The CRF250L Owners thread

Well thank you, I guess.

Yeah, we have plenty of rocks that always seem to be just in the right(wrong) place out here in Cali. Most of the drops occur in rock gardens when nancy has nowhere to put her feet to catch herself. She getting much better at not trying to stop though when the going gets rough.
I hope the Flatlands will take the hits, shouldn't be long for some real testing to occur.









Two for one. lol

I've seen the radiator guard in person. Emporia is close by. It mounts in front of the radiator at the two radiator mounting bolts and behind the radiator at the plastic fairing mounting bolt. It is indeed one piece and is fairly stout. If you lay in on a rock like you did, it would probably bend some.

Uh oh, that doesn't sound good. Were you able to walk/ride away from that? Tough while it's around freezing, most of the roads can seem alright, then you get into a spot that has not had the sun on it, in a shadow.

X2! Rick at Cogent Dynamics is great. I bought a stiffer rear spring from Cogent Dynamics for my XT225 shock absorber; it transformed the rear suspension on my bike.

http://www.xt225.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=7086&Number=82778#Post82778





It's a good thing for Cogent Dynamics to get on board supporting this motorcycle.

Spud

I was paying attention and was slow...
No damage on the bike. Only me feeling dumb to ride in these conditions

L

Update on my starting issue- I went to get my bike from my buddies to head to the dealer and it fired right up. Let it warm up, oil level is fine. Everything is running just fine. Ill blame it on the cold, for now....unless it gives me trouble again.

EDIT: What racks are you guys using and happy with?

I need help deciding how much load space I need and which rack is right for me, whether it be just a top rack, or a full rack, or what.

All of my "trips" will consist of 1, maybe two nights camping (damn responsibilities!). Id like to be able to carry extra fuel, non-motorcycle boots, a sleeping bag, a tent, and some food/beverage. Will just a top rack be enough? Id really like to avoid having to wear a back pack except a camelback. I have never had a dual sport, and had nearly 90l of cargo space on my last bike, not counting the pillion seat, so packing was easy.

For commuting I'm just going to strap a milk crate to the top rack and throw all my stuff in there with a net on top

That's what I am looking for, real time usage to see, how does it fit, does it work like advertised...
I like learning from other people's experience

Keep us posted.
Nancy could be the official parts tester.

You had Cogent Dynamics work on your 250L shock, or a different shock?
If so, did you have them modify it?

Riding in less than ideal conditions is one thing, having someone in a car behind you not realizing why you are riding that way is more dangerous. I hate that when someone is on my tail in a car.

Questions are popping up on racks....might as well add mine. most pick up the four "long neck socket head bolts" that hold the seat on and stick out the sides of the rear fender...seem stout...and are robust M8's.....but, since they have a overhung force on them might not be the best choice

Then there are a couple of racks (Flatland for one) that have 4 big studs that sprout straight up out of the rear fender...but are all pretty close together. My Husky TE610 had that and I wasn't real thrilled with that either, as creating the hoes in the rear fender for the bolts to go thru was a PITA.. If one had the dimensions of that pattern, it'd really be easy to make your own with a plate of appropriate dimensions to match your luggage.... I've seen the bolt pattern dimensions for the WR250R....but nada for the CRF

Yes, but car drivers are pretty smart here, and let me always pass when they see me behind.

Only one tailgated me today


L

I like my Manrack, the one with the Rotopax plate in it. They include bolts the replace the original seat bolts that stick out. There are spacers, so you wouldn't be able to use the original seat bolts. At the time, it was free shipping before the holidays, that was the kicker for me. As a bonus, they threw in a pair of the tie down things, that go under the lower triple clamp bolts, no charge. The rack seems pretty solid to me, but I haven't had anything real heavy on there yet.

Apologies for the lack of clarity. It was my CRF250L shock that they tested. Didn't do any mods however... I decided to go the custom route with them instead.

That's great! Do you know when your custom shock absorber will be completed? If you don't mind me asking, how much is Cogent Dynamics charging for a custom shock absorber?

Spud

I don't have a picture of the Manrack on my bike, but here's how it looks on Tony's bike. That's what made me decide on this rack.

Yes, the ability to handle a rotopax...which I already have...is a big feature

I've got the Manrack with the Rotopax plate as well. Haven't mounted it up yet (Hey, it was -49F here last night!). I'll be shopping around for a 1.75g Rotopax which appears to be a new tank and not carried by all suppliers. The 1.75 can be filled to 2 gallons which would be a full tank for the CRFL. Same dimensions as the 1g tank except thicker.

Come to think of it, I've got a bunch of toys waiting to go on the CRFL. I'm gonna have fun with it in the spring

Thanks for posting the photos. That's a nice luggage rack.

Do all the available luggage racks utilize the same, four mounting points? With these mounting points you need to remove the two, front bolts to remove the saddle, don't you?

Spud

I think the difference between the "bottom end" rack, and the one with the RP mount was $20. I wanted the ability to add the RP later on, for longer trips. I think that's a pic of Tony's bike on the Manrack site. The pic of it on his bike has the front mount tucking in real tight in the front, maybe have to put the seat on after. Mine, the front mounts are wider, and have spacers between the rack and the mount point. I had to wiggle a Phillips screwdriver in there to line up the mount point. 10 minute job. It only came with replacement front bolts (allen, not the same wrench size), and I re-used the long bolts in back.

It's been on the bike since early December. I've had the bike out twice since then on some rutted gravel roads and like it so far. Spring and some dry, fast, single track will be the true test. Expect to pay ~$650 or so... pricing wasn't final when I did mine as it was the first he had done.