All Tests – Honda CRF250L Test: a small trail in the land of the grown-ups – Honda is back in all-terrain …

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Honda CRF250L test: a small trail in the land of the grown-ups

All Tests - Honda CRF250L Test: a small trail in the land of the grown-ups - Honda is back in all-terrain ...

30 years after the XL250S, when small displacement trails have almost disappeared from the market, Honda is launching the CRF250L. And despite its modest sales targets, this latest Honda 2012 novelty is not without its assets… Road and trail test.

Honda back in off-roading…

Let us remember: in 1972 the XL250S was released, then ten years later the XL250R, in 1982. Both have been synonymous, in France in particular, with adventure and freedom, but also with countless trips to the office or to the university, cinema or sport, even by the sea or in the mountains for the most motivated !

30 years later, small and medium-displacement trails have deserted our cities and our countryside … Because the Gauls have changed a lot since the 70s: riding a 600 cc is no longer even enough and "average" motorcycles "displacement now cubs 200 cc more.

Availability, colors and prices

  • Availability: immediate

  • Colors: Red / white / black

  • Price: 4,090 €

This increase in displacement is even more important for trails, the overwhelming majority of which display an impressive and flattering fuel tank – who said flat-twin? – "1200"! In a nutshell, as in two hundred and fifty: the CRF250L landed in hostile terrain at the end of July….

"This new machine has always been viewed by its designers from a global perspective, that is to say as a motorcycle intended for the greatest number and everywhere in the world.", explains Honda. Lucid, the world number one nevertheless knows that this model will not invade French roads and streets tomorrow..

"Like the CBR250R, we expect around 200 registrations", confides Bruno Skotnicki, press manager at Honda Moto France. Made in Thailand, the CRF250L is particularly eagerly awaited in South East Asia where it is considered a" big bike ".

CRF versions R, L and X !

The choice to market this new model in France is also dictated by Honda’s decision to return to the off-road. The Tokyo giant has notably announced its official commitment to the next Dakar 2013 (read). Could the potential exploits of the CRF450X racehorses boost sales of entry-level CRF250L? In France with difficulty, but in other markets, especially emerging ones, why not ?

The latest innovation in 2012 from the Rouges is not devoid of assets, even in the eyes of French bikers: very sensitive to the look of the machines, they must first of all recognize that for a basic motorcycle, the CRF250L throws it in. !

The little Honda is clearly inspired by these sisters cut for cross country tracks, the CRF "R". Competition, aggressiveness, dynamism: this is what the CRF250R evokes to Japanese designers, and what they therefore sought to transcribe on their "L" version, more "light".

"Graphics are based on those of the 2013 CRF450R", continues our interlocutor (read). And the chassis also takes on the air of" R ": 43 mm inverted Showa fork duly gilded, steel frame with oval section, swingarm in cast aluminum in one piece, Showa shock absorber and Prolink link system…

End of the end: the CRF250L stings from the CRF 250 and 450 R their petal brake discs. The calipers are not the same but the essential is there, in the appearance. Honda however wanted its new functional trail, like its old XR250R: "simple, reliable and versatile", summarize the Japanese.

Thus the suspensions of the CRF250L do not reach the degree of perfection of its siblings cut for circuits. The fork therefore offers no adjustments and has a single spring housed in the right tube, while the left tube takes care of the damping alone..

Likewise, officials at Honda France admit that the only adjustment of the rear shock absorber – preloaded – is difficult to achieve: "it is not provided for in the user manual, but can still be carried out if necessary by our dealers", specifies Bruno Skotnicki.

The engine of this new Honda is not unknown: it is the 4-stroke single cylinder with double camshaft and liquid cooling, discovered last year on the CBR250R (read our).

In this "cross" version, the mono – cylinder offset! – only develops 23 horsepower and loses 2 Nm (22 Nm at 7000 rev / min therefore), but gains in sobriety since the Japanese estimate its average consumption at 3.1 l / 100km, against 3.7 l / 100km for the little sportswoman. Data that is of increasing interest to the French !

"The smaller diameter throttle body (from 38 mm on the CBR, it goes to 36 on the CRF, Editor’s note) improves injection control and promotes low and mid-range torque, ensures Honda which at the same time made the intake duct more rectilinear, increased the volume of the airbox and optimized the diameter / length ratio of the intake as well as of the exhaust.

Other parts have been adapted for off-road use of the motorcycle: "some damping elements have been replaced, such as the clutch housing for example, the new clutch control and the new spring prevent jolts, the transmission parts have been reinforced", explain the Reds.

Because unlike the maxi trails that abound in France, the new small trail will have to leave the streets, the beaten paths and short paths! "It is for this reason that IRC tires have a carcass which is certainly heavy, but very resistant to punctures, an important point in certain regions.", indicates Honda France.

It is also for this reason that the CRF250L is armed with large wheels (21 inches at the front, 18 at the rear), and perched on long-travel suspensions (250 mm for the front, 240 for the rear) which give it a ground clearance of 255 mm.

Fully loaded, the new Honda weighs 144 kg and its seat height is limited to 875 mm. For comparison, its only rival the KLX250 weighs 6kg less but also develops 5 horsepower less, while the Kawa saddle sits at 890mm in height. On the other hand, both benefit from the same appreciable turning radius: 45 ° on each side. !

Finally, by getting on the Honda, we discover its instrumentation which ignores the tachometer but offers a fuel gauge, very useful for monitoring the level of the small 7.7-liter tank. The speed, the clock, the odometer and its two partials are perfectly readable. But it’s high time to hit the road, no ?

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