I put the CRFL through it's paces today, wanting to form my own thoughts about it's overall performance after reading all the various opinions. For the most part, Nancy has been riding it so far, but now it's my turn. From twisty paved roads climbing up to 5,000' to get to the trail to a variety of SoCal off tarmac terrain I was pleasantly surprised with it's overall performance. I aired down the tires to 15 PSI front and 12 rear to help with traction to start and then hit a big hill I'm used to riding on my Husaberg.... The CRFL did just fine, though it's important to be in the correct gear as it doesn't have the power to chug out of things at low RPM's, it is a 250 DS bike after all, nothing a quick downshift couldn't fix for the most part. I have a 13t sprocket coming, that should help too. The suspension is a little soft stock like most any bike, but for OEM components on a $4500 bike I thought it handled quite well. I was able to bottom out the suspension when pushing it hard in whoops and on a few jumps, the rest of the time I was happy with it's performance. I'm sure a suspension upgrade would be great, but I'm not about to dump a pile of cash into the suspension right now, the LRP is just fine for what it is and Nancy will be able to grow into this bike as is for some time to come. Though I will be putting a Scott's Damper on it asap, as any bike will benefit greatly from one. Traction was decent with the stock IRC tires for the terrain I was riding on, the power was surprisingly good and predictable. It's true, the gap between 1st and 2nd gear is a little big for my tastes, but once you're going fast enough for 2nd or 3rd gear on the trails, I had no problem climbing steep hills or lifting the front wheel over things. It seems to be pretty well balanced. The stock seat won't cut it for 500+ mile days, but that's nothing an Airhawk seatpad can't deal with easily. It's a fun bike, and will be perfect for what we bought it for - mixed DS riding with plenty of headroom for Nancy to expand her dirt riding adventures. Hell, once I can get a bigger tank I'll be happy to take this on long distance camping adventures myself. For now MSR Dromedary bags in the Mojave bags will get us home with extra fuel. It's forgiving and very stable when you get into trouble, comfortable to ride and doesn't wear you out, you just HAVE to stay on the throttle and maybe kick it down a gear now and then. I don't see this as only being a light trail/gravel road bike, I had a great time pushing it pretty hard and riding some black diamond trails, it didn't buck back too hard and did very well. The little Honda that could. I saw 53 MPG railing on it in the mountain twisty paved roads, and got 39MPG on varying single track and jeep trails. I hope the milage improves as it breaks in more.... 400 miles on it now. I have done the airbox Mod since it's free and easy, looking forward to getting a Bazzaz FI controller too. Will be great to have a switch with two maps, one for power, one for economy. I don't think it needs much more power in the dirt than it has now, I wasn't NEEDING more power to have a great time today, it just takes the correct gear choice and I surely won't be going beyond a FI controller to try and squeeze more power out of it. I'll leave that stuff for the tinkerers and trade it for a higher performance bike for Nancy if that time comes. Should be quite some time and many miles though judging from the fun I had today. On the way home there was a strong headwind, combine that with climbing up the mountain and that's where I'm hoping a Bazzaz controller and a few extra HP will help, on pavement mostly is where it can use a little more power IMO. Though on flat land I have had no problem cruising @ 70 mph. Great bike this CRFL is! Here's a short video I threw together about the Little Red Piggy That Could and a few photos from the day. I really like riding this Honda, and feel confident we bought the perfect bike. <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/54423038" width="1279" height="719" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> Airing the tires back up, sun going down, not a soul at the OHV park. Life is good. What a scene to finish the day, like a good omen for all the (s)miles to come on this bike...
So lets see here.... Skidplates available - check Big-bore Kits on the way - check Fuel controller available - check Aftermarket exhaust available - check Custom rear shock available - check All we need now is an easy fork swap setup and we'll have a gnarly little trail monster the will make even WR250R owners envious. With that thought in mind, has anyone measured the outside diameter of their fork tubes directly where the tree's clamp onto them? I know the `05 CRF450's 47mm Showa forks are approximately 53mm at the top clamp and 58mm at the bottom clamp, and the clamps are spaced 18.5cm apart. I would imagine the newer 48mm KYB forks are right in the same ballpark. Just curious if the forks from any of the MX or more race oriented off-road models would be a direct fit to save on the expense of custom tree's.
Nice pictures, video and writeup Lost Rider.. good stuff. wish I had trails like that near me ha ha ha.
It might be more appropriate to find shops that work on Kawasaki MX forks. Kawi seems to have the forks with valving in one leg and spring on the other like the CRF. I'm guessing a "gold-valve like" accessory or the Intiminator in the fork doesn't really care if they are working solo, or "with a buddy".
Why a Damper for the bike? What benefits will it add to this bike? As far as a mod's list, how high of a priority would it be? If so, which one? Thanks BTW: Thanks for the write up Lost Ride, great vid!
