DRZ400e or CRF250L for south America
 

Hi
I have just got back from a trip Cairns to Broome and back about 10,000k I rode a DRZ400 and girlfriend rode a DRZ250 both bikes went well. Although the fuel economy on the DRZ400 was not very good worse than my Vstrom 650 I got 17 kilometres per lt on some parts and averaged just under 20 kpl. I liked travelling light.
I am thinking of doing a trip to South America and trying to work out which would be the best bike to take a DRZ 400 or CRF250L I have never ridden a CRF250L but like the idea of better fuel economy and fuel injection my only worry is is the bike underpowered for me I weight about 80kg with out gear. Also what are parts and service like for the 2 bikes in SA.

Many thanks
Nick

These guys are using CRF250's

https://www.facebook.com/amsterdam.t...f=ts&ref=br_tf

That fuel economy sounds terrible! Was everthing ok with the bike? Tyre pressure, air filter etc? I rode 12 k kms in New Zealand on a Dr 650 an averaged 24-25 kms pr liter - relaxed riding style though.

I just bought myself a Crf250L and seem to get around 35 kms pr liter on that, still like to ride relaxed and not to torment the little 250 cc engine. But I love the bike, its so lightweight and agile and just pure fun to ride. Cruising at around 90 km/h seems ok to me. More than that the engine feels stressed. Above 100 is ok for shorter stretches but not all day. Small gas tank on the Crf though as only 7,7 litres so you will probably need to carry extra cans/bottles/fuelbladders or get an aftermarket tank.

Dont know about parts in South Africa though...

Hi
Thanks for your reply the bad fuel economy17kpl was punching into the wind sitting between 80k to 100k the bike is blowing a bit of smoke and has done about 60,000k I was running 15 front 44 back sprockets.
So which bike would you pick for a south America trip your DR650 or the CRF250L?

I see - heavy wind can definetively interfer the fuel milage - but it explains a bit but not all.

My Tenere660 is on a ship on its way to Valparaiso - Chile right now, so thats my choice for south-America. But to be honest I think both the Dr650 and the Crf250L would have been better bikes for that trip - with a few mods of course. Which one is actually hard to answer, maybe the Crf as its efi and thus dont need adjustments/rejetting. I suppose travelling in south-America would involve some travelling in high altitudes in the Andes mountains.

I can not say anything about the DRZ, however I have spent time on a CRF250L, I used one on my trip in Thailand and Laos
It is a great little bike and I would use one again. But IMHO it is underpowered as you say. Having owned a CRF250X and then jumping on the 250L it was a nightmare and sometimes I was in first gear going up the hills in Laos and Thailand. But that aside it gets a :thumbup1: from me. It did everything I asked of it and didnt moan once

Wayne

I'd go for fuel injection if you're planning on riding lots of altitude.

These guys offer a buy back scheme that might save you some cost on shipping bikes across:

adventure motorcycle tours in Peru and all South America - Moto Purchase & Buy Back