I was now having a walk through some old pictures and this one just popped up. That's my second Honda VTR 250 that I owned, a total compulsive buying that gave me a great satisfaction and made me very sad to say goodbye to. A toy. A cheap canvas. I invested a little bit on her, mecanically and stetically.
I'd like to write some lines about her one today.
Where did it come from
I bough this one from a friend in the Basque Country. For my first VTR 250 I opened an old school internet forum and it became kinda popular. One of these friends ended up selling his in 2014. Back then I was tired of using a scooter in Barcelona and missed my first VTR 250. She was so agile in the city and powerful enough to enjoy the twisty roads around!
I flew to Donostia, met my friend, and quickly saw the bike. She was parked for long in the street, in a city next to the ocean. I excused all salt marks in the metal, assuming that could be easily removed. ha. haha. I bought it straight away, anyways.
I drove her all the way back. It is easily 600 kms. I had to stop to pump the tyres, the clutch and brakes were suboptimal. But that sound. The complete Ixil line was already there, and that was music. And that push from a small V2 for a feather like this one. I can’t say that I enjoyed the ride, but I was happy with the project and hopeful. I really enjoyed later.
What did I do to her
The bike was originally the black frame with burdeos in the tank, tail and front fender. My friend bought it in yellow instead of burdeos and ended up painting it in red. He also fit a squared flag line all along the bike, that was not holding properly anymore. The current status was calling for a good new paint. I designed something HRC style but very sober. To be honest, the painting was not really expensive, and was really really beautiful. The painter did a stunning job. I also painted in black the bottles from the front bars and the rear basculant.
I bought from a friend the two caps from the sides of the engine. The walls of the cylinders kept the salt marks, my plan was to have it sanded and re-painted, but never ended up doing so. Same for the radiator, but it did receive a hand of black paint that helped. I also searched for squared black mirrors and changed the blinking lights for new LED ones that were smaller and stylish. The front light was out of plastic and I also changed it for an original glass one. Also a new original handlebar in that quasi-gold color and new black break and clutch levers.
My first VTR 250 was total silver with the cables and rear spring in red, whereas in this one was in yellow, and it just fit so good.
I am so sad that I don’t really have pictures of the process.
I changed the wheels to my beloved Micheling Pilot Power 2 CT, the only double compost in a legal size for this bike.
The front brake was always too soft and slow. I replaced the front pumper with one coming from a CB 500. It improved the speed to bite hard, but the bite was never harder. The front suspension was also always too soft, and I applied the old trick of several rings inside the bar to pre-charge the springs. This had a similar effect: holding better but never stronger.
I did a whole maintenance on the usuals plus brake fluids, review clutch and carburator. This bike never ran that good.
She became the baby I was moving through Barcelona with. That belladona, that chick that fits cool everywhere you go. And the sound, that grave broooooouumm when squizing a bit too much. Small enough to fit between lines in the city jungle traffic, and big enough to climb up mountains in their twisty roads. You can really go fast in a toy like this. It weights nothing and has 32 hp. These were good times, man!
How it ended
Then I accepted an offer to work in Germany, and this chick was kept in the garage of my parents. "Papa, start it from time to time and get a round if you feel so”. But he just charged the battery from time to time and started it for some mins. Thank you! I drove it some Saturdays when I flew to my home town. My girlfriend drove it when I took the VFR 750 for a run in another visit.
There is a funny story from 2019, on my 40th birthday that I organized a party with all my friends in Talamanca. Some of the old VTR 250 gang came and in beer moment we went to the garage and started the bike, after months of being sleeping. And started, in a groar of joy for everyone.
I was paying taxes and insurance for a bike I only use 4 times a year… She needs to run, she needs maintenance, oil change, be used and loved, and I already had another bike like this. I could not hold 2 side projects living a 1.5k kms from me.
The guy who sold it to me told me once that he might be interested on getting it back, so I contacted him and finally it got sold to a friend of him, for his girlfriend. It was a girls bike, some people said. I don’t know. I guess that girlfriend was happy.
They passed by the place of my parents to see it, matching a day that I flew there, but the actual transaction happened with me being already in Düsseldorf, so I could only say goodbye to the pics from my parents. I’ve never knew anything else of her, like with all other bikes.
I am still sad to not have her waiting for me there, in Talamanca.