Crf 300 Rally - The Adventure Begins

[adventure steele]

Hi everyone just to update the Himalayan is going back under rejection for a refund. So the natural thought was the Honda CRF 300 Rally from a reliability point of view, which I was lucky enough to source one today which dependant when the Himalayan gets collected I should have towards the end of next week or the week after.

So kudos to the dealer that understood my point of view and did the right thing an will get my custom when we look at T7's later in the year.

The plan is to run the CRF 300 Rally till winter and if it ticks all the boxes brilliant then towards the end of the year I'm gonna look at buying one T7 in along side it so dad and I can compare which to keep and what to let go so yep thats the plan.

We've also decided with the modern bikes we are gonna stick with the Japanese stuff as our two experiences of the Indian built bikes have been plauged with reliability issues it's a shame as the Himmy was brilliant to ride and let's hope they sort the issues for the 450. It's a shame because it was brilliant to ride if it hadn't been for build quality and reliability.

Adv bike wise now since 2015 this is the history

R1200gsa te, vstrom 1000xt, f800gs, vstrom 650xt favourite so far!, 390 adv x2 rejected 147 and 269 miles mine an dads. R1200gs te Rallye sold due to weight with my shoulder. Himmy going back under rejection at 500 miles.

For anyone interested here's the over all history and experience since 2008 bike wise which is pretty eclectic




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[v8mark]

Lovely bike. I always liked these for exact same reason. Enjoy. I dare not test ride

[adventure steele]

Himalayan refunded

[johnnyboxer]

Thanks Mark yep really happy with it. Think I might clear coat the side pannels matt to look after the Himalayan decals the Klim Badlands pant's can be a bit agressive.

Why get rid of a great bike like the GS?

Makes no sense

[adventure steele]

Himalayan refunded

[Tonibe63]

I get it ........
my GS is great at covering lots of miles at motorway+ speeds and you can carry everything plus the kitchen sink.
My Himalayan makes you ride the bends at full throttle and if you touch the brakes it will take half a mile to recover the speed, way more engaging. It also encourages you to take the smaller roads and see the scenery which is great if you're not in a rush ........ I await the verdict after Cornwall to Scotland though.
DR650/CCM644 is the natural compromise in all areas.

[Onenoodles]

This thread is a really interesting one ... as someone who has been through way too many bikes and lost tons of money doing it as well
A big enough budget and a big enough garage and there is no problem as all needs would be catered for I guess?
Having had large capacity bikes since I was 17 yrs old and 63 now, I have looked at smaller cc stuff over the last few years and in the last 2 years had a couple of XT660z's and so started to get used to having less top end power but more grunt ... and I was starting to enjoy a bit of off-road stuff as well.

Took the XT over the Italian Alps in Sept and it was amazing ... except for the long blat down there and the long blat return, due to time constraints then I needed to get motorway miles done and it was fairly uncomfy, a bit 'agricultural' but then its not in its intended habitat.

So when I got back I was thinking about it all again, what do I want to do? I like touring - I like to nip off the beaten track a bit, but not too gnarly - I will always need to crack off motorways miles as time is always limited for me ... but I am not really looking to go back to +1000cc bikes?

I bought a Benelli TRK502X ... mostly for bang for buck ... a 21 plate, only 4000 miles, comfy as they come, good mpg, rides and feels like a big bike on motorway trips, well kitted out and will sit on 80 - 85mph all day if allowed ... I also looked and very nearly bought a Himalyan but the power for long haul - short time trips just put me off ... am I happy then? ... well not 100% as I still fancy the Himmy's tractorbility off road and its 'go get filthy' appeal ... who knows? but I do know that slower riding and smaller cc bikes are appealing and I am not sure you need much more in the UK especially!

[johnnyboxer]

Hi mate I was thinking someone might ask that.

It will when my video is up about an hours worth of explination, in short it was boring me had a 1200gsa that I did a lot of miles on and this time round I didn't feel the same spark in 8 weeks I only covered about 300 miles an was out on the Nortons instead inc on xmas day + the weight wasn't manageable for an Injury I have where as the Himalayan at 200kgish is more than fine ballpark weight to my Norton 650ss which I've been ok with when it comes to moving the bike around. Taking the injury aside for a moment.

