If the CRF bikes continue to sell well and if the Rally is also a success, then my prediction would be that Honda will boost the CRF/Rally to 300cc using the CBR engine.

I agree with your other points, it's true sales are too small for OEM to put big money into rally bike. Many say they'd buy it and cry on internet for such a bike ... but when it comes out, and they see the price!!! ... they DON'T buy it!
We've seen this scenario repeat OVER AND OVER ... look at the TDM 850 (in USA). A disaster for Yamaha yet the bike did well in France and EU.

I still believe a 300cc version could happen.

Lots of folk have used the 250 crf's for RTW and the rally offers the same just with a bigger tank and flashier looks.

In the uk you can get the standard bike for around 3k, add a few extras and you have a fairly new do it all bike for about 4.5k.

power might be low but mpg is great and they seem to have proved reliable. All the tests I've read of the rally only mention slightly soft supspension off road and lack of power on it. Suspension could be improved as for lack of power not much can be done there but at least it gives you more time to enjoy the view.

just wish they'd give it a 450 with about 50 bhp

I don't get why it's even called a "rally"....just looks like a trail bike with a dress on to me...I mean it hasn't even got a big tank.
A low powered starter bike maybe, but with a dress on to give it "cred" from a marketing point of view.....Like one of those 125 varedero things with the dummy cylinder thingy to make them look like a big bike...Looks great but missed the mark like so many do. Husky 701 is the closest thing out there IMHO, be awesome if they did an out the box "rally" version of that, with a big tank/s and some fancy lights, without an out and out rally motor obv. keeping the same service intervals...and they're on top notch w/power stock.

"looks great, but missed the mark"? Huh?
why use a sexist stereotype red herring to dis the bike? It's obviously a novice bike and yes ... the "Dress" is all an attempt to give it Dakar rally look like Honda's race bike. What's wrong with that? Big tank? why? The ****ing thing gets over 70 miles per gallon ... who needs a big tank?

I like it and believe it's the perfect bike to bring new riders into ADV riding ... especially Women, whom the industry needs badly. Most are intimidated by huge and heavy BMW's and KTM's ... and few can afford them. So something cheap and cheerful is not a bad direction for Honda to take, IMHO.

Speaking of "afford" ... are you buying that 701 Husky as your travel bike? Planning on riding Enduro round the UK And as a travel bike? Uh, no thank you!

If I had a spare $10K USD to spend on a dirt bike that's likely to get the shit beat out of it ... I'd consider it. Travel bike? Not a chance. Who would be stupid enough to take a bike whose service intervals are measured in HOURS ... not miles?

Despite it's small size the Honda Rally could make a decent travel bike for many. Once on 3rd world roads a 250 is just about perfect. Crossing Australia?
Yes, then you'd need a bigger tank ... but that's about the only place in the world where you would need it.

[QUOTE=mollydog;575473]"looks great, but missed the mark"? Huh?
why use a sexist stereotype red herring to dis the bike? It's obviously a novice bike and yes ... the "Dress" is all an attempt to give it Dakar rally look like Honda's race bike. What's wrong with that? Big tank? why? The ****ing thing gets over 70 miles per gallon ... who needs a big tank?


