Beserker
Grey Hound
I was privileged to attend the Honda test ride weekend held at Kaleo near Ceres this weekend.
First, big shout out to Johann Botha and his crew from Tygerberg Honda for the bikes, Hardy de Kock of Specialised Adventures for organising it, and Charl du Plessies for taking out the one outride after the other – your enthusiasm knows no bounds.
I went there to see what the hype was about, and of course the opportunity to ride the Africa Twin.
I got to ride the 250 Rally, and then the AT manual and (man o’ man) the DCT.
My feedback on the bikes (and please take it from whom it comes) is based on “seat of pants” feeling rather than numbers; I specifically chose not to harper on things like “to soft suspension”, “wrong handlebars” etc. etc. as nigly things on a test bike is easily remedied (and should be) by a new owner when setting a bike up for his personal preferences.
Part 1 - Honda CRF 250 Rally:
The bad:
The name is wrong, it lends itself to a Dakar conquering desert sled, and the 250 Rally is not that even though it has seen competition in the Hellas rally in the less than 450 class, where it did very well.
It thus attracts criticism along the lines of being under powered – I think “Adventure” would be spot on and a good alternative.
Personally, the ABS is a pain in the arse, but that is about it. Other than having to set it to “off” every time you turn the bike on, I had no issue with the fact that you could only turn the rear brake of.
The good:
It is a good looking bike, and at 6’4” I was comfortable on it.
The build quality is typical Honda – high!
Before my write up I took the trouble of reading up on it, and by all accounts it is super reliable bike.
Having two friends that is doing a trans Africa trip on 250L’s, and currently just south of Ethiopia without a single mechanical hitch, also vouches for the reliability.
An expensive - if possible - exercise would be to extend the fuel range. Even though the fuel capacity is up with about 2.5 litres compared to the 250L, it is still only just over 10 litres, and should give you about 300 km in sandy conditions. I reckon a 14 litre tank will not affect the slim layout of the bike adversely.
Even though the bike is rated as “underpowered”, the way the engine makes its power, with quite a bit of bottom end torque and fair amount of over rev, mated to a six speed gearbox, makes for a very good off tar road, long dirt road and tricky technical section bike, especially for riders that does not have a lot of experience, or is not up to picking up a fallen over 180 kg + behemoth.
The ride experience is that of a smooth, vibration free engine, and the bike is very stable at speed over corrugations and the odd sandy patches, and should induce confidence.
In conclusion:
Having done the Kunene, Epupa, Van Zyls, Puros, Brandberg route (essentially the route that the Honda Quest followed) with one of the riders in the group on a DR200, laden with tent, full size camping chair, fishing rod (for fuck sakes), fuel etc. and keeping up, I can see no reason why the 250 Rally should not be considered a proper adventure bike.
If you are not “racing” your trip, and instead taking your time to de-stress, soak in the ambiance of the area, experience the landscape - it ticks most boxes.
Personally, keeping in mind that I want to “get away from it all” on a trip, “all” being my high tech job, my Active Virgin membership, the modern, fast paced living forced upon us - I will definitely consider a 250 Rally even for trips to Northern Namibia – I reckon it is that capable.
I snickered at a thread somewhere on the forum, espousing small capacity bike touring, but the 250 Rally brought me to a different insight. Getting of my ego driven max horsepower high horse, having experienced the 250 Rally, I can easily identify with the allure of a small bike trip.
Not only is the Rally a capable and versatile small capacity bike, it will make for a super relaxed trip – maybe just what the doctor ordered.
Coming up...the CRF1000 AT.
First, big shout out to Johann Botha and his crew from Tygerberg Honda for the bikes, Hardy de Kock of Specialised Adventures for organising it, and Charl du Plessies for taking out the one outride after the other – your enthusiasm knows no bounds.
I went there to see what the hype was about, and of course the opportunity to ride the Africa Twin.
I got to ride the 250 Rally, and then the AT manual and (man o’ man) the DCT.
My feedback on the bikes (and please take it from whom it comes) is based on “seat of pants” feeling rather than numbers; I specifically chose not to harper on things like “to soft suspension”, “wrong handlebars” etc. etc. as nigly things on a test bike is easily remedied (and should be) by a new owner when setting a bike up for his personal preferences.
Part 1 - Honda CRF 250 Rally:
The bad:
The name is wrong, it lends itself to a Dakar conquering desert sled, and the 250 Rally is not that even though it has seen competition in the Hellas rally in the less than 450 class, where it did very well.
It thus attracts criticism along the lines of being under powered – I think “Adventure” would be spot on and a good alternative.
Personally, the ABS is a pain in the arse, but that is about it. Other than having to set it to “off” every time you turn the bike on, I had no issue with the fact that you could only turn the rear brake of.
The good:
It is a good looking bike, and at 6’4” I was comfortable on it.
The build quality is typical Honda – high!
Before my write up I took the trouble of reading up on it, and by all accounts it is super reliable bike.
Having two friends that is doing a trans Africa trip on 250L’s, and currently just south of Ethiopia without a single mechanical hitch, also vouches for the reliability.
An expensive - if possible - exercise would be to extend the fuel range. Even though the fuel capacity is up with about 2.5 litres compared to the 250L, it is still only just over 10 litres, and should give you about 300 km in sandy conditions. I reckon a 14 litre tank will not affect the slim layout of the bike adversely.
Even though the bike is rated as “underpowered”, the way the engine makes its power, with quite a bit of bottom end torque and fair amount of over rev, mated to a six speed gearbox, makes for a very good off tar road, long dirt road and tricky technical section bike, especially for riders that does not have a lot of experience, or is not up to picking up a fallen over 180 kg + behemoth.
The ride experience is that of a smooth, vibration free engine, and the bike is very stable at speed over corrugations and the odd sandy patches, and should induce confidence.
In conclusion:
Having done the Kunene, Epupa, Van Zyls, Puros, Brandberg route (essentially the route that the Honda Quest followed) with one of the riders in the group on a DR200, laden with tent, full size camping chair, fishing rod (for fuck sakes), fuel etc. and keeping up, I can see no reason why the 250 Rally should not be considered a proper adventure bike.
If you are not “racing” your trip, and instead taking your time to de-stress, soak in the ambiance of the area, experience the landscape - it ticks most boxes.
Personally, keeping in mind that I want to “get away from it all” on a trip, “all” being my high tech job, my Active Virgin membership, the modern, fast paced living forced upon us - I will definitely consider a 250 Rally even for trips to Northern Namibia – I reckon it is that capable.
I snickered at a thread somewhere on the forum, espousing small capacity bike touring, but the 250 Rally brought me to a different insight. Getting of my ego driven max horsepower high horse, having experienced the 250 Rally, I can easily identify with the allure of a small bike trip.
Not only is the Rally a capable and versatile small capacity bike, it will make for a super relaxed trip – maybe just what the doctor ordered.
Coming up...the CRF1000 AT.
