The all new plated CRF from HONDA.

[Guest Crusty]

2 new CRF 250L racing the Baja 1000.

CLASS 20 (250cc or less)–

151x Megumi Shiono/Katsuhisa Mikami/Takehito Suzuki/Hiroyuki Watanabe, Japan, Honda CRF250L

152x Yoshiaki Noda/Eiji Sugiyama/Yoshiyuki Imai, Japan/Yuichiro Horikawa, China, Honda CRF250L

[bikeslut 1]

for the entry level person, the Honda makes sense... save some $$

[ShocknAwe 0]

I heard there is not really an aftermarket exhaust that works well with the CRF-L's motor. Any truth to this? What else can you do to improve this bike's performance?

Thanks,

Shock

[Crawdaddy 96]

for the entry level person, the Honda makes sense... save some $$

I recommended this bike to a vertically challenged friend who's just entering the DualSport scene at a casual level......hard to argue with MSRP of ~$3,999, Honda reliability, fuel injected, low seat height.....perfect for the casual rider....he bought one at Vey's last Friday........should work out well for him.....looking forward to taking him out and scratching it up

Rick Ramsey has a lot of good info on his website pertaining to all the current/popular small dualsports: http://www.rickramsey.net/

Hey Look, Motorcyclist Magazine agrees with me .......SMALL BIKES RULE! (AKA - LESS is MORE)

[tntmo 887]

Honda reliability

Yeah....pistons, rings and valves last as long as the front tire does. I know the CRF250L is a different engine, but Honda reliability doesn't sell with me anymore.

honda by tntmo2, on Flickr

[Guest Crusty]

Honda reliability

Yeah....pistons, rings and valves last as long as the front tire does. I know the CRF250L is a different engine, but Honda reliability doesn't sell with me anymore.

honda by tntmo2, on Flickr

Lots of factors could have caused your failure!!

[bikeslut 1]

CRF250 valves and piston issues are pretty well-known... it's not some "one time..." thing

[tntmo 887]

With a recommended piston life of 15hrs, I should be happy this one lasted as long as it did. Good power right up to the end, then it was using 4-6 oz of oil an hour the last few rides. Ended up running low after a long ride and the cam starved for oil.

Lots of power from a 250cc engine, just not a lot of reliability. The CRF250L will be the opposite, lower power and higher reliability.

I apologize for sort of thread pooping, just frustrated by this bike which has the potential to be awesome. It's almost back together and we'll ride the heck out of it again! :good:/>

[Guest Crusty]

With a recommended piston life of 15hrs, I should be happy this one lasted as long as it did. Good power right up to the end, then it was using 4-6 oz of oil an hour the last few rides. Ended up running low after a long ride and the cam starved for oil.

Lots of power from a 250cc engine, just not a lot of reliability. The CRF250L will be the opposite, lower power and higher reliability.

I apologize for sort of thread pooping, just frustrated by this bike which has the potential to be awesome. It's almost back together and we'll ride the heck out of it again! />

If you want all that and reliability too search for a CR 500 motor!!

My 91 has NEVER had the cases split!!!!!!!

Craig.

[Guest Crusty]

And build one of these.

It's a 450X not a 250X

http://www.bannedcr500riders.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=12707&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=25

[Goofy Footer 539]

Hey Leo, I thought you might like this video about the CRF250L and DRZ400

You mentioned FBC, I saw this '11 DRZ400 for $5000 on CL

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/mcd/3425943407.html

Try em all (have fun doing so) and see whats best for you!

[Leoffensive 0]

Hey Leo, I thought you might like this video about the CRF250L and DRZ400

You mentioned FBC, I saw this '11 DRZ400 for $5000 on CL

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/mcd/3425943407.html

Try em all (have fun doing so) and see whats best for you!

yea i sat on that DRZ it had a desert tank when it first came in. but it looks like it was taken off.

guy there pulled that stock tank out it was in plastic

said the original owner took it right off and stored it in plastic in the garage.

i recently found out a friend of mine got a crf250l. he let me ride it today and i loved it.

so smooth compared to that kawasaki eliminator 125 i learned on in the msf class haha.

thing has some get up and go to it for my needs so i know ill be happy with the 250 as far as power goes.

there was the gap in between 1st and 2nd i read about. i heard changing the front sprocket helps that so that might be an upgrade towards the beginning of my owner ship.

but man oh man did the bike feel good for me.

only thing thats gonna take some time gettin used to is where the controls are on the bike haha after learning on that cruiser style i felt a little weird on it.

[Goofy Footer 539]

Leo, I'm glad you're getting out there and researching which bike is right for you. The more information and experience you have with each bike the better.

As for the gap between 1st and 2nd, changing front sprocket will make the shift to 2nd happen sooner but 1st gear will also occur earlier. Front sprockets are ~$20 so its not an expensive mod and you can always go back. Lowering the front sprocket 1 tooth is equivalent to raising the rear sprocket 3 teeth. You will lose top end speed and freeway cruisability by lowering your gearing however.

I say beg and plead with your buddy to let you ride his 250L some more so you can really get a good feel for it.

[Leoffensive 0]

i would but he leaves for Europe today.

from his experience so far in its 300+ miles of existence he told me the bike had no problem going from his house(allied gardens) to buckman springs.

he said he took the I-8 all the way there to go to corral canyon and it stayed at 70 comfortably all the way there.(hes also very light) haha

i know i wont be doing any super slab riding like that but that was cool to hear.

[Guest Crusty]

i would but he leaves for Europe today.

from his experience so far in its 300+ miles of existence he told me the bike had no problem going from his house(allied gardens) to buckman springs.

he said he took the I-8 all the way there to go to corral canyon and it stayed at 70 comfortably all the way there.(hes also very light) haha

i know i wont be doing any super slab riding like that but that was cool to hear.

Don't worry about the gap, I just rev out 1rst gear more.

[Leoffensive 0]

Yea I'm new so it will be part of the learning curve haha