CRF 250? Or alternatives?

[ReadySalted]

Hi all

I did a 'more' off road taster earlier in the year which was a half day of off riding riding heavily sponsored by big names in off road bikes. After riding bikes off all shapes and sizes on the day, (all 4t and between 250 and 400cc) I roughly felt the KTMs were brilliant but raspy and too responsive for me. The Kawasakis seemed unpredictable and slow to react, and my favourite was Hondas CRF 250. It seemed as capable as any on the easy grass track, and seemed the most beginner friendly.

Several months later I'm now in a position to start looking at buying an off road bike to do a bit of greenlaning, and if/ when I am ready, perhaps enter some beginner races. I'm still planning on getting a crf250, although my friend is dead set on KTMs exc and it's giving me second thoughts.
'm looking at the 'L' version as it has mirrors and a headlight which I'd like for when riding between green lanes. I'm not a fan of the KTMs and other more enduro suited machines because of their high servicing needs, and lack of things like, a key.

I suppose what I am asking is if I go for the crf250 will it be forgiving and capable enough for a beginner like me to cut my teeth off road, but also competitive enough so that I wouldn't look a complete plum entering my first hare and hound with it!?

[doggone]

The CRF250L would be OK for you but as you get more experienced it starts to feel a bit weedy off road.
It is rather fun to ride on tarmac back roads - more of an all-round bike and cheap to run too.
If you are mainly thinking of green lanes without axle deep mud or tree trunks and boulders to scrabble over it might be as good as anything.

[ReadySalted]

Without knowing exactly the type of terrain I'll be riding, or how quickly my ability will develop its really difficult to know what to get. I've looked at the Kawasaki klx and that seems a similar bike to the Honda, although seems to get slightly better reviews.

I think with modifications the bike would do anything I'd ask of it for at least the first year or so.

I read that a lot of people on forums give reviews about bikes before finishing with; ...bla bla is a great bike but I'm now looking to change to a ktm.

Maybe I should cut out the middle man and get an exc 250 which will surely keep me sorted for years and years, or is it just a fashion thing?

[weasley]

DR-Z 400?
____________________
Yamaha XJ600 | Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat | KTM 990 SMT | BMW F900XR TE

[.....]

I remember taking out my GasGas EC250 for the first time coming from a Honda XR (both 250 and 400). The difference was night and day, the gasser felt like I was riding a mountain bike such was the difference in weight, which you will come to appreciate when picking it up from the mud. The power delivery was also much easier to ride - lots of instant power to pick the bike up again if the front slides etc. The only downside was the fuel economy which was pretty terrible and having to take two stroke oil on the ride.

TL;DR Get a two stroke enduro.

[doggone]

[thx1138]

I ride a CRF250L *

I took the mirrors off, and have a foldable ram mirror, fold it out the way on lanes

I do abuse my bike. Clutch started giving me problems today. Had it 2 and a half years.

This is what I was up to today, and was having fun despite being soggy, until the clutch played up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAJSqo93qKI

* I have also decided I now need something more capable, but it was perfect for me as an almost complete beginner when I bought it.

[ReadySalted]

It's worth mentioning that I have a van so wouldn't need to ride particularly long distances to get to lanes, and I live on the Welsh border so a good amount of lanes to go at.

I don't really have reason to get a more road biased bike but crf's and klx's are a lot cheaper secondhand than road registered enduro bikes. I've found for example, that a 2010 klx can be had for substantially less money than a 2005 exc 250. I guess that's down to demand but there must be that demand for a reason.

Can you give me an idea of which manufacturers are decent and ones to maybe avoid? Husqvarna? Gasgas? Etc

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

This review of the CRF vs. the KLX is quite informative:

https://www.mcnews.com/mcn/features/2013Jan250DS.pdf

I have an efi klx and have put 3k on it since August. It had 2.2k on it and I paid £2.2 for it after my mate haggled the seller down from £2.4. It was a one owner bike in ex cond and hadn't seen mud. I would guess about two thirds of the miles I've put on since then have been off-road. I replaced the original road-biased tyres with Michelin AC10s, and - to lose a bit of weight - removed rubber peg grips, pillion pegs, helmet lock, and mirrors. I also plan to lose the oem exhaust and replace w/ a delkovic can which should shed another few kgs. Oh and help it sound more like a bike than a mute swan.

The klx replaced my stolen CRM on which I put about 5k miles iirc. Obviously, the klx lacks the free-revving 2t character of the honda, but for the way I ride (generally quite careful, easy to moderate green lanes), there isn't that much difference. Two things were immediately apparent though. Firstly, the electric start of the KLX is undeniably convenient. Secondly, its suspension was noticeably firmer (this was not necessarily a good thing - for my riding the softness i.e. read tired and worn suspension of the old CRM actually felt comparatively "plush"). However, having pushed the klx a bit harder in recent months, things have softened up very slightly and I like it very much now.

