CRF250 Rally/DS

[sidetrack]

blauth, have you considered the YSS replacement shock or just a Racetech replacement spring?

I've heard good reports about YSS. The Netherlands branch quoted me 350 Euro I think but then I chatted to a well known mechanic chap on this forum who's opinion I respect a lot and he indicated that the quality on the YSS is not great.

A stiffer spring would help but to a degree it would exacerbate the shock problem because the shock is both under sprung and under damped. A heavier spring alone would most likely make it even worse. Damping needs to be fixed as well.

I see that shock has no remote reservoir, what difference does this make ?

[sidetrack]

I see shock length is 420mm. Too bad there is no list with shock lengths available to cross reference. Pretty sure most would be an improvement. Kobus do you have a Rally and what is your take on it ?

[blauth]

blauth, have you considered the YSS replacement shock or just a Racetech replacement spring?

I've heard good reports about YSS. The Netherlands branch quoted me 350 Euro I think but then I chatted to a well known mechanic chap on this forum who's opinion I respect a lot and he indicated that the quality on the YSS is not great.

A stiffer spring would help but to a degree it would exacerbate the shock problem because the shock is both under sprung and under damped. A heavier spring alone would most likely make it even worse. Damping needs to be fixed as well.

I see that shock has no remote reservoir, what difference does this make ?

Jacque, I'm not all that clued up on the functioning of the high spec shocks versus rudimentary shocks. Our on the mighty Rally is of the rudimentary kind, the kind that could work well if Honda bothered to spec if for anyone other than a man-bun 65kg rider....and even with this featherweight, it would probably not perform well because it's under-sprung, even for the bikes weight. This is an emulsion shock where there is no separation between the damping chamber where the oil lives and the gas chamber. The alternate design deCarbon (there are other designs) typically have a separation of sorts between the chambers however the different designs i.e. the built in air reservoir, piggy back and remote  all work on the same principle.

Reference: http://www.racetech.com/page/title/G3S%20Shock%20Types

I chatted to Randburg motorcycles over the weekend. He also indicated that he could modify the shock but his first advice to go to Honda and complain. Well.....I'm thinking my life is probably too short for that shit so I'm still looking for an alternative solution which will actually get me somewhere.

[Kobus Myburgh]

I see shock length is 420mm. Too bad there is no list with shock lengths available to cross reference. Pretty sure most would be an improvement. Kobus do you have a Rally and what is your take on it ?

Just now I also get labelled a Honda fanboy!     But here goes, and obviously my opinion, based on owning the Rally and the L:

The Rally is a 250 bling'ed out L with longer suspension travel, a rally look and more fuel, nothing more, nothing less.  To expect it to handle like a 250R/X is just naïve, it simply wasn't launched as a replacement in that market segment.   I am tall and weigh in just under 100kg.  I have ridden it on rocky mountain terrain at the WC Bash with a couple of guys, over Rooiberg pass, Cloetes pass etc. on a 400km day trip and and .......... 

Yes, the suspension is way softer than my other bikes, but correct me if I'm wrong, this bike was marketed in standard settings and trim for 68kg rider weight.  No matter what you do, you will not set up a shock for the 47% rider weight increase.  My intended modifications ...................... absolutely squat.  I know what I bought and it works perfectly for what I want to do, which is do more technical riding than I would with the 990 or AT, stop, take pictures and smell the roses.

[sidetrack]

68kg ! Maybe it is made for Asians and lady riders  Well we need a plan for the rear. The front is ok for me.

[blauth]

I can live with the front, not the rear. It's an abomination and I'd go so far as to say that it's worse than the X-Challenge shock.  My cheap ass Tornado shock works 100% better than the standard Rally shock. In my mind, Honda screwed the pooch here.   

Having said this, I saw on advRider, some bloke bought two of them new for himself and his wife. He says it's like riding two different bikes. One goes much better than the other and the one has saggy marshmellow suspension and the other not as bad. Then further down the thread, I saw someone else mention that he'd spoken to a Honda guy who said his biggest nightmare were customers who bought more than one of these bikes. Perhaps Honda skipped the quality control queue on this model.

[Kobus Myburgh]

@blauth , I see this shock is really pissing you off.    Why not just fit the ÖHLINS STX XHD (Extra Heavy Duty) or STX 46 Adventure shock and be done with it?

[sidetrack]

I can live with the front, not the rear. It's an abomination and I'd go so far as to say that it's worse than the X-Challenge shock.  My cheap ass Tornado shock works 100% better than the standard Rally shock. In my mind, Honda screwed the pooch here.   

Having said this, I saw on advRider, some bloke bought two of them new for himself and his wife. He says it's like riding two different bikes. One goes much better than the other and the one has saggy marshmellow suspension and the other not as bad. Then further down the thread, I saw someone else mention that he'd spoken to a Honda guy who said his biggest nightmare were customers who bought more than one of these bikes. Perhaps Honda skipped the quality control queue on this model.

