If there was ever a bike that seems to refuse to break character it is the Honda CRF250R. Most everyone who has ever rode it will agree that the bike handles excellent and has great suspension. It feels light, has great fit and finish plus it looks great. But then they say words that stab at the heart of Honda, they say the bike is slow. Well Honda have made some changes for 2016 to fix that and we met the Red Riders out at Cahuilla Creek MX track for a set-up day for this first riding impression and still have the bike to get a full test done in due time.
Whip it, flick it, fly it, the CRF250R has flight manners other bikes dream about. In fact most of the handling traits of the CRF rank very high. It turns excellent and has enough stability so you don’t pay for that turning on the straights. The light weight feel is accompanied with a planted nature. Follow test rider Conner Giardia on Instagram by clicking on this photo.Even with an almost entirely new cylinder head, valve train, cam timing more compression and a lot of the ECU changes to go along with it the CRF still does not come off as a rocket ship. At least in stock-stock form. For 2016 the engine makes more angry race related noise both inside the engine and out of the exhaust, now with a header-mounted chamber, but in comparison to other makes the overall character is very smooth and controlled. Not to say that year over year the CRF250R hasn’t been making strides forward, it has, but so has everyone else. The handlebar mounted map switch can be switched to the aggressive mode and this will spice things up a bit. Additionally with the tuning tool there is even further potential.We had our bike working for 120 lb. Conner Giardina and also for 180 lb. Jimmy Lewis with just a whole lot of spring preload changes. Both riders felt the need to soften the compression on both the fork and the shock to suit the fast yet choppy Cahuilla circuit this day proving that the suspension is very tunable and compliant while at the same time remaining stiff enough to offer precise handling. The upgrades in valving seem to be paying off and remembering the air spring is just that, a very adjustable spring rate, is key in dialing the ride. Both riders preferred less outer chamber pressure than recommended on the fork but faster riders may like the stock outer pressure of 12 PSI. More track will tell us more about the suspension.We’ll be riding this bike at a lot more venues to see how it really stacks up. Though being called slow as a first impression there is always the lap time and the way the bike handles getting around the track to consider. And have you ever heard the saying “slow down to go fast?” We’re looking into the way this bike works to see if there is any truth in that saying. If there are any questions or curiosities you may have about the Honda, hit us up in the comments and we’ll do our best to answer them in the full test here soon.
3 Responses to “2016 Honda CRF250R First Riding Impression”
We got 103mm with a 140 lb. rider. There may be some differences in how we are checking the number, I suspect. At that point we had almost no static spring preload.
3 Responses to “2016 Honda CRF250R First Riding Impression”
Jimmy Lewis
It depends on what you consider the average rider weight. Honda feels it is on the 150-170 lb. range.
Dimitris
without gear 165lbs,you can’t take the recommended 105mm sag
Jimmy Lewis
We got 103mm with a 140 lb. rider. There may be some differences in how we are checking the number, I suspect. At that point we had almost no static spring preload.