of $1500 in ‘87 the bike could easily be put on a credit card.
My one complaint about the Honda Rebel was its somewhat “unfinished” looking pillion seating. Hondaline accessories addressed that problem with their Backrest and Pad “sissy bar” in the common parlance. Another Hondaline accessory caught my eye as well, the small carry bag that attached to the backrest. Some negotiations with the salesman and a couple of hours later and I was the proud owner of a brand new Rebel 250.

Naturally, since I had to have gotten to the dealer by some form of transportation and the fact they had to prep the bike, I left that day with only a backrest and bag. The bike would be ready tomorrow! Dropped off at the dealer by a friend, I found my bike in the service department all cleaned up, prepped a ready to go with one gallon of gas in the tank.
Well, at least I knew what my first stop would be.

The controls for the Rebel are the standard fare and most will find the layout familiar and easily reachable. Single key operation for ignition, tank, helmet and fork locks as one would expect. The stock mirrors are large enough for good visibility and well placed. Vibration from the little twin can make images blurry at the upper rpm range and at freeway speeds, a minor annoyance to be sure but still worth mentioning.
The (old style) headlight of the stock bike is adequate but unremarkable. Where the Rebel really shines is in its light weight, ease of handling and nimble feel. Comfort is reasonably good for most. With a seat height of 26.6 inches and an advertised dry weight of 299 pounds, shorter riders will find it stable and friendly. For me at 5’10 inches and 210 pounds the Rebel still sits well and has enough power to keep up with traffic. The gear spacing is well thought out with a quick first gear going into a wide second and third gears. Shifting is forgiving for the new rider and amusing enough to keep a seasoned rider happy. Economy is excellent delivering 72 mpg on 87 octane gasoline.

But those are the initial impressions, how does it stand the test of time?

The Rebel breaks in over a long time. The 600 mile service showed no wear with all adjustments holding their factory settings. Although not required again until the 3000 mile mark, the tight feel of the engine had me changing the oil again at 1800 miles. The 3000 mile service also showed no significant wear. Time for new spark plugs anyway, so in they went.
At 3432, the little twin lost its stuffed up, Rebel with a head cold, new engine sound and settled in to a casual, friendly hum. 4000 mile service again showing no wear with the valves staying set at factory specs.
The engine design may be dated but it is certainly a well proved one.
Early miles pile up very easily with this little bike, almost sure to bring a smile to the riders face each time. The bike is well marked from the factory making regular service and frequent oil change simple for the do-it-yourself types.

Some notable failures did happen along the way. The first was a spark plug lost its seal between the insulation and body at 4182 miles. While this did not stop the bike, it did make an interesting whistle at each compression stroke. A stop at an auto parts store and the handy break down tool kit readily solved the issue in less than 20 minutes.
On a trip across the state, one acorn nut from the exhaust manifold fell off at 6457 miles. Again, easily solvable by a stop at an auto parts store. Upon arriving home, a trip to the dealer acquired the proper chrome covered acorn nut.

By the end of its second season, some things just begged to be improved. First, although the suspension is adequate (with the rear dampers set up to number four) the forks just seemed a little spongy. A change to a to a heavier weight fork did help considerably but there was still a little something to be desired. With the help of a friend who is an accomplished mechanical engineer and skilled machinist, two pre load blocks were fabricated for the forks at two inches each. That did the trick, taking the dive out of the front end while maintaining a good road feel and suspension travel, at least with my weight.

The original equipment tires were fair but not optimal, lasting about 7000 miles.
Since then, more of my tires have been replaced due to age rather than miles but I have found that most after market tire offer better handling and performance than OE tires

I always preferred bikes that had marker/running lights in their front turn signals. A headlight alone is perfectly fine but I want no doubt that there is a bike on the road, so I had to add running lights. The solution I found was easy using Honda factory parts. The front signal/ marker assemblies for a 1984 Honda Shadow VT700C were purchased from the local dealer. Having the same shape, size and attachment as the stock Rebel signal, bolt on is a matter of one phillips screw. Wiring is almost as easy with the ground and signal wires plugging right in to the existing harness where the signals were removed. The hardest part of that is removing the headlight assembly to gain access to the wiring box tucked neatly there, The marker/ running portion of the lights was a little more complex but well within the easy skill set.
Unattached, unadorned and unused, lo and behold, a lone brown wire resides in the wiring box with a single bullet connector. Tests with a Volt/Ohm meter showed this to be the tail light circuit. Plugging one of the running light wires in confirms that the is indeed the tail light circuit, hot whenever the key is in the on or park position. There are, needless to say, two wires that have to now go in to this circuit. My solution was to cut the single bullet connector off of the brown wire and crimp on a double bullet connector. Both running lights will now work. That wiring box is already packed fairly tight so some caution and restraint must be exercised when packing the wires and buttoning up the cover.

Long term highway riding tends to fatigue the rider. Wind pushing back and the handlebars rolled slightly forward can have the effect of a continuous pull up. The addition of a National Cycle Street Shield proved to keep the wind off enough to eliminate a lot of fatigue while still allowing a good “in the wind” feel to keep the ride cool and pleasant.

