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Will the Rebel 300 be enough for me?

46K views 110 replies 20 participants last post by  Shadow Shack 
#1 ·
I currently have a Ninja 250R. I love the style of the new rebel and want to stay with a small bike. While I am ok with the top speed of the ninja I do not like its power from like 55-80mph. It just doesn't have the power to really accelerate much at this speed.
I know no one has the 2017 rebel yet, but it has the same engine as the cbr300r just tuned for more low end torque. How would these do 55-80mph, I just would like a little more power there than the ninja. With the ninja im in top gear by 50mph and accellerating past there is rather slow. Hoping the fuel injection and slightly bigger engine would make a difference in this are.
I would prefer to get the 300 since it is $1600 less and a bit lighter. And everything else is the same between the 300 and 500 besides the engine.
 
#53 ·
Ditto. Buying used from a dealer is almost always more expensive than a private sale. Do a craigslist search for Honda rebel CMX250 in the For Sale By Owner category. The bikes that have been listed the longest time can often be bought for significantly less than the asking price.
 
#54 ·
Of course the difference between buying used from a (reputable) dealer and buying used from a private party is the (reputable) dealer can always furnish a recent service record depicting that it has been inspected and when necessary, adjusted to be street safe (i.e. new tires, all lights working, etc). If the dealership is part of the Ride Now chain, all bets are off. ;)

Most private parties will look at you like you have three heads if you ask for a service record.
 
#55 · (Edited)
Snipped from the MotorcycleCruizer.com review by a 6'4" rider concerning highway travel on the new Rebel::

"The engine on the 300 would quickly pull up to about 50mph, and get up to 70 with ease when hopping on the highway. Jamming through the canyons, I found myself all over the gearbox but it was smooth and easy to use. When I got back out onto the open highway, I was able to see 91mph on the flat with just a little time getting there—but I was damn impressed by how hard that little motor was working. The vibrations at 65-75mph weren’t bad, especially for a single cylinder, but over that started to get a little numbing."

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/2017-honda-rebel-300-500-first-ride-review#page-3
 
#57 · (Edited)
Snipped from the MotorcycleCruizer.com review
Which was no doubt snipped from another mag's review. Motorcycle Cruiser is the biggest joke in publication, their bi-monthly rag comes out long after everyone else has already made their reports & reviews.

And yet they still manage to get things wrong.

Case in point:

The rear fender struts are minimal as-is, but quickly detach to remove the whole rear fender if you want that "bobbed-out" look.
Seriously, what other rag out there would even contemplate suggesting this? :rolleyes:

Then there's this:

Honda has taken the lovable, approachable Rebel and given it a much needed update. Improving on the old model in nearly every way, while maintaining what made it such an icon in the first place.
I don't see one single update from the original design in these bikes. I don't see anything on these new bikes that maintains the original/iconic design either. Nobody does. Nobody, that is, except for the rocket scientists at Motorcycle Cruiser.

I stopped reading at that point, I need a shot of brain bleach and some mental floss now.
 
#56 ·
Both the EX500 Ninja and EN500 Vulcan ended in 2009. I really like the first generation Vulcan 500, and I like the 454 LTD it came from even better. I had one. I love the styling of early Japanese cruisers. My Vulcan 750 has that look. It is a 1985 design. I would buy a Shadow 750 Aero any day over a H-D Street. I would buy almost anything over a H-D Street. That is one ugly bike, just like the new not-Rebel, Yamaha Bolt, and Kawasaki Vulcan S. I do plan to buy a used Sportster in the not to distant future. 2017 is the last year for the V-Rod. It just didn't sell well enough. It took very little risk for H-D to bring the Street series here, they make them for many third world countries. I believe the parts are made in India, and they are just assembled here. I test rode one when the dealers first got them. I was not impressed. It sounded wrong (for a Harley)I already knew it was ugly, but what surprised me the most was the POOR fit and finish quality. It was awful. Parts that didn't fit right, cheaply made parts, exposed wiring, it made Chinese bikes look good. Definitely not good PR for H-D.
 
#60 · (Edited)
I understand your apprehension but I'm not familiar with their "rag" so I'm not akin to dismiss the article, only highlighting the relevant information I brought to light. I believe the guy actually rode the bike and shared his experience, after all, he is actually pictured riding the 300 in the article.

