The 18,000+ RPM 250cc Bikes Were The Pinnacle Of The 1990's

the 1980s and 1990s where the golden eras of the Japanese automotive industry full of Advanced Technologies crazy turbo and non-turbo engines and the gentleman's agreement to look like they have no intention to go beyond at the same time everybody was talking about turbo bikes and later to 50s the drive Beyond imagination it's interesting to see what extraordinaryness can a simple regulation cause thank you foreign [Music] the Japanese Grand Prix and Suzuka eight hours were doing great in the 1980s and Drew many people into the motorcycle Market Superbikes were everyone's favorite but that large cubic capacity certainly wasn't for everybody Young Riders dreamed of a Superbike too but they were only allowed to ride sub-250cc these bikes were basically designed around a Japanese regulation and that created a certain hype and demand for them although the Japanese government kept them that would not stop Japanese engineering magicians from doing what they do best this created a whole new market and all of the big four companies wanted to be a part of it a sporty 250 was nothing new but definitely not standard with as many cylinders Honda had been racing with tiny four cylinders yet from 1959 with the rc-160 a 250cc race bike running back up to 14 000 RPM and that was pretty much what anybody could experience a quarter of a century later a while after that in the 1970s a Benelli 254 also known as the Benelli 250 Quattro was one of the few accessible small Falls but it liked the month of the late Japanese machines and was shy of 11 000 RPM it sounded great but the Japanese brought it to the next level oh the era of the high revving Japanese 250cc began in 1985 a 45 horsepower power limit prevented them from pushing the absolute limit but the results were impressive anyway the 45 horsepower may not sound like much but it was only up only down compared to the 1959 Honda RC 160 Grand Prix race bike these production motorcycles had to be user-friendly reliable enough and not as expensive to produce that's a lot of requirement from an engine that delivers a power per liter ratio of 180 horsepower per liter and that's remarkable even today to reach such results every detail of the engine had to be precisely designed crafted and manufactured big horsepower would occur somewhere in the Region 14 to 15 000 RPM which is up to 250 revolutions per second and they would often continue up to 18 or 19 000. each engine was a bit different as Yamaha had a mid-mounted timing chain Kawasaki placed it at the end of the engine and Honda had the valve train curiously between cylinder 3 and 4 however each had tiny 100 gram Pistons of only 49 millimeters in diameter tops with many skill valves of only 21 millimeters at most and a valve lift of 6.5 millimeters it's wonderful how much power these machines can deliver [Music] starting in 1985 the first one was Yamaha and their all-new fz250 phaser it featured 45 horsepower right out of the box clip on handlebars and twin front disc brakes a sportier version of that was the fzr 250 featuring a fairing that really meant business and was only a tiny bit heavier at 141 kilograms dry it keeps going up to 15 000 500 RPM but the power quickly Falls before reaching 17 000. the Suzuki lineup had been accompanied by the acros from 1990 which was meant as a sport tourer having that hiring tiny four Slender the beauty of the Cross was a true practicality with a rear-mounted fuel tank and front helmet storage using a steel frame it was a bit heavier but at 163 kilograms dry it was needed to light nor too heavy yeah it did have a super bike brother the GSX r250 but that one was really rare the jigsaw was a serious sports bike with an adjustable suspension and a very bitey twin disc brakes compared to a single disc on the fzr having also why the tires it required more effort from the driver [Music] the same applies to the Kawasaki zxr 250 made from 1988 up until 2005. the post 1993 models featured only about 39 horsepower and the 180 kilometers per speed limiter a spicier version with another R in the name packed larger 32 millimeter carburetors no speed restrictor and a 19 000 rev limiter interestingly the zxr was equipped with an even larger rear tire than the Suzuki a 140 millimeter section with a diameter of 18 inches [Applause] sold as a naked the zr250 balios held the same 39 holes per engine and was sold until 2008. [Music] a significant market share of this segment was under Honda's control as they were selling the mc14 cbr250f yet from 1986. for the next year the mc-17 received an improved engine putting down mildly more torque but having a gear-driven twin cams The increased noise was the cherry on the cake however a huge step up in reliability sourced from the Honda GP models delivering those revs for much more kilometers in the future besides that the big Power RPM climbed 500 RPM higher to 15K also true to the mc19 the last of them the mc22 cbr250 Double R was the sharpest one having twin front disc brakes unlike the mc19 four 29 millimeter K in carbs and a curvy Goldwing swing arm this is the famous high serving production motorcycle that red lines at 19 000 and hits the limiter at 20. it does that quite reliably these Hondas are now to clock high five figure mileage easily both in miles and kilometers [Music] the story of these unique 250 CC's ended slowly up to 1994 when the restrictions were dropped the demand plummeted and enforced Honda to sell many of the mc22s in stock in Australia they have plenty of motorcycles and parts from this era unlike the rest of the world as it was a JDM specific type of motorcycle category good luck finding any of the previously mentioned for sale they are incredibly rare however Kawasaki recently introduced a new zx25r which Peaks out at 15 000 500 RPM delivering up to 51 horsepower which is a current 400cc territory [Music] foreign would you pick I really like the design of the mc22 cbr250 Double R and the engineering dedication to make this engine as reliable as possible thank you very much for watching and I will catch you in the next one cheers [Applause] [Music] foreign [Applause]

Channel: VisioRacer

Views: 112,957

Keywords: VisioRacer, engine, sound, 250cc, 20000 rpm, Japanesse, JDM, motorcycle, Suzuka 8 Hours, Grand Prix, Honda CBR250RR, MC22, MC14, MC17, MC19, Kawasaki ZXR250, Balius, Yamaha FZR250, Phazer, Suzuki GSXR250, Across

Id: V40hOthQkwk

Length: 10min 4sec (604 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 10 2022