The rebel loves to be ridden but it can take sitting and waiting just as well, if some care is used in storage. I won’t bother with all the details that need to be tended to in regards to storage but if you follow the manufacturers recommended procedures in the owner manual, the Rebel will come out of storage just as willing to run as it was when it went in.

The polished aluminum cases, valve cover, lower forks and hand levers are coated with a clear lacquer. The lacquer tend to become brittle with age and can flake or scratch off in patches. There tends to be some yellowing with age as well but certainly nowhere to the degree that the older clear coats of the seventies did. Many will deal with this issue by stripping the finish entirely and keeping the aluminum polished. Others will react by refinishing the clear coat depending on their level of comfort with that sort of thing. Still others will just live with the patina that develops and look on it as a badge of honor for longevity.

If your looking for acceleration to push your eyeballs back in their sockets, cornering with a knee and an elbow on the ground, pulling a camper trailer up the Rocky mountains, or a deep V-twin rumble, then pass on the Rebel. If you are new to the motorcycling world and want a bike with classic cruiser looks, peppy but manageable performance and excellent value, the Rebel is probably the right bike. It can provide you with lots of fun and keep things interesting enough that outgrowing the bike isn’t a reason to sell it. Reentering the motorcycling world? Even a seasoned rider can find a lot to love with a Rebel. Fun, style, ease of use, ease of maintenance and great value have kept the Rebel in my garage.



Since 1987, the Rebel was reintroduced into Honda’s lineup in 1995 and continued into the 2009 model year. There appears to be no 2010 model. The last reported MSRP for the 2009 was $3999.

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JunkyardDog

Nice review. First let me say that though I own an '04, I have owned 2 '85s, and definitely prefer the styling of the '85-'87 Rebel to the '96 and newer Rebel, for 2 main reasons. IMO, the sidecovers on the older bikes were 100 times nicer looking than on the newer bikes. I disliked mine so much that I replaced them with black steel ones from www.bluecollarbobbers.com. I may have these chromed at some point, but they still don't have that beautiful chrome battery box. The other thing I like about the '80s Rebels are the handlebars. They are more of a "buckhorn" style than the late model ones, which not only look better to me, but are more comfortable as well. I have often lamented about Honda changing the Rebel so much, instead of just bringing back the original bike with a better headlight, but Honda just can't seem to resist changing things, and IMO, have either ruined or scrapped many great designs.


The MSRP on the '09 model is currently $3999, but I doubt any are being sold for that. Most seem to be selling for around $3500 OTD. There is no 2010, and there is considerable doubt whether there will ever be another Rebel, or whether Honda even intends to remain in the U.S. motorcycle market. They've gotten rid of most of their best selling models, and don't really have much of anything to compete with in the U.S. market right now. Jerry.

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flitecontrol

Well written write up.

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I'm keepin' all the left over parts. I'm gonna use 'em to build another bike!

2001 Rebel 250, 1989 Vulcan 750
Putting your bike info in your signature helps others help you!

Buickguy

Thanks guys. Fixed the MSRP

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igjosh

Nice write up. I love my 85 would not trade her for the world she fires right up since the weathers nice was out on her today for a long time around the lake.

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my rebel 85
http://www.hondarebelforum.com/pictu...&pictureid=461

adri

Interesting you brought that up.
Honda has the #2 selling bike in Canada: the Honda CBR-125R.
The #1 selling bike in Canada is the Kawasaki Ninja 250R, which sat alone as the only japanese 250cc sportbike in the market, Honda has now also launched the Honda CBR-250R. The company stands a good chance of holding the #2 and #3 selling motorcycles in Canada. Is there somewhere to look up US motorcycle sales figures? I'd be interested to see where the CBR-125R and the Ninja 250R ranked south of the border
Honda's sportbike line up, the 600cc CBR is a consistent seller as well. The reason Honda is not importing any 2010 and 2011 models is because of the recession. The company still has 2009s on the showroom floors, so why bring in another year?

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Blueberry

We can't get a CBR-125R or a 125 Rebel here in the states along with a bunch of really neat vehicles. We can get 450 HP 6,000 lb. suvs and 15 to 30 thousand dollar motorcycles.

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Ride Safe, Blueberry
1985 Honda 250 Rebel
1970 Honda SL 90
2008 Royal Enfield Electra 500

adri

Hey Blueberry, I totally forgot the CBR-125R isn't available there. I never knew there was a 125cc Rebel, neat. Generally you guys have much more selection of bikes than we do (makes sense since you guys have 10x the population and maybe a greater % of riders as well).

They just launched the Honda CBR-250R that will be available in the United States in 2011, I saw it at the Toronto Motorcycle Show in December, awesome 250cc motorcycle with fuel injection, liquid cooling, and optional ABS. MSRP will probably be more than the Rebel but it's nice to have more alternatives for people and refreshing to see money being spent on R&D in the small displacement category.

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sqweezel

The CBR-250R is not anything like the Rebel. It is strictly for the testosterone crowd. I hope Honda does improve and modify the Rebel since there will always be a healthy market for an economical go anywhere small cruiser. And it could use some tweeking here and there. Some accessories would be nice. Maybe even bring back the 450? To some of us it is the ultimate machine and worthy of much more respect than it receives. After all, it's about fun and not ego, right? If we have to explain why, then you probably wouldn't understand.

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sqweezel 1986 Honda Rebel 250