If he cut and pasted the tidbit I quoted he has a better search engine than I do because the highway data for the new 300 was better detailed with actual numbers than I've found anywhere else. 0:)
 
#65 · (Edited)
I don't have a dog in this fight, and definitely don't care for the new Not-Rebel, however that is the first positive review of the 300 that I have read. Most of them complain about lack of power at highway speeds, and high vibration. No one else has claimed 90 mph to my knowledge. I am not saying any of this is bad or unexpected for a single cylinder 300 cc bike, but I would take one extremely positive review in a sea of less positive data with a pretty big grain of salt.

I guess I'm saying that I would encourage anyone buying a new bike to ride it first for yourself, and decide for yourself whether it does what you what you want or need it to do, rather than relying on any review that may or may not be influenced by any number of potentially ulterior or biased motives.
 
#68 ·
I don't have a dog in this fight, and definitely don't care for the new Not-Rebel, however that is the first positive review of the 300 that I have read. Most of them complain about lack of power at highway speeds, and high vibration. No one else has claimed 90 mph to my knowledge. I am not saying any of this is bad or unexpected for a single cylinder 300 cc bike, but I would take one extremely positive review in a sea of less positive data with a pretty big grain of salt.

I guess I'm saying that I would encourage anyone buying a new bike to ride it first for yourself, and decide for yourself whether it does what you what you want or need it to do, rather than relying and any review that may or may not be influenced by any number of potentially ulterior or biased motives.
I have not read a single review that had an overall negative view of the new rebel. While I did read the 300 was not very fast and vibrated at high speeds(which is normal for a thumper). Basically every review has still said they are great bikes. Honestly they only negative thing I have ready about either the 300 or 500 is that their suspension is a bit soft.
 
#66 ·
The owner of this forum has already created another forum for the "new" Rebels. As you can imagine, there is relatively little being said over there given that no one actually has a new Rebel. Given the fact that many people are still riding the first generation bikes, this forum will probably still be active for decades to come.

And if the new Rebels don't sell as well as Honda hopes, the "old" Rebel may be brought back to life.
 
#67 ·
I'm also fairly neutral on this subject, although I did read the review and found it to be pretty short on hard information and long on general impressions. I did Google a dyno chart for the Rebel 300 and Rebel 500 compared to the charts for the CB models and they were not very detailed or consistent, but as expected they indicate higher horsepower and torque at low RPMS and less top end which should make them nice to ride at normal street speeds.
As far as the relevance of this forum related strictly to the Old Rebels, I'd point out that we still talk about the 450 Rebels which haven't been made for 30 years. I suspect the 250's will be around for longer than that since they have been in more or less continuous production for over 30 years and there are a lot of them out there.
The new Rebels are a totally different bike from the old ones and share no DNA with the old models so its not correct to refer to them as any kind of upgrade. They are just new bikes with an old name.

It would have been nice to see a liquid cooled 350 twin with a balance shaft and EFI stuffed into a modern frame with the same general layout as the old CMX250 (maybe a little more room and a better seat). That bike would be capable of 100 MPH top end and plenty of smooth highway power which would have been popular with most (but not all , right Jerry?) of the denizens of this board.
 
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#69 ·
... The new Rebels are a totally different bike from the old ones and share no DNA with the old models so its not correct to refer to them as any kind of upgrade. They are just new bikes with an old name.

It would have been nice to see a liquid cooled 350 twin with a balance shaft and EFI stuffed into a modern frame with the same general layout as the old CMX250 (maybe a little more room and a better seat). That bike would be capable of 100 MPH top end and plenty of smooth highway power which would have been popular with most (but not all , right Jerry?) of the denizens of this board.
Precisely...on both points/paragraphs quoted above. BTW, sign me up for that 350!
 
#72 · (Edited)
I wouldn't worry about sliding back on the seat as much as having an accident with the bike and having that bare spinning wheel only a couple of inches from my butt. Not to mention every time it rains you get a mud skunk stripe all the way up your back.
 
