- This topic has 24 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 6 months ago by IanC.
Rebel 250
-
AuthorPosts
-
September 30, 2008 at 2:36 pm #2178Sangria7Participant
So after riding the rebel for about a week solid (MSF taken and all) I have a little regret not getting a 600.
Dont get me wrong the Rebel is a great bike, but I find it lacking in acceleration and boy does it rev high.
Our MSF instructors actually recommended starting on a 600. They made a couple good points such as “a 600 goes just as slow as a 250.” And “it is all about smooth throttle control and staying relax.”
I just find myself shifting to up too fast. Oh well. I guess if anything I have a 250 to continue to hone my skills on and its very much coveted bike.
September 30, 2008 at 4:15 pm #13041eonParticipantSeems like strange advice from your instructors. Anything will go as slow as a 250 and smooth throttle control and relaxing are the very things us newbies have problems with. I have gone into several corners too hot and lost my nerve. Try relaxing and having smooth throttle control when you are shitting yourself.
And I would not worry about the Honda revving high. I had a Honda S2000 (ok, its a car and not a bike) and that thing red lined at 9,000 rpm. It just loved to be thrashed. It was a bit disconcerting at first but I came to love the banshee scream it gave out. Ah, good times
September 30, 2008 at 4:22 pm #13045MattParticipantThe sense of acceleration on a Shadow 600 isn’t much more than the 250 – might even feel slower just because the bike has such a lazy way of going about it (only 4 gears). But things do happen faster on it, and it is more of a handful at low speeds.
Keep the rebel for a bit, get good and comfy with her, then pass her on to the next owner and move up. You won’t lose much (if any) money if you sell her in the spring.
I’m willing to bet you could move up to an Areo (750 – skip the 600) with little issue after a few thousand miles on a Rebel. hmm shaft-drive (I’m starting to get sick of forgetting to oil my chain )I think you’re going to find that the feeling of acceleration is as much dependant on the model of bike as the displacement, some just feel fast, others feel slow – and often the two perceptions don’t jive 100% with reality.
—
“The two seconds between ‘Oh S**!’ and the crash isn’t a lot of practice time.”September 30, 2008 at 5:30 pm #13053AndrewParticipantMy Ninja feels fast to me and it was described recently by my mates wife as looking scary fast.
September 30, 2008 at 5:56 pm #13057Sangria7ParticipantHehe I think your 250 Ninja is inheriently faster than my 250 Rebel
September 30, 2008 at 7:40 pm #13062AndrewParticipantAgreed. I rode the Rebel at my first MSF class and switched to the Nighthawk after that. It was just uncomfortable and harder to ride IMO than the Nighthawk.
September 30, 2008 at 8:11 pm #13063RabParticipantIt’s just buyer’s remorse and will likely pass.
Don’t try to run before you can walk.
No offence intended, but if this is your first motorcycle, you’re still so green that you don’t even know what you don’t know yet. MSF BRC plus one week’s experience is zero, nada, zip, nowt, bugger-all, none, in the grand scheme of things.
Take the Rebel out into the twisties, into heavy traffic and onto the freeway as and when you feel ready for it (stay in the slower lanes). Ride it in the rain, ride it in heavy winds, etc.
You still have a lot to learn and “lacking in acceleration” is a good thing when you’re learning (with the possible exception of on the freeway).
First gear *does* feel very short on a Rebel so you’ll feel like you want to change into second just about as soon as you get rolling, and while that’s okay, it can safely rev higher than you think it can based on engine sound alone. If it’s the same as the Nighthawk, the Rebel has markings on the speedo that show the appropriate speed range for each gear, so you’ll be able to tell if you’re over-revving or not. You’re almost certainly not though unless you have a really heavy hand, in which case you definitely don’t want a bigger faster bike until you learn some finesse.
Take it one step at a time, as you’ ll find out when you stretch your legs (and crap yourself once or twice), that the Rebel’s probably more than enough for you right now…
September 30, 2008 at 9:15 pm #13065bob250ParticipantI know where you’re coming from with the regret at not getting a bigger bike but that will pass. I liked the rebel I used at my MSF class. Granted we didn’t get out of third gear but I thought it was a fun bike. If I coulda found a used one I woulda got it.
