Honda CRF 250L: a suitable bike for Africa touring?
 

I was going to ship my BMW R100GS to South Africa and then head north from there. I found the shipping and crating costs from Canada very high and and shipping to South Africa also necessitates the danged carnet. So now I am looking at buying (and later selling) a suitable bike in South Africa to use for 3 or 4 months on a big loop around southern, eastern, and southwestern Africa. I am thinking of going smaller and the new Honda CRF 250L dual purpose bike has caught my eye, and affordable at only $5K in Canada. Great on gas too! Reviews are good so far but haven't seen any long-distance reviews yet. Some after-market stuff is starting to emerge to cover off back-racks, panniers, seat, etc. Maybe stiffer shock too.

Any thoughts on this?

Regards,

Larry

I think that would be a great bike for what you intend. Would certainly be on my shortlist.

Don't overlook second hand KLRs or XT660Zs if buying in South Africa though.

However, I doubt you will get one as cheap as $5000 CAD there....

A quick check of specs and prices of the on and off-road versions of this bike show a 100 lb difference in weight and a $US 2000 difference in price. What is it that makes the dual sport a hundred pounds heavier but two grand cheaper? Seems like I'd want an answer to this question before committing to a long trip.

Mark

The first thing to note is that the crf250x and crf250l are not the same bike. The CRF250L is actually more like a CBR250R with different body work and tuned slightly differently.

I would suggest that although the CRF250L looks like the answer to the lightweight low powered adventure bike, but light weight it is not.

Light weight is not always an advantage e.g. in very windy conditions. The CRF250L has had excellent reviews from owner-riders and I'd certainly consider one if I was downsizing from my XT660Z. YMMV.

We bought two CRFL's for a RTW trip.
At this moment sorting out the racks and suspension.

It's heavyer and cheaper because the frame and subframe are not aluminium but steel (wich I prefer). The faqt that its made in Thailand helps a lot too.doh

thanks for the helpful replies
 

Just a note to say thanks for the useful comments. The CRF L is right up there should I finally decide to go with a smaller bike. In the end, once I am shopping around in South Africa, I may have to choose within the same price range between a 5 year old BMW 650GS or an XT600/660 on the one hand and a new CRF L on the other hand. Trade-offs for sure.

Regards,
Larry