Have you taken the MSF course yet? If so, then you know how weak the 250 engines are. However, if you do honestly only ever have a 10 mile commute, and no highway, then I don't see it as a problem. I just know I'd get sick of a 250 really fast. Just my personal taste though, you may find having a more tame bike to be more enjoyable.
LOL!
NO.
The MSF is a parking lot. I took it on a 500cc Buell Blast and there is no way I could have discovered the untapped potential of a high-revving 250 during the course without prior experience. The Ninja 250, for example, is gutless while learning at "parking lot" speeds but soon owners should realize (though many never do) that it really wakes up at 8-9k RPMs and redlines at 13k. Then it becomes a
completely different bike. It takes off the line faster than any car except an expensive sports car with power on-tap to pass at freeway speeds (unlike a supersport 4-cyl 600+cc, it may be slow to pass if you weren't keeping up in the first place, but that's on you). Next to cruisers, 2cyl 250-650 bikes are the commuter kings.
Though I wouldn't want a single cylinder CBR 250 on the Interstate, a 2cyl is perfect. Me thinks you are the one confused by how a 250 motor feels.
I'm confused, isn't the cbr 300r out yet? It pretty much makes the 250r obsolete. It' weights within 1 to 2lbs of the 250r, it costs like $200-300 more and it has 31hp/20tq instead 23hp/15tq. Unless of course you bought an older model at some great deal?
They say it was delayed but I think they went back to the drawing board when rumors of a 4-cyl Kawi 250 and a Yami R3 happened. There just no way they could have expected their single-cylinder 286cc "CBR 300" to compete, especially when the 2-cyl Ninja 300 already out-classes it and they need to leave some room for their own 2-cyl CBR500. They might have to introduce something to replace both the CBR300 and 500 (4-cyl CBR 400?).
Rumor is that the 4-cyl Kawi 250 will be made for those same markets where the 300 is still sold as a 250, which means it might be bigger here. That is the CBR250's primary market and they can't change it so much that it can't sell there (nothing over 250 sells there due to insane import taxes in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, etc). I suspect that the CBR500 isn't long for this world.
Have to admit that shocks me. A 250 just doesn't have the power to really burn down a rear tire like a sportbike does. I would imagine it's something to do with the no-name "IRC Road Winners" that come on the bike from the factory. A set of Metzeler Lasertecs seems as though it would have to hold up better.
ZV
The same tires come on the Ninja 250/300 and have a reputation for being made of wood and lasting far longer than anyone wants. It seems that most get over 10k miles but one person recently reported 20k without seeing chords! People see significantly fewer miles with Metzeler. BT45 and GT501 tires get about 5k. Pirelli Sport Demons get about 3k (!). I think it has a lot to do with weight and start/go (2cyl have more grunt down low than same-displacement 4cyl and small budget bikes weigh as much or more than larger supersports).
I was kind of shocked to find out the SV650 is now over $8k. Mine was new $5999 in 2008.
The updated version of my 2008 bike is $5k when mine was $3.5k in 2008. The 2007 was $3k MSRP and I actually found one at the neighboring dealer the day I bought my 2008. I found an old article that listed the 1994 MSRP as $3,099 (same exact bike as the $3,000 2007 year bike). Yes, the MSRP dropped despite inflation.
Yea no one rides a 250 for very long. Unless you are a collector and just want to have different model bikes around. You ride it for a year, get bored and get an sv.
I'm upset my sv tipped over in the lot and got scratched up but thank god for frame sliders. My back is killing me from trying to lift it up on an incline too.
Then why did I ride one exclusively for four years without even owning a car, then buy a car and THREE more? Hell, I'm considering adding a 300 too (want that ABS!). I don't think I could tolerate a singke cylinder 250 lile the CBR, though.