I have a few issues with Chris Scott's review.
Most of what he says is quite accurate, but the bike was not set up well for his ride.

Having lived at altitude for many years, the machine usually needs to be leaned out to cope with the lower air pressure.
Modern EFI usually deals with this fine, bur was likely defeated on his bike by the aftermarket controller, which seems to have been running rich.

At 6000 feet you lose around 18% power compared to sea level.
So the second crucial mod should have been to change the stock gearing to cope with the heavy rider and load, as well as altitude power loss.
Most CRF mods seem to start with changing the stock gearing anyway.

The other issue is that the riding area (SW USA) is one of the most unsuitable areas for small cc touring: long, straight well surfaced roads, whereas somewhere like SE Asia and other 3rd world destinations would bring out all its strengths, as 50 to 60 mph is a very acceptable speed there.

The CRF will pick up aftermarket support, it just needs a few more years to develop. Honda is selling it in most markets around the world (far more than supposedly popular choices like BMW), so backup and parts should also continue to grow even in 3rd world countries.

I tour on my YBR125G and a Zongshen 200 in SE Asia, even 2 up, and they work fine.

Obviously you need to pay attention to stuff like gearing, luggage weight and so on, but that pays off really well in keeping the bike manageable in rough conditions, where heavier machines are a PITA and often force taking a different route, or even skipping some destinations.

Just a different opinion.

I think you really nailed a couple of things there. Although I have read his book and some of what he has written and really like his attitude and appriciate his knowledge about travelling with motorbike I didnt recognise all he said about the bikes performance and engine. I found the engine extremely smooth - delivering power when you needed it. Low fuel consumption - fuel warning flash turned in at 190 km almost every time, twisty and steep mountain riding using second to forth gir for the most part and highway cruising at 95-100 km/h as well. Which gave a range of approx 250 km and a fuel consumption of around 95 mp imp gallon. However I didnt carry a Whole lot of luggage, just a medium sized top Box and a small backpack.
And as you say - the SW of USA isnt the most suited part of the world to ride this kind of bike (well he kinda pointed that out himself...)

He found the seat annoyingly tall - which I find strange as long as I found it quite low. And I am only 180 cm tall which is around 5.11' and he is 6.1'. I would have liked a tad taller in fact.

Mr Scott also says he miss the power and accelration a bigger bike can give. Of course a 250 ccm hasnt got a blast of power when you twist the trottle compard to bigger bikes as for example 650's. But I have been looking at facts for different bikes and the Crf accelration 0-100 is measured to be 8,6 Seconds. And a Yamaha Tenere 660 is measured to 7,6 0-100. That isnt a whole lot of difference and I can add that a Yamaha WR250R is recorded to 7,3 Seconds 0-100. So it isnt always about size either....

Nowadays I am thinking more and more about the Crf or the Yamaha WR250R as a overlander insted of the Tenere 660 I own for the moment....

__________________
In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Another consideration is price. I know bikes are very expensive in Norway ...
much cheaper in US. The MSRP of the USA versions are:
WR250R : $6,690 usd
CRF250L : $4,699 usd

So, nearly a $2,000 usd difference in favor of the Honda.

If you have TIME ... check out the two threads about these bikes over on ADV Rider, Thumpers section. The Honda thread is most impressive, over 400 pages already in just over a year! The really useful stuff starts at about 300 pages into the thread ... so skip ahead:
The CRF250L Owners thread - ADVrider

If budget is a concern, then I'm guessing you could save $THOUSANDS$ by flying into California, buying your bike and set off from there.

OR ... start in Thailand. I understand shops there are well stocked with many of the best aftermarket extras for the little Honda. Not sure of the price ... but since it is made in Thailand, it may be a bargain?

Problem is ... you may still have problems crossing borders with your own bike. Not sure on this, varies country to country.
Best!