250 Rebel??

[greenjoe]

Any thoughts on building a 250 Rebel? I like the low rpm engine and the low seat height. Seems the buzz may be around the 250 Ninja right now, but could a modified Rebel compete with a modified Ninja?? Used prices are about the same...

[low&slow]

Hi Greenjoe, If I was considering an air-cooled 250cc bike I would go for the Yamaha Virago 250. LesS , a member here, has gotten around 97 mpg with his Virago 250 with just a windscreen and taller gearing. They seem to be the best small cruiser bikes for fuel efficiency.
For me, watercooling is important since I planned on streamlining my Vetter competition bike and full streamlining can present cooling problems for air-cooled motors. WHen I started looking for used bikes I found very few Viragos or Rebels to look at vs lots of Ninjas. After I've maxed out my Ninja, I may look at a used CBR250. With watercooling, single cylinder, fuel injection, better low-end power, they offer the best potential in my opinion.

[beatr911]

+1 to what Low and Slow said. The CBR250R is da bomb, but still expensive.

I've never ridden the Rebel 250 but with two cylinders and 230cc it doesn't seem to be a low rpm engine.

Another air cooled option is the Suzuki GZ250. Low seat, 4 valve head, single cylinder, about 20hp but somehow doesn't seem to get the same mileage reports as the Virago/V-sta, but I don't think anyone here has really tried. An alternate to the Virago/Vstar 250 is the Lifan LF250. These are really cheap used, parts are available and are nearly direct copies of the Yamaha, meaning many parts are interchangeable.

[gil]

Let me pitch in with my observations from my almost 800 mile round trip, on y 2009 Yamaha Virago 250. From Santa Cruz County, CA to Santa Ana, CA. My bike has 17/38 sprockets with X Ring chain and a small spitfire Windshield. I took the fastest rout there, that was mostly interstate 5. When I rode tucked in and to speed of 85mph for all of the tank, before reserve witch is 80 miles or so, I got 51 mpg. When I got stuck in 50 mph LA traffic on I5 and city riding,40 mph, I got 83 mpg. On the way back I drafted a tractor trailer for 100 miles at 65+ mph, two second fooling distance, and no tucking, I got 77 mpg. On a side note I like the 17/38 sprockets with small windshield, it's perfect.

One down side to these air cooled bikes is the intricate ducting that might be needed depending on the aero design.

Hope this helps. Gil.

[beatr911]

Thanks for the data point Gil. Those are some really good numbers. 51mpg at 85mph is nothing to sneeze at and probably about the worst you could ever do. Heck, 85mph on a non-aero 250 is good all by itsself!

What is your height and weight and what was your luggage arrangement on the Virago? Any other changes than the sprockets and windshield?

[greenjoe]

Thats' the kind of feed back I was hoping for, Thanks. "BEAR911" I'm like you, I like the Lifan 250 but they are few and far between here "used", same way with the star 250. I like the ninja really well (have logged 10k mile on one), but just wondering if something else out there is worth pursuing. Thanks again for the input.

[gil]

I am 5'10", 165lbs. For luggage I had a small duffle bag bungied on to the pillion seat parallel with the bikes length, it weight 20lbs or so. I also inflated my tires to 35psi, and my rear tire needs replacing.

Gil

[sendler]

The Ninja is the defacto starting point right now based mostly on price and availability. There are literally thousands of them everywhere and they are a great riding sport bike with no excuses. They can be made to get relatively high fuel economy with gearing changes and aero mods but it is definitely not an FE type of engine. The cams and stroke are made to give peak power above 9,000 and there is no tuned intake runner leading in. There is room for it to be beaten in FE given the same type of mods to another bike. Just not in price.

[jkv357]

Originally Posted by sendler

The Ninja is the defacto starting point right now based mostly on price and availability. There are literally thousands of them everywhere and they are a great riding sport bike with no excuses. They can be made to get relatively high fuel economy with gearing changes and aero mods but it is definitely not an FE type of engine. The cams and stroke are made to give peak power above 9,000 and there is no tuned intake runner leading in. There is room for it to be beaten in FE given the same type of mods to another bike. Just not in price.

My thoughts exactly.


Jay