The Dirt Bike Guy: 2013 Honda CRF250L

The Dirt Bike Guy • March 8, 2013 • 0 Comments

2013 Honda CRF250L: A Fun Dual-Sport Ride

Dual-sport bikes are great for riders who don’t want to deal with the hassle of strapping their dirt bikes to a trailer and driving a car out to the track every time they feel like getting their wheels dirty. The dual sport family is certainly a smaller subset of dirt bikes, but there are still a few contenders that are worth your while, including the 2013 Honda CRF250L. This bike put Honda back into the entry-level dual sport dirt bike game, as it only has one other dual sport option, which has a much heftier engine.

Technical Specs

The CRF has practically the same engine that can be found in the CBR250R street bike, with a few tweaks to make it off-road-ready. The transmission gears are larger, the throttle body is 2 millimeters smaller and the airbox is bigger. When it comes to shock absorption, Honda has you covered. The front suspension consists of a 43 mm inverted fork with 8.7 inches of travel, and there is a Pro-Link single shock in the rear that provides 9.4 inches of travel. Plus, Honda threw in a judder spring in the clutch that helps you deal with all those unexpected little jolts and shudders you’ll feel riding over rocky, unpaved paths.

Comfort And Other Features

Honda designed the CRF250L to be comfortable whether you’re riding on the street or kicking up dirt in the woods. The seat is positioned in just the right way so you’re not too far back or too upright when you straddle the bike. This way, you can easily see the road ahead and also feel at ease riding the trails for hours. When it comes time to fuel up, the bike’s superior fuel economy (73 miles per gallon on the road) will help you save money at the pump, which is something that will be sure to please every rider.

Final Thoughts

The bike is not a power performer, so don’t plan on winning any races astride this ride. But it has plenty of juice to haul you around the off-road track, making it a good choice for casual and beginner riders. You can always add aftermarket dirt bike gear to fine tune the bike to your needs. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the bike is moderately priced, and you won’t have to buy a trailer to get it to and from the track, which will let you get more riding time in and save you the hassle of the extra steps.