2012 Honda CRF250L: CBR250R goes dual-sport

[KTMphil]

I think i'll just leave the white, plastic exhaust cover off.

 

[KTMphil]

Nae at the Chiang Mai MX shop just got a engine bash plate made up for the Honda CRF 250 L, I presume this is a prototype and he'll get more made. I like what he's done here as it protects the water pump on the RHS of the engine.

 

[KTMphil]

Nae has had some rear racks made up too

 

[KTMphil]

Looks like the engine bash plate's will be around 1,500 Bht from Nae - just ordered one.

 

[Midnitemapper]

Phil who made the great looking rack?
Fuark Motocross here in Vientane just recieved 4 CRFS

 

[KTMphil]

nae at the chiang mai mx shop had them made

 

[Clarky]

Hi Phil,

Your bikes starting to look the part.

I gave Nae an e-mail today to see about getting the exhaust. How much louder & lighter is it?

Cheers

 

[KTMphil]

Hi Phil,

Your bikes starting to look the part.

I gave Nae an e-mail today to see about getting the exhaust. How much louder & lighter is it?

Cheers

I havn't done anything to mine yet, that's Nae's bike, I'm still weighing up sending mine to Bangkok to the CBR 250 race tuners

 

[Clarky]

Ah ok, Well Nae is going to be confused with my e-mail then

I will just be going for the exhaust & bash plate for now, see how i fair offroad with that.

Let us know how you get on if you go with the full engine upgrade.

 

[KTMphil]

Easy to rent and try one in Chiang Mai:


Lan at C&P Service has 1


Pop Bike Rentals has several


Chiang Mai Motorcross shop has 2


Mrs Mechanic has 2

 

[MastaMax]

Dirtshop put one on the dyno, max power:17.95, max torque:13.06

 

[KTMphil]

Do they have a KLX 250 dyno'd?

Dirtshop put one on the dyno, max power:17.95, max torque:13.06

 

[alexuk]

Easy to rent and try one in Chiang Mai:


Lan at C&P Service has 1


Pop Bike Rentals has several


Chiang Mai Motorcross shop has 2


Mrs Mechanic has 2

LAN at C and P has2 now

 

[Lone Rider]

And Pop has ordered 20 - don't know how many he has got at the moment.

 

[KTMphil]

And Pop has ordered 20 - don't know how many he has got at the moment.

I wonder if Pop is building his fleet or there's now another 20 KLX 250's for sale? Lan will sell KLX 250's for 85,000 bht now.

 

[nikster]

And Pop has ordered 20 - don't know how many he has got at the moment.

I wonder if Pop is building his fleet or there's now another 20 KLX 250's for sale? Lan will sell KLX 250's for 85,000 bht now.

Must be switching to Honda... the KLXs that POP has you would not want to buy.

 

[Davevb]

There is a guy on mocyc advertising motard wheels fot it. I have to say, it looks mighty fine in white with the gold rims.

 

[2wheels]

Well, the CRF250L pricing fiasco continues.

I went to the two main Honda dealers in Chiang Mai today because I had read somewhere that the asking price had dropped to 130,000 baht.

Not in Chiang Mai! (Of course, there may be special deals to some customers.)

I found that both dealerships were asking 139,900 for the bike today.
But I noticed that some bikes were wearing a receipt and set of keys on the handlebar and the receipt said '134,900 baht'.
And that did not include any deposits being paid.

So I called the friendly assistant over (they never seem to come to customers) and asked about the discrepancy.

"134,900 baht was special price last month. This month price is 139,900 baht."
Then he added, " Tomorrow special price 145,000 baht " !!!!!

" Why? "

"Tomorrow start new month." :

Holy Hondas, at this rate what will the price be at the end of the year I wonder?

Kawasaki can set a nation-wide price for their bikes; why can't Honda?
Why can't APe Honda instruct dealers to sell the bike(s) at a set price and stay at that price?

This cynical price manipulation, on principle alone, would be enough to send me to KLX land (or elsewhere).
Pity, the 250L seems like a nice bike. But the increasing price is a real factor in my purchasing decision.

There, I feel better now.

 

[KTMphil]

Why dont you buy one in khon kaen? Take the bus down and ride it back? They are telling people they have them for 130k bht...... seems to be a general consensus that its a better bike thsn the klx 250?

 

[harrygps]

Has anybody cleaned the airfilter yet? Is it a easy pleasure like in the old XR days or a shit tricky hard work like in the KLX?

 

[Harrythefinn]

They are 135,000 Baht in Korat, plus 1,200 for the book. But only in white at the moment.

Seems like not so much demand for them outside of the tourist places.

 

[KTMphil]

Nae at the Chiang Mai MX shop has got a few of the engine bash plates made up, not sure how much they are.

 

[BWG950S]

Honda dealer in Ubon has 1 of each color.

I think the white looks much better than the red. Especially if it had motard wheels on it.

138,000 Baht includes book and insurance. They said it would take 2 months for the book. Is this normal?

 

[crs]

Think registration is slow everywhere because of something to do with a dodgy batch of number plates. The paint fades and peels off real quick - so guess things are held up till they get some better ones to hand out.