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#84 ·
#78 ·
It is a 4 valve head with EFI so it probably makes pretty good horsepower for the engine size of 286 CC. I see it does have a balancer shaft which robs a little power, but reduces vibes.
My nearest benchmark would be my old '68 Honda 305CC Superhawk. Granted it is an antique engine but it was a twin with 4 valves and made a claimed 28.5 HP. Top indicated speed on mine was 95 MPH.
Air resistance is the main component of drag at higher speeds, and it is proportional to the cube of the airspeed. So in rough numbers, if 28.5 HP would get you 95 mph then 107 mph from the same bike would require 107 cubed /95 cubed X 28.5 = 40.72 HP.

40 HP sounds like a lot for 286 ccs in a stock bike.
 
#90 ·
"The 15-inch wheel on the old 250 Rebel severely limits the quality of tire you can purchase. "
I'm not sure what they mean by "quality" tires but I've never had problems finding tires for 15" rear wheels. Bridgestone Exedras succumb to age far more frequently than they do to tread wear, I typically replace mine at 24K and they still have tons of tread depth when that happens.

I do see the allure in 16" wheels though as there are more offerings on the whole (sport, street, touring, knobbies, etc). Still, I'm not quite sure what they mean by the "limited availability" on the 15 inchers.

"A chopped 250 Rebel isn’t the most common sight, but I think that will change with the Rebel 300."
Granted they're butchering the word "chopped" when referencing that dismantled/sawzalled yellow bike, but obviously they've never visited a facebook Rebel group where a stock bike (or even a properly customized one) is actually the least common sight. :D

" To remove the seat, you have to use an Allen key, which is thoughtfully provided under the right side cover. It’s held in place by a big flathead screw. The flathead screwdriver, however, is in two pieces, and both of them live under the seat. Perverse. "
ROTFLMAO!!!

And here I've been lamenting the 250's tactic of the two piece screwdriver being stowed behind a cover that needs a screwdriver to access it. They found a way to make that concept even more ridiculous! I can't stop laughing, someone help me...

Seriously, I can't stop laughing. I need to go settle down so I can continue with the article.

 
#91 ·
Hey everyone, new to this forum and just wanted to post a quick real-world, unbiased review for you all regarding the speed of the Rebel 300.
I just bought one off the lot last weekend (5/13/17) and am still breaking in the motor, so results should go up. I only have 160 miles on it now since Chicago just got hit with some bad weather.

I'm 5'11 220 lbs and it fits me perfectly. Yes, it's quite slow when it comes to acceleration, and you'll be shifting A LOT. If taking it easy, you'll be in 6th gear by 45mph. I didn't want to push it too hard, but I did get it up to 75 mph pretty easily w/ some room to climb. Never rode a single cylinder before, so the vibration and high revving freaked me out a little bit so I backed off. Wasn't till recently I found out that's standard for a single, so I can see it getting to high 80's if really stretched out. Overall it's a great bike for suburban and city riding w/ light highway (under 70 mph cruising).
 
#92 ·
The worst thing you can do to a new engine is to load it up at low RPM. Better to let it rev a bit than to lug it in a high gear at low speed. Short bursts of power followed by rolling off throttle are ideal for seating rings.
 
#94 ·
I did a little google searching about engine break in and all the experts agree on 1 thing - that they don't agree on how to do it.
well, actually they agree on 2 things - the key bit of 'break-in' is wearing down the piston rings a tad to mate to the cylinder walls (which is why the first oil change is so much sooner than the normal interval to remove the debris from this) and that it happens in tens of minutes and tens of miles.
the rest of the expert opinions seem to disagree on baby the motor or drive it like you stole it - let it blow-by a little oil to protect the parts till they mate or hit the pressure hard to force it to mate faster.
 
#95 ·
I go by the recommended procedures for aircraft engines. not below 75% power and constantly varying load. Translated to motorcycles that's heavy on the throttle for a short time followed by rolling off and slowing down.
 
#96 · (Edited)
I use special breakin sessions on any new engine, especially bikes or sports cars, before I ever drive it normally. I vary everything throughout the ranges, except NO redline at first. I make sure everything is warmed up to operating temp and choke off before riding at all. I go easy through the gears one time, and back down easy through the gears. Then hard through the gears but not quite full throttle, and shift at 80-90% redline, and back down hard through the gears with engine braking. Repeat this a few time alternating hard and easy through the gears. Then shut it off, and let the bike cool off completely.

