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1980 Honda CB250RS My first bike was a Honda, so although I grew up at the tail end of the British bike era and remember drawling over them as a young lad, I never owned one (although my older brother had a 1950's BSA Goldstar). Years later, I remember saying that if the Japanese developed a good 250cc single like the old BSA C15 (only without the faults) I would buy one, so in 1980 when I saw the Honda CB250RS released I made my way down to the dealer and sweet talked my wife into letting me have one. Finance arranged, I picked up my first new bike and fell in love with it. The only negative comment I ever made about it, was that it was so reliable you never had to do anything to it other than tension the chain. |
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I read all the stuff in the magazines and sale brochure, and had to have one. The RS was launched at a time when the CB250N (Twin) was still a popular model, but this was sleek and stylish. The engine was innovative, although four valves per cylinder had been done by the British long before the war. The two exhaust valves fed into separate exhaust pipes with megaphone styled silencers giving the appearance of a twin. There was an automatic valve decompressor connected to the kick-start (the first RS-A model did not have an electric start, although common on most models, but the electric start was added after about two years on the RS-C model) and inside the engine cases there were two counter rotating balancer shafts to smooth out those vibrations. Alloy rims and disc front brake made this a sporty machine, hence the RS, which stood for Racing Single. |
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Counter rotating Balancer shafts |
Chain driven Overhead Cam Shaft with four valve head |
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Conclusion This was a bike that would lead to several other manufacturers going the same route and eventually developing into a 500cc single unit, which went against all Japanese thinking and development that had spawned the CB500/4 several years before. A beautiful light bike with style and reliability. I loved this bike and would have considered it today. |
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The
modern tank and seat unit added to the sleekness of the machine and although
it looks odd now, the square headlight was catching. This bike, was nippy,
good looking, comfortable, economical, had a tidy bit of speed, and
reliability was beyond belief. The engine always burst into life first kick,
and was very smooth when running. Two-up was no problem for the bike,
although the power was not designed to carry heavy loads. The bike sported
square speedometer and tacho with all the normal indicators for Main Beam,
Indicators and Neutral. The manual choke was operated from a cable pull on
the handlebars. The side stand had a rubber block which was designed to
flick-up the side stand if the rider forgot to do the job and rode off with
it down. The redline was at 9000rpm which gave a top speed of 85mph with
following wind. Available in three colours: Red, Blue and Black. The engine
was painted black which suited all the models well. The fork gaiters were
fitted by myself to prevent damage to the fork stanchions.
There was also a very nice nose fairing available, as well as a full fairing
that would fit this model as an after market addition.