I've had a lot of very fast bikes rzv500r's, ex iomtt race bikes. fireblades etc and in the 29 motorcycles I've owned I've learnt I prefer longer stroke singles like the 1927 Norton which at 4.9hp and 252lbs is the most fun I've had even compared to the Superbikes or 50hp ish 600-750 twins for just road riding area sweet spot, feel like you are riding it more, in some ways it's like comparing a 250 two stroke to a bigger 4 stroke inline 4 from the period, obviously everyone is different and some you will cut in half and itl say GS an what suits one doesn't suit another.

What is a great bike it's an interesting question isn't it, personally I've concluded I like something that makes me work, makes me keep my corner speed up to make momentum is the riding style I've always enjoyed. it's a different riding style to the GS I also think when you look at what alot off big trips are done on there's quite alot of small bikes in the fray.

Then you have the simplicity factor of the electronics etc no shaft, a cable clutch which I prefer it's just back to basics goodness.

I'll say this I had the biggest grin on my face yesterday I've had for a long time with a modern bike it's the intangible feeling that we sometimes get when you find something that suits you. The Ktm's were a clue that it was a good idea to go for a smaller cc bike if they both hadn't been rejected with electrical gremilins. If ktm had kept it simple rather than chasing tech all would have been good,

I guess in short if the GS was the only perfect bike every other company would have gone under I've give them a good try though a r1200gsa, f800gs an a r1200gs rallye te with the kitchen sink on it.

I'd say for me at the point in my riding after experiencing what I have that I'm at less is very much more. For someone else it'l be different though an that is what makes it fun.

The other bike I considered was the Honda 300 L and Rally which I think are great looking at John at Rally Raid's trip but the HImalayan's charm this time won me over compared to outright weight.

It's also worth watching Nathan's videos on Iceland that he did through lockdown very insightful and rtw paul's when he was over there explains alot.

On top off all that it's the perfect bike for me to start exploring some off the lanes in Devon when the move happens in a few months.

It will be very interesting to see what dad ends up with it's a shame we don't have any modern version of the DR 650 Suzuki, it surprised me just how smooth the Himalayan engine is didn't expect that obviously will report on higher speeds once it's ran in.

I do think though for me personally less is more but everyone is different and that makes it interesting.

A Tenere 700 May have been another good alternative
I like the concept of the Himalayan-but boy is heavy at some 190kg

[Onenoodles]

The T700 is 205kg ...

Weight is a funny topic ... my Benelli is a lardy 213kg but its not always as straight forward as to published weights ... the Benelli is certainly weighty but that weight is with a centre stand as standard, and a rear rack fitted as standard and most riders end up fitting these items to their bikes as an after market buy and that adds weight to their bike anyway.

My XT660z was heavy, but not too heavy that I couldn't pick it up on my own 2 or 3 times on a trail ... and that was 206kg from the factory and then I fitted rack, stand, pannier rails etc ... I bet it was as heavy as this Benelli in the end ... but it was ok.

When I sat on a Himmy it felt lighter than my XT660z and this Benelli ... weight would not be a massive issue on my mind with a Himmy to be honest, just the lack of puff on the motorway puts me off.

Now when I see the average big Beemer on the ferry and its got all the farkles on ... I could never see me picking that up! ... doesn't stop me fancying one though, look lovely, bet they are awesome on long trips but then its 4 or 5 times the cost of my Benelli so out of my league.

Ideally ... a 160kg T700 thumper and a nice plush seat and I would be in heaven!

[Magnon]

Within reason weight for a bike used purely on the road is less important than the balance of the bike. It’s a different matter for a trail bike as you may well need to pick it up on difficult terrain.

My most versatile bike is a 1989 BMW R100GS which I’ve owned from nearly new (ex demo, I think). This bike took us on a year long trip to South Africa and lots of European tours. I’ve also used it extensively off road including a trans France rally. It’s happy enough on the motorway and country roads, very comfortable two up and I’ve always managed to pick it up after spills off road. I looked at the Himalayan as an alternative but really it doesn’t offer any benefits over the old GS and it’s too cramped for two up use.

But still think they are a bike I’d like to own in the future.