Yes ....looks great but missed the mark!...Yes that's my opinion of it from where I am standing, yes from my side of the fence, from my current point of view...I don't see why that is a "sexist stereo type red herring to dis the bike"...wtf?...It's just my opinion of it and I don't see how that is "sexist" ...The CRF250 RALLY isn't considered either male or female is it ? I thought it was just a motorcycle and considered unisex. It would be sexist to label it otherwise I think.
Novice bike ? Could be or just a small trail bike or even just economical transport, a great bike for some people for some journeys. Nothing wrong if someone wants to buy one as a novice bike, it'd be ok for that, they'd probably be better off with the standard model though with less weight and less crap to break if they drop it like the screen it doesn't really need etc., but hey if that's what they want go for it Not everyone considering one is going to be a novice though and some are actually looking for something more "rally" and with a bit more "go" but without the highly strung engine of an actual competition bike and my posted opinion of it is not as that of someone looking for a novice bike, more of someone considering the "rally" label.
The "dress"...yes!!...It seems we agree is all about giving it a look, which is what I implied and I don't see the point of it much other than that and I quite like the look. It seems to have added 11kg over the standard model for no real gain other than looks though, which is fine if that's all your looking for it looks ok but 11kg is quite a lot on what is already a fairly heavy bike for it's power output.
Big tank??...yes big tank, they've called it a RALLY ! It's being sold next to the standard model, it's 11kg heavier and lots more money it would be nice if they'd squeezed a bit more (not loads, just a bit) capacity into the tank not just (about) 2.5 litres more than the standard bike.The tank is adequate for most people and most situations for that bike so maybe you don't need a big tank and yes it may do 70 to the gallon but it only holds (about) 2.2 gallon, Honda's own website has conflicting information on tank size. It's not always about what you need either, IMHO, sometimes it's about what you want, especially when it comes to bikes and girls !... that sounds little bit sexist, my apologies I don't mean it that way

You referred to the bike as wearing "a Dress". This not so subtle put down alludes to Women and not in a nice way ... like the Rally is a wimpy, weak, a "girl's bike". That's what I got from that comment. So yes, SEXIST, IMHO.

But no big deal. Move on.

I agree with most of this and the above as well. It's a shame it picked up weight but looks are often more important than function ... not that I 100% agree but that's fact of life: LOOKS MATTER.

I agree ... it could use an extra gallon. But often when folks say BIG TANK ... they mean one of those massive Heinrich tanks on old GS's ... 11 gallons or something.

This would ruin the bike, IMO. But will agree it needs about 1 extra gallon. If doing Australia or remote parts of Africa, then you'll have to figure out carrying more fuel. An extra gallon would bump up range to over 200 miles plus. Not too bad.

I like it too, it's not bad looking, it will be reliable, it's not expensive. I don't want one though, it's not for me or what I do. I agree with the above too mostly, although I don't see it as a big deal over the standard model. Whether or not it's the perfect bike to bring women into ADV riding or if the industry needs them badly is not something I've considered when thinking about possible future bikes for myself but it would be good for that I guess.
I think they should probably have called it something other than "rally" though, I think it waters down the meaning of it.
Yes some are intimidated by large bikes and some can't afford them...although they are selling in quite some numbers.

Mumbo, you really need to learn how to do quotes. So simple, hit the quote box and go from there. Makes reading your posts MUCH easier.

According to latest news from big OEM's, Women are now on the radar. Better late than never. But may be too late now ... OEM's are in a bit of a panic at this point ... plus, the Chinese are coming fast. :help smilie:
The Tide has shifted here in USA regards BIG ADV bikes. (mostly BMW GS's)
Many riders now going smaller, lighter. Older riders especially are now looking at smaller, lighter bikes if doing more off road.

Errrr....well I'm thinking of getting one yes, I've been looking into them and what's available for them as much as I can for a while with a view to going that way in the future. I actually went to look at a 9 month old one with next to no miles on it at a bargain price that came up near me last week, first chance I've had to see one in the flesh...I'm still thinking maybe I should've bought it but the timing isn't right for me at the moment really. If I go for one it would have to be a 2017 onward because I'd want the motor with the extra balance shaft.
Enduro ??..I don't know who mentioned enduro (not me) so I don't quite know where your coming from but no I've no intention of using one for entering any enduro events.
And as a travel bike ?....err yes, that would be the plan that's why I'd want the later one with the smoother motor...So...Uh, yes thank you !

Yeah you'd have to be stupid to take a bike like that, nice to know that with the twin oil pumps and twin balance shafts the new 701 has got SIX THOUSAND MILE SERVICE INTERVALS then...how many hours is that.

Yes I agree..perfect for many not everybody...and not if you you maybe wanted to get a kick out of what you ride and you didn't get that from a fairly heavy low powered bike (some would)..and not if your travels often involved doing a fair bit of fairly quick road or ,dare I say it, motorway work to get where you want to be..and nope, probably wouldn't need a bigger tank, not huge say 15 litres....but you might just want one....you know just so you've got it covered for when you get to the filling station and they're waiting for the tanker and you can think oh it's ok I'll make the next one.

