Why I Chose The CRF300L Over The KLX300, DRZ400, KTM690 & WR250R 

3 things I care most about in my dual sports. 1. Maintenance cycle 2. Maintenance cycle 3. Maintenance cycle

I agree with you that the 300 Rally is a small adventure bike. It's what I use it for. I usually ride 30 minutes to an hour to get to the spots that I want to explore off road and the Rally gets me there comfortably on the highway with plenty of fuel for the trip.

I’m very retired and I ride a DR650. Simple rugged. Reliable cheap.

Really enjoy your practical advise over a number of your dual sport bike videos.. Keep up the good work and hope your health contines to improve.. I've shared on a couple of your videos to a mate embarking on a ktm500 for adventure dual sport riding.

Fantastic content. Thanks so much for all the info.

Really appreciate all the info and your insights 😊

You make a logical, thoughtful and compelling argument for your choice. Thanks for posting this👍

I really appreciated this video. I just purchased a CRF300L with ABS for my 17 year old daughter. She has been riding dirt bikes for 6 years and recently started driving. I want to go on offroad motocamping trips with her and this was definitely the best choice.. I have a 690, but it's too big and a little to heavy for her, and too much bike to start with on the street. This video really helped affirm our purchase. We're just waiting for it to arrive off the shipping container and get built at the shop for pick up.

What I like about the crf300l is that a motorcycle manufacturer finally listened, a granny low first gear, close 2nd through 5th, and an overdrive sixth gear, everything you need information wise on the lcd, a bump in power over the 250 and an affordable price, nobody wants to pay premium prices for a bike that hasn't changed since the 70's and 80's, I don't see giving out the door price of 8,500 dollars for a klr650 or xr650, the tw200 is so high for a bike that shouldn't be over 3,500 dollars new but is 6k to 6,500 out the door right now.

I love the placement of the sticky note 👍🏻

Nice comparisons! I had many of the same reasons for choosing the CRF300L!

I bought the KLX300 and here is the exhaustive list of all the reasons for that decision. 1) the Honda was on back order for months, 2) the dealer had the Kawasaki

great review. Thank you

As always Chronicle, great content!

The crf300l still falls short on overall power compared to the wr250r, and it’s 15 pounds heavier. A quick 47t sprocket helps the wr250r immensely. I have the thumper big bore on mine also, Yamaha just needs to come out with their own 300 and blow the competition out of the water.

Nice summary. Cheers!

I went back and forth with the klx and crf stood over both a bunch but after knowing how the crf suspension is I opted for the klx. Now that I’ve ridden both off road, I’m very happy with my klx

Damn bwoy, you’re grilling this little Honda to the extreme. I feel like I’m seeing a ‘crf 300 vs xyz’ from you every time I open youtube :D

We need a wr400r, crf450L with a DS/rtw oriented engine, and an updated drz400. Everything else is missing the bull's eye.

