Novice Needs Advice. Honda 250L Or 250M?

[doglover]

I have only ridden scooters for several years and a Kawasaki Boss 175 for several months. I am set on buying a Honda 250 but unsure about picking the L or M version. Living in Issan and planning on taking in a lot of dirt back roads with hardpack and mud but also will spend a lot of time on the streets and highways. My plan is to buy one version or the other and purchase an extra set of complete wheels for quick wheel swaps. From what I have read the M version suspension is firmer and lower than the L which would be a negative when enjoying the dirt. I certainly prefer the look of the M over the L.

1) Should I go with the M or the L considering what has been mentioned?

2) How long does it take to swap complete wheel sets?

3) Can the suspension be easily adjusted from supermoto to dirtbike mode and vice versa or am I stuck with set parameters?

4) As a novice should I just stick with the L and ride the stock dual sport tires?

Thanks for your input.

Edited March 30, 2013 by doglover

[loserlazer]

if you will do lots of dirt riding, just go for crf l version.

You can go around town with it easily and especially if you are living up in Isaan, with a softer tuned suspension and knobby tires for rural, crf l is the best for you.

And i think crf l is looking better than m version with silver frame and golden shocks IMO.

You can change the tires within 30 minutes.

I think if you just change the tires in crf l to street setup, i do not think so there will be much difference from m version in terms of ride unless you are motarding on the streets long time before.

Edited March 30, 2013 by loserlazer

[Rolo Tomazi]

Agree, for your purposes the CRF250L should be the right bike. Get the white version and have it painted a light color, like orange, to stand out!

[NomadJoe]

L all the way. The tires are not actually full dirt tires, they are a hybrid on/off road tire. My mates' got one and I have ridden it quite a bit on pavement. It's quite decent on the road.

[loserlazer]

crf l is cheaper too!

[taninthai]

L all the way. The tires are not actually full dirt tires, they are a hybrid on/off road tire. My mates' got one and I have ridden it quite a bit on pavement. It's quite decent on the road.

Never paint the plastics on an off road bike when you droP it the paint will crack and sPlinter looks terrible ,seen some guys in America spray there's with some sort of rubber paint this may be better.

Stickers seem to be the wY to go if you want your bile to stand out ,when I first got mine I was gonna by a comPlete sticker set loads of designs to choose from however never really got round to ordering them and now further down the line I don't really like the sticker kits anywAy.

The plastics are cheap as chips so I just changed a couPle of my front Pieces to White every panel on my bike has marks and scratches including the exhaust and forks you soon learn an of road bike is not going to look all new shiny and perfect for long.

Sorry quoted wrong post meant to quote rolos post not joes

Edited March 30, 2013 by taninthai

[NomadJoe]

^ You have 8 minutes to change it.

[taninthai]

^ You have 8 minutes to change it.

Cantbe bothered using iPhone on safari it's a pain in the arse........lol

[Rolo Tomazi]

L all the way. The tires are not actually full dirt tires, they are a hybrid on/off road tire. My mates' got one and I have ridden it quite a bit on pavement. It's quite decent on the road.

Never paint the plastics on an off road bike when you droP it the paint will crack and sPlinter looks terrible ,seen some guys in America spray there's with some sort of rubber paint this may be better.

Stickers seem to be the wY to go if you want your bile to stand out ,when I first got mine I was gonna by a comPlete sticker set loads of designs to choose from however never really got round to ordering them and now further down the line I don't really like the sticker kits anywAy.

The plastics are cheap as chips so I just changed a couPle of my front Pieces to White every panel on my bike has marks and scratches including the exhaust and forks you soon learn an of road bike is not going to look all new shiny and perfect for long.

Sorry quoted wrong post meant to quote rolos post not joes

[nikster]

I also think the M looks a lot better... for mild dirt it would work, given the right tires like MT-60s.

But you're planning on going into the mud, I agree you'll probably be better off with a CRFL.

It can look nice too with a few mods. I quite liked this one; at first I thought it was a supermoto conversion but the tires and wheels were original...

[BSJ]

Buy a Shineray 250 for off road and a CBR250 for on road.

[doglover]

Thanks for all the advice. Honda 250L it is.