Honda CRF250 Rally – best mods / upgrades

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rbailey
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Honda CRF250 Rally – best mods / upgrades

Post by rbailey »

All, hope I am not duplicating something else with this post. I did a bit of searching reading on the forum, but most of the talk about recommended mods seems to be from around 12 months+ old – and I am sure the world has moved on since then. I have also read a bunch of other forums (mainly American), but most of the products the recommend seem to be not shipped to the UK at all, or shipped to the UK, but with delivery cost almost matching the cost of the parts!

So, at the following thread https://adventurebikerider.com/forum/vi ... 23&t=47997 I was getting peoples opinion on which best small bike to get. Having test ridden the Himalayan on Saturday, I am now 99% sure I will be going for the CRF250 Rally.

So, what do I want the Rally for?
1. Commuting
2. Some local green laning (nothing crazy!).
3. Longer trips fully loaded with camping kit – e.g. from the Midlands in UK, over to France, 5 days on the French TET, and then back to the midlands. In this case, I will be doing the trails on the bike fully loaded with luggage.

With the above usage in mind, I am trying to understand what the best modifications / accessories would be to the to support that kind of use.

Most urgent advice is needed for must have modifications / accessories which are difficult to fit. The dealer has said (as part of the deal), that any accessories / mods I have at the time I buy the bike, they will fit / sort for free.

Things I know I will need, would be things like this…
1. Luggage rack (not panniers, just the rear plate) – thinking Giant loop soft luggage (Grand Basin) with a rolltop back? So something for that. Also, seen some small petrol tanks (1 gallon) which fit to some racks (rotopax?).
2. Some people talk about the rear shock not being up to the job (especially if touring with luggage weight)
3. Extra protection for engine?
4. Any extra bars needed to allow install of GPS (tomtom rider) / phone?

Just anything essential for the kind of riding I will be doing. I have some budget, but don’t want to go mad (e.g. if someone said that the stock rear shock was useless, and there is an aftermarket one for £300, I would probably do it, but if it were £750, that would be a different story)!

I want stuff I can get at a reasonable price in the UK. E.g. saw some great looking rear racks on some websites, but they were £99 for the rack, and £70 for UK shipping! Must be better options / UK local dealers for good quality accessories in the UK.

All suggestions, much appreciated! So, whats your top 5 mods?

Cheers,

Roy
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Re: Honda CRF250 Rally – best mods / upgrades

Post by OB1 »

Mike and I have ordered engine/fairing protection from this guy:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-CRF-25 ... 2749.l2649
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Re: Honda CRF250 Rally – best mods / upgrades

Post by Paul_C »

Whatever panniers you get you will fill. So don't get huge ones, weight is important. That said the Lomo ones are excellent value.
https://www.lomo.co.uk/acatalog/waterpr ... s-set.html
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Re: Honda CRF250 Rally – best mods / upgrades

Post by herman »

Get a relay activated accessory connection box installed under the seat. Then its easy to connect extras such as grips, sat nav, pump, etc. as and when you see fit. I fuse the accessories individually . I used to mount all manner of things on the dash area but now tend to have fly leads so I can for example charge a phone with it in the tank bag etc.
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Re: Honda CRF250 Rally – best mods / upgrades

Post by rbailey »

herman wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:39 pm Get a relay activated accessory connection box installed under the seat. Then its easy to connect extras such as grips, sat nav, pump, etc. as and when you see fit. I fuse the accessories individually . I used to mount all manner of things on the dash area but now tend to have fly leads so I can for example charge a phone with it in the tank bag etc.
Ohh, me likes that idea.... I will have a scour of the web to try and find something suitable! If you have any suggestions, I would to hear (wiring aint my thing! :?

Cheers,

Roy
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Re: Honda CRF250 Rally – best mods / upgrades

Post by minkyhead »

i dont think you need to go mental with it

i would /did ride it for around a1000 miles before doin owt much
the YSS rear shock from firefox RACING is outstanding value at sub 300 quid .. no point in trying to make the o/e work ..its worth every penny

seat ...airhawk but the big cruiser cushions are the way to go ..them enduro pads are way to small

screen extender cos im tall .... removable for off road ..maby the single best thing for long distance comfort for me

i like me gpr zoerst with crf250 panels ....make the bike 9 inches narrower at the rear

me pannier racks ..home made 10 quid ... and 2nd hand wolfmans for a ton .
thats me top 5

brake snake is a good call easy and cheap

bigger footpegs are a must for me ..?

renthal bars are a wise investment the o/es will bend and bend bad if your unlucky me 250l fell off the side stand at a gate and bent the bars a good 1.5inches i were pretty surprised how soft they were

its all pretty routine stuff tbo and nowt much diffrent than you would do on most bikes
Last edited by minkyhead on Tue Jan 29, 2019 1:30 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Honda CRF250 Rally – best mods / upgrades

Post by minkyhead »

rbailey wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 6:49 pm
herman wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:39 pm Get a relay activated accessory connection box installed under the seat. Then its easy to connect extras such as grips, sat nav, pump, etc. as and when you see fit. I fuse the accessories individually . I used to mount all manner of things on the dash area but now tend to have fly leads so I can for example charge a phone with it in the tank bag etc.
Ohh, me likes that idea.... I will have a scour of the web to try and find something suitable! If you have any suggestions, I would to hear (wiring aint my thing! :?