Nice job on the channel. Last year I got back into bikes because my son (16) wanted to get into motorcycling. I opted for the dual sport route because I think learning in the dirt is the way to go. Bikes were hard to find. I was lucky to find a KLX230 for him (great beginner bike). I scoured the area and found a KLX300, bought it over the phone, otherwise it would have got bought out from under me. No CRF or WR anywhere at the time. My son will likely be ready for an upgrade at the end of this summer. We do a ton of trail riding and both of are riding much harder this year than last, I am actually going to do a suspension upgrade to the KLX230 just to extend the usefulness because the size a trail manners are pretty good considering his beginner status, and suspension would be the ticket for now. The KLX300 is a decent bike, but while the suspension is not bad out of the box, it is a bit harsh when riding over tree roots, rocks, and sharp bumps. Actually got spit off trying to hammer through a root section. I like to work on stuff, so I ordered a race tech gold valve/spring upgrade front and rear. So far, very nice improvement along with good tires. Much better high speed compression damping. Which brings me to my questions, since you have ridden a few bikes. Are you going to do the YSS suspension upgrade, I would love to see the Honda with the full boogie YSS upgrade, pricey I know, but it would likely transform that bike. The Honda could still be in the future as a bike to replace the KLX230. I would have to do the suspension though, probably on day one. The Honda engine seems to be just right out of the box for trail riding. How does the WR250R and CRF300 ergonomics compare to other bikes. I have done bars and risers on the KLX, but I still find it a little cramped and not quite as comfortable as I would like since I spend a ton of time on the pegs (much better than the stock bars though). I am 5'11" 180ish. I am actually considering the WR as an upgrade for me, my son gets the KLX300, and would do suspension valving and a big bore on the WR. Engine tuning is no problem either. I am just wondering if I would like the bar height and the bar, seat, peg relationship better than the KLX, i.e. more room and more comfortable up on the pegs. Any insight on ergonomics would be much appreciated. The WR seems to have more dirt bike pedigree than the other Japanese DS bikes, save for the CRF450RL. I would love a KTM or Husky, but like you, I don't think I could ever use the bike's full potential, and a little more money than I have to drop on a new bike.

Fantastic review I’ll be getting my 300l next week Regards Dave from Scotland

I own the cb300r with the same engine and 6 speed mated together so I have to say that having a street bike with that similarity doesn't feel quite as exciting but it doesn't have to be. It's my first bike and I wanted to start small scale to earn an appreciation of other bikes. I'm halfway through the process of deciding what my second bike will be and this makes me want to save the money and buy a cheaper 300l. I often stare at the gravel roads near me and wish I started on this bike.

I bought my Drz from Witch Cycles in 2015 for $7.5k with enduro kit. Can be a little heavy but nothing compared to a adventure bike. Good power and reliability. I find riding the bike fast easier than riding slow that's where you notice the power rather than feel the weight. Manages to keep up with older 450s too in the soft sand dunes. That being said I owned a Crf230 and even thought it was a little slow such a trail goat and much easier to handle.

I wanted a KTM690 and I loved the power but ended up with a 300L for exactly the same reasons you stated; more than twice the cost (at least here in Oz) and I am not a good enough rider to exploit the capability of the KTM. Plus I didn't know if dual sport riding (after coming from a Street Triple) is something I'll stick with. Thanks for your videos, it helped me make my decision on the 300L. I might see you in the Perth hills sometime.

You are right on point …..both price and bang for the buck

Considering everything you must feel very fortunate to have and be able to ride any bike. With the cost of living and having a family rising daily, the bills have to be a top priority. Very wise to live within your means. I was surprised to hear that the KLX isn't offered in the Land Down Under, Honda must love that. It's all about bang for your buck. Good video, Thank You!

A note for the manufacturer design teams reading these comments: 1.) If it's street legal it needs to be sold with a minimum of a 15L tank. 2.) If it's street legal it needs to have a seat that is comfortable enough to sit on for long rides. Nothing like having to pay the Acerbis, IMS, Nomad, Fisher and Seat Concepts taxes after buying a brand new bike.

Can you please cover the country of manufacture of all bikes you review and compare. This is an essential factor for my decision making.

Love what you ride! Don't mind what anyone else says.😊

Here in the UK the choice is simple - the Honda. It's the only 250-400cc dual sport bike you mentioned that you can buy new from a dealer; no Kawasaki, Suzuki or Yamaha. I'd put the KTM 690 in a different class due to it's engine size.

Very helpful

Outstanding summary, Solid. Far too much logic, clear-thinking and critical analysis for the Internet, however. I hope you get a chance to ride & review a KLX300 soon. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

@chroniclesofsolid that torque comes from that long stroke in the honda. for offroad purposes, I'd take stroke over horsepower any day. Great vid man.

