CRF300 Rally on the Dirt Roads of North Thailand. 

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Thanks you. Yes, we are lucky, its a wonderful area to explore and this is the ideal bike for our purpose.

Many thanks for your comment. Yes, we are blessed to be in such a beautiful riding environment. Trails are still fairly dry now, despite being in the grips of the rainy season; which makes everywhere so green and lush. I’m very much looking forward to the cool dry weather of winter to explore further (and make a few more videos). Yes, the made in Thailand cars and bikes are excellent value. This Rally was just £4000/US$4600 new, and readily available. 300cc is plenty for us, keeps it agile enough off road, and works well on road (not to mention the economy 😊). We did a long tour two-up a while back, we avoid the busy roads, and sure, it bogs down a little on the steep hills, but heigh-ho “mai pen rai” as they say in Thailand. For duel sport duties the Rally is highly recommended. Cheers 🍻.

Thanks 🌞.

The 300 Rally has been great. It's now done nearly 40,000 km and has never missed a beat. It recently needed new steering head bearings. There was an intermittent noise which was cured by replacing the cam chain tensioner (A very simple task). It also needed a seal changing between the water pump and whatever drives the water pump as there was a small amount of coolant leaking into the bashplate. These jobs were all done at the same time at around 32,000kms, the mechanic had the bike for a day and did a great job for a few thousand Bhat. Otherwise, it's been faultless. It performs better than I do off-road, and it tours with my wife and me on board. My friend and I have just returned from a three-week trip to Issan, with plenty of unsealed roads. My friend was on a 250L, me on the 300Rally. Despite being essentially the same bike the L feels tiny in comparison even though the weight difference is less than a full tank of fuel. Conversely, the Rally has a bigger seat and feels roomier; so, unsurprisingly, the Rally has the advantage on-road, and the L has an advantage off-road, having said that, they both perform admirably both on and off-road. The biggest advantage the 300 seems to have is the gear ratios; where the 300 can chug up most of north Thailand's steep trails in second gear, the 250 has to use first and second; I expect this is why people change the rear sprocket so often on the 250, I find the gearing on the 300 to be excellent. If you liked your 250 and found the conversion to 286cc worthwhile, I think you will find the gearbox on the 300 to be another improvement. The Rally is great off-road, but the L's smaller feel may be an advantage, but some riders may disagree. The bigger seat and longer range of the Rally are definite advantages when on a journey. I hope this helps, and I hope you enjoy your Rally, give me a shout if you are ever around Chiang Rai. Oh, I fitted a YSS rear shock, mostly to cope with two up and luggage.

Thanks for the reply. I've had my CRF300 Rally for 10 days and already put 680kms on it. I've ordered the rear shock and fork upgrade from YSS. I'm hoping to tour Northern Thailand after the rainy season, probably November and December.

@@jusfaalarf9526 great that you bought the bike. I too fitted a YSS rear shock, I've not yet got around to the front springs. You have a great machine for a tour of the north; there are plenty of unsealed roads and minor byways to explore.