Honda CRF 250L

[ad61]

Is it a good bike? Anybody own one and could give me some comment (good/bad).

I live in the sticks in the southern province of Ranong and I'm looking for a bike to have fun with in the area. I've been quoted 139'000 bht for it, it is worth the money?

Thank you for the feedback.

[pbas400]

nice bike, but no upgrade since many years....many people are waiting a 300 cc 

[Happy Grumpy]

Should have the 286cc engine from the cbr''300' at this stage.

 

[taninthai]

Had 2 off them can't really fault them they do what they are supposed to do ,used mine on and off road.On road yep possibly lacking a bit of power but then if you are looking for power you dont buy a 200,250 or 300cc bike.Off roading the power is fine the seating is pretty high which does make it a bit tricky when off roading on rocky uneven ground easy to drop it where you struggle to get your feet down and thats not because im a short ass im 5'11 .Just started doing 1 hour a day on mine practising wheelies,overall you can have great fun on them.

They are pretty cheap now 2nd hand and quite a few about first one i bought brand new 2nd one bought 2nd hand no problems with any off them and they do get quite abused.

 

 

Edited October 27, 2016 by taninthai

[georgy]

Just get it. This bike is great fun. I never ever regret that i bought one.

Gesendet von meinem SM-G388F mit Tapatalk

[bramds]

You should also check out the Kawasaki KLX250.

[Richard-BKK]

Waiting for a 300cc upgrade for the Honda CRF250L would take some serious waiting, the 2017 (soon to be released) updated Honda CRF250L has still the same (maybe fine-tuned a bit) engine... So that means in 2-years for every serious model update that we cannot expect a 300cc before 2019.....

[gobs]

I’ve got my Honda CRF250L since 6 months now, and I love it.

 

 

For my use it’s the (near) perfect « do-it-all » bike in Thailand : in town, around town and in the bush. Though it’s not a motocross bike nor a sport bike per se, so if you want the « real thing » don’t go for it IMHO. But if you look for a good all-around ride, the CRF250 delivers a lot for what it is : a funny, easy, reliable, gentle and cheap multi-purpose bike. And yes, it is nice looking!

 

You want some good fun ? Play with the gears, the throttle and the brakes. You’ll get a big smile on your face…

You want to go downtown ? The bike is responsive and slim enough to easily find your way through the traffic. Let your car at home and go ahead…

You want to have a trip on open roads ? In fifth and sixth gears you can easily and safely ride at about 100 km/h as long as the fuel tank is full enough. No pain for you nor for the engine…

You want to delight yourself of the scenery on roads or tracks ? In 3rd and 4th gears torque is enough to « forget » to pilot. Just be smooth on the throttle and enjoy the sight « the nose in the wind »…

In fact this bike is like a (big) bicycle with an brilliant engine in the middle of the frame ! Smooth handling and never vicious…

 

I’m 6’2’’ tall for 80 kg. My feet stay flat on floor when I’m sat on the bike, and power/torque is enough to have some fun when riding (except in 5th and 6th gears). Fork and rear shock, as well as original tires, are not the bests but they do a correct job anyway (no surprise, no deal breaker)). Brakes when new need to be heavily broken in, and once it’s done they are excellent for general purpose rides : good feeling and good touch even the rear brake.

Add to this cheap and easily available spares and accessories, and cheap and easy maintenance all over Thailand…

 

For me two things I don’t like so much :

1) Farings made of cheap (flimsy ?) plastics all around. But I understand it’s a cheap casual bike, so it may not be a relevant complaint…

2) Ugly (clunky ?) sound from the engine to the ears when riding. Surprisingly the sound is pleasing when standing close to the bike on stand and playing with the throttle. As well when a CRF250 is passing by me, the sound I ear is quite good. So I suppose vibrations and resonances (through frame and farings) deteriorate the sound one ears when riding…

But I admit these are details regarding the whole picture.

 

At the end, for less than 140000 THB I think one gets a funny, reliable and enjoyable multi-purpose riding toy.