Well what is really needed is a Honda rally bike in the 400 -500 cc range, with a smooth motor. A little more grunt in the lower rpm range and the ability to carry luggage for touring and the ability to buy it with the proper suspension for one’s wight and purpose right from the dealer. All standard.

lol the mini likes r free sold me on hitting that thumbs up

Interesting thoughts comparing it to the 690/701 - here’s what I think. I still have a kid at home, I don’t have a high paying job and I’m building my life as you are, but I’m lucky enough to have a very supporting mom 😁 In all seriousness, I went with the 701 because it’s my ADV bike. In Europe there’s so much tarmac to cover between trails, so I needed a bike that would be road capable too. I own a DRZ and I know the CRF300L is more than capable enough for my kind of road riding, but that sweet LC4 power is extremely addicting on twisty back roads too, as well as pulling my heavy body and luggage for long distances. But in general the bike is just way too powerful and performance oriented for me to fully use it, but I absolutely love the bike with its great suspension and electronics. I have one question that I need to answer, and that is if the 690/701 really is worth twice the price of a 300L Rally for an average adventure rider. As soon as I can test ride the 300l Rally I will try to answer this question. All the best and thanks for another great video!

Hey mate, thanks for the tips on buying my first dual sport.... Can i ask you where do you ride? its getting harder to find single track which are not exclusively for MTB. I live in Vic. cheers.

I also picked the 300L. Great bike!

I had a 230 that would do pipeline hills here in BC guys would do on raptor 700s. Definitely get bang for your buck with Hondas.

There is one really good reason the drz400e in Australia is still selling at even the crazy price 11k + 22 years after its first production it's simple it's still a fantastic bike yes it's old and yes it only has a 5 speed gearbox and I do agree the 300l is a very good bike my dad has one but ide still take my old drz400e any day its got sole. but ide say each to their own good review mate

Hi. Just purchased my CRF300L and all the reviews that I read were accurate, i.e. soft suspension….except… no one has commented on is the abrupt throttle response when driving slowing in turns, doing figure 8’s etc 4-5 mph in first gear. The throttle is very abrupt and when I try and twist the throttle just 1 mm the throttle response is not linear. Anyone else have this issue? I It seems like the cable to the throttle body has a bit of excess play.

I love my hondas and would have preferred a 300 rally but the klx 300 sm won my heart over after owning a street legal klx 300r. Honda I find is still missing the thumper feel on the dual sports and the 450 honda made just has too short maintenance intervals to be a dual sport.

Thanks for putting this video together. Curious why rider fatigue on the CRF300L would be less. Is the engine smoother, or is it the super soft suspension, better seat, etc?

Hi, I just paid the deposit on a 22 Crf300 rally which is due Sep/Oct , I also have a 22 T700 (love ir) you can see it on Bikerbits RU-vid channel and I have found that the speedo is reading exactly 10kph high, is the 300 speedo accurate? as my Mrs will be riding the 300 mostly and she is on P plate’s so a accurate speedo is important… PS; the Rally is now $10300 on road.

I wish they made the CRF300L engine fit in the CRF250RX chassis with a elec/light package. That would be the winning combo in my opinion. The longevity of that engine along with the lighter frame and better suspension would be fantastic. Higher priced for sure, but look what people are paying to mod their stock bikes.

I LOVE my WR 250R !!! Why did you get rid of yours? Feels more precise to me, better suspension etc. I have ridden the Honda 250, not the 300. My WR is great around town, and rips like hell on the gravel roads we ride !!! Bought a 2014 w 800 miles on it, in 2018 for 3800 in the US. I always look forward to your posts . Be safe

Man when will Suzuki come out with some new bikes?

I have the KLX 230 which is sort of like the KLX300 but slightly weaker, got like 20 hp, air cooled, damn fun to ride everywhere even the highway if you're OK not going faster than 95 kmh ;) It was the first bike I ever bought new after getting my mc-endorsment back in 2020.

Hey,I’ve always wondered why you call yourself “solid”!? I like it,I just wondered!👍

Hey solid. Great comparison as always. Quick left field question. I stumbled on the SWM RS300 by accident and haven’t seen much mention of these in any of your videos (maybe I’m not looking hard enough) How would one of these stack up as a lightweight ADV bike. The only problems I see are small tank (fixable with a Safari mod) and perhaps the more frequent service intervals but otherwise they seem to be a bit of a bargain considering the quality of suspension/brakes and their relatively light weight. Can you get these serviced at Husky dealers given they have lots of Husky bits? Thoughts?

Most of the planet has it worse than any of us that are able to ride. I look forward to your recovery over time, increasing skills, and to the day when that 701 is genuinely the right bike for you. Take us on that journey with you! Cheers!

well there you have it .... Honda ,does the trick for you , goodo the main thing is your out riding and enjoying it . i think really every bike will shine and have it short falls , i have been like yourself and have changed brands many times , i just come to find the KTM s shine for me , which im enjoying my 390 adventure bike , good highway manners , good gravel road manners , im yet to see what it will do it a bit more off road . time will tell . but it gets me out on the bike and fun well behaved so far . waiting for the cooler and wet for some good single track on my ktm 250 2 banger . the 390 was cheap too picking it up for just over $8k . the 690 and the 890 did get i look in but as you said the price was i bit hard to cope with . main thing is get out and enjoy any ride you have . cheers Steve /Geraldton

Trying to decide between a Honda 300l and a beta 300 X trainer. I know they’re totally different machines. The Honda being a four stroke fuel injected will last longer, but the beta is considerably more powerful and lighter but carbureted. If the price was the same, what would you guys go with? (I know the beta cost more)

Is the WR250R still sold? I thought they discontinued it? It was all over the 'news' that it was discontinued and the Yamaha Canada website doesn't list it. Maybe it's still being sold in other countries?

Howdy COS. Wondering why the BMW310GS wasn't on your list.

do you ride the 300L on the road? i mean like an every day bike around town?

Mega like !

a great light weight red adventure bike for quick trips .

Man, in Canada at least, there is a serious shortage of good choices in dual sport bikes. It basically comes down to a CRF300L or KLX300

What about the Husky FE350s? That's a better comparison than the 690/701.

I"ve spent time with every bike on your list except the 690, One thing that is hard for youtubers to do is rationalize the difference in bikes without lots of seat time. The specs say the klx has only a little bit better suspension, but its actually much better for dual sporting, the DRZ eats the crf alive off road, the wr250r is a fantastic bike and like a little drz thats fuel injected. The crf300l Rally is a great gravel road bike, but not for real trail riding.

My tiny little chimp brain agrees, Solid. Great roll-up.

KTM 690 Enduro - bought a new one in 21 / sold it spring 22. True, that power is addictive. I really thought the 500EXC was a "street legal dirt bike" while the 690 was a more balanced street / trail bike. Turned out not so. Seat like chunk of granite (bought aftermarket, only marginally better) Vibrates at highway speeds. Doesn't like to chug around town in low revs. I just couldn't make a good road bike out of it (aftermarket seat, pegs, fairing, anti-vibe kit, steering damper) . I also found it "twitchy" on the trails, but that's maybe just me... I really can't imagine the 500EXC being any worse on the roads, but a vastly more nimble dirt bike...

I’m 65 and the CRF 300L suits me fine. I got Harleys for the street and the CRF for off road is perfect.

I did a Kawasaki demo day last year. I was not able to get on the KLX300 ,but did get to ride the super moto version. I have to say I found the engine very choppy.

In Spain are only available new 300L/690/701 (non DRZ, WR R, 300 Rally, KLX) so choice is quite easy 😂😂

my 2023 ktm 690 is 320lb wet, same as my 250L apparently. It feels lighter because the fuel tanks in the back under the seat giving it a lower center of gravity.

I am 6’6 , 230 and 65 years old, just looking for a nice trail bike that fits my frame and is not too heavy, will this bike work?