Have not heard about any mechanical issues on these bikes, just puttering around on good dirt I think increasing the spring tension at the back will be ok for most but not for varied DS terrain. My only other gripe is the stock chain is rusted quite badly and this for a bike that was up in GP with 1400km on the clock  Ok and maybe they went overboard with all the brittle type of  plastic (ABS ?)  but time will tell how it holds up. As Kobus says it is what it is, meant to look like a Rally bike for the mean streets of Bangkok 

[Tom van Brits]

I can live with the front, not the rear. It's an abomination and I'd go so far as to say that it's worse than the X-Challenge shock.  My cheap ass Tornado shock works 100% better than the standard Rally shock. In my mind, Honda screwed the pooch here.   

Having said this, I saw on advRider, some bloke bought two of them new for himself and his wife. He says it's like riding two different bikes. One goes much better than the other and the one has saggy marshmellow suspension and the other not as bad. Then further down the thread, I saw someone else mention that he'd spoken to a Honda guy who said his biggest nightmare were customers who bought more than one of these bikes. Perhaps Honda skipped the quality control queue on this model.

Blauth the more I read the more I think you got a kak shock right from the start. Remember when the WD's were invited to test this bike along with some press (Clinton Pienaar) on the Postal rourte? None of them complained about the bike and they have done some serious riding. I think you should give it a try through HONDA and who knows? First thing is to arrange another testride at Honda on a Rally for a side by side comparison. I really think your shock is just busted right from the start.

[blauth]

@blauth , I see this shock is really pissing you off.    Why not just fit the ÖHLINS STX XHD (Extra Heavy Duty) or STX 46 Adventure shock and be done with it?

I'm seriously thinking about that route but the 15k is standing in my way.   

[Kobus Myburgh]

@blauth , I see this shock is really pissing you off.    Why not just fit the ÖHLINS STX XHD (Extra Heavy Duty) or STX 46 Adventure shock and be done with it?

I'm seriously thinking about that route but the 15k is standing in my way.   

http://motostuff.shopgate.com/item/31303032




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[blauth]

I can live with the front, not the rear. It's an abomination and I'd go so far as to say that it's worse than the X-Challenge shock.  My cheap ass Tornado shock works 100% better than the standard Rally shock. In my mind, Honda screwed the pooch here.   

Having said this, I saw on advRider, some bloke bought two of them new for himself and his wife. He says it's like riding two different bikes. One goes much better than the other and the one has saggy marshmellow suspension and the other not as bad. Then further down the thread, I saw someone else mention that he'd spoken to a Honda guy who said his biggest nightmare were customers who bought more than one of these bikes. Perhaps Honda skipped the quality control queue on this model.

Blauth the more I read the more I think you got a kak shock right from the start. Remember when the WD's were invited to test this bike along with some press (Clinton Pienaar) on the Postal rourte? None of them complained about the bike and they have done some serious riding. I think you should give it a try through HONDA and who knows? First thing is to arrange another testride at Honda on a Rally for a side by side comparison. I really think your shock is just busted right from the start.

This did cross my mind but then again, I read on advRider and it's one of the first things that people are upgrading because it appears to be universally kak for westerner fat asses. I suspect it's poor to start with and then mine is probably a bit of a lemon on top of that. Anyway, I will do something about it.

- Have you okes seen the posts about the foot pegs bending the frame in a fall. Looks like those little tabs need to be ground off.

- I also see the Minky oke who has modified the hell out of his bike fitted a Tenere front spring to his right fork leg with good results. This sounds like a good affordable option.

- Also, what do you okes think about ditching the tool box for an auxiliary fuel tank, fitted under the left rear side cover. An extra five litres would extend the range to roughly 420+ km. That would be nice. A mate of mine is building stuff with fibreglass so I was thinking of this as a little project. Just need to use the correct resins.

- Another thing, it appears as if the Japanese spec CBR250R ECU advances the timing and has a huge affect on the performance of the bike. You probably just need to make sure you run it with quality fuel.

Overall, the rest of the bike is quite nice.

[blauth]

Thanks Kobus. I spoke to Hilton Hayward about this and he quoted me (estimate) of 15k for shock and front spring kit. Sounds about right but it's a lot of dough to fork out on a cheap bike.

[sidetrack]

I can live with the front, not the rear. It's an abomination and I'd go so far as to say that it's worse than the X-Challenge shock.  My cheap ass Tornado shock works 100% better than the standard Rally shock. In my mind, Honda screwed the pooch here.   

Having said this, I saw on advRider, some bloke bought two of them new for himself and his wife. He says it's like riding two different bikes. One goes much better than the other and the one has saggy marshmellow suspension and the other not as bad. Then further down the thread, I saw someone else mention that he'd spoken to a Honda guy who said his biggest nightmare were customers who bought more than one of these bikes. Perhaps Honda skipped the quality control queue on this model.

Blauth the more I read the more I think you got a kak shock right from the start. Remember when the WD's were invited to test this bike along with some press (Clinton Pienaar) on the Postal rourte? None of them complained about the bike and they have done some serious riding. I think you should give it a try through HONDA and who knows? First thing is to arrange another testride at Honda on a Rally for a side by side comparison. I really think your shock is just busted right from the start.

