crf250 Rally

[garyboy]

I had forgotten about this thread ..lol .. old age for you !!

I had recently decided to give my daughter's garden a rest,
IMG-20221118-WA0000 (3)qq by gary boy, on Flickr

and look to my own health and hobbies ... which basically means .. bikes !!
I have developed arthritis, due to my work for others (probably) and things are a lot harder now.
So now i seem to have time to do some things to my bikes that had been held off because of my stupid altruism lol.

The CRF was always too tall and too heavy for me, and i can't understand how everyone else seems to be tall and strong lol, but of course you loose a few inches as you age anyway, ..starting off as medium height and ending up, atm, to being a weak midget, .. overweight and unfit too. anyway , enough of the good news,.

After a week in bed, exhausted and aching, my thoughts turned to getting the crf back in action again. I had been deliberating whether it was a wise thing to further lower the bike, because its not really recommended, and i had already lowered the seat by means of shortening the rear shock 20mm, (by drilling new holes.). I thought any further lowering is bound to cause some banging and rubbing somewhere in the suspension system.

But NO ... by fitting a half inch longer dog bone link, (setting 7 of 7). it caused no problems at all, and improved the handling, both off road and on road, significantly.
Also I was now able to stand up ... something i had never been able to do, due to instability, ever since i started trail riding.

20230809_121843 by gary boy, on Flickr

the link is similar to the kooba link, adjustable with 7 settings, and made of aluminium, a metal i have never trusted in stress situations. But this a cheapy Chinese version that cost around £40 (not £180) .. and has not a grease nipple. although the needle rollers are present, and you have to use the old inner metal sleeve .

[garyboy]

So .. how to start?

this time, I decided to be sensible and actually support the bike
last time, me and the bike tipped over onto the other side of a low concrete wall
I used a post of 2"x2" timber i had handy, to prop up the frame of my bike tent, and tied the handlebars to it.

I had already lowered the frnt forks 40mm and the rear 20mm, but even standing next to the bike it felt very unstable and very top heavy. Of course the now too-long side stand did not help at all. I felt very nervous holding the bike, even in the bike shed .... and that is just how i felt when out riding it.

At least the bike is very easy to get onto a bike stand .. no winding required, jut push the bike over onto the side stand and sneak the bike lift under wiv ya foot. Then bungy the bike stand to stop it byoinging out lol.

20230809_145503 (2) by gary boy, on Flickr

Now, feeling extremely safe I inspected the underside. All seemed fine ... clean and easily accessible, and ready to work on

20230809_145345 (2) by gary boy, on Flickr

you can see the already lowered shock bracket ... surely this is going to obstruct the linkages??? (spoiler ...but NO, it didn't ... never seen this before, on others' assembly instructions, anywhere.)

The next bit.... I was really shocked with (no pun intended) ... the new linkage slipped in really really easy. I was stunned (no.. the bike did not fall on me) as i was expecting this to be the hardest bit, but only took about 10 minutes??........( it turned out to be the easiest part of the whole operation. !! )

20230809_165143 (2) by gary boy, on Flickr

.. of course, the bolts were already worked on, so not super-tight as per usual Honda.

[garyboy]

Once fitted, I excitedly removed the stand and set up the bike, balancing with the now much too-long side stand and a piece of piping the other side, .... and WOW ..

.. there was no binding or bumping.. the seat flexed as before .. but a lot lot lower.

I got out my old side stand .. might be the one i had of Scutty, on here? or the one it replaced??... and although not finished, (needs foot welding) it gave the almost exact height required. (O joy, now, at petrol filling stations) ..
..but the return springs were too long now... so did a temporary bungy bodge to hold the stand in place.

20230809_174045 (2) by gary boy, on Flickr

DSCN5492 (2) by gary boy, on Flickr


What was it like riding ..... fantastic

20230809_193901 (2) by gary boy, on Flickr


.. can dab now (much needed lol) .. lower-down weight, more stable, both for riding and parked, .. much better handling, both on and off road (not so top heavy perhaps??) .. more confidence to approach obstacles, (as will not fear to fall over, due to not being able to reach the ground to steady myself), ... ... and ... a first ever for me .. I can now actually Stand Up on the bike.. as the positioning to the handlebars is much more solid. .. as I can actually use the bars to hold down on and steady my top half.

