HONDA GB250 Clubman 250cc クラブマン

The Honda GB250 is a motorcycle that lives very close to my heart, I have one that I use almost daily and despite the fact that I initially bought it to spend “6 months or so” learning how to ride in Hong Kong (it’s a big change from England and Australia) I still own it and love it almost 4 years later. Honda started production of the Honda GB250 in 1983, they pulled the single cylinder 249cc unit out of the Honda XR350R Enduro bike and then modified it for road use – the finished powerplant has a DOHC, a radial combustion chamber, 4 valves, it’s fed by a relatively large carburettor and it passes power to the back wheel via a close ratio 6-speed transmission. Depending on the year, the GB250 produces between 30 and 31hp, not too shabby for a 249cc air-cooled engine. Its total weight is 127kgs and it’s very closely placed ratios between 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears gives it acceleration off the line that gleefully embarrasses much larger bikes. In some respects it’s a 250 that thinks it’s a 750 and I have to admit that I love its underdog nature.