That makes a HUGE difference ! . I don't / won't subscribe or watch videos where they take no time to reply , I know they can't reply to everyone BUT some don't even reply or like a single one
It's a lovely bike. I put 62,000 kms on the crf250l, and I've had my 300L for a while now. Just did a 1500 km review. Some niggly points of course. The shock being the main one. I find the shock shocking, lol. Almost zero preload adjustment possible, so you can't correct the excess sag, and like you said, it's quite bouncy. I think it's okay if a person doesn't want to push it on rough stuff or fast twisties. Not good for those who do. Otherwise, I love the bike. As you say, nice torque. The power delivery is good. With different tires, especially the front, it will handle better everywhere. That front tire is causing the vague front end you feel; that, and the bounce effect coming from the rear end. This bike will become an iconic dual sport.
I've got one at 65, last year in Portugal. Love it and go around many towns on the other side of the Tagus River South of Lisbon. To overcome the annoyance of the cables over the dash. I bought a thick plastic crochet needle, cut the tip off and with heat placed a +/- 15 degrees bend 30 mm near the end on the blue needle( no colour match in black available). Sleeved it with black heat shrink. With cables ties strapped the needle to the cables only, not the frame, thus, forcing a forward movement on the cables. Now I can see the whole display. Note, everything still moves as before with no restrictions of when the front shocks move. 👍
Thanks for that, good to know it's more work than just a zip tie. Moving to Portugal myself, trading 'down' from a VFR800 because so many people here live by dirt tracks or cobbled roads I was leaving my bike a lot of the time and walking! Besides it's not the sort of country you want to warp speed all around, though some twisties are sweet but you can't have it all!
Had an eighties XL250R back in the day for many years, never missed a beat, day in day out commuting and weekend trail riding. Love to get one of these.
Great review! Thank you for showing how you fit on the bike. 👍🏻 I’m the exact same dimensions as you and happy to see that I’ll be able to almost flat foot the ground when my CRF300 RALLY arrives. 🙏🏻
Great vid man. My favorite part was when you sat on the bike and showed the suspension drop. No one else has done that mentioning their height, and I’ve watched about 10 reviews today lol. Definitely earned a sub
Great review mark of the Honda,did my CBT on a Honda cb125f,had a great day now looking for one to learn my craft on for a year then I can get my full licence.thanks to u I've got back biking again.
Steve B Nice review. I’m still waiting for my 300 Rally to turn up. Used to have a 2017 CRF 250L. Enjoyed that. The Rally will be smoother to ride with added rubber mounted seat and rubber foot peg inserts. Weather protection is what I wanted. Plenty of CRF250’s have gone round the world with no issues. It’s pure and simple do it all biking that appeals to so many riders.
Thanks for the comment steve ...yes I saw a rally the other day ..I like it's led lights and screen ...looks more like an adventure bike :) Cheers mark
Brilliant review Mark. I came here to see what the seat height was like as on paper it’s way too high for me also at 5’7” but as you displayed the suspension brings it right down and I’m happy to see it looks very suitable for a lightweight bike for me.
What a fantastic review and I like how you included the motorway , It could even be geared for more commuting riding if people do a bit of motorway / duel carriageway
Credit to you for saying your inside leg. I watch a lot of bike reviews and most people only say their height. It’s the inside leg that matters .very useful and informative review.
Well done Mark, I like your approach to your reviews. Hopefully collecting a new crf 300 next week, had the 250 before, great bikes just lacking a bit of puff on the steeper gradients. Great handling bikes which are economical to run.
One advantage this bike has is that it is very comfortable on the disastrous UK roads, which pretty much essentially ARE off roads = the numerous pot holes and imperfections on the roads, it takes them easy and you don't feel them as you would on any road bike
My local Honda dealer has said I’ve no chance of getting one till October which is just right for a winter commute leaving my fire blade clean till next summer ! Great video as per usual mate 👍
Brilliant bike I regularly do trips from Midlands to Mid Wales getting around 104/108 to the gallon, averaging 50/55 mph .Just a bit of vibration through left side of handlebars but nothing to worry about.
Yeah. Just watching reviews. I’ve just ordered one and have to wait until September 😢 😂 I can’t wait. In the meantime watching videos like yours. I haven’t even test rode one. I was thinking should it be this bike or the Beta RR.. Bit I think I have mAde the better decision on the CRF.. Your video actually is the best one I’ve seen. You have hit right on the points that I wanted to know about.. So now I am looking forwards more to getting it.. Yes I was aware of the suspension and the tyres might needing to be changed. Mill have to check. But the engine power speed and durability was what I wanted to know.. And you covered that excellently.. Come on September.. hurry up 😂 👍😂
Great bike. I have just under 500 miles on mine and I'm loving it. I like your review. You did your research. I want to install new dual sport knobby tires but can't decide if I want to go bigger or keep the stock size. The front tire is skinny looking although feels well planted on the street to me. IRC tires are common on Japanese bikes. Honda knows customers don't buy bikes based on tires and they are easily changed. I have wondered if Honda installed short tires to lower the seat height which is a major concern to many. I'm 5-6" and can easily ride any dirt bike although some seats are crazy high. I subscribed to your channel. Ride on! 🙂
Hey man! I also did a review on this bike. Overall I find it to be a pretty well balanced machine. I do a ton of off-road so I have modified my heavily. Is this your first dualsport?
