revving top end. It has reasonable torque that
means you’re not continually hunting for gears,
despite the tall gearing. Keeping up with the
traffic is no problem, although it has little punch
for getting on with things quickly, but that’s the
nature of a non-race 250cc four-stroke engine.
The seat is comfortable and the general travelling
environment is very nice. The large single disc
up front is a little wooden in feel, but adequate
enough... nothing a change to more aggressive
pads couldn’t sort out and the rear is great.
To be honest, the more I rode the Rally the more I
appreciated what it was trying to achieve and how
genuinely capable it is, in a nurturing kind of way.
No, it won’t set the world on fire in the performance
stakes, but it delivers practical performance and is
definitely fun, particularly for the novice adventure
It’s a very cool little machine only slightly let
down by these two things. And really, it is only my
background as an enduro racer that sees these
two issues. It’s very hard to put my experience
aside and in the shoes of a sixteen year old
novice rider with little or no offroad experience
and appreciate what that rider actually needs.
So, what do they really need? Above all (almost)
they need a reasonably relaxed seat height for
ease of balance when stationary. Mainly though,
they need a relaxed, user-friendly power plant
that won’t bite the hand that feeds the throttle
to it. Lastly, and quite importantly, they need soft
suspension. Suspension that will cosset them, give a
comfortable ride and generally match their ability
is vital as a learner – hard suspension that is likely
to deflect from bumps and rocks is a nightmare
for an up and coming rider. So, for the market the
Rally is aimed at – the budding adventure explorer/
commuter rider, Honda has nailed it - with the
exception of a really quite tall seat height. However,
the Honda’s soft suspension helps here because
the shock sags generously when the bike is sat on.
So, enough with the overview, what is it like to
ride? Well, heading out on a cold but sunny Autumn
day the first thing that came to mind was how
terrific the screen was. It offers excellent weather
protection with no buffeting, a welcome joy in
the cold. Next up, the hand guards are fantastic
too, and really are a must for all-year riding. The
DOHC, liquid-cooled and six speed engine is
perky with extremely linear power and a high
50KIWI RIDER
rider gaining experience. For these riders it will
be a delightful and effortless joy to manoeuvre
through their first forays in to the adventure world
– and all the while looking like a Dakar hero. I would
happily adventure ride one too with a suspension
upgrade and lower gearing. Despite the small
engine it gets the job done well. On top of that
is the fact it feels less than half the weight of a
larger multi-cylinder bike... and that pays huge
dividends for all riders particularly in tighter going,
but also in and around town and slow traffic.
Despite it clearly not being my dream CRF450R-
based rally machine, the CRF250L Rally is a
fantastic entry level, all purpose adventure
machine at an excellent price point that makes
even a beginner look like a Dakar hero.