My measurements: Upper = 54 Lower = 57 Yes, 1mm off (in opposite directions) on each from the forks on it's big brothers. Didn't measure the gap.
In general, for any fork made to a price (low in the case of CRF and my KLR650) a gold valve or an Intiminator are a massive improvement. I especially like the Intiminator in my KLR because it provides some anti dive....very nice on a bike with reasonably long front travel that is street ridden....and this bike appears to be a very nice street ride
One could easily make shims for the upper clamp, but hard to say if the lower has enough meat to be bored out 1mm and still retain sufficient strength.
Thanks! The video is supposed to be a little funny and referring to CRFL as the LRP is out of love. I've ridden a BRP ( well known as the Big Red Pig XR650R) in Baja and it is a Big Red Pig compared. Anyways, glad you like. As for steering damper, it's been my experience that all bikes, road and dirt, benefit from a steering damper, and getting one for the CRFL is high on my list. Top of the list after protection for the bike. Kits are supposed to be available in 2-3 weeks, the CRFL kist will use a clamp on stem not a weld on and a top clamp damper mount. After talking with the guys at Scott's, it seems my ROX risers and HDB top clamp will be compatible with it.If it wasn't, the Scott's would get mounted and I'd work around everything else to have it there. The nice thing about a steering damper is the main cost is the damper itself and once you have it, you can just take it with you to the next bike. Here's what Scott's says in a more elegant way than I will about their damper, and I'd have to completely agree. It's the first place to start for me when wanting to improve overall handling in any situation, and mine have saved me from crashing countless times. What is a Scotts Steering Stabilizer? It is a compact, fully adjustable, hydraulic shock absorbing damper that mounts to your steering head area right above your handlebar mount. By helping to stabilize the front end of your motorcycle, the rear of the motorcycle will track straighter allowing the rest of your suspension to work the way it was designed to. In addition, the Scotts Steering Stabilizer eliminates that sudden "thrust" affect of having the handlebars pulled from your hands after unknowingly hitting something unforeseen like rocks, tree roots or rain ruts. It has also helps to minimize rider fatigue and the dreaded arm-pumping situation that occurs while wrestling the front end of your bike. Once mounted, it dramatically reduces the unwanted phenomenon known as "Head-shake" that is commonly found on ALL off-road production motorcycles. This is more predominant now a-days due to the steeper head angles you find on production bikes. It helps keep your motorcycle going straight in the whoops and smoothes out those rough sections by preventing those handlebar wrenching jolts. How does it work? Basically, it operates under the same principle as your front forks. Valving inside the unit reacts to the slightest of jolts that are transferred through the forks and crowns of your motorcycle. Internal circuitry and hydraulic valving readjusts the amount of shock that would have been received through your handlebars. The link arm, which connects the stabilizer to the frame, reacts instantaneously, absorbing any unwanted movement. Your suspension was designed to handle the vertical movement of your motorcycle, while the Scotts Stabilizer completes your suspension package by controlling the unwanted lateral movement. Where does the Stabilizer work best? Anywhere there are forces trying to push or pull the front end left to right. If you ride in the desert, our Stabilizer will soon become your best friend. You will find that it almost completely eliminates the head-shake and instability you get while riding on washboard fire-roads, rocky sections and in high speed sand washes. It helps keep your motorcycle straight in the whoops. In the woods, it's a dream come true. Sharp edged rocks and tree roots that send a shock all the way up to your jawbone are reduced to minor disturbances that allows your suspension to work the way it was intended to. Motocrossers will find the Scotts Steering Stabilizer definitely provides the winning edge by reducing rider fatigue and working with you near the end of long Moto. Your bike will track straighter through the stutter bumps, big rollers and sweeping turns while assuring secure landings at the end of big doubles or tabletops. Being infinitely adjustable, there is no reason not to use it. It has no disadvantages! http://www.scottsonline.com/scotts.php
Wow, from that picture I would have guessed that there isn't much room to grow the bore (thinking about the bore size increase on the KLX351). If Bill can get 300+cc from that, it would be great. (Tell him not to stop making the KLX351 kit though.) A big bore kit on a small bike is such a great way to go - more torque all over without adding any weight. As for cooling capacity, I remember people were concerned with that on the KLX351 kit too. I never noticed any difference in running temperature on mine (kit #11). At some level, since you may be running at lower RPMs with the larger bore due to the increase in low-end power, there may be less heat generated (slower piston, valves, means less friction, less heat). Of course that doesn't apply if you're just holding the throttle wide open.
You trying to tell me these new-fangled bikes have throttle positions other than Off and WFO? What will they come up with next?
I can't tell....is your 280 prototype a 2 ring piston or a 3? Reason I ask is I don't think the 2 ring big bore kit Athena made for the Yamaha WR250R was well received. I know I would buy a 2 ring big bore. From WAAAY back, I can remember when Scott Summers bored his XR250R Honda to 280, it was THE hot setup! I hope your kit is equally impressive.