The next time I warm up completely, repeat the 1st 2 steps, and then change the routine slightly. In 1st, accelerate, decelerate, accelerate, shift to 2nd, accelerate, decelerate, accelerate, shift to 3rd, accelerated, decelerate, accelerate, shift, etc. I then repeat all 3 steps a couple more times, varying the rate of acceleration, deceleration, and engine braking, and then let it cool off completely again.

Then I warm up completely, and do the same scenario, but on step 3 I cruise for a little period of time at the top and bottom of the rpm range after each acceleration and deceleration in each gear. Not at redline or lugging, but at high rpms and low rpms. After going through this whole sequence a couple of times, I let it cool completely down again.

I try to do this sequence at least a couple more times before I hit the road for real rides. I extend the cruising time in each gear each time so that the sessions are longer each time. I also get closer and closer to redline each time. I still warm it up completely before each session, and let it cool down completely after each session.

When the special sessions are over, and I don't feel that I need to cool it completely down after each session, I hit the road for normal rides to wherever I need or want to go. I still vary the acceleration rate, as well as the rpm and speed throughout the normal riding range from 35-65 mph in 3rd-5th gears. If there is no traffic, I just cruise for a while in 3rd and vary the speed from low to high rpms, then shift, and do the same in 4th and 5th. If there is traffic that I need to maintain a speed with, I just vary the gears. If driving at 35-40 mph, I use 3rd for awhile, and then 4th for awhile, and keep shifting ever so often to change the rpm even if the road speed is relatively constant. At 55 and above, I go between 4th and 5th. At 45-50, you can use 3rd, 4th, and 5th. You just want to avoid lugging or redline, and vary it as much as possible otherwise.

I usually change the oil a couple of times during the breakin. First after 10-20 miles during the special sessions. Then between 50-100 miles after the special sessions, and/or maybe the first real ride.

After the 2nd oil change, I run one more special session shifting at redline in each gear through all 3 steps, a couple of times, and cool down completely. I continue to vary the speeds and rpms on all rides, but now I try to hit redline in each gear whenever possible. I change the oil for the 3rd time at 600 miles, and do the complete first service, including valve clearance check/set. All the breakin is done on 10w40 dinosaur oil, NO synthetic. I consider the bike broke in after 600 miles and 3 oil changes, and then drive it like I stole it, because that is just the way I ride, but I still run one more 1000 mile cycle on dinosaur oil.

After breakin and 1600 miles at the 4th oil change, I switch to Royal Purple 20W50 viscosity full synthetic. On the Rebel, without an oil filter, I change the oil every 1000 miles from then on, or more often depending on how much I ride in a season.

Harley recommends 500 miles for the breakin service, but I use the exact same procedure on them. The Harley also has an oil filter, and they recommend oil changes every 5000 miles after breakin, but I use 3000 miles max after I switch to synthetic, and usually change it more often than that depending on how much I ride in a season.

This may seem extreme to some, or even most of you, and you probably think I'm just a little anal. You are probably right except that I am a lot anal. However, I know that as soon as the bike is broken in, I am going to ride it to the limit every time that I get on it, because that is what I do. I don't think that you can baby a bike, or any engine through breakin, and then start ragging on it. If you plan on running it to redline regularly, or for extended periods, then you need to spend a little extra time breaking it in right, IMO. I haven't lost any street engines that I broke in myself, and I don't have any that use oil either, so I guess it works.
 
#97 ·
... This may seem extreme to some, or even most of you, and you probably think I'm just a little anal. You are probably right except that I am a lot anal. However, I know that as soon as the bike is broken in, I am going to ride it to the limit every time that I get on it, because that is what I do. I don't think that you can baby a bike, or any engine through breakin, and then start ragging on it. If you plan on running it to redline regularly, or for extended periods, then you need to spend a little extra time breaking it in right, IMO. I haven't lost any street engines that I broke in myself, and I don't have any that use oil either, so I guess it works.
That's more anal than I was, but your repeatedly successful results speak for themselves...so why would anybody have a problem with it (they shouldn't)? đź‘Ť
 
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