Crf 250l I want one but.need some facts please

[sidewinder]

Hi all
I want to start exploring my local welsh hills and green lanes ect .so my my local dealer has these in stock at a very reasonable price.i like the bike feels good and will do what I want essentially a play toy with occasional bad weather work commute.a few questions then
Fuel economy any good I have heard about 100 miles per tank.would this improve by getting dual purpose tires fitted( dealer will do this if got new) top speed not a issue.being a honda should be good and reliable.has anybody got or had one and can give some advice on them.
https://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m492/sidewinder11/ea503926a617e5696a6668c9e2dc029e_zpsf864a991.jpg


Thank you

[Gunhawk]

Had one as a courtesy bike whilst mine was in for service, was impressed with its nippy acceleration, nice and light to.

However, the seat and tank were rather thin... So bit sore on my arse and no tank to grip between the legs!

Engine sounded gutless, but it is a 250 so not surprised.

First time on that style bike and didn't become a fan of it, but it did seem like a decent bike!
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Current: Honda VFR800 VTEC
Previous: Honda CBF125, Honda XL650 Transalp, Honda CBR600f3
CBT: 19/5/12 > Theory: 06/08/12 > MOD1: 29/08/12 > MOD2: 16/10/12

[Nexus Icon]

Have a read of this thread...

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=262039
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Greetings from Shitsville!

[doggone]

The tyres it comes with are quite good on road and reasonable off-road.
I wouldn't bother going for anything different until normal change time comes.
Mine is doing between 80 and 90 mpg including a fair bit of 2nd and 3rd gear riding on forest tracks and such.

In practice I'm filling up at about 80 miles as stations are thinly spread round here.
I rarely need to put 4 litres in to fill it quite funny struggling to get £5 in!

Popular mods are handguards to save those levers (I have) and stronger bash plate - I thought no need considering the limited off road ability and it has a plastic plate anyway.
It's kind of heavy and underpowered for any serious off roading but green lanes are rather fun with it and the most impressive thing is how well it handles on tarmac too.
A real all rounder.

[sidewinder]

Reading the thread linked by Nexus Icon they do seem to be just right for the things i wan't one for .One thing i have noticed is the usd forks. Do the seals tend to need replacing more often or not?
in the shop they have the red and white one.And a black one but they don't show them in the honda site all i can see is the black has normal road tires not the knobblie ones?

[doggone]

I thought the black and red similar one was a different letter on the end maybe 250M?
Not sure but there are probably differences other than tyres.

[G]

As per every thread on them - I don't get them.

They're not light, they're not cheap, they're nor powerful.

If you want economical, get an older XR250 or whatever.

If you want performance, get a KTM etc.

If you want reliable - get a spare road bike for the stuff you need to be reliable for.

[sidewinder]

[sidewinder]

[Wonko The Sane]

I thought the point of USD forks is that the crud and crap drops off them instead of sitting against the seals.
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[G]

[sidewinder]

[bridgedino]

I've put 10k on mine in the last 10 months. My daily ride is around 45-50 miles, mixture of town, country and motorway. So far 100% reliability, Replaced rear tyre at around 6k due to wear with an oil and filter change done. Not had any issues on Tarmac at all which surprised me and I enjoyed one or two trail rides without incident.

Top speed 86mph, easily chuffs along at 70-75mph. Tank range is around 110 miles. A larger tank would be an improvement.

Keep in mind, a quick ebay hunt will reveal that there are still too few UK based accessories out there.

Suits me and my needs just fine and it's only available in red and white

[G]

Why do you want brand new?

When they get to £1k used I might think it filling an ok niche.

[thx1138]

I got one. I like it.

[Golgarth]

When you buy it give me a shout and tell me how it goes. I love the look of them and would love the ride height when off road.
Seen a few round here and the people that have them wax lyrical about them. For £3500 I don't think you can go wrong, how many other new bikes with their ability are there?

[andymach23]

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/which-bike/3000-miles-on-honda-crf250l-70515


There's some info in this thread on the Hubb that might be worth a read.

Cheers

[Fizzer Thou]

The Yanks found a way of improving the standard bike

https://www.dirtbikemagazine.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=news&mod=News&mid=9A02E3B96F2A415ABC72CB5F516B4C10&tier=3&nid=7D5CA9B9EB7447B4B933371B89BB148F

Fork sleeves are recommended though.I have some on my KTM and the fork seals are still the originals.
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Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[G]

Impressive!

[doggone]

I don't see the point in spending all that to turn it into something more like a WR250 or KTM something or other.
Why not just buy something more powerful and more expensive (or older) in the first place?

The point of this bike is predictable 'adequate' power delivery in an economical to buy and run package.
You won't be on 8000 mile service intervals or 80mpg after doing all that work

[thx1138]

Mine is fine for green laning as it is, though I do live in East Anglia which isn't known for it's hills.

[G]

My zx9 was fine for green laning too .

[thx1138]

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v616/THXII38/WP_001870_zpsd487ad36.jpg

XR250 was better off road, I killed it through abuse and sold it to someone on here who mended it up again.

CRF250 is better on the road, where I spend more time.

I miss the kick start, as I feel like a boss when I kick start a bike