The 2008 Honda Rebel Base is a Cruiser Style Motorcycle equipped with an 234cc, Air Cooled, Parallel Twin, SOHC, 4-Stroke Engine and a 5-Speed Manual Transmission. It has a Telescopic Fork Front Suspension while the Rear Suspension consists of a Twin Sided Swing Arm. The Rebel Base has Front Disc Brakes and Rear Drum Brakes. The Rebel Base weighs 306.4 lbs. and has a ground clearance of -50014- inches. The Rebel Base was introduced in 1985 and is Carryover for 2008. It includes a 12 month Limited warranty.The Honda Rebel Base is a Cruiser style motorcycle with an MSRP of $3199 and is a Carryover for 2008. Power is provided by a 4-Stroke, 234cc, Air cooled, SOHC, Parallel Twin engine with Electric starter. The engine is paired with a 5-Speed Manual transmission and total fuel capacity is 2.6 gallons. The Rebel Base rides on Steel wheels with a 3.00-18 front tire and a 130/90 R15 rear tire. The front suspension is a Telescopic Fork while the rear suspension is a Twin Sided Swing Arm. Front Disc brakes and rear Drum brakes provide for the stopping power. The Rebel Base comes standard with Two-Piece, 2-passenger seating. It’s not surprising that Honda’s Rebel is one of the most frequently researched bikes on this site. With gas prices likely to rise again when the giant economies of China and India start pulling back into their power band, and with traffic choking most of the country’s metro areas, the idea of commuting on an affordable little motorcycle is occurring to more and more people.
With these small 250s achieving well over 60 mpg, there are serious fuel savings involved, even though the purchase price of the Rebel ($3,999) will buy you 1,142 gallons of gas at $3.50 per, and take you over 68,000 miles at 60 mpg. Obviously, if it’s just the price of gas that motivates you, this is not the answer. But if affordable and fun transportation is what you’re looking for, then keep reading.As a 6-foot-5-inch tall man weighing 218 pounds, I am not the greatest match for this bike. It is compact, light, and has a small, soft seat. Still, even I could a find a reasonably comfortable spot for rides of moderate length, and I found the 331-pound ready-to-ride weight to be a real advantage during slow maneuvers and when manhandling the bike.The Rebel is a cinch to ride. The 243cc twin starts willingly and soon warms to a point where throttle response is quick and eager. The clutch is a light pull, and its engagement is gradual and easily sensed. There are only five speeds in the gearbox, but their selection is light and positive.
Launching hard and revving the little bike out will usually get you ahead of the traffic as long as that guy in his BMW M3 doesn’t think your behavior is a challenge to his masculinity. And you can normally cruise along with traffic flow without much effort.I even took the bike up onto the 405 freeway in the South Bay in LA, where demented drivers with homicidal tendencies move along at over 80 mph every chance they get. To my surprise, the rebel would run an indicated 80, and even pull to its last numerals on the speedo_85 mph_when held wide open. This with a big, heavy rider aboard.
The 243cc sohc four-valve twin is a well-proven engine. It’s been around since 1985, and there wasn_t much wrong with it then. So protracted periods of wide-open use probably won’t do it any harm at all, but riding relentlessly at full throttle and elevated engine speeds seems a bit like cruel and unusual treatment. I found it easier to back off the throttle a bit to relieve the engine of this ruthless flogging, slow to an indicated 75 mph, and then cruise with less mental and mechanical stress.
That’s what cruiser-style motorcycles are supposed to be about, anyway. And that’s another nice thing about the Rebel. While few hardcase cruiser riders are likely to take the Rebel_s chopperesque styling seriously, it’s a great option for beginner riders who prefer the Harley look particularly since there’s hardly any tradeoff in the ground-clearance department.With comparatively small and skinny tires fitted (a 3.00/18 up front and a 130/90-15 on the back), the Rebel would not seem particularly suited to fast cornering. But it does surprisingly well. Its handling is light and predictable, and the bike leans about as far as I’d care to lean a bike on modest tires with this sort of riding position.While the rear shocks feature five-position spring-preload collars, the fork is not adjustable. Both ends are quite soft, and allow fairly pronounced pitching motions on the brakes, but it’s not enough to spoil the ride. The brakes comprise a single front disc, which is just about adequate to the task, and a rear drum, from which not much is asked anyway.That just about sums up the Rebel’s role in life; it’s an inexpensive machine suited to relatively light duty use. Nonetheless, one should not underestimate the mechanical durability or assembly quality of the Rebel. It’s a Honda, and that means it will likely run way longer than you’d expect, given the requisite amount of maintenance.The Rebel’s natural place in the market is as a starter bike, but I’d make the argument that it works as well or better than a comparable scooter. For those of us who’d prefer to swing a leg over a bike and shift our own gears, it’s the natural choice. That it’s light and maneuverable is just the icing on the cake.