 

IMHO if you are on the market for this bike, go for it. I think you can’t be desappointed in any way.

Good luck !

 

[gobs]

On 28/10/2016 at 9:17 AM, Richard-BKK said:

Waiting for a 300cc upgrade for the Honda CRF250L would take some serious waiting, the 2017 (soon to be released) updated Honda CRF250L has still the same (maybe fine-tuned a bit) engine... So that means in 2-years for every serious model update that we cannot expect a 300cc before 2019.....

I agree with that.

Even then, at this time, maybe it'll be talked of a 350cc upgrade, then of a 400cc upgrade, and so on...

As said my grand-father: "Being always expecting we never get anything"

[Johpa]

My son and I went in together on a CRF 250 a few years ago and it does the job both on the dirt and on the pavement.  If you do a lot of dirt then you might want to mount some knobby tires, but not too extreme.  During the dry season most Thai dirt roads and mountain sois can be ridden with street tires.  It could use a little more torque in first gear off road, but I was spoiled by my first dual sport in Thailand, a 1978 XL with the lowest 1st gear in town. But all in all it has been reliable and fun to ride and I ride about 70% pavement and 30% dirt. One other issue, like many modern dual sports, strapping on luggage takes some creativity.

 

 

[taninthai]

2 days ago

https://youtu.be/N_0UFPBRc_o

[taninthai]

Beware if buying 2nd hand check the rubbe.r bung at bottom of rear shock discovered mine has turned pink and crumbles away when you touch it.
Can't say I'm too impressed shouldn't really happen to 4 year old bike with 15,000 km ....Can't replace it need new shock now 10,000 bht[emoji43][emoji43][emoji43]

[canthai55]

YSS shock is about that price. Better than a stocker. Or for 20K Ohlins or YSS with remote Reservoir.

https://bikerzbits.co.th/yss/

[taninthai]

1 hour ago, canthai55 said:

YSS shock is about that price. Better than a stocker. Or for 20K Ohlins or YSS with remote Reservoir.

https://bikerzbits.co.th/yss/

Yeah it's the yss I'm getting 9,600 bht,not a bad upgrade to do I suppose

 

[canthai55]

If you go with the Ohlins fork spring, or spring for the Race Tech, which uses a second spring in the LH (damping) leg, you will see a noticable improvement

 

[AllanB]

I would have bought one if I had had the money, better build than my Lifan 200 Cross, but I prefer the slightly lower seat height on my bike and the simpler engine, which torque-wise is fine. Pulls well even in the wrong gear, which makes riding easier.

 

I think dirt bikes work better in Thailand, they are much more fun in every situation and you have the choice of surfaces. In the city they are nimble and a great riding position..and a little more individual.

 

Personally I wouldn't touch that Honda 300 engine with a barge-pole, I think it is a lemon, haven't heard anything bad about the 250, to me it is about torque anyway. It maybe why it is taking them so long to slot it into the CRF???

 

If you have the cash go for it and report.........

[taninthai]

1 hour ago, canthai55 said:

If you go with the Ohlins fork spring, or spring for the Race Tech, which uses a second spring in the LH (damping) leg, you will see a noticable improvement

 

Yeah I see something about ohlins spring upgrade for the forks.  However don't really want to plough loads of money into this bike,,,nearly bought a yz250f last week ,,,but was advised not ideal for tight jungle trials better to look for the wf 250r so might upgrade next year anyway...

[canthai55]

Smart move. YZ is the motorcross line, WR the enduro. And it gets great reviews too.

Had a YZ490 back in the day - needed to install 2 cylinder base gaskets to make it less explosive.

[Namplik]

The CRF250 Rally is here! 

 

https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2016/11/07/2017-honda-crf250l-rally-first-look-fast-facts/

[taninthai]

Really don't get this bike,sounds like they have just added the throttle bodies from the cbr250rr,it's gonna be heavier,so even more underpowered than the normal crf......now if they had put a 450 cc in there it would have made more sense,also sounds like a even hight seating position.