September 30, 2008 at 11:34 pm #13068jayman2078ParticipantI just wrecked my 1987 Honda Rebel 250 not 30 minutes ago, and it runs better now than it did before I laid it over! I just fixated on the curb during a left turn and darn if I didn’t skid along it until I came over (on the grassy side AWAY from the street – thank goodness!) and stopped it. It’s 400 lbs and I could NOT get it off my right ankle, so some nice guys waiting on the red light got out and got my bike off me. I checked to make sure my ankle wasn’t broken or sprained (a little bruising – had ankle-high boots on), started the bike and rode off with slightly crooked handlebars. Being so old, it already has scrapes from previous owners all over it, so I couldn’t tell if I’ve done any damage, and my idle is working WAY better!
If I’d been on something bigger, I imagine I’d’ve been in worse shape than that, plus if I can’t lift a 400 lb bike up (it was an awkward angle), I ain’t gonna be able to lift an 800 lb bike off me either. But by waiting until I’ve got a several months experience under my belt (this is my SECOND week of riding), I won’t have to worry so much about newb mistakes like I made today.
Masquerading as a normal person day after day is exhausting!
October 1, 2008 at 12:34 am #13071AmorylParticipantpersonally, if you can’t tell if you did any damage to the bike, and your idle has actually improved, I’d argue that “wrecked” is far too strong a word.
October 1, 2008 at 12:42 am #13072AmorylParticipantpretty much any 250, even the cruisers will go through twisties much more nimbly than larger bikes, or so everyone keeps telling me. they won’t nessisarily go through as FAST as those super sports, but you can toss em around much easier with their lighter weight.
I hear a lot of people have some issues with the rebel. it seems a good blend of several 250’s, but a lot of people find them lacking, even with other 250’s. but no one doubts their tank like reliability, their ease of use, and their low cost. and a lot of people love them and don’t find them lacking at all. give it some time, and learn to run it to it’s limits (while expanding your own) and then sell it off for what you paid for it
October 1, 2008 at 1:19 am #13081jayman2078ParticipantI only say wrecked because I was stopped when I meant to be going, the bike was ON my ankle (which still throbs), and the handle bars are decidedly more crooked than they were before and I really do have to straighten them now so my right mirror will line up usefully. As for it running a little better, I imagine getting leaned over as far as it did loosened up the gunk in the carburetor allowing more gas to get through to mix with the air and combust a little more the way it should. (I already know the bike needs a tune up). It’s the perfect beginner bike.
Masquerading as a normal person day after day is exhausting!
October 1, 2008 at 2:32 am #13086ilnamParticipantweird. I just posted today how my bike fell over in my driveway. Well, when I got it started again I noticed my choke is working a lot better. Maybe all anyone’s bike needs is a good shove.
October 1, 2008 at 5:42 am #13093IanCParticipantI’ve had the Rebel for 2 months now and 1000 miles. While she’s no speed demon going away from lights. She can handle anything I thow at her (except not freeways so well)., curves, straight, hills, etc. Use her to learn everything you can, practice all the things which you can screw up on her but you wont’ be able to on a heavier or more powerful bike. Stopping on a hill (keeping your right foot on the brake rather than 2 footing her), counterstearing, throttle control, shifting (you’ll have alot of practice), brake contol, tight cornering, etc.
On twisties in the mountains I can keep up with any of my friends with bigger, faster bikes.
To put it in perspective, this past week I rode my friends Triumph Legend for 100 miles and while it was fun and fast my bike is more nimble and if I’d been dealing with that weight when starting I know I’d have dropped it more. Then I test rode a Yamaha VStar 650, a Honda Shadow 750, and a Yamaha FZ6. The VStar 650 really didn’t have much more acceleration than my Rebel (more comfortable at freeway speed) and more space between gears, the Shadow was way quicker but it was so darn heavy for cornering, I’m sure glad I got good on the Rebel. The Yamaha FZ6 was fast but I found the riding position hurt my neck and arms.
But the important thing is I could control the stearing, throttle and brakes fine on all these bikes because I used the Rebel to teach me and quickly. In two months with the Rebel I’m doing more than my friend who started on the Legend did in a year.
October 1, 2008 at 12:48 pm #13099Sangria7ParticipantThat is good to hear.
One of my main concerns to get good on the bike. I have been practicing my uturns, and tight turns/cornering around my block, as well as my stop and go’s. I even went out to the school parkinglot nearby and did some of the MSF exercises. Just as I was feeling good, on the way back home, I stalled my Rebel from a stop position trying to make a left turn. I just about fell off but I caught her before she hit the ground. Not sure how I stalled her, but I think it was releasing clutch too soon on 2nd gear instead of 1st.
I was thinking, man, any heavier she would have ate pavement.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.