Any CRF experts??

[Woodyz]

Oh.. sorry, confused! So basically the bike I was considering..

[Scotty]

.....It does though get me thinking.. yours is a 450?? I’ve been told (as I’m pretty new to off road riding) that this would be too much to handle?? There are a lot of 450s at decent prices, but I’m wary?? So much to consider!…

As an off-road beginner, only buy a 450 if you're a) outstandingly talented, or b) you like hospital food. It'll most likely be (b) - no offence - but a 450 isn't much heavier than a 250 (we're talking enduro bikes here, not the 250L) and will have pretty brutal power delivery.

A couple of years ago Honda did release a CRF 450L which pricked a lot of people's interest as it would have all the civilities of the 250, and maybe share its mass, but would have the same long service intervals and more power than the 250 - as it turns out the power is electronically neutered to around 30bhp! Not sure why, and it may well be possible to liberate it with a small plug-in or tweak, but the other big negative was the price - they were asking £9k! Since the launch and initial news I've heard nothing more of the 450L.

I've had a WR250F for ten years now and it's still better than I am. Great to ride off-road, but terrible on road due to low gearing (and only 5 gears) and a pretty horrible seat. As mentioned previously, a WR250R would make a great green laner if you can find one, definitely worth a look, less highly strung than the F, and more civilised with things like indicators, brake lights, and a horn!

[Woodyz]

Cheers bud. Unfortunately, I don’t like hospital food & I also won’t be ticking box A!
It’s a minefield of options..

[Ming]

Definitely agree that a 450 would be too much. I had a Sherco 450 a while back and it was an animal. Grunt just when you didn't need it. Just had to move the throttle a millimetre and it would take off. Not easy keeping your hand still on the rough stuff.
Sold it and bought a CRF230. Small, air cooled, impossible to kill, electric start, cost pence to run.
Kinda like a large trials bike but with a better seat.
Not brilliant on the road as realistically 50mph is your limit. I ran 8 of them in Spain and never had one engine or clutch problem in 4 years and countless kms. Stick a Hagon shock on it and it's very capable, especially on gnarly lanes.
If you're over 13 stone or 5'10 I'd avoid though....

[Woodyz]

Thanks for all the advice on the CRF guys, much appreciated. So I took it all on and accidentally bought a KTM excf 350!

[Ruffian]

Haha! Welcome to the orange crew.

Remember . . . . .

K eep
T aking
M money

[billinom8s]

K now
T he
M echanic

[jer r1]

You'll love it. Ignore all the bollocks about bikes being to much to handle, you just ride higher gears and use the torque giving an even smoother ride . Plus you don't go backwards on road aections.

[Woodyz]

So far, def agree. Smooth as & doesn’t seem too much.. might be a different story in the woods..

[Woodyz]

Anyone out anytime soon?? I need to get this bike dirty!

[Dan_RR]

Anyone out anytime soon?? I need to get this bike dirty!

What age 350 did you go for? I quite fancy a 350 as my next laner, had my fairly bulletproof rfs engine'd exc 250 for nearly 3 years now but it does feel pretty slow, ideal for the lanes tbf as you can ride it flat out most of the time but I wouldn't mind a little more grunt!

[Woodyz]

2014. 118 hours. Only been out once. Not a massive jump power wise, just so smooth in comparison.

[Dan_RR]

That's cool, looking at the specs any excf from around that age and newer are are about 7/8kg lighter than my older 06 rfs plus the 350 like yours and the six days etc have atleast another 10hp than mine so I reckon it would be noticeable (I hope), won't be doing anything yet but some point in the future. Only problem is my bike has been pretty bulletproof so reluctant to change for that reason, anyways off to a CORE event next weekend. Maybe see you at a muddy ride sometime. Cheers