Geometry-wise and steering "speed", and where weight seems to fall, I would guess that the CRM carried weight slightly further back than the klx - and I actually prefer the feel of the KLX. For novices like me that aren't going to be able to take full advantage of a bike that will have a lighter front, the klx makes sense.

Anyway, me and the klx are getting on well now and for my purposes it's great. I would probably prefer a lighter 2t bike like the old Pampera - but given their rarity and the price of a recent klx, the latter wins through every time really. Yes, the klx's power is eminently predictable - flat, not much of it, and what it has got it doesn't serve up with much in the way of alacrity. Nevertheless, it's always content and seems unflappable, robust and perfectly suited to fun trail slogging. Regarding the finish, it seems good - paint on the tank ain't amazing, but the swing arm, engine and frame are well-coated and appear very resilient.

The advantages of the KLX over the CRF are these: it's lighter, it's usually a grand cheaper, and the rear suspension has a lot more adjustment.

tl;dr - by a second hand KLX for a bit over 2k, enjoy learning some welsh wales trails for a year, sell it at a loss of a couple hundred quid and get something better if you think you need it.
____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[doggone]

This is the kind of thing I do with my CRF - and it does it well enough.

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S7EQqjlRIrc/VoEFWwEDOMI/AAAAAAAADFM/t04rsBdEA1E/s1600/dec.jpg

[G]

Did you test ride a CRF250X (or R)?
If so, then choosing a CRF250L is like test driving a Ford Focus RS and using that experience to decide you want to buy a bottom of the range Mondeo Estate.
Sure, they're made by the same company, but they're completely different bikes. It's not just the X/R with lights on, it's a much heavier and slower bikes.

Have you tried any 2 strokes?
My usual advice would be to go for a cheap 250/300cc 2 stroke like the KTM EXC.
You could easily afford one of those and a heavier 4 stroke trail bike that would come with a key and so on if you wanted to use it for shopping etc - if your budget goes up to a CRF250L, which I believe are still quite horrendously expensive for a slow and heavy bike.

[.....]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[.....]

My offroad bike buying went like this

Honda XR250 (Great first bike but lacked power, constantly going up and down the gear box) -->

Honda XR400 (Very much like the 250 but with better grunt, too heavy, bitch to start after being dropped) -->

Gasser EC250 (Awesome bit of kit, power but not scary, so light, suspension was on the harsh side but not enough for me to bother tweaking it)

I could have skipped the 400 really, but you live you learn. If you're after a 250 4 stroke to learn on then the XR250 is a good bike until you decide if the offroad malarky is for you.

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

How did you find the starting on the XR250, Joe? My CRM could be a bit reluctant if it had stood for a few weeks (I did eventually sort something of a work around out, pointing a little convection heater at the engine - easy because it was garaged, obviously totally infeasible if hadn't have been; however not long after my introduction of artificially assisted starting procedure, it was 'alf inched). The button start of the KLX makes things a bit easier, tbh - even if it does result in the extra weight of carting a battery and starter motor around.
____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[.....]

[thx1138]

I borrowed a Honda CRF230 today, I quite liked it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIGWNmpQLMU

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

Sounds well.
____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[Fladdem]

I'd think of the CRF more like a modern XT250 than a proper enduro bike, don't get me wrong, as a novice, I would say a less intimidating bike to start on is the key. I'm not terrible, but below average skill, but I find proper enduro bikes too much for me with my poor body positioning and novice control, I quite often find myself looping competition machines or coming into corners way too fast and smashing into something to the side of the track. So, inevitably, and somewhat ironically, I ride slower when on a faster, more capable machine, in fact, if I had some proper brakes on the CRM 250, it would be the perfect bike for me.

I've rode a CRF250L, and an X and an R, and I was quite impressed with the L, it just seemed small and heavy. And compared to my modified TTR, a tiny bit gutless, not really a fair comparison I know, but I preferred my TTR, it seemed a lot thinner and easier to move around on, but the suspension wasn't so bouncy as the pogo sticks installed on my twenty year old banger.

Your first event, unless a natural, you won't be competitive anyway, I much prefer riding closer to the machines limits but feeling in control than being carried along with a more powerful machine.
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[thx1138]

yeah the L are great bikes, great for beginners, but I wouldn't enter a race on one

I considered myself a beginner when I bought it, now I'm on the cusp of beginner/intermediate.

Until I crash too many times, and wobble round like a novice again for the rest of the day anyway.

[stuartt]

i got a gas gas ec300 , its a great bike & will go anywhere