[papa al]

1 hour ago, taninthai said:

Really don't get this bike,sounds like they have just added the throttle bodies from the cbr250rr,it's gonna be heavier,so even more underpowered than the normal crf......now if they had put a 450 cc in there it would have made more sense,also sounds like a even hight seating position.

It's just for looks.

No one will ever compete in a rally on this.

Well, maybe a rally down to Starbucks or sumfin.

Edited November 8, 2016 by papa al

[AllanB]

You wanna know how good this bike is...

 

 

[Familyonthemove]

2 hours ago, papa al said:

It's just for looks.

No one will ever compete in a rally on this.

Well, maybe a rally down to Starbucks or sumfin.

I'm sure you're right for 90% of the buyers of the Rally - as the market for real adventure bikes is too limited to launch a new model.  But there will be people using the 250 Rally as a real round-the-world off road adventure bike because there's so few suitable bikes available. 

 

The the so-called 'adventure' bikes from BMW, Triumph, KTM, Ducati etc are far too heavy for serious, solo off road riding, the few 650 singles are now very old models and not available here, the CCM 450 has even more limited availability and the Enfield Himalayan is for the India market only.  There's a Chinese 250 adventure bike too - but not sure about parts availability outside of China?

 

Yes, the Rally would be much better with a 450 motor, or even the 300 - but if you want a (comparatively) light, long suspension travel bike with on and off-road capability, with a 200+ mile range and a good, global spares network then there's very few bikes that will fit the spec.

 

The bigger fuel tank is a welcome upgrade, the screen could be handy too ..... add a better seat and some engine protection and away you go.

[taninthai]

Like Christmas for me today[emoji2]

[taninthai]

got it on ,all went smoothly about 3 hour job including changing front sprocket from 14t to 13t,had the rear sprocket up from 40t to 42t for a while ,now after going down one on the front it seems a lot more perky in each gear ,doesn't seem to lug the engine as much nice pick up when your on and off the throttle ,,nice easy mod to do on the gearing .

shock feels great after just a little test ride.

[papa al]

Looks good.

Get out and get some mud on it.

[drift]

5 hours ago, taninthai said:

Like Christmas for me today

When you bought the YSS shock did you specify the spring rate or do you figure it came the same rate as the stock Honda shock?

Thanks.

Edited November 11, 2016 by drift

[taninthai]

as they are off the shelf dont think you can specify spring rate, got to move up to the more expensive models for that, can adjust ride height and rebound on this one.

im no suspension expert maybe someone else will come along with more info, i believe these are sprung a lot heavier than the standard honda ones.

im only 63 kg so it shouldn't be to bad.

[drift]

1 hour ago, taninthai said:

as they are off the shelf dont think you can specify spring rate, got to move up to the more expensive models for that, can adjust ride height and rebound on this one.

im no suspension expert maybe someone else will come along with more info, i believe these are sprung a lot heavier than the standard honda ones.

im only 63 kg so it shouldn't be to bad.

Thanks for the information. 

Maybe some time in the future you could post a bit of a review on it?

Thank you.

 

[AllanB]

On 11/11/2016 at 7:33 PM, taninthai said:

as they are off the shelf dont think you can specify spring rate, got to move up to the more expensive models for that, can adjust ride height and rebound on this one.

im no suspension expert maybe someone else will come along with more info, i believe these are sprung a lot heavier than the standard honda ones.

im only 63 kg so it shouldn't be to bad.

 

I assume that at 63kg you are not 6 foot tall, how do get on with that saddle height off-road? My Lifan has a good seat height for me and off-road I can get my feet planted, if necessary, that option giving a great sense of security. The high seat height issue is always something that put me off buying the Honda, which as I have said is a good bike.

 

A few years ago I got the chance to buy a minter for 95k (didn't have the money), the shortish guy who bought it had it lowered and lost much of that nice long stroke suspension.