1989 Honda VTR 250
Miles: 3,520
Clean California Title
Starting Bid: $2,500
Auction ends: November 21, 2025
Reserve Not Met
A bike that was made up until 1990 but looking very, very 1980s, this Honda VTR250 is one of a vanished breed of sophisticated small-displacement bikes produced by the Japanese manufacturers primarily for their home market, but occasionally found here in the US. The VTR was sold in two versions, the faired version seen here that was officially sold in North America, and a naked version intended for the rest of the world. The frame was a fairly simple, square-steel tube affair and the suspension was decent, but relatively basic, with an unusual and distinctive “inboard” disc brake up front and a drum at the rear. Inboard disc brakes on cars are typically used to reduce unsprung weight, which obviously doesn’t apply here, so this setup probably functioned more as a styling gimmick than for any kind of performance advantage. By 1990, Honda switched to a conventional [single] disc brake up front. The engine, however was a jewel, a liquid-cooled, 250cc 90° v-twin with four-valves per cylinder and chain-driven twin overhead cams, putting a claimed 25hp through a six-speed gearbox.
You are bidding on a 1989 Honda VTR 250 Sport bike. This bike is a Garage Queen with only 3520 original miles. I am the second owner of this amazing bike. It has been garage kept its entire life. I recently installed new tires front and back due to the original tires showing age cracks. A new battery and fuel petcock were also just installed. Everything on this bike works as delivered from the factory. It has a redline of 13,500 RPM. It is surprising how well this runs for being only 250cc. It is very light and agile. If you are looking for a fun street bike from the past that is still in like new condition, then look no further. This is the bike for you!
These little v-twin Honda VTR250s are cool little bikes and apparently a hoot to ride. And although you probably won’t impress anyone at your local bike night, you probably will make a splash at the next RADwood event. The problem here is that the seller seems to have set their starting bid at what the bike is probably worth: $2,500. Which might explain the complete lack of interest in the bike so far. Sure, the miles are very low, and these are rare and fun machines, but they’re also really not especially valuable, and likely never will be. The VTR250 is a fun, lightweight sportbike, meant to be enjoyed, not a collectible “garage queen.”
-tad
Looks super nice but these were completely forgettable bikes (though the 90s color schemes are awesome) After reading the description I have to ask if the bike is so “awesome” then why didn’t the seller ride it? Why only 3500 miles? This is not a collector bike so why not enjoy it?
These are rather small bikes and can be easily forgotten in the back of the garage once the excitement of riding them passes, which on these comes sooner than later. Plenty of visuals to debunk seller’s claim of “like new condition” like the tear in the seat, oxidation on unrefinished plastic components, yellowing of the headlamp lens and windscreen. Garage kept is a rather loose term. There are climates garage kept vehicles and there are those kept in the shed. The condition of this 250 tends to lean towards the latter.
Another important factor to those who plan on keeping this bike Cali registered is the status of title and registration. Tags sticker dates back to 2005 and though CA DMV will ask for “only” 3 years of back fees these can easily make up another several hundred dollars on top of the sales price. No mention of the title is another red flag. Could be that the title exists but was never transferred to the sellers name, title has been lost or it’s being sold with lien paperwork.
I would have been inclined to contact the seller for this info but at $2500 starting bid I don’t want to waste anyone’s time
All good points. Cool little bike, and probably a really fun machine to hoon around on. But I get the feeling this guy wants way too much for what is basically a novelty bike.