Cpi SM and SX 250
CPI’s little 50cc Super Motard and Enduro models grow up both
receiving 250cc powerplants, these bikes may prove to be real contenders with
high tech materials for the engines and Italian design they are both powerful
and beautiful with easy modifications turning them into real track winners in
their class.
CPI SM250 Dogma from RT Dogma on Vimeo.
year:2009
price: $3300 (Launch price in Taiwan)
Horse Power @ RPM: 24HP @ 8000 RPM
Engine: Liquid cooled, single cylinder, 4 stroke, OHC
Transmission: 6 speed
Torque @ RPM: 20 Nm @ 6000 RPM
Displacement: 249cc
Curb Weight: 107kg
first saw this bike in a motorcycle catalogue last year
and got very excited I have owned Motocross, Enduro and Superbikes and had
recently become interested in Super Motard, this bike stood out in a book filled
with scooters and assorted other weakly endowed conventional street bikes and
enduro models. With its lovely design in black and wavy discs it could be
forgiven for toting conventional forks. I nagged the manufacturers regarding
release dates, and, although the motorcycle catalogue for 2007 said it was
available it had in fact not passed regulatory requirements yet.
One year later and it is due for release very soon with demo models appearing on
the dealers floors so I blagged one from the dealer and took it for a ride, then
another ride, then another….I put 830km’s on the bike, testing it hard on 3
local circuits, riding through city and freeway traffic to get to the circuits.
I was not disappointed, this machine meets the expectations instilled by its
looks.
The differences between the SM and SX models are very small, the SM comes with
street tires110-80-17 front and 130-70-17 rear with a 39 tooth rear sprocket
while the SX has off-road 90-90-21 front and 110-80-18 rear with 41 teeth on the
back.
Both models are available in Black or Orange.
97. 2009 Cpi SX 250
2009 Cpi SX 250
Performance
Acceleration is great, with generous low-rev torque, the power comes right on
through delivering immediately with the sweetest power between 6000 and 8000
RPM, I have been told by the engineers at CPI that the redline is at 10 000 RPM
but there is no point passing 8000 since there is nothing there as the power
curve starts to decline.
It will not stand on the back wheel without help from the clutch but the little
bit of clutch will get her up pretty quick and the wheelie is balanced. Taiwan
is a very mountainous country particularly in the north where I live and the
road to the track takes me up to mountain routes, there is feeling that the bike
is struggling at all as it easily consumes the steep inclines and comfortably
handles the sharp corners as well as the unkempt asphalt surfaces.
Overtaking manouvres are handled very efficiently with the low power torque, a
couple times I made the mistake of thinking I needed a lower gear to overtake
finding that there was nothing there at high revs (too much time spent on 4
cylinder bikes) and all that was needed in fact was a blip of the throttle to
catapult me past the traffic ahead.
The speed is good enough to get you in trouble quickly in busy city traffic and
certainly brisk enough for longer distances. I have been up to 136km/h indicated
when the front starts to get light because the bike only weighs 107kg and has no
fairing to manage the wind. I took it to for a dyno test (a very antiquated
machine but enough to get some idea) and got 19hp with a top speed of 131.5 km/h
Braking is achieved through two pot calipers which are quite sufficient both for
road use and track days with the combination of standard braided aluminum hoses
and the good looking wavy discs working well enough that you will not need to
upgrade unless you want to compete. When I made it slide it felt perfectly
poised. Stoppie/Endo difficult to do with the two piston front calipers, did it
on a converted race bike with 6 piston calipers though and it handles very well.
I had a typical situation when the car in front of me went for a left turn at a
traffic light then changed his mind and stopped right in front of me, with no
space to stop or just ride past him I hit the back brake and geared down twice
while turning the bike into a slide, the back instantly complied to my command
by breaking out to the left allowing me to point my front clear of the car and I
powered around the right hand side of the car, it was very easy to do with this
light and nimble bike.
Corner braking is absolutely great even with the standard equipment I was
setting good times on the track trail braking toward the apex. The bike remains
stable and controllable with no fade over a 40 minute non-stop session on a very
tight, asphalt go-kart circuit.
The bike is very well balanced and the riding position makes control very easy
whether on back, front or both wheels. It is a pleasure to ride through rush
hour traffic with the height giving great visibility. Incidentally, one of my
friends is also in the market for a SM and he said the bike was too short and
then he came up with his ideal 250cc SM which is the Yamaha WR250X which I found
rather entertaining since, although it has 6 more HP with fuel injection, 5
valves and forks, the WR is 10cm shorter than the CPI SM and around $1700 more
expensive.
Leans angle is stable and comfortable all the way till the footpegs are scraping
the track and you have reached the limit of the standard 130 tires and then it
starts to break out sending the rear out in a way that is very easy to recover,
I have in fact worn out my left footpeg completely, recommend footpeg sliders
for the track. Accelerating out of high speed turns (the last exit of one of the
circuits is brutal with patchwork repairs of different types of asphalt and
concrete right on the full power exit point) you need to be careful of bounce
and flex it does not have race suspension and only has adjustable compression n
the rear spring and no adjustment on the front but otherwise, at moderate speeds
even under full throttle it is very forgiving if you get the line wrong and need
to correct by letting off throttle on the corner and then putting the power back
on.