This did cross my mind but then again, I read on advRider and it's one of the first things that people are upgrading because it appears to be universally kak for westerner fat asses. I suspect it's poor to start with and then mine is probably a bit of a lemon on top of that. Anyway, I will do something about it.

- Have you okes seen the posts about the foot pegs bending the frame in a fall. Looks like those little tabs need to be ground off.

- I also see the Minky oke who has modified the hell out of his bike fitted a Tenere front spring to his right fork leg with good results. This sounds like a good affordable option.

- Also, what do you okes think about ditching the tool box for an auxiliary fuel tank, fitted under the left rear side cover. An extra five litres would extend the range to roughly 420+ km. That would be nice. A mate of mine is building stuff with fibreglass so I was thinking of this as a little project. Just need to use the correct resins.

- Another thing, it appears as if the Japanese spec CBR250R ECU advances the timing and has a huge affect on the performance of the bike. You probably just need to make sure you run it with quality fuel.

Overall, the rest of the bike is quite nice.

I have heard the CBR250 ECU makes the bike more thirsty so not sure if it's worth it for extra 1 or 2 hp or torque. I want to do a ride on Saturday (check planning a ride), we can swap bikes and compare shocks.

[blauth]

I can live with the front, not the rear. It's an abomination and I'd go so far as to say that it's worse than the X-Challenge shock.  My cheap ass Tornado shock works 100% better than the standard Rally shock. In my mind, Honda screwed the pooch here.   

Having said this, I saw on advRider, some bloke bought two of them new for himself and his wife. He says it's like riding two different bikes. One goes much better than the other and the one has saggy marshmellow suspension and the other not as bad. Then further down the thread, I saw someone else mention that he'd spoken to a Honda guy who said his biggest nightmare were customers who bought more than one of these bikes. Perhaps Honda skipped the quality control queue on this model.

Blauth the more I read the more I think you got a kak shock right from the start. Remember when the WD's were invited to test this bike along with some press (Clinton Pienaar) on the Postal rourte? None of them complained about the bike and they have done some serious riding. I think you should give it a try through HONDA and who knows? First thing is to arrange another testride at Honda on a Rally for a side by side comparison. I really think your shock is just busted right from the start.

This did cross my mind but then again, I read on advRider and it's one of the first things that people are upgrading because it appears to be universally kak for westerner fat asses. I suspect it's poor to start with and then mine is probably a bit of a lemon on top of that. Anyway, I will do something about it.

- Have you okes seen the posts about the foot pegs bending the frame in a fall. Looks like those little tabs need to be ground off.

- I also see the Minky oke who has modified the hell out of his bike fitted a Tenere front spring to his right fork leg with good results. This sounds like a good affordable option.

- Also, what do you okes think about ditching the tool box for an auxiliary fuel tank, fitted under the left rear side cover. An extra five litres would extend the range to roughly 420+ km. That would be nice. A mate of mine is building stuff with fibreglass so I was thinking of this as a little project. Just need to use the correct resins.

- Another thing, it appears as if the Japanese spec CBR250R ECU advances the timing and has a huge affect on the performance of the bike. You probably just need to make sure you run it with quality fuel.

Overall, the rest of the bike is quite nice.

I have heard the CBR250 ECU makes the bike more thirsty so not sure if it's worth it for extra 1 or 2 hp or torque. I want to do a ride on Saturday (check planning a ride), we can swap bikes and compare shocks.

Cool. I'll come on the ride.

[sidetrack]

Newish onroad review

[blauth]

@blauth , I see this shock is really pissing you off.    Why not just fit the ÖHLINS STX XHD (Extra Heavy Duty) or STX 46 Adventure shock and be done with it?

I'm seriously thinking about that route but the 15k is standing in my way.   

http://motostuff.shopgate.com/item/31303032




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Kobus, keep us in the loop on that suspension. I'm waiting in anticipation. Unfortunately, I'm constrained until the end of July, then I can start looking at upgrades on my Rally.

[sidetrack]

Look I know people keep bringing up the it's "only a 250" but the more I look at other models coming out the more the Rally appeals as a true dual sport. The 390 ADV looks more and more like a road bike and same goes for the GS310 Versys300 and Vstrom 250. The Rally you have proper 21/18, proper ground clearance, decent travel and rally bike styling. Any even with 18/21 I found it rides tar amazingly well and makes a perfect commuter. Equally at home on and offroad.

[teebag]

Agree,  love mine.

[Zanie]

I love my little Rally as well. It's an awesome commuter, but has also allowed me to finally start tackling the places that scared me on my 650GS. I've put my name down for Hardy's Kaokoland tour next year (includes Van Zyls and lots of sand).

The bike is light and nippy. I broke my wrist just under 6 weeks ago (riding my 230 in a funduro) and was able to start riding again (wearing my splint) within 4 weeks and 4 days (I actually did a 20-odd km trip on the 3-week mark, but that was stupid). The clutch is light, needing only 2 fingers to operate, and the super-soft suspension, which people love to hate, cushions my wrist from bumps. If I only had my car or 650GS, I'd still have to rely on others to get around.