I think you're wrong here, quite a few people took so called race bike for
very long trips like you would regular travel bike succeeded with no problems.
If you're not racing service interval actually can be measured in miles or kilometers and it's not that bad because they changed oil every 2000 km
or 1200 miles so it's doable. You get instead very light bike to deal with on the road. I was afraid about this aspect as well until I own my ktm 500 exc which appeared to be very reliable and adventure capable machine.

BTW, crf250l doesn't look good at all, looks weird at most.

You are correct about how reliable the KTM 500EXC appears to be. But it's still early days with only a couple guys taking the 500 on RTW type rides. I'm sure more will follow ... and good luck to them.

We all travel in different ways with different priorities.

But its true, traveling on a race bike will mean you can likely extend service intervals out quite a bit, as traveling is usually not hard on the machine. If the basic bike is reliable then could be done. So, instead of 500 mile interval could be pushed up to maybe 2000 miles? More?

But is this ideal?
Most raced based bikes are not well set up for carrying luggage. Some don't have large fuel tanks available, unless you spend A LOT on money. Many carry Rotopax or Bladders ... I'm not a fan of either of these methods.

Rear sub frames may not exist or quite weak. So not idea for panniers weighing 30 kg. or so. ... plus a top bag and other crap travelers tend to pack.

Some travelers like to camp (to save money I guess?) and LOVE to pack up their bikes like the Beverly Hillbillies. Race based bikes may not be ideal for the perennial over packers so common in our world.

My worry would be if you get yourself into a location where you can't find top quality synthetic oil, as required for many high end race bikes like the KTM 500.

And in addition, the rider will need the skills and tools to do the maintenance on the road. The KTM is easy ... a good thing.

But some bikes are more complex to do self service ... and they are not even race based machines. (BMW GS's, Ducati Multistrada, KTM 1290) Most require dealership computers to plug in for diagnostics.

I like the looks of both the CRF250L and Rally. Weird? Not at all. It's just not that different from dual sport bikes 30 years ago. so, both good and bad.

Yes your absolutely correct, you, me, anybody can do just about any journey they want to with any bike. They manage to get comp. bikes to the end of the Dakar with less time for maintenance than on a road & trail trip. It's a case of where there's a will there's a way. True too you don't have to be stupid to do it either, crazy maybe, like crazy in love with "that" bike ! Or just crazy with a passion to do it. Yes it's true too that if your not racing stuff can be pushed out a lot on the mileage....This guy is one who is proving it :The Rolling Hobo (respect) But it does depend what you want from it, and all that work can detract from trip unless you want it that "hardcore". I'm a great believer in horses for courses and if your not racing you don't really need a race bike for most trips, although if you just want it that's fine. I used to race (road) 250's TZ's & RS's...loads of work!..Loved it at the time...Now ? I can't be arsed with all that when I'm on holiday, right now I'm struggling with the thought off going back to a chain drive instead of a shaft and all that adjusting etc.
Everybody is on a different journey or wanting to be and we're all at different points in our lives and our journeys, we're all different heights, abilities, age's and we all have our own idea of the perfect bike..and even that will change for each of us unless we keep doing the same old thing. I used to think my R1 was perfect for me I put so much thought, reading up and test rides into which bike would be the best for me before I bought that bike, and it was awesome at the time but now I've got a BMW. It's been almost perfect for what I've used it for too but now I'm looking at Husqvarna's because I'm thinking of changing what I do and where I do it..again. Some choose their "ride" because it's a gimmick, unusual etc. and it will sell books or whatever, I'm not really a fan of that but I can't say I blame them, there are so many at it nowadays. Generally though my thoughts are ride what you like, doesn't matter to me but don't presume I'm on the wrong bike because it doesn't fit your criteria... So if you fancy all those oil changes when you could be having a round the campfire feel free..I won't be jealous..I will when you hit that fire road and get to "let it loose" though