I did a top speed run with the 15t front in early March when it was still quite cold out. It would not pull redline and I topped out at an honest 95mph. It took quite a bit of time to get there. The big snowmobile suit I was wearing was no help. Maybe with racing leathers I could hit 100mph. I don't know. I never did a top speed run with the 14t for comparison, so the test was kinda meaningless. I'm enjoying the bike more and more. I stay off the highways and freeways because the engine feels strained at highway speeds. It's not comfortable there and neither am I. 55mph and lower is the bike's forte. I use it as a grocery-getter and do very little recreational riding. Since groceries are 15 miles away now (I moved to Rigby) the miles pile up and my average mpg is heading toward 90. I need to find an area with a longer riding season, though.
It's been over 20 years since I last rode, but the motorcycle endorsement on my driver's license is still good. I'll probably never get a chance to use it.
Bill, I think you can buy new CB300Rs for about $4k. That's $1k off MSRP. If you can get a good used bike, the savings are even better. The CB300R is a big seller worldwide but a sales flop in the US. Small displacement street bikes are poison to North Americans. That's a big green flag for those of us that appreciate economy and light-weight nimble handling in favor of rip-your-arms-off acceleration. My insurance is $100/yr. Tires, and chains & sprockets are the two main wear items and they're cheaper and last longer on the CB300R than on the big machines. I rode two Honda VFRs for about 26 years and put more than 50kmi on each one. I loved those bikes but at 525lbs they were too big, heavy, and cumbersome to enjoy around town. I had been wanting to downsize for the longest time but the right small bike didn't come along till 2018.
Thanks, Jay. Good to know. If I ride again, it would be for longer, country-side type touring rather than in the city. Drivers are pretty bad around here. My first bike was under 500 lbs (wet) but the second weighed in over 650 lbs apparently. I didn't even think about it back then. They were Kawasakis, a Ninja 600 and a Concours (1 liter sport touring with shaft drive). A riding buddy had a Concours, too, and got me into that bike. Years later, I sold that bike to him as he was into collecting and selling bikes. Something light like the CB300R would be really enjoyable.
Amen. Loved my 93 VFR750R , but I would enjoy something like a CB300R even more. Or perhaps a KTM 390 Duke. Even a 200 Duke.
Maybe an electric bike would be in my future. I wouldn't be riding to get somewhere in particular, so recharging at home would not be a problem, and if the bike had at least a level 2 compatible charging port, some charging away from home isn't out of the question. edit: by electric bike, I was thinking of something like a Zero, but less costly; something good enough for highway travel though that's not where I would spend my travel time...
My electric bicycle was great. I would travel thru our region & people & parks would give me free 110 V. electricity, since I was only using a few pennies of charge. Totally smooth, it was like “magic motion”. You travel so much around your county & beyond, you have to have the Kevlar tires. I had a 2 Kilowatt motor that took the hills well. There were three EV motor windings, which varied from speed emphasis to torquey hill climbing ability. Hills & speed really drained the battery. I’m a believer in large battery packs & powerful motors, with the high hills in my area. You have to know electricity & how to buy the EV travel capability for your needs. My EV bike riding ended when someone stole my bike.
Good idea about the Kevlar tires. Is that an option on motorcycles these days? Cars can of course have run-flats. Fortunately, I never had to fix flats on motorcycles. 2 kW sounds like electric scooter territory. I have an electric assisted bicycle, but the power is <500 W.
Don’t think my mid-wound 2KW electric motor was efficient. EV motors (in cars, anyway), dramatically increased in efficiency in the past ten+ years. Don’t know how much bicycle motors have improved. Liked (& needed) the 2KW motor for the hills(steep hills) around here. Only two hills in our region couldn’t be taken with the 2KW motor.... & those hills were 8+ degrees (14 percent?) at their maximum slopes. Five hundred watts (no matter what dealers say), isn’t enough around here(my long-term & short-term pedal days are way over). Wouldn’t like even a 1KW bike here. Even on the flat, at bicycle speeds (15 to 20MPH), I wouldn’t like 500 Watts. Anyway, I got my many used car tires(far cheaper than even bicycle tires), wheels & gas cars that’ll get 45MPG. Got to drive the cars to wear out all my tires before I die.
Yeah, I’ll have plenty of people laughing at my funeral. Don’ thunk yer so special..... ha ha ha If I die early, someone is gonna get my used tires at a real, real good deal.
I got the fever. I started with a KTM 200 Duke. Purchased Sep 2021, stolen Dec 2021. Ouch. Then a 22 Honda Grom. I love this little bugger ! Not gonna sell it. Then in June 2024 I bought a 23 Honda CB300R. Very nice bike. Only about 350 miles put on this year. Rode it 8.8 miles today ( 38 deg F ). Very strong and smooth 286 cc single. Not so great fuel economy. I do try to ride both of these Hondas at least seven miles every week in an attempt to keep batteries charged. I have a Battery Tender that was given to me ,but missing the cable that connects to the battery. I'll go on ebay and try to buy two.