Cheers,

Roy
theres a auxilery take off point with a plug ready in the left tank cowl ....bob one leg sent me the plug ..so he will konow the details of it but you can hook into that for grips and sat nav .. me 12v ciggy /usb is direct to the battery ...so im covered for what i need ...note some 12v/usbs will draw ..avoid any with a illuminated switch or volt meter unless you wire through a relay ..i managed to get some that didnt ...would be better through a relay

https://honda250rally.com/2017/03/21/ho ... er-source/
whats the wether forcast ..wheres me map
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Re: Honda CRF250 Rally – best mods / upgrades

Post by rbailey »

minkyhead wrote: Tue Jan 29, 2019 1:05 am i dont think you need to go mental with it

i would /did ride it for around a1000 miles before doin owt much
the YSS rear shock from firefox RACING is outstanding value at sub 300 quid .. no point in trying to make the o/e work ..its worth every penny

seat ...airhawk but the big cruiser cushions are the way to go ..them enduro pads are way to small

screen extender cos im tall .... removable for off road ..maby the single best thing for long distance comfort for me

i like me gpr zoerst with crf250 panels ....make the bike 9 inches narrower at the rear

me pannier racks ..home made 10 quid ... and 2nd hand wolfmans for a ton .
thats me top 5

brake snake is a good call easy and cheap

bigger footpegs are a must for me ..?

renthal bars are a wise investment the o/es will bend and bend bad if your unlucky me 250l fell off the side stand at a gate and bent the bars a good 1.5inches i were pretty surprised how soft they were

its all pretty routine stuff tbo and nowt much diffrent than you would do on most bikes
Great reply minkyhead... much appreciated. I have dropped firefox a mail, as I cant seem to find the rally shock on their site. I "think" i have found it elsewhere though... is this the one? https://www.brooksuspension.co.uk/motor ... sorber-12/

BTW - some ace posts on loads of threads... respect fella. 8-)

Roy
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Re: Honda CRF250 Rally – best mods / upgrades

Post by scoobydidler »

rbailey wrote:
minkyhead wrote: Tue Jan 29, 2019 1:05 am i dont think you need to go mental with it

i would /did ride it for around a1000 miles before doin owt much
the YSS rear shock from firefox RACING is outstanding value at sub 300 quid .. no point in trying to make the o/e work ..its worth every penny

seat ...airhawk but the big cruiser cushions are the way to go ..them enduro pads are way to small

screen extender cos im tall .... removable for off road ..maby the single best thing for long distance comfort for me

i like me gpr zoerst with crf250 panels ....make the bike 9 inches narrower at the rear

me pannier racks ..home made 10 quid ... and 2nd hand wolfmans for a ton .
thats me top 5

brake snake is a good call easy and cheap

bigger footpegs are a must for me ..?

renthal bars are a wise investment the o/es will bend and bend bad if your unlucky me 250l fell off the side stand at a gate and bent the bars a good 1.5inches i were pretty surprised how soft they were

its all pretty routine stuff tbo and nowt much diffrent than you would do on most bikes
Great reply minkyhead... much appreciated. I have dropped firefox a mail, as I cant seem to find the rally shock on their site. I "think" i have found it elsewhere though... is this the one? https://www.brooksuspension.co.uk/motor ... sorber-12/

BTW - some ace posts on loads of threads... respect fella. 8-)

Roy
The yss is also available through ebay/firefox.
Generic bendy levers are inexpensive and worth having, you need a pair for spares anyway right? Same thing with gear lever and rear brake lever. May seem like overkill to carry spares of these but i do. They're not huge and a weekend can be salvaged easily if you have them.
I use these.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3583926308

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Re: Honda CRF250 Rally – best mods / upgrades

Post by OB1 »

minkyhead wrote: Tue Jan 29, 2019 1:18 am theres a auxilery take off point with a plug ready in the left tank cowl ....bob one leg sent me the plug ..so he will konow the details of it but you can hook into that for grips and sat nav .. me 12v ciggy /usb is direct to the battery ...so im covered for what i need ...note some 12v/usbs will draw ..avoid any with a illuminated switch or volt meter unless you wire through a relay ..i managed to get some that didnt ...would be better through a relay

https://honda250rally.com/2017/03/21/ho ... er-source/

Can someone give @BobOneLeg a nudge (don't push him over!) so that we can find out where he found the plug for the auxiliary take-off?

Please and thank you! :D
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