Here's How Fast A 250cc Motorcycle Can Actually Go

Everyone likes to see high numbers on things, because bigger numbers make everything seem more powerful, more important. However, if you don't know what those numbers actually mean, then you might find yourself in a situation where something isn't performing to your expectations. For example, if you purchased a new motorcycle because it had "250cc engine" proudly displayed on its fact sheet, what does that actually tell you about the motorcycle's performance? The cc rating isn't the same thing as miles per hour, so if you don't know what that means, then you may be unpleasantly surprised when you take your new ride out for a spin.

Luckily, while the cc rating doesn't directly translate to a motorcycle's speed, it does provide a good indication of how fast a bike can go. The actual speed you can get out of this hypothetical bike will depend on a few factors besides the physical size of the engine, but we can at least put together a ballpark estimate of what to expect.

Before we can get an estimate of a 250cc motorcycle's speed, we first need to quickly cover what cc actually means. "CC" in the context of motorcycles means "cubic centimeters," which is how an engine's displacement is measured. A combustion engine pulls fuel from a tank, mixes it with air, compresses it under a piston, then combusts to generate energy. If there's more space inside the engine, that means there's more room for the air-fuel mixture. More air-fuel mixture inside the cylinder's combustion chamber equates to more generated energy. 

In a nutshell, the cc rating is an abstraction of an engine's energy potential rather than how much power it actually generates. The cc ratings are used to measure engine potential in a variety of small vehicles, including motorcycles, scooters, and go-karts. You know how in "Mario Kart," the higher-difficulty, higher-speed races are called 100, 150, and 200cc? That's a reflection of go-karts using larger, stronger engines that can output more speed.

Now that we know what cc means, how much power can we get out of a motorcycle packing a 250cc engine? While 250cc sounds big in a vacuum, that's actually near the bottom of motorcycle engine potential, only a few notches above a 125cc scooter doing 60 miles per hour. An average middleweight motorcycle usually has a rating of around 400cc, while beefier brands like Harley-Davidson can crank it up to 1000cc. 250cc is on the high end of something like a learner's motorcycle.

Motorcycles with engines at or around 250cc include the Honda CRF250L Rally, the Kawasaki Ninja 250, the Yamaha V-Star 250, and the Suzuki GSX250R. While all of these bikes have roughly the same cc, little differences in the construction of the engine and body do affect the top speed. A streamlined, speedy bike will typically move faster than a beefy cruiser with the same engine, for instance. On average, though, 250cc bikes can go a top speed of approximately 85 to 90 miles per hour. 

The only outlier is the Kawasaki Ninja 250, one of the brand's most reliable rides, which can push it up to 105 miles per hour, but that's more of an exception than the norm. While it's not the fastest motorcycle out there, 85 miles per hour is more than enough for casual highway cruising, which is probably why these motorcycles make great starter vehicles for new riders.