 

[KTMphil]

Just had the second oil change done (516 bht in total) , the Honda technician confirmed that the oil filter is the same as the CBR 250 (as expected) - good to know if the Honda dealer says they're out of CRF 250 L oil filters.

 

[ramz]

> Just had the second oil change done (516 bht in total) , the Honda technician confirmed that the oil filter is the same as the CBR 250 (as expected)

Would you hazard a guess about the front sprocket CBR250R vs CRF250L; do you think they are the same?

I live in the US and will be getting a CRF250L in August and am looking for parts to modify the CRFL when it arrives. Riding at 8,000 to 10,000 feet elevation, I find that I must gear 250cc bikes down a bit to get sea-level performance here. In other words, they don't pull the stock gearing here, not because of jetting which the FI often compensates for ok, but because of reduced power produced by the engine at this elevation. I found a source for CBR sprockets and want to order a 13T front sprocket as a first step towards getting the performance I want.

I had a look at the CBR250R at a dealers last week and noted that the CBR engine is black, whereas the CRFL engine is that mix of silver/alum and off-greenish/khaki/goldish that Honda uses for the off-road CRFs here. The engine looked very good to my eyes-only inspection and all fasteners and bits looked high quality.

Lastly, I ordered and received the Honda CBR250R Service Manual and the Parts Catalog and began looking at engine details, as this seems to be the common part between the CBR and CRFL. Is the CRF250L Service Manual or Parts Catalog available in Thailand yet?

 

[Clarky]

Hi Ramz,

Been told by my Honda dealer here that the service manual is only available in Thai Language. Should be fun when the bikes start getting shipped around the world..haha.

I have tried calling Honda customer services here in Thailand but always get busy tone!

The number i tried was 027254000. Any one know of another number to try and track down the CRF service manual in English?

 

[Clarky]

Well i did find the Thai Manual today, its under the seat. I had the seat of the first week i had the bike, but with me being half blind and totally dozent i missed it.

Still trying to source the English one.

 

[Davevb]

I don't really know why you are bothering with an English owners manual for this bike. Do you really need to be told how to use the controls and told all the safety features? That is all they tell you mostly. It's a pretty simple machine and any questions I'm sure folks here would be able to answer.

You will need the Thai book thats under your seat so they can stamp the services done and ensure your warranty but after that?...

A workshop manual may be handy.

 

[ramz]

I'm not looking for the Owner's Manual:

Is the CRF250L Service Manual or Parts Catalog available in Thailand yet?

 

[Davevb]

Sorry, I was refering to Clarky looking for an English version of the Thai manual under the seat. I haven't even bothered to look at that yet.

 

[LUFC]

I'm not looking for the Owner's Manual:

Ramz,

Are you the guy that did the CRF250X vs CRF250R comparison on a website somewhere, I'm sure remember that photo of you on the 250X you are using.

 

[ramz]

Are you the guy that did the CRF250X vs CRF250R comparison on a website somewhere

I have many comparisons on my web site, so maybe yes:
Rick's Web Site
Links in lower left corner.

There's even a link for the CRF250L...


More links here:
Misc / Technical

 

[Clarky]

I don't really know why you are bothering with an English owners manual for this bike. Do you really need to be told how to use the controls and told all the safety features? That is all they tell you mostly. It's a pretty simple machine and any questions I'm sure folks here would be able to answer.

You will need the Thai book thats under your seat so they can stamp the services done and ensure your warranty but after that?...

A workshop manual may be handy.

Hey Dave, Yep you are right enough, but with me being new to trials bikes and also excited to having a proper bike again for the first time in years, i just wanted to see if there was anything that could be adjusted or tinkered with.

Will just have to wait for the manual i guess.

 

[Ally]

Are you the guy that did the CRF250X vs CRF250R comparison on a website somewhere

I have many comparisons on my web site, so maybe yes:
Rick's Web Site
Links in lower left corner.

There's even a link for the CRF250L...


More links here:
Misc / Technical

Hey Rick

Thats an interesting resource to know about, I am sure a few of the guys here will enjoy visiting your site.

Thanks for letting us know about it

Ally

 

[Davevb]

I wasn't happy with the brakes on mine so I took the pads out and scuffed them up with some sandpaper. They seem to work better now and easy to do so worthwhile. Gave me a chance to put some anti freeze on the pins as well. I think they had glazed up from new possibly from some anti corrosion stuff on the discs?

 

[crs]

'Antifreeze on the pins...' Can you elaborate please?

 

[Pounce]

Good chance he meant Anti Seize.
You can get either copper or zinc based stuff that you put on threads & pins to stop them corroding together.
Like this.

 

[crs]

Ahhh. That I am familiar with. Could do with buying some.

 

[Davevb]

Haha. Yes, sorry. I use the copper stuff. The pins can end up seizing in the calipers and need bashing out. Only when in harsh enviroments though but if I take something off I usually slap a bit of anti seize on, never hurts. one bolt you really want to watch out for is the rear axle adjusting bolt, on KTM's at least they seize.