Hey, our LRP made the cover of Cycle World/March issue. Another shootout, CRF, KLX, and WRR. Guess which bike got best bang for the buck?
Good point, haven't been in there yet to see. If so, the Achilles heal would be the top of the air box then?
Thanks and thanks!!! Also, thank you to LostRider and MentalGuru for taking the time to clean up the thread and get it back on topic. I missed it all due to a work deployment and just got back in the USA. It was really taking too much of my time sorting through all the extra gunk going on. I sincerely appreciate it.
IMG-20120920-00045 by wesocec, on Flickr Back at the end of this summer when I went out on my second real trail ride. We were taking a break at a road crossing. This was down in the Capitol Forest.
IMG-20120928-00068 by wesocec, on Flickr Hitting the Frisco Freeze after doing a nice summer on road ride after work.
Does anyone mind posting pictures or maybe some tips as to what gear i should wear while riding? I have been wearing jeans, helmet, boots, and gloves. Any tips would be appreciated.
I agree with Cat .... there's more appropriate areas here on AdvRider for that question. When you get there, do some searching ... but if you do ask provide some detail on what your riding is like .... on road? off road? Dual Sport? Trail? I've found that I like a specific set of gear for each purpose. Good luck and enjoy your CRF!
So, when i got this bike I had so little experience I actually had concerns riding home from the dealer. It went so darned well that I rode another hour or so that evening but had to leave for a flight out so I put it up. All I could think about for the next week was getting back on it. I did some riding on dirt roads on base and some trails but at the time was really conservative not knowing what to expect. Lucky for me I have a buddy that has a CRF250R and he took me trail riding several times into the capitol forest here in Washington. I still have many skills to work on and vast room for improvement on those skills but this bike definitely inspires confidence in a new rider. Getting on the highways was really weird at first and it still isn't my preference if it can realistically be avoided. It's winter here now and although mild still not very hospitable for riding. I decided to get over my fear of riding in the rain and cold with this bike and it was very easy to accomplish. The bike was really more sure footed than I had imagined it would be. That is until I took a wild ride on some ice. I didn't go down or anything but it was close and at about 35mph. Thank God I have been trained to remain calm in high stress environments or who knows what the potential outcome could have been. Now I am more conservative again on what weather and conditions I will ride in. I must be close if not over the 2000 mile mark so far. Currently it is partially disassembled while I am making some of the mods I have discussed with many of you so far. I am really thankful for this forum and all the contributors that have made so much of this information easier to find and all the advice I have already received that would have taken me a lifetime to acquire on my own. There is just no substitute that could have gotten me to where I am currently with this adventure without you all. This has definitely been the best purchase of my life!!!!
Snow was forcasted here today, but instead we had a nice sunny mudbath with friends in the woods today L
Me and friend recently road our bikes to Mazatlan. Here is a picture of the 250L all loaded as I had it set up on the trip. it performed perfectly as we went over 3000 miles...the biggest issue was probably the rear shock in that it does not have much rebound. With the load, I had to always make sure i was on a slope or had kickstand in a hole. One of my favorite pictures. I have more pics and information if anyone would like.
Thanks bigbluecreek, great pics . Please share with us more pics and how CRF works as a long distance traveler and what modifications you have done to your bike, I am sure this is something that many CRF owners (including me) are wondering when we are planning our upcoming adventures.
best post ever. and makes a BIG statement about the new Honda. Someone bust out a trip to Alaska, and the Arctic Circle. Poor cell phone pics,sorry. I LOVE the new Yoshimura pipe. I went with the full stainless system and carbon end cap. Craftsmanship is amazing. As good as airplane parts I've seen. Not loud at all. I think it puts out just about the right amount of sound. There is a removable insert in the end cap but I'm happy with it. I'd had much louder pipes before. It could be the highest quality part on the bike. Running the EJK fuel controller and so far no hiccups. I put 3 ea. 1" vent buttons in the airbox lid. I've touched nothing else in the engine and systems, I have left the backfire screen on the air filter. I was thinking about the physical support it offers the paper element but also the complete smoothing effect the grill contributes. Also on pressure pulses back through the airbox; the sieve effect the grill produces works both ways. (I'm professionally resistant to think I can out-engineer any thing they've done, even with 40 years riding and building bikes. Nothing about intakes, textures, shapes, materials, mixtures... I always remember that Honda didn't make a "best guess" about any of it. These are all figured to the T. For the good but also the bad. On a Honda, you must always be careful to not over-torque any fastener in the engine castings.) The pipe diameter would work fine on a 500 cc engine. A huge difference over stock. No restrictions in this one. My 1982 Honda FT500 didn't have the flow of this large diameter tubing. I ride nearly everything on the street or in dry country here and the other places I go are also dry country, so I'm sacrificing the little bit of deep water crossing and it's possible issues. 3 buttons in the lid for try-out. May go back stock on this. I'm more concerned with rain protection because when we do get rain, it's usually in huge Great Plains thunderstorms. I've had to ride home in rain coming down 1" hour. They don't make any more intake roar as far as I can tell. And finally, I put this little windshield on there, mostly just for looks. http://www.wunderlichamerica.com/motorcycle/F800ST/8110024-025.html