2012 Honda CRF250L: A Dual Sport CBR250R!

[SpudRider]

Honda is taking the liquid cooled, fuel injected engine from the new CBR250R street bike, and putting it in a dual sport motorcycle. Here are links to threads describing this new dual sport motorcycle.

http://blog.motorcycle.com/2012/04/1...pecs-released/
http://blog.motorcycle.com/2012/04/1...north-america/

The fuel injected, CRF250L will replace the carbureted CRF230L. This bike is a little heavy, but I love the concept of a fuel injected, water cooled, single cylinder, dual sport bike from Honda! Here comes some competition for the Yamaha WR250R. I hope Honda keeps the price reasonable.

Spud

[SpudRider]

Here are some photographs of the CRF250L.







Spud

[FastDoc]

I love it!

Finally!

[SpudRider]

I found some more photographs of this new motorcycle.







Spud

[SpudRider]

If Honda can keep the price of this dual sport bike close to the price of the CBR250R, I think it will have a big winner!

Spud

[FastDoc]

Looks like a good competitor for my KLX but the EFI is a very nice benefit. I like it! :P

[SpudRider]

Here's a nice video showing some of the features of the new bike.



Spud

[SpudRider]

Here's another video.



Spud

[SpudRider]

Here's another video I enjoyed watching.



This bike gets 104 mpg traveling at a steady 36 mph. The engine produces 23 hp, which is less than the WR250R; however, we can hope the price tag will be substantially lower. Can we expect this bike will arrive in North America this year?

Spud

[gloud]

Hmm that may (MAY) make me buy a new bike this year if they hit the US.
I was interested in the WR250r but it is too frigging tall for commuting. if the CRF250L is a little shorter than I am in. (with my injuries I have a hard time on tall bikes anymore. Sitting in traffic forget about it. but the XL is nice in that regard.)

Stock it looks like it is about 1" shorter. then with a little messing around I could get it another 1" so may be doable. (as long as they come here.)

[FastDoc]

A little less power than the KLX, but I'm still a big believer in the advantages of fuel injection. :P

Weight seems similar. The Honda also has a higher tech chassis. In the looks department they both are great but the Honda looks a little more modern.

Both have great instrumentation which I like. Both should have coolant temp gauges though. :roll:

For me the difference would be the FI. 8)

Before buying the KLX I had considered the WR but declined because it was over $1,500 MORE money for just a bit more performance. It also has an aluminum frame but the weight was almost the same as my bike.

The Yamaha engine though outperforms my KLX. In modified form my KLX makes just about as much as a stock WR.

[Weldangrind]

That looks like a terrific successor to the XL lineage.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by gloud

Hmm that may (MAY) make me buy a new bike this year if they hit the US.
I was interested in the WR250r but it is too frigging tall for commuting. if the CRF250L is a little shorter than I am in. (with my injuries I have a hard time on tall bikes anymore. Sitting in traffic forget about it. but the XL is nice in that regard.)

Stock it looks like it is about 1" shorter. then with a little messing around I could get it another 1" so may be doable. (as long as they come here.)

The CRF250L has a saddle height of 34.4 inches, which I think is just about perfect! The bike is a little heavy with a 314-pound curb weight. However, I'm sure one could drop some weight from the bike, and gain some power from the engine with an aftermarket muffler.

I believe this bike is scheduled to arrive in Canada this summer, so I suspect it will arrive in the United States at the same time. I sure hope so!

Spud

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by FastDoc

A little less power than the KLX, but I'm still a big believer in the advantages of fuel injection. :P

Weight seems similar. The Honda also has a higher tech chassis. In the looks department they both are great but the Honda looks a little more modern.

Both have great instrumentation which I like. Both should have coolant temp gauges though. :roll:

For me the difference would be the FI. 8)

Before buying the KLX I had considered the WR but declined because it was over $1,500 MORE money for just a bit more performance. It also has an aluminum frame but the weight was almost the same as my bike.

The Yamaha engine though outperforms my KLX. In modified form my KLX makes just about as much as a stock WR.

In stock form the CRF250L makes more power than the stock KLX250S. I'm sure one could increase the power of the Honda similar to the way he increases the power of the KLX250S.

I don't know about your KLX250S, but the Honda has an "idiot light" for the engine temperature. Nevertheless, one can easily add a TTO Temperature Gauge to the coolant line for $35.

Spud

[FastDoc]

It would be nice if Honda made a package deal of a CRF250L and a CBR250R. 8)