Getting into Adventure issue 3

HONDA CRF
250 RALLY
THE CRF250 HAS BEEN GIVEN AN ALL NEW LOOK
AND ATTITUDE TO MAKE THE RALLY, A BIKE THAT IS
ALREADY PROVING POPULAR WITH THOSE
LOOKING FOR MAXIMUM TRAIL BIKE THRILLS...
The Honda CRF Rally is
a new derivative of the
regular L model that's
been with us since 2012.
Same engine, frame and wheels, just
with slightly taller suspension, full
'rally' fairing, LED lights, daytime
running lights like the Africa Twin,
a slightly larger fuel tank, up from
7.8-litres to 10.1-litres, and a price
tag of £5,329, up from £4,649 of the
standard L model.
The result is very striking. The
headlight is divisive in its looks,
but it's hard to deny the extra
presence and impact of the Rally,
particularly in the flesh. Important
to note that this is very much a
different machine to the other three
bikes here. It's the only one with an
off-road friendly 21-inch front and
18-inch rear wheel for starters.
It has long travel suspension, offroad
style foot pegs and a perfectly
suited stood up riding position
right out of the crate. It's a trail
bike for all intents and purposes,
and immediately less road tuned
than the other three bikes. If you're
wanting a bike solely for the road,
then perhaps consider the other
three machines.
What impacts immediately about
the Rally is the seat height. At
895mm it's the tallest bike here and
takes a good stretch to get your leg
over it. Once on the rear shock is
incredibly soft, with a great deal of
static sag. You could be forgiven for
thinking that it has been released
this way in order to compensate for
the tall seat height - intimidating to
some - which would be fine if only
the rear shock was easily adjustable.
Instead you have to drop out the
shock to wind on some pre-load,
something that is perhaps not the
most user friendly. Ridden solo
it's not so much of a problem, but
throw on some luggage and the
headlight would point at the sky.
On the trails this sag isn't such a
bag thing. Ride quality over ruts is
very good. There's lots of nice travel
and damping to soak up the rough,
and the sag at the rear means that
you can easily plant your feet for
tight manoeuvring. What's good
about the bike on the trails is it's
softness. The throttle response is
soft, the brake action is soft, the
suspension is soft and the 24.4 bhp
single cylinder engine is ultimately
soft in its power output. It makes
for a very novice friendly trail bike
and one that you can grow into as
your confidence improves.
“THE RALLY MAKES
FOR A VERY
NOVICE FRIENDLY
TRAIL BIKE”
With its foundations and geometry
that of a trail bike it's not surprising
that the Rally isn't quite so suited
to the Tarmac as some of the other
bikes here. That soft suspension
makes for a light front end which
robs you of confidence when
pushing on, especially given the
knobbly tyres and larger diameter
front wheel. A lot of time in the
saddle also reveals the seat's firm
nature, which, after an hour can
start to make you fidget.
The weakest link on the road
however is the engine. Perfectly
suited to the trails, on the road the
bike feels a touch under-engined.
It makes good power between
5500 and 6750rpm, and will cruise
happily at anything up to 65mph,
but push the engine harder and it
feels strained, though not unable
to deliver a maximum speed on the
clocks of around 85mph. If Honda
could develop the engine to match
that of the BMW then it would
possess the best of both worlds.
As it is, the Rally isn't quite as
enticing as the looks would suggest.
It looks like it's going to give more
and be that bit more aggressive
- both in terms of engine and
suspension. It's actually quite soft
and gentle, very much suited in fact
to the nature and look of the regular
L, which might be where the wise
money is. That said, the Rally does
look fantastic and to me the most
desirable bike here. It's also built
on bullet proof engineering, so for
the long haul adventures, involving
Tarmac and dirt, it's still perhaps the
one you'd go for.
Trail friendly from the get-go, the Rally is in its elements here
Engine: 250cc liquid cooled single
Power: 24.4bhp
Weight: 157 kilos
Seat Height: 895mm
Price: £5329
Nutshell: Compromised on road but that
makes for a great novice trail bike
46 Find out more at www.gettingintoadventure.com