CRF250L/CRF250 Rally. CRF300L/CRF300 Rally.

[Amos Malone]

My Honda CRF250 Rally. That red thing. The Little Red Pig. The African Single. The bike that sort of brought the joy back into my motorcycling. I'd sold my Suzuki GSX tank and was seriously thinking about stopping riding altogether. Then I discovered TET and decided to at least try that before quitting. Spent ages searching for suitable bike. I was originally planning on Yamaha XT350 and spend some time rebuilding it. Alas, the price expectations from sellers with worn out 40 year old bikes were quite unrealistic. I then decided to go for CRF250L. I was planning on updating the headlight to a better one, put bigger tank and a screen. But I also had trouble finding them at realistic price. Then I stumbled upon this 2018 CRF250 Rally with lot of options. Camel tank. HyperPro suspension front and back. Sargent seat. Pelican box. Renthal bars. That is on top of the stock goodies like Fuel Injection, ABS brakes, LED headlight. Best of all the seller was willing to drop the price considerably. Now Noraly Schoenmaker (Itchy Boots), Austin Vince and others have made these bikes famous.

 

[Amos Malone]

Got tired of the little Pelican box previous owner put on the bike, so I fabricated mount for Givi. This is 39 liter Monolock box. It's either a perfect fit, or ludicrously large.

 

[Amos Malone]

Ari Henning at the RevZilla Shop Manual shows how to straighten twisted fork on the Rally.

 

[2wheels4fun]

Riding the hardest side road off of Pinnacle Mnt Road on a CRF 300 Rally near Brevard, NC:

 

[2wheels4fun]

Horse Pasture and other gravel roads in Jocassee Wilderness in SC a few miles south of NC state line on 1/2/23 before it close on the 15th. Two CR300s, Yamaha WR250, and BMW G310GS:

 

[2wheels4fun]

Martha Sundquist State Forest in eastern Tennessee on CRF300L:

 

[2wheels4fun]

Slushy road and wheelie on CRF300 Rally, along with a CRF300L (recording video) and BMW G310GS near Max Patch Rd, NC heading towards Martha Sundquist State TN Forest:

 

[2wheels4fun]

Pinnacle Mnt Road near Bervard, NC: Easiest to hardest sections with level numbers for each one, CRF300L on 6 out of 7 sections:

 

[2wheels4fun]

Martha Sundquist State Forest in eastern Tennessee, Jan 2023, on two CRF300L:

 

[2wheels4fun]

Developing dual sport my skills on a CRF 300L on Pinnacle Mnt side roads in early 2023:

 

[2wheels4fun]

Pinnacle Mnt, CRF 300L pratice on 2nd and 3rd hardest side roads multiple times with a nap near the end:

 

[2wheels4fun]

Exploring adventure on a unmapped dirt road in Martha Sundquist State Forest in Eastern TN on a CRF300L along with a KTM and Vstrom:

 

[2wheels4fun]

Wipeout probably due to overconfident on Pinnacle Mnt side road using a CRF300L with stock suspension and lowered using kouba lowering links:

 

[2wheels4fun]

Second exploring adventure on a unmapped dirt road in Martha Sundquist in Eastern TN on a CRF300L with a DRZ400, this time taking the road to the right at the "T":

 

[2wheels4fun]

So far all my falls/wipeout/dirt naps on my CRF300L over the past 1.5 years and 10,000 miles as of March 2023:

 

[2wheels4fun]

Stuck on second lap and fall on the third lap on Pinnacle Mnt side road on a CRF300L:

 

[2wheels4fun]

BIA 433/Sam Smith Loop gravel/dirt rd, between Maggie Valley & Cherokee NC, S. of Blue Ridge Parkway on a CRF300L along with a KTM:

 

[Amos Malone]

Put a new screen on the little red pig today.

Ratings:
Screen gets 7 out of 10 for quality, right side is a little bit bent out, edges are not finished, screws are not sunk like the original, there are points around the light that are rounded in the original. Plastic is nicely clear.
8 out of 10 for functionality, reduces wind on the chest, helmet still in fresh air, very little turbulence. The mounting bracket above the dash does give more cover for your phone. Depending on your mounting hardware might force the screen into too vertical position.
Manufacturer gets 9 out of 10 for fast shipping, 5 out of 10 for packaging, for the price of shipping I was expecting better packaging.
Price is good, but almost doubles when you count the cost of shipping and import duties from Turkey.

 

[Amos Malone]

This would have lasted at least 1000 miles more.

Not bad after 21K km. Almost no noticeable wear. Not good either. There is some noticeable wear. I'm expecting trouble when the new chain is worn out. But that is 20K-30K down the road.

Replaced with the same type of plug.

And oil, coolant, brake fluid, plus some shining up here and there.

 

[Bonez]

Took my little Rally out for a ~90 mile ride this morning out to Cold Creek before it got too hot; temp was 108 by the time I got home.
I really need to develop more skill & confidence riding off-road, I had a great time so that’s what counts! Unfortunately I didn’t get any amazing pics or even any of the wildlife I saw (horse, burros & elk) but here are a few random pics from the adventure