The little Rebel has a very low seat so short people can ride it where they couldn't ride any of the sport bikes. Those 250 cruiser-style bikes don't do very well at higher speeds. I doubt the Rebel could do 85 mph and if it did, it would feel and sound like it was ready to fall apart. The 250r from Honda and Kawasaki can do 85mph, but the 300s all just handle the higher speeds without stressing the engine. My little CB300F is the least powerful of the 300s and 85 mph does feel fast on that bike without fairings or a fly screen. If I did a lot of 80 mph+ riding on the freeway, I would choose the bikes in this order from first to last: R3, Ninja 300, CBR300R, Ninja 250r, CBR300R, CB300F. The Rebel would be the last choice. City riding is a different order.
With the stock gearing, the rebel does 83 tops at 9k rpm, and it does feel like it'll fall apart.
when changing from stock 14/33t to 15/28t, you'll hit right in the powerband around 75mph, and the bike goes upto 85mph, ducked forward. Putting feet on passenger pegs also increases speed by a few mph. The engine runs hotter, thus has higher compression ratio, and it tops out at 87mph, wind still.
drafting behind a truck, I've gotten it upto 92mph, or 90mph, with a 20mph tailwind.
on the other hand, having a 20mph headwind, and the bike struggles to maintain 75mph.
It's not fast enough, because if I sit upright, legs on the rider pegs, it tops out at 75mph.
On the interstates we ride 80mph most of the time.
In order to do that, I'd have to duck forward, and keep my feet on the passenger pegs to keep up with traffic. And after 30 mins or more of riding like that, it can get boring and painful!
It's like riding wot for prolonged times, without the ability to surpass anyone.
The benefit that the Rebel has over the 300f, is a lower seat height. It does a lot for top speed; for the same reason that the Ninja 300 is just as fast as the CB500X, or only 6mph slower than the NC700X. They are all higher suspension bikes, and though they have more powerful engines, they also need to cut a lot more wind.
I also put lower viscosity oil in it than 10W40.
The rebel needs some gear mods, to work ok on the highways. But in traffic of 80MPH or up, it always feels pushed to the limit.
And that's where the R3 comes in.
The CB300 series of bikes are a little taller than the rebel, and cut more wind. Their 50cc increase probably aren't enough to get a lot more top speed, but they surely will make the bike act a lot more responsive to the throttle at speeds below 80mph.
The R3 is an even bigger bike than the cb300, but it also has an additional 37cc.
I probably would have loved the CB300F, if it wasn't so darn small in size (I'm 6'4"), and had 299cc instead of 284cc. Those last 15cc don't make up for a lot, but if most of your highway travel is at 80-85mph, which is exactly the top of the CB300, those 15 extra ccs could be the buffer you just needed to not have to open the throttle all the way!
Still, I'm confident that the cb300 can do 90mph, 95 even when ducked forward, and with just a gear mod (sprocket changes)
