Australasian Dirt Bike – June 2019

H

ondahasbeenverybusy

updatingitsenduro

line-up,unveilinga

plethoraofnewmodels

suchastheCRF250Fand

tweakstoexistingonesthatinclude

fuelinjection.Beingamarketleader,

Hondadoesn’twanttofallfowlofthe

industryregulators,soithastriedto

staywellaheadofemissionstandards

aroundtheworld,evenforitsnon-road

legaltrailandfunbikes.

ThenewCRF250Fisoneofthose

andmakesanexcellentbeginners’

mount,butyou’llneedrecreational

registrationorprivatepropertytoride

it.Peoplemightthinkit’saboredout

CRF230Fbutthat’snotthecase.

Havingstartedasa100ccbike,it’sa

stretchtomakethe 230 goanybigger

andthe230Fwillremainin

production,withaMY20versiontobe

revealedsoon.

The$6499CRF250Ffeaturesanew

250ccsingle-overheadcamshaft

enginewithKeihinfuelinjection.

HondatoldADBtheCRF250Fhas16%

morepower(2kW)and21.7%more

torque(3.9Nm)thantheexisting$5999

CRF230F.

Anewtubularsteelframeworks

witha41mmconventionalfork(up

from37mmonthe230F)and Honda’s

provenPro-Linkmonoshock has been

completelyrevisedandhas230mm of

travelwithpreloadspringadjustment

(IhadoneinmyfirstXRback in the

early’90s)todeliveragreattrailbike

feel.Hondahasgonewithquality

runninggearaswell,including a set

ofhydraulicbrakesfrontand rear (the

230Fonlyhasadisconthe front), a

five-speedgearbox(asopposed to the

230Fssix-speeder)andelectric start.

Thebikehasalsobeengiven similar

stylingtotheCRFmotocross range

andahandylowfuellight(no petrol

tap)and“keyon”indicatorlight.

TRAIL TEST I HONDA CRF250F

Back to

HONDA DELIVERS AN AIR-COOLED 250 WITH AN

UNCANNY RESEMBLANCE TO THE OLD XR

66 | JUNE 2019 http://www.adbmag.com.au

Fault light for the EFI is next to the kill switch Can’t get more basic than a single button No tripmeter but the fuel light will warn you

WORDS AND PHOTOS // MITCH LEES