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An Off-Road Bike For The Vacationing Motocrosser
story & photography by Tom Wilson
Woods riding is the CRF250X’s idea of heaven. Light, agile and with a workable power hit, this low-geared middleweight simply loves to carve and squirt.
Honda. It’s a name that means many things to many people. To car racers it means the most powerful engines in Formula One, to a gardener it means a great lawn mower. The emergency response people probably admire Honda generators, Honda cars are valued for their efficiency and sports car people revel in the high-rpm excitement of Honda’s mid-engine sports car, sold in the U.S. as the Acura NSX.
In the off-road world, Honda doesn’t sell pickups or sport utes, but they rule the roost when it comes to dirt bikes. From pit toys to motocrossers, cross-country to play bikes, Honda offers the widest selection and some, if not the, most developed, cutting edge two- (and four-) wheelers on the planet.
Crossed up or neat and tidy, the CRF250X really works with you. It’s a chassis that does what you want, when you want. We figured its combination of light weight and easy handling fun because it made us look so good!
Lately, the big movement has been to four-stroke engines. Once regarded as too heavy for serious dirt bikes, four-strokes are the new darlings as two-strokes have been all but banned by emission regulations. Plus, modern four-strokes offer a wider powerband, better fuel economy for more range without increasing weight, and there are no oil and gas mixing hassles.
There’s a reason Honda gave the CRF250X motocross styling with pointing fenders and a flat seat; it’s an off-road bike with near motocross handling.
So who has some of the trickest four-stroke engines packaged in the most advanced frames and suspensions? Honda, of course. In pure motocross race bikes the CRF450R and CRF250R have been winning bike of the year accolades, not to mention races. The 450R competes against 250 two-strokes, while the 250R does battle in the 125 class. Both are a synthesis of the latest in four-stroke engine design and snappy, corner-happy frames and suspensions; the sort of chassis reserved strictly for two-stroke machines just a few years ago.
Big hit? No problem. The CRF250X is set-up for people who’s idea of trail riding is here to there as fast as possible. Excellent aluminum frame stiffness and a robust suspension make the 250X accurate.
But those “R” bikes are race bikes; too harsh and high-strung for simple riding fun. Enter the CRF250X, