CRF300L/Rally
 

Afternoon all

Just curious if anyone knew much about the new CRF300s?

I know the old CRF250s had a max rear weight of around 5kg ''officially'' over the rear rack

Rumour has it the 300s will have a subframe welded in place. Hence should have more load capacity....? But i havent seen numbers documented anywhere? It may only be a small increase of a couple kg....

With the CRF300 being lighter etc. Will it be as good as the older 250?

Just looking to start a bit of a discussion

Stay safe

M

I always thought that was more a product liability issue to do with upsetting the handling than a 6kg and the whole rear end collapses thing. There must be more core strength in the construction otherwise it would never cope with the difference between a 60kg and a 120kg rider.

You will find that legal warning for pretty much every rack and topbox, on every motorcycle. Also a top speed of 100-120 km/h. ;)

I bought a 250 Rally a couple of years ago. Had the 300 been an option at the time; I probably would have got that. But looking at the stats: the benefits of the 300 over the 250 are not enough to make me want to "upgrade". I bought the 250 precisely because it was a 250 (I wanted a smaller CC bike) and have been very happy with it. The weight and CC gains of the 300 over the 250 are negligible (to my mind); so I'm sticking with what I have.
As for the rear rack weight: I use soft throw-over panniers across the rear seat area and the rear rack is for a rotopax. So it makes no difference to me.
Cheers.

Andy Strapz tank Panniers for front
 

I reckon that bike would be awesome.

To distribute the weight maybe look to see if the Andy Strapz tank pannierz will fit on it.

https://www.andystrapz.com/product/e...-tank-pannierz

I use these on my GS and am amazed at how much they hold. Mine carry my compressor/tyre repair/tools etc - kinds of heavy stuff but its good to get it off the rear.

:)

Honda crf 300
Yes is will be a bit better than the gutless 250 version.
Looks good ..............
but i doubt if will beter than the yamaha wr 250 r

~40kg is not a big deal for a CRF250 with a proper rack.

Myrkskog, we can't see the picture, possible a permissions thing? Try just attaching the image, then it's stored here and visible always.

fixed it.

This is the opinion, of the new CRF300s, of a chap who has built a couple of CRF300s himself.


found some info on the new gearbox and done a bit of comparason and it looks pretty good tbo im pretty used to the 13l 17l and 300 engines and gearboxes
one of the reasons i left the 300 gearset in is that it has a lower 1sst and closer ratios 2 to 5 with 6 being under the 250ls ..it easily allows a 15t front sprocket to work where as a lot of lads go 13 on the Ls ....a 13 on the below gearset trust me would have a fair bit of zest in it ...14s pleaty on the 300 for trail riding and 15 will work too

..the ratios on the cbr motor work really well that bit closer together and with a fairly big precentage more tourque and power slightly closer ratios it really is quite nippy to 60 ..what you notice straight away is there isnt any turbo lag waiting for 5.5k to arrive it just take the next gear and goes again ..so its a combo of several things 7hp touqueand gearset that make noticably more responsive

heres the good news the new 1st is slightly lower than the cb motor which in turn is a bit lower than the crfs
..gears 2345 are identical to the cbr motor which is good not silly short at all but each gear moves on from the next really nicley and the new 6th it taller than the existing one ...,,,it does look pretty much on the money and i think 14/40 will be ace at both ends with a slight suspision the gap to 2nd will still be a tad too wide now and again

..i think the days of 13t fronts will be over on the new 300 ..i think that box will work very well

1st gear: 3.538 3.538
2nd gear: 2.25 2.25
3rd gear: 1.65 1.65
4th gear: 1.346 1.346
5th gear: 1.115 1.115
6th gear: 0.925 0.925

dividing ist by 6th gearspread is a pretty high ranking 3.82 ....if they get the delivery right from the motor it will be a handy machine for sure

We will have to wait and see if it is any good :eek3::eek3:

Too subjective, me thinks - good for some, not for others.
This chap has 2or 3 CRF250s converted to 300s and is a great source of objective analysis. He does, however, very much like his home made 300s bierin

Horses for courses !
Has flipflop ridden a wr 250r ?

I actually gave my WR250R a minor service today and took it out for a short spin to make sure all was well - I may need to ride it to work next week :mchappy:

good for you ! drive safely with all the power then !
How many miles have you done on it ?:scooter:

Not sure, to be honest, but I could check.
I bought it 5 years ago when I lived on the edge of the Peak District and went out most Sunday mornings riding the trails. I would hit the trails early (7am) to avoid the walkers, do a loop of the high and low peak and be home before lunch.
As I was 5 minutes from the first trail I don’t suppose I clocked up that much mileage over the 3 years that this was my routine.

I have moved since then and the trail riding is pretty sparse round here and it’s a long ride back to the Peaks for a days ride, although I do it occasionally.

I doubt a welded rear subframe would increase the load capacity. I guess it's simply cheaper to produce. Instead of some assembly worker driving in four screws, now a welding robot does it all in one go.

An Aussie guy who lives close to me in NE Thailand got the L. He has done a few mods on it, drilled a hole in the air box, increased the teeth on the front sprocket, and put a full Yosimura system on it to increase the pipe size and its great, I had a go on it when I was home in March and it was great.
I am at work at the moment but the next time I am home I will try and grab a photo

Too busy building CRF500L's....!!!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...cb52e49387.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...3328750248.jpg

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

Took one for a quick spin and I thought the subframe looked reassuringly chunky.
(Usual 5-6kg limit on the back. 162kg gross payload).

No one has asked but I will share my impressions anyway.
Long version here.

• Very light (147kg verified with a near empty tank)
• Looks great
• Very good (claimed) mpg
• Interesting gearing: low 1st; overdrive 6th
• Bigger fuel tank (12.8L = 500km range)
• Welded subframe looks chunkier (162kg claimed payload)

• For me, 24 to 27hp is not a worthwhile improvement
• Lots of plastic to scratch and crack
• Tall saddle (but sinks down loads – or was my Xmas better than I thought?)
• Suspension probably needs upgrading
• Nearly a £grand more than a 300L
• Less than a couple of hundred quid cheaper than a 500X

Update 2023:
Bought myself a near new 300L with loads of extras.
Fitted an Acerbis tank for a 400km range and getting some TL wheels made.
https://adventure-motorcycling.com/p...onda-crf-300l/

https://adventuremotorcyclinghandboo.../07/300-1.jpeg

That's cool.

I wish Honda would get on and build a proper CRF450/500L.

Their current 2 year old CRF450L is already being discontinued in certain markets as it's a total "WHY did you build this?" bike.

Even better, Suzuki need to build a DRZ450 with FI and a Rally cockpit.

I love my twenty year old DRZ400. If only it had that magic 6th gear. Although with the 434cc kit on mine it has the torque to pull longer gearing.

You mentioned in your long version that Honda dont have bigger suitable engine - but they actually do - the 330 cc engine they for example have in their Forza scooter: https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocia...forza-350-2021

Another thing about the Crf250/300s

I own a first year Crf250L in Thailand (2012/2013) and a 2018 Crf250 Rally in Norway. Both are engine and performance-wise stock. And the 2017-2020 engines supposed to be more peppy with 1,8 HP more. But in reality my thai Crf is very much more lively and peppy, especially at low and mid range - even though its supposed to be having less power. So theres something not quite right there with the performance numbers. Different ECU or mapping or whatever…? Maybe Ted or others that are skilled about bikes know?

And on the 300 models the thai models comes with 31 HP and most other markets seem to come with 27 HP only. So that indicates that they now have the numbers right and that there is something to be done to get a bit more power out of the 300s

I have also heard that the later, more powerful 250s actually seemed slower alongside the older ones. The power must be found somewhere, maybe way up the rev range?

27 vs 31hp; perhaps they don't have Euro regs in Thailand.
Wasn't there a thing fitting a Thai ECU into restricted bikes?
Worked for a bit then Honda changed the plug.
Can't recall if it was the CRFs or something similar.

I think a Forza and similar scooter engines are quite a different bit of kit.
Hard to know where it starts and ends.

Yep - youre into something there as I also have heared that getting a ECU from Thailand or Japan made the bikes noticably peppier. Maybe it was a ECU from the CBR250 as that bike was said to have ~ 27 HP compared to the first edition Crfs with 22,8.

I also think Thailand dont have the EU regulations and thus dont need to restrict their bikes to run so very lean as they do in EU. The funny/interesting thing is that I also get slightly better fuel milage on my more powerful thai Crf compared to my EU Crf Rally. Would be interesting to get a good explanation about that….?

The 286 cc Honda engine thats used in the 300 Crfs nowadays was used for several Honda scooters, the SH300i (very classic and cool scooters - my mate had one for a couple of years) and the Forza 300 - that now had become a 350 (330 cc in reality) Obviously the drivetrain is different but the rest of the engine should be mostly the same.

crf 300 rally 4,500 mile report
 

Here are my findings after 5 months and 4,500 miles
1 The bike is very very tight and at least 1.000 miles to loosen the engine
2 After 3.000 miles i would say its run in !
3 great bike , getting well over 100 mpg
4 I gave my bike another oil+ filter change at 3.000
5 its not an offroad bike ( like wr250r) but its a smashing adventure bike
6 just one draw back ............ its a bit "vibey" after 3 days in the saddle
7 well done mr,,,, HONDA

crf 300 rally 4,500 mile report
 

Might have to eat my words about the Honda 300 rally . as i have now bought one and done 4500 on it in 5 months !!
1 great little adventure bike !
2 110 miles to a gallon
3 a lot more bottom end than a wr 250r
4 average suspension for a light rider
5 very very tight until 1000 miles ,ok after 3000 !
6 its not an trail bike ,
7 shame its not a 350

What sort of terrain and riding are you doing to get 110mpg from it? That's about what my other half gets on the Tango, and that's a restricted 125!

its all do do with the right hand !...................... its an adventure bike, so its ridden at " adventure " speeds
Oh and i get 75 mpg out of my T7 !!

Would that be the four quart (3.785 liters) gallon, or the five quart (4.54609 liters) gallon? It always makes a difference when volleying figures back and forth.

I've had mileage in the mid seventies (US gallons) on my KLR when driving at moderate speeds on reasonably flat dirt roads. That would equate to ~90 miles per UK gallon, and that's a carburated 650.

Mmm, for the Tango it's 2L/100KM with very gentle throttle use, but in the mountains, I suspect it's the changes in altitude that makes all the difference!

FWIW. I had a rental CRF250 in Vietnam in 2019 (don't know what year the bike was); but it was way more sluggish than my 250 Rally in the UK. Maybe because it was a rental and had been flogged to death; but the difference was night and day.

what octaine fuel do you use?
for some bikes its a waste of money !
BUT for others it does make them more peppy !!

I'm getting over 110 miles per gallon on my CRF300L, mileage about 2500, not much luggage (tail pack), rider about 100kg.

This was the displayed consumption following filling up with 97 octane/E5.

Not sure if this is imperial or US gallons - one would expect imperial given that it's a UK market machine.

All this desert riding has made me a bit obsessed with mpg.
I closely monitored my 300L on a long, slow UK ride the other day.
Display: up to 103mpg
True (+2.5% odo error corrected) 85.5

Following fill up after 220 miles:
Display: 91
True: 90

All this assumes most UK pumps give a genuine litre.
I have heard that bikes will return better mpg on E5.
Whether it adds up on costs don't know, but will try some E5 on the next fill.
Hoping to get a true 100mpg one of these days.

Bike has a screen and around 1500 miles. Stock gearing and tyres.
More here: https://adventure-motorcycling.com/2...idsummer-ride/

https://adventuremotorcyclinghandboo...0abrtrl-1.jpeg