CRF250 L thread

[Snox7777]

New to the page , this thread and crfs . Couple of questions ...I see a mention of washers on the rear shock , does this help at all ( never gone be putting ohlins on ) and if not any other cheap fixes that help a little ? With the tyre situation ( so so sorry . This has probably been asked to many many times ) and suggestions for on n off road tyre that's better than standard ? I totally get road tyres on roads bikes bit this off road lark and the sizes have left me totally confused ......any input really appreciated .

[minkyhead]

its no real use using washers to pack the spring ...a soft spring is still a soft spring packed or not ...if your a bigger guy or using bags or both opt for 100nm spring ... smaller guy under 14 stone ...light luggage 90nm should be ok ...the actual damping isnt that bad its the lack of rebound that makes it worse ..a stronger spring will help in compession but you may well top out quite a bit ...
tyres are many road tyres sirac or tourance or suchlike 90/10s heinkau k60s .... simple do it all solution road off road ....id say pirlli m21s 90/90/21 120/80/18 rear ,,,,,full blown enduro tyres like a maxxs go for a 110 100 18 rear there mahoosive

[Snox7777]

Cheers minky . Not sure I wanna put to much money into the suspension right now , might see about a new spring for now . Bloody tyres are hard for me to get my head around size wise . Have seen Michelin trackers and maxxis it tyres . Not heard much about the 21's .

[garyboy]

I don't think you are going to get a cheap upgrade for the suspension.
read this thread for where minky does an upgrade .. new rear shock 3 or £400 .. and front fork spring upgrades (only one spring in there as stock, on one side .. so even an extra front spring will help firm up.
What u do at the rear should be balanced with what you do at the front?
Proper upgrade would involve the likes of expensive Ohlins (and Brembo brakes too)
and new enduro type front forks.

but would not be justifies for this frame and engine?
you may as well just buy an enduro machine from the start
.. so I guess minky's upgrades are gonna be the most suited?

Tyres are subjective, of course, but you need to decide what you going to use it for first.
Road tyres if you will never go off road .. I found the std IRS tyres fine for this, and they could cope with very easy hard tracks.
50/50 for very easy trails .. MT21, E09, ..
But for even slightly difficult trails I would say get the full enduro tyres, with squarer knobblies.
just my opinion.

[Snox7777]

Think I might go for mt21 to start with , need to half decent on road .

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

The MT21s are fine on the road, but don't push too hard...after an (ahem) 'spirited' ride on tarmac in the Welsh mountains on a CCM 404, my MT21 front was missing some side knobs!

Not sure whether to be proud or ashamed of that...but decided not to repeat the exercise.

In normal use they are OK, and a decent compromise between road and trail.

[garyboy]

yeah .. they grip really good on tarmac, even in the wet .. but fab in the dry. .. they wear very fast if you go over 70 regularly.
Off road you will soon find their limits .. try changing ruts and feel them slip !! .. but for easy dry trails .. ok !!

trouble is .. if you go more aggressive that MT21's .. you defeat the object of the bike as a dual sport do-it-all, as it is then crap on tarmac.

so ,, as Richard said .. mt21 is a good 50/50 compromise. .. (for the CRF250L and rally)

[Snox7777]

Cheers for the replies , decided for sure on the mt21's . Next step is bars . Don't want nothing drastic , just a little higher with using bar risers . Any one swapped standard out with different bars and had no drama with the cables etc .

[Snox7777]

Oh and while I am asking this n that . Read conflicting views on chain slack / adjustment . Best to do on the side stand ? How much slack while sitting on the stand ? As per manual or any better advice etc regards adjustment .

[garyboy]

2" rise is ok, just slacken a cable or 2 off their grommets. but be aware that wider bars will tighten the cables.

Chain slack .. I used to adjust so that there is 1" slack on the bottom middle of the chain, while on side stand, unweighted.
Others will say differently.
It is better to be a bit too slack than a bit too tight.
Try to keep it lubed at all times.