I own a WR250R and a 701 and more than the weight difference, the 701 feels much bigger. Also the rake angle on the 701 and 690 is longer so the bike is made more for blasting through in a straight line. Both these things make for a bike that feels out of place in the tight stuff. You made the right choice, buying a 690 or 701 would have meant spending too much money for the wrong bike

What’s your height/weight? I’m looking into a klx 300, but afraid I’m too tall/heavy for it.

Ok, which of those bikes can be used few years, without changing any parts of engine.

I like my 300 too. My KTM 300 Tpi that is. If the Honda was to bring out a CRF500 to 650 L I would be standing at the dealers placing my order.

No complaints about my husqvarna 701 enduro

Is swm available in your market?

Everyone is always complaining about 5 speed gearbox. If it's such a big deal for you just get the ACT wide ratio gearing set. Keeps 1st where it is and incrementally raises 2nd through 5th to be 21% higher. Pair that with a tooth dropped from the front and you're now going 10% faster in 5th gear at the same rpm as well as 10% slower in 1st. Instead of complaining about something just find a way to fix it.

I owned a 2018 KLX250, a couple of things that I was not a fan of are the top heaviness of the bike. When the bike thinks it needs to be filled with gas it flashes “Fuel Empty” in orange which cancels out the trip meter completely even though it still has a fair amount of gas still remaining, it is a stupid feature, why Kawasaki never put a proper fuel gauge on I will never know.

“Like R Free” lmaooo true

I like your videos, been subscribed for a while, but since you’ve got the 300l it feels like you must’ve made half a dozen videos on this exact same topic…

Are you planning on doing suspension?

Here in the US we can't get either the Honda 300l or klx300..

Aprilia Tuareg 660 is the one for me.

If Yamaha would bump the XT up to 300 and drop a 6th gear I could die happy. 😊

Why no Husqvarna FE350?

I went with the Yamaha xt250 for many of the same reasons.

klx300 has substantially better suspension. but both bikes should get new springs and valves if srious offroading is on the table

300L get the mods done, it's an incredible bike 🏍

Honda CRF450L could be the perfect bike, but it's too expensive for the bike that is and has a short revision intervals. Also in Europe it arrives With just 25hp when in USA has 45.

Honda crf 300 l vs husky svartpilen 401

Its always more fun to ride a slow bike fast that ride a fast bike slow.

Your thinking is not correct re riding an enduro bike. Ride whatever terrain you feel comfortable with. It is not compulsory to race hard single track on a KTM500 but it is my bike of choice in my mid 60’s, where I ride relatively easy terrain. A good 2nd hand one is worth considering over a new Honda plus it will kill the Honda in terms of handling, braking and suspension and you can get masses of aftermarket bits including larger tanks. And please don’t talk about hourly oil changes, it’s rubbish.

its the only one available in Aus

Honda is a Cast iron cylinder from the early 1900's and HEAVY 300lbs and it has NON-Adjustable Suspension - epic over-rated the Yamaha and Suzuki and others WAY better Quality.

Kove 450

Rokon will beat any bike out there.

Comparing the 690 to the disposable CRF300? Sounds fair to me. The CRF has zero power, zero suspension and zero real world off road capability. The KLX suspension is far and away better than the Honda and is built like a tank. The DRZ’s engine is butter and kills the Honda’s anemic 300 everywhere. Don’t need a 6th gear off road. Plus, a sprocket fixes the DRZ on the road. If you don’t realize this, you really are justifying your slow, undersprung and underpowered CRF. You get what you pay for here. You essentially bought a mountain bike with a tiny Honda engine.

Cuz a local dealer had a better price on it. lol

SUZUKI.

I'll give you one more reason....itchy boots

Soft cheap and under powered.

The CrF300l suspension is disgusting. Non adjustable except for pre-load. The bike is too heavy in tight technical conditions. Honda... Has lots their way.. Greed / profit margins / inflation all play a part in the garbage motorcycles we are now seeing coming from all the manufactures.