The CRF250L Owners thread

I know this might cause trouble over here but,

In my humble opinion and I do not claim to know anything and also do not advise anyone to believe what I say to be true ....

The sooner you fix the over lean condition this bike is delivered with the better.

Yeah, not sure why I recommended waiting to install the EJK fuel tuner, get it installed ASAP and enjoy the power!

and Ride it like you stole it!!!

I think its because if you post something "wrong" around here you sure seem to catch hell about it !!! (hence my disclaimers)

Or you just had Beer on your mind and was thirsty

Ride it like you stole his Beer

My wife and I went up to N. GA for the weekend so she could spend some time on the CRF and start to bond with it. I took my WRR up there for myself. They seem to make a nice pair together!

She's only 5'4"/115lbs/29" inseam so the CRF was a bit tall stock although she could get her toes down. We started with the low Seat Concepts Seat, but honestly it really didn't drop her that much. The stock Honda seat is actually pretty skinny and low to begin with.

I was really hesitant about lowering this bike either by drilling the shock mount or putting in lowering links as I think both ways leave the rear too low compared to the front and you end up with a very poor handling bike that is racked out in the front and won't turn. I noticed she was hardly squatting the suspension with her light weight, so we backed off the shock preload quite a bit to give her some better sag in the shock and I did drop the forks down a bit. Overall those 2 changes seem to have gained her the foot hold she needed to feel comfortable and she really did well on the bike all weekend.

By Sunday, she was riding more aggressive and faster than she ever did on her XT225 and she's absolutely fallen in love with the motor. She said it goes when she twists the the throttle and has a ton of engine braking that she takes advantage of. We haven't even dropped to a 13t sprocket yet and she's telling me she's not sure she needs it, but I think its still a little high geared stock. We really have no plans of fuel programmer or anything else like a pipe. She loves how quiet it is and the power and engine characteristics fit her like a glove.

We took lots of GoPro video, but really nothing too interesting. Maybe we'll get some edited and put up.

Here's a photo we took of ourselves in front of a big rock cliff. I'm 6'4" and she's 5'4".

The gearing is probably perfect for a 115lb rider.

Just for information: I went 13T and got it up to 90 MPH (145KMH) today. The rear tire was quite hot after highway use. But the bikes starts to loosen up - got 600km on it now. Fuel use dropped to 52 MPG doing about a tank of flat out.

So far as i know, Goldfren are crap. Galfer pads are available on ebay but the seller's charge for international shipping is too high. (i think it is a USA seller, so probably also a problem for you.)

I am waiting for EBC to come with pads. They do have clutch plates for it (for the CBR250R), so maybe it will not be long before they have brake pads.

Vesrah have only front pads - which would help, but it's the back brake that is so useless.


Vesrah metal/organic, front VD-181JL
Vesrah semi-metallic, front SD-181
Galfer HH Sintered Ceramic Brake Pads, rear FD409G1396
Galfer GG Semi-Metallic Brake Pads, rear FD409G1054

wow, i hadn't even thought of that. So much to do. But i have the wheels off now and i cleaned the spokes with WD-40, so the disks will get cleaned, but now i know i should take the pads out and scuff them. hmm! :)

It is too high for a 120 lb rider, probably too high for a 100 lb rider. On the freeway, it cannot pull 6th gear as soon as there is a slight uphill slope. (At least, not standard. Maybe with the fuel programmer it would be ok.)

Anyones take on mugen new dual exhaust for the 250L?
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=LSSzoIZKzpc&desktop_uri=/watch?v=LSSzoIZKzpc
I really like the look and want one.

Another thing, I know it's just for looks but any opinion's on AMR graphic kits for dirt bikes. Http://amrracing.com. I was thinking about getting one done but with custom designs and not there pre made ones but its like double the cost.

Check out www.amrracing.com and if that doesn't help you I have another place where I get all white plastics.....

silly!

Really?? Why?? I like the look. It may not be the most functional as far as performance but its what I like

That's all that matters ... Build it the way you like it. Have fun with it and enjoy your machine.
That's what I did and I could care less what the arrogant self righteous people have to say about it.
It's no wonder why this forum is so dead now days.

There are plenty of others places that will support your ideas and creativity. And I for one look forward to seeing it !!!

Why thank you Gnath. It is sad that some people have absolutely no creative backbone nor do,they appreciate or respect others for that matter. However, with that said I did ask for opinions. Regardless, thank you for the support. I think I may just end up purchasing yoshimura RS4 setup since its available already.

Ok...."silly" from a backpressure/power/weight saving standpoint....but if it makes you happy....then happy trumps silly. The dual mufflers make sense on a larger displacement engine in terms of power/noise control standpoint.

CAT: WD40 is not a good "cleaner" for brake rotors and pads. It leaves an oily residue. You want to use a cleaner that is specified for brakes...it removes ALL oil. I've been working on scuffing in my rear brake...it's kinda sad...but most here think it'll come around with more mileage. My front has quickly become better....and except for offroad use, I use a lot of front brake. on todays ride with the whiskers cut off, things were much better...on the front.

I'm betting if you go to EBC/Vesrah/Galfer cross reference books, you'll find the CRF pads are pretty generic and used by other bikes...the fronts look like some I had for an old XR Honda I had. Your list is a great place to start.

Hey Ray- be advised that the speedo is run off the rear wheel so your speedo will be reading faster than actual speed (with 13t front sprocket). With my Gps strapped on I was doing 100kph when my speedo was reading 115-117kph. I have got up past 140kph (on the speedo) and if memory serves me right it was around 120kph on the GPS. Your odometer will be out as well, mine reads 8.4% higher than actual. I suggest you beg/borrow/steal a gps and mount it on the handlebars to check you actuals speeds and distances- or get a mate to drive alongside you at exactly 100kph while you check your speedo- and while keeping your eyes on the road!!! :eek1:eek1 I almost hit a sheep grazing on the side of the road when I was watching my GPS while checking my speed.

To be correct - the speedometer reads from the transmission. If it read from the rear wheel, it wouldn't be affected by sprocket sizes.

The best method I've found to calibrate speed on a motorcycle is to use a smartphone with a simple GPS recording app. There are dozens of free ones. Start the GPS, stick it in a pocket, and then ride a long stretch of road holding as close to a certain speed as you can. You can then go back and check out the speed chart for that section of road, and do the math at a desk, instead of one the bike.