Excellent suspension, when you get on the bike you will notice
the suspension compresses easily both front and rear which gave me cause for
concern however while riding I could feel the road beneath me which gave me a
feeling of confidence while at the same time the bumps and holes in the road
caused no discomfort, which is very important for me as I suffer from back
injuries sustained over many years of racing and riding. The seat is par for
course, no better or worse than any bike I have ridden..
The riding position is upright and as such some people may feel discomfort over
longer distances from spine compression, however as stated before the suspension
is very forgiving so that will be a mitigating factor. I have ridden up to
200km’s on one day and still had no discomfort in my back. The ride feels very
spacious and comfortable, I am nearly 6ft, and am not comfortable on small
bikes, full steering lock on scooters bruises my knees and the smallest bike I
feel moderately ok on is a 400cc superports. This bike while smaller and less
intimidating than the DRZ400 is still large enough to be comfortable. The
controls are all convenient and well positioned with easy access while riding.
Design aspects
95. 2009 Cpi SM 250
2009 Cpi SM 250
When riding at night I was amazed at how great the lights are great positioning
and luminescence, very impressed. As is to be expected there is no storage space
save a small notch next to the battery under the seat where the factory supplied
tool pouch resides. I love letting motorists know where I am and to that end my
GSXR1100 had a Yoshi race pipe that left unpleasant washing up to do when the “I
didn’t see you there driver” HEARD me approach. No modification is required on
this great noisy thumper, not super loud but loud enough that scooters and cars
knew I was there and moved out of my way, a great safety factor.
The gauge is a digital job with bar and number tacho, speed and total distance
readout with Lap timer, average speed, Trip distance and clock all accessed by a
button near the right thumb, lights along the edges for the standard information
include neutral, lights, high beam oil pressure/service and temperature. Backlit
in Blue when the lights are on a nice touch. No fuel gauage.
I worked the clutch hard backing the bike into corners on the kart track and it
is still going strong. As are the gears small motions get the gears selected
with the solid click of a new gearbox giving you the feeling of a quality
gearbox, when looking for first gear on most bikes I have owned you will feel
that the you cannot select a further lower gear because the gear pedal will not
depress again and so you know you have reached first however on this bike when
you reach first gear the pedal will still depress to the same degree as if you
were in any other higher gear so you get an ambiguous sensation and cannot be
sure that you have reached 1st when stopped and looking for neutral.
Conclusion
I really like this bike its handling and power are competent of a 4-stroke 250,
it is in a civil state of tune but can be easily modified with a carb change.
The SM250 that’s been winning races here.... I met the rider the mechanic and
rode the bike on the track....and...hells bells! That thing is freakin fast!!!
Its all down to the $1000 Carburettor he put on the thing, he also removed the
airbox and put on a European spec pipe, but his power comes from the carb (which
he says is a bitch to keep correctly tuned), so no doubt his bike is thirsty as
hell and warranty invalidated, but the potential in that motor is clear, helluva
fast!! So when you think you have mastered the stock bike (which is no slouch)
you still got a long way to go to unleash the monster beneath. He recommends for
general use to put a different carb from the one he has that costs only around
$165 and is less temperamental.
Basically for a 250cc Supermoto $3300 all in it’s a great city commuter as well
as short distance touring bike that can have fun at the track using low revs so
limiting engine abuse and with a quick swap of wheels you can have a great time
off-road or on the beach. CPI has plans to provide the complete wheel assemblies
at a discounted price for those that want to make 2 bikes out of one but this is
nly to transform the SM to SX not vice versa.
The dealer said he anticipates very high demand locally as the bike has received
recognition by being raced successfully as well as getting glamour appeal since
a local star rides one. I will say that, in my opinion, this is terrific joy for
the money.
Some points of interest:
Run-in limits from CPI engineers:
The recommended RPM limit is 8000RPM in run-in period, the suggested timing for
gear changing is :
1st to 2nd : 20km/h
2nd to 3rd : 35km/h
3rd to 4th : 50km/h
4th to 5th : 70km/h
5th to 6th : 95km/h
The first service light comes on at 300k’s that’s for the first oil change, next
one is at 1000 then 1000k oil changes after and oil filter change at 5000km.
Fuel consumption is claimed at 200km’s, reserve to reserve of 92 octane got me
118km’s on road riding and on the track got me 78km’s but have to refill after
70km’s or you get dry gulps from the carb when coming out of a corner after
braking hard on the way in since the 1 litre of fuel you have left moves forward
in the tank and the carb has no gas during the heavy braking period ..
I had a small crash and there is some damage on the right hand grip and the rear
brake pedal which was pushed up and scratched the engine cover on that side,
94. 2009 Cpi SM 250 Damaged Handle
2009 Cpi SM 250 Damaged Handle
91. 2009 Cpi Sm 250 Damaged Brake Lever
2009 Cpi Sm 250 Damaged Brake Lever
But I am very impressed by the way the bike handled the fall without any big
problem, I came into the pits kicked the brake pedal back down into position and
went right on riding.
Also footpeg sliders are an absolute must have item to protect the footpegs for
track use. I ate these footpegs up.
Source Top Speed 2008
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