1989 VTR250 added to garage

[ExTex]

Wife bought me a 1989 VTR250 for a Valentine.
It is in good shape, but needs a bit of TLC after storage a few years.
Had to buy new mirrors after breaking one when working on it.

here are pics from PO.

Ride safely
 

[JB1290]

Looks like a fun little bike to ride. How much did you get it for?

[ExTex]

I paid $1350 plus transportation. 
There are cheaper ones available on CraigsList but the transportation is higher than I paid.

SO far I am very happy with it, but I need to get some good weather to ride it. 
In the meantime, I am checking it out closely and making minor improvements.
I bought a tail bag and new mirrors yesterday.  I ordered a center stand from Honda.
Lubeing the chain and cables are next chores.


Ride safely,
 

[luckylindy]

 Cool bike.  Probably a blast on a curvy backroad.

[hppants]

I don't remember this one.  Is (was) it a US offered bike?  Water cooled 250 - trick.

[brickerenator]

I almost snagged an orange one of these, but I was short by $300, sigh.

Sweet bike!

[ExTex]

Yes, This model was sold in the USA from 1988-1990. 
The engine is a 90° V-2, water cooled, 2 carbs, 6 speed, chain drive. 

The modern VTR-250 is a naked bike, sold in Pacific rim and perhaps Europe in 2010 with fuel injection.  Still same engine, but 5-speed transmission and lower red line.   

Trying to choose between the Nighthawk 250, Ninja 250 and this was my summer project.   
The 90° V-2 was the deciding factor...as well as the novelness.

I will report on the bike as time goes by this year.


Ride Safely,
 

[highwayjamin]

Good looking bike  Mighty nice wife to buy you a bike. How far do you  get on a tank of gas? being a 250 and looks very light.

[Snoopy]

  SOOOO PRETTY  

[hppants]

Wife bought me a 1989 VTR250 for a Valentine.

I missed that part the first time.  Wow. 

One year I bought my wife a fishing pole for her birthday.  The expression on her face was priceless.  "If you don't want it, can I have it?"
Then I gave her the real gift.

[ExTex]

Good looking bike  Mighty nice wife to buy you a bike. How far do you  get on a tank of gas? being a 250 and looks very light.

I haven't burned enough gas to calculate yet.  The bike should be like a Ninja 250 and get about 70 MPG  (50-90 depending on riding style).

Yes, I have an excellent and pretty wife. 
All she asks for are fabric and old sewing machines ( about 6 so far).
But my 3 bikes exceed the cost and space requirements of the sewing machines. 
The fabric may be a different story.

Ride safely,
 

[TC713]

Cool looking bike!

Thats a might nice wife. All mine requires is Coach handbags......which can add up quickly to equal a bike. ........which is why I only have 1.

[fishball]

Nice bike ExTex.  Enjoy!

[darian]

I love the fairing "sport style" bikes from that era.  They remind me of a japanese anime cartoon.  It looks like it'd be a really fun bike.   

[happycommuter]

So that's what the caliper side of that weird front brake looks like.

[JordanA]

So that's what the caliper side of that weird front brake looks like.

Bumping this thread because I may be picking one of these up this weekend for Sumer to start on (she wants a bike mainly for fuel savings around town, since her Jeep gets 15 mpg and my Scout gets roughly... 8 mpg).  

Yes, the front brake looks odd with that little concealed disk brake.

ExTex, do you have any reviews of the bike?  Did you ever get it out on the road?  I need info!

edit:

Also, if anyone has a ballpark figure as to what a dealership would charge for a carb rebuild/sync, please throw it out for me.  I am trying to negotiate the guy down on the price (asking $600.00 for a bike with no title, dead battery, needs carb cleaned/gas drained, and a muffler.  I'm trying to get him closer to $300.00 or less).

[ExTex]

Hi All,

It is a 2 carb engine so I'd guess $150 for cleaning & syncing + parts.

It is great on the highway.  I ride it weekly on the interstate for 20 miles.  I doubt that I would want to ride it all day with the stock seat.
At 350 lbs + me at 150 lbs, it does get blown about more than my Nighthawk, but no bother to the movements. 
I ride it both upright & prone positions with great joy.   Someone makes a taller windscreen but I have the original and am happy with it. 

I'm getting 60 MPG this spring.

Used parts are available on EBay.  The biggest problem is the petcock. Honda still makes them at a large price and
repair kits are available, but leaky petcocks seem to be the problem most often discussed on the forum.

The inside front brake works well but may overheat if you race the bike on a track.

I got a paint job this spring to make it look sharper. (& I wanted a RWB bike)


Yes, I would buy it again if I had to do it over.  The bike even does well carrying double  (250 lbs for both of us)
In any case, starting from a stop works better with some clutch slipping. 
With an engine that red lines at 13,500 rpm, I run 7,000 rpm at 60 MPH.

The VTR250 forum is http://www.vtr250.com

Ride safely,

[WingNut]

  its purrrrty...

On a side note, kinda looks like the bodywork is eating the enigne 

[Floridamtbiker99]

One of my friends bought one new in the early 90's.  He use to red line it at a stop light to keep up with my 550.  That small bike is very impressive.