How old are grey 250s, then?
For the most part, very. The ZXR250, CBR250RR, FZR250 and GSX-R250 all ceased production in or around 1994, when the regulations in Japan changed (see answer to Q.5). At the time of writing (February, 2006), no four-cylinder sports 250 can be less than 11 or 12 years old. Some Honda CBR250R’s and early FZR250’s are closer to 20 years old; they entered production in 1988 and 1987, respectively. The Honda VT250 Spada was discontinued in 1991. The current batches of grey 250 sportsbikes are composed of bikes with have probably spent close to a decade laid up in a holding yard. There are two exceptions to the rule: -Between 1997 and 2001, Honda sold the CBR250RR as an official import. These bikes were drawn from factory stockpiles left over after the collapse of the Japanese 250 market. -Currently, a grey importer is bringing in newly-built Kawasaki ZXR250-C’s assembled at Kawasaki’s Malaysian subsidiary from parts stockpiles held by Kawasaki Japan.
