1991 Honda VT250FN Xelvis from New Zealand

Summary:

Excellent bike to learn on, and beautiful in its simplicity

Faults:

Indicator switch for the front brake lever needed replacing.

Seems to have been dropped in a crash prior to myself owning it, so is missing part of the fairing, but, oddly, it still looks normal.

Starting to show signs of rust on the framework surrounding the speedometer.

General Comments:

The Honda VT250FN, or (bizarrely) the "Xelvis", is a rather handsome and rare naked sports/tourer. Only sold in Japan, it has the same 250cc V-Twin engine as the VT250 Spada, giving it a reasonably deep rumble, rather than the constant whining of most other 250cc inline fours.

It is comfortable even after a four hour highway trip, although the engine is revving at around 8000rpm to keep it at 100km/h (which, although annoying, is obviously common for engines of similarly small displacement).

Putting out a fairly decent 36 brake horsepower, it goes well around town, but lacks grunt beyond 110km/h. On twisty roads it performs well for such a heavy and low powered bike, but the pegs are quite low and tend to scrape easily when leaning.

Power comes on at 5000rpm, and is reasonably constant until tailing off at 10000rpm, and the redline is at 12000.

Extremely highly recommended as a learner's bike, as it costs close to nothing to run, is very reliable and a piece of cake to maintain. It is fun and easy to ride, while lacking the bite to throw less experienced riders into trouble.

It is one of the more beautifully designed bikes on the market, although somewhat unappreciated... I will be sad to see it go.

Would you buy another motorcycle from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th March, 2006