Picked up my grey CRF300l last Friday, pre fitted with a Honda sump guard plate. A couple of friends have full on enduro's (KTM 350 44 days and the like) and we took the CRF out through some rather deep 4x4 tracks on Wiltshire by ways. It coped fairly well, but as a standard bike not ideal. I'm also new to off road riding despite being almost 60 and riding since I was 12, .. I came off on a muddy hairpin bend on a steep hill. Both bike and rider fine, but if doing anything more than light green lane riding, certainly look at upgrading the suspension. That said, I'm very happy with it. Rides well and a doddle on the country B roads where I live. Purchased frame guards, side stand foot pad extender and fitted a quadlock. Also purchased an aftermarket USB double socket as there is no USB for phone/nav or camera as standard. I'll be updating the suspension in due course and adding protection bars, new handle bars and barkbuster hand guards. It'll still be cheaper than the Husqvarna 701 Enduro and KTM 690 I was also considering, and easier to ride off road.
I'm still thinking of getting this instead of the rally.. not a fan of the headlight design on it.. and the windshield seems a bit small or low do really do much? but could be very wrong there.. think it would be just a bit higher? I'm 6 feet at 187p and that's another thing I'm worried about with this 300L is the suspension. like I'd set a little too low. probably need to test ride it?
Thanks for the review. I think I’ll be ordering one. IRC tyres are the Indian Rubber Company. They make a decent enough trials tyre so the factory fit is probably ok.
Excellent video, very informative in real world stats. Not sure the extra cash for the rallye is worth it ? Have you ridden the latest Himalayan? Subscribed ! 👍
Hi Mark what a good all rounder. Love your reviews i have a Honda CRF 250 MX and if you sreem the balls out of it you can change gear without using the clutch.
Thanks! Always interesting how various bikes fit you, because I am of same height, and inseam. But what is your weight, for that crf to squish like that. I sat on a rally version, at 75kg, and found it intimidatingly high for my liking. I ride a drz400sm, that has a higher seat height 890cm on paper, than the rally 885cm, but feels lower.
Marc, It would be interesting to get your comparison review of the XT250. The XT has that lower seat height which allows for a stiffer rear shock. Get a stiffer shock on this CRF300 and you might be dancing on your toes. Thanks for the good review... Gord
Mark,as usual a very informative,British journalism. What about the,CRF 450RL?Is it available here as it was the other year in the,450L? No sign in the brochure! If not,any of the old 450l's new or demo left in UK Honda Dealers? Cheers Mark.
Seems a great value honest smaller bike. Cheap and cheerful. Seems to only sip fuel which has got to be good. Was hoping you'd know of a green lane or two, to have done a ride along. Not sure where you are in relation to Salisbury plain? Riding it along one of the tracks over Salisbury Plain would be a nice little test for it. It really needs to be ridden off road to get an idea of what it can do. Can't imagine a dealer would be too concerned allowing you to do this given it is basically an off road bike and you finding one to ride along providing it was dry or not too muddy. It's only a £6k bike and not an Africa Twin CRF1000L Rallye or an £18.5k BMW GS1250 TE /Rallye. Do you have any experience of the KTM EXC range e.g. the 300 to compare it with? I seriously thought about getting a CRF250L for it's basic simplicity, but was wanting something with a tiny bit more power but not a huge weight to struggle to pick up if I dropped it off road. I guess the UK is not the best country to ride a bike like this. A big country with wide open landscapes and no officious busy bodies would be far better. Maybe with your vast experience and knowledge of riding different and similar bikes you could make a little more direct comparisons between bikes? Not a criticism just a thought. Thanks for your review. Thorough as always, no faffing or BS.
Hi Alex ...no I was really wanting to go for a little wizz down a "byway open to all traffic" but wasn't aware of any on my test route ... I've done Salisbury plain before on dirt bikes it's good fun but it's a good hour and a half from Southampton. I've experience with a ktm exc 300 two stroke and others and the little Honda feels similar tbh apart from a milder engine ...but the tyres would need to be changed for off road Cheers mark
I called Honda Powersports Chattanooga TN 9/28/2001 looking for the 2021 CRF300L Rally. Was told two to three months wait. They called next day and delivered it to me 9/30/2021. I saved $1700 over another dealer in GA. No dealer fees, no delivery fees. MSRP and $30 administrative fee only. I called 10 other dealers and no one had one of these in stock and did not know when they would get one. My salesman was Gus and very pleased with this purchase/service by dealer.
I’ll be getting one. I’ve owned steet bikes and dirt bikes for awhile. I wanted to get something else for occasional trail use or to throw in the back of my pickup truck if I go take a trip up into the northwoods.
It’s so annoying that there are so many review comments on the appallingly soft reR shock, and Honda do nothing about it. That’s why I went for the Euro 5 Himalayan. Only 3 hp in it, cheaper to buy and relatively simple. Granted it’s not so fancy in the framework or shocks, but I can live with that, and can afford to upgrade the suspension if I feel the need in the future.