Happy.


o ... and there actually seems to be enough clearance underneath, still ??
Still the original shock, of course .. still bouncy but not so much .. as long as you know you can suddenly be catapulted upwards after a small whoop .. so I may eventually fit a better rear shock ,, though its fine for now. In fact .... very pleased with it all.

[Scott_rider]

...^...^...Nice one .

[garyboy]

what the cheap tank bag looks like, on.

20230823_151301 (2) by gary boy, on Flickr

very chuffed with it,, just right size .. botched fitting .. but hey?

20230823_163104 by gary boy, on Flickr






s-l1600 (7) by gary boy, on Flickr

[minkyhead]

best watch them family eirlooms gary couyld get painful i reacon ..handlbar bag is more jewel freindly i reacon

[garyboy]

not an ideal position, I agree .. it even stops me standing up, a skill only recently gained , doh ..... but the bag is just SO useful ,,
I can get a small flask, snacks, spare tube and a few other things in it.
Together with my new tool tube, I can now go straight out to the bike to start off .... no back pack, or bag of tools and food.... So much quicker and easier.
I may adjust the bag a little but can't see how atm, as the position is fairly quite ok.



mind ... I could be talking a load of bowlackss




on the way to claerwen yesterday...
20230824_165353 by gary boy, on Flickr


No backpack , no tool bag (tool tube fixed to bike.)
20230809_174045 (2) by gary boy, on Flickr


I am used to sitting down mostly lol ..... nice pic at Claerwen..
20230824_180649 (2) by gary boy, on Flickr

.. contents of tank bag (confidential .. do not share ..

2 small packs of biscuits, I front tube, ! 10/8 mm spanner and small pliers, small but sufficient tea flask, 2 small oranges, 2 jam sandwiches (squashed.. not used lol), 1 small cut of cake (yum), 1 ubs phone connector and plug in bit for cigar lighter thing, .. really interesting stuff this lol

[garyboy]

I was surprised how well the 250 rode on tarmac ,,, (not really rode the bike much at all so far).. quite smooth and effortless at 60mph, and returning around 80mpg (still checking critical data lol) ,, very comfortable too ... though my chosen bar position is achy, but gettin used to it (to help stand up, I have tilted the bars forward on the bar risers, )


20230824_205359 by gary boy, on Flickr


I was genuinely shocked and pleased that the ride back on the cold(ish) night was both comfortable and warm.
the r and g heated grips worked a treat and i was surprised that they are self OFF when engine off?? (not advertised as such as they are now, atm, connected direct to the battery?)

also there was noticeable warmth from the engine (feet warmmm ohhhh ) and the exhaust even.
with some noticeable wind protection from the lower fairings.

.. can honestly say this is the best cold (but warm) ride i have ever had on any bike.
Honda got that wind screen done good... hardly felt any wind all day. .. and the fairings actually work, so that even the little size 12 tootsies were warm .. couldn't believe it.

I was sceptical about getting the rally, as i didn't really think the fairings and screen would work ... a bit like the pretend tanks at the lower front, ....but they actually DO.
heated grips and hand guards were very effective too.

as a general purpose bike, the Rally is worth having some extra weight at the top, making it even more top heavy,.. but the cold and wind protection make it worth it, for general dual use on easier trails, and A roads.

ps .. jewels still intact atm

[boboneleg]

It is with heavy heart that today I bought a bike to replace my Rally. It has taken me to France (twice) , done TET, commute and loads of trail riding but after a recent experience in a totally overgrown lane I realised that it is too heavy for me to pick up on my own .

So after nearly six years of riding somone else will get the benefit of riding a bike that never let me down. At 65 years old (next month) and minus an important part of my anatomy it is time for something lighter for the nadgery trails

Yes, the Rally is slow and overweight but the sum of it's parts are soooooooooooo much more .............

IMG_5760.jpeg (156.86 KiB) Viewed 1384 times

[Godspeed]

It is with heavy heart that today I bought a bike to replace my Rally. It has taken me to France (twice) , done TET, commute and loads of trail riding but after a recent experience in a totally overgrown lane I realised that it is too heavy for me to pick up on my own .

So after nearly six years of riding somone else will get the benefit of riding a bike that never let me down. At 65 years old (next month) and minus an important part of my anatomy it is time for something lighter for the nadgery trails

Yes, the Rally is slow and overweight but the sum of it's parts are soooooooooooo much more .............

IMG_5760.jpeg

What are you getting???