Honda's Entry-Level Sportbike: Destined For America?

Honda’s entry-level sportbike: destined for America?

LETTER FROM Japan

Last year, Kawasaki’s 250 Ninja introduced a new class of motorcycles in the U.S.: the 250cc sportbike. Because of that bike’s success, rumors here in Japan indicate that Honda would also love to have a 250cc sportbike for sale in America. By far, the most likely candidate Honda could offer is the VT250F VTwin, because the radical CBR250 Four would be too expensive for the American market.

First introduced in 1982 for the domestic market only, the VT250 has been the best-selling motorcycle in Japan for the last several years, with a total of 100,000 units sold. Now the bike has entered its thirdgeneration stage, and the qualities that have made it so popular in the past have been refined and updated. Compared to the other 250cc sportbikes in Japan, the VT250F is a more balanced machine in nearly every way. It’s comfortable, and it has a mile-wide powerband and an incredibly smooth-running engine.

Those traits ought to make the bike popular in America with entry-level riders, if indeed Honda decides to import it.

At first glance, the latest VT250 doesn’t seem to be all that different from previous versions other than having some new bodywork. But in fact, the whole bike has been improved and revised. The engine, for example, has straighter intake passages and a larger airbox. Those and other changes have given the VTwin about three more horsepower than earlier versions.

One thing that is not changed, though, is the frame material. Even though the rage here in Japan is for aluminum frames, the VT’s is steel. This allows the price to be lower, a crucial detail should the bike go to America. But the frame has been strengthened by altering the wide box-section to stretch straight from the steering head to the swingarm pivot. This has moved the engine slightly forward and downward in the frame. Also, the seat is nearly half an inch lower than before. Yet, with all of these changes, the VT still steers predictably and precisely at speed, but remains rather heavyfeeling at low speeds.

Sources at Honda claim that chances are more than good that the VT250F will soon appear in U.S. showrooms. One possible roadblock is price, as Honda’s research shows that the bike will have to sell for under $2300 to be competitive. And with the current yen/dollar situation, even the relatively low-tech VT250F may have a hard time reaching that goal. —Koichi Hirose