I loved my 250L but found that it was not quite tall enough for me... Although I am quite keen to ride the Rally... I think that would suit my requirements quite well...
Trying to figure out which bike to buy when I get to Thailand later this year. I was sold on the NC750X until I saw this review!. Then again, maybe I was just kidding myself so I could get the DCT! The CRF300 is definitely made for Thailand!
I wish they resurrect the SM version for this bike. Constantly on indicators are not a good idea. Someone could pull out. Around 20 kg lighter than my second generation Duke 390. Nowhere near as quick, mind. The 300 trailie to have. Or would you have the KLX300?
Hi Mark. A great review as always. I’m looking at getting one of these as my first proper bike (I passed my test at 41 last year) but I’m a big guy 18st and the rear suspension looks way too soft. Otherwise I think this bike we would of been ideal which is a shame. Not sure how much it would cost to change? Any ideas?
Hi first you could try increasing the preload I think it was set low on this bike ...but have a look at this website as a guide for shocks ..plus also there is a ton of info on the crf 300 Facebook site Regards mark bikerzbits.com/yss/honda/crf-shock-absorbers/
Hey buddy I have the 250 and I upgraded the suspension, it’s the best money I’ve spent on it by far.£350 total cost! I think that’s not bad! It’s not perfect but loads better👍
@@markpulling12 I got the YSS shock (£300) and I got a new spring for the forks, can’t remember the make but the difference in performance is huge in my opinion. It will never be an enduro bike but if you like dual sport bikes and doing some green lanes as well as exploring the smaller roads it’s about the best mod you can do to these bikes. For reference I’m about 95kgs🙂
Thinking of second bike, crf300l or wr250/450f?? not sure on ktm, much more cost and i have heard issues with reliability, only want it for green laning and fucking around at weekends, will drive my tracer 9gt when on road, any thoughts??
I hate when Honda tells you the price of 5200 I just bought one and it was right about 7500 out the door. Obviously there’s taxes registration and plate but each dealership is different and charges a few other fees which could range from four to $800. You will not get out the door for less than 6500 to 7500 depending on where you live. And that’s if you’re lucky enough to be able to find one available to purchase I had to wait months to get mine
You did well to get a bike for a test ride, Mark. They're as rare as hens' teeth, with no more coming in until the autumn - all going to bigger markets (USA). 🙄
Hi guys- they are rare here in the US, also - at least in the northeast area. My Honda dealer has no idea when to expect them (or one, even) and I haven't seen them on the road anywhere. Same situation for the T7. Asia, Australia and Europe seem to be getting these bikes well ahead of us. Really happy for all who are enjoying them, but still leaves me a bit envious. Have to say though it is beneficial to have these great reviews, gives plenty of time to think about the good and bad and helps in decision making, so thanks for that. Keeping the faith and hoping production gets back to normal soon. Ride safe!
You could do the engine is ultra reliable but personally I wouldn't ..as it would be too tiring with the engine being flat out all the time for that distance Regards mark
Great review - why? - "LED", and "suspension" pronounced properly -- rare, you don't call us "KIDS", contains "bimbling along like this" - unheard of 😀,my recently favourite brand - Honda and all of this on tob of other things, thumb up
Is there any softer suspension in all of the motorcycling world? 🤣 It would not cost Honda a single penny more to set firmer springs and damping…I don’t understand why they don’t???
Does yours have the ABS? I'm debating if I want it or not when I buy mine. I just need to know if I can turn the ABS off when I take it off road Also, does anyone else hate the cables that stick up right in front of the odometer as much as I do??
Hi Michael I wish it was my bike but it's a demo bike all UK bikes have to have abs now and I do believe there is an abs button to turn it off for when you go off-road regards Mark
Hi Dan yes I understand what you mean ...I thought that too ...I think it means it's more Long distance adventure biased with bigger tank ,longer travel forks , windscreen etc. Check out mcn in the ride quality and brakes section thanks www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/honda/crf300-rally/2021/
I've a Rally 250 and had the CRF250M before. The Rally is bike number 23, and far from the biggest I've had. 3 years and 90,000km later, still doing the biz like new. Superbly balanced, enough go with a little tweaking, ejk, pipe and 13/40 set up. The IRC tyres are totally fine for everyday use. Decent dry weather grip and okay in the wet. Mild off road work okay too. They are soft, so you'll get about 15k from a rear... No need to change them until then. Also, motors loosen up after about 10k. Trust me, they are brill wee machines. As for the for front end, balls to the tank boys, balls to the tank - all good Lol. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FlzrQA7Cs0I.html
I'm confused about consumption - in Google I saw two different outcomes mpg when I wanted to change for km/L. Perhaps US and UK have different gallons. Really funny and bizarre :). This protruding cable looks annoying indeed
www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/honda/crf300-rally/2021/ Thanks peter Check out the ride quality and brakes section it says it has longer suspension being more off road biased than the L model but I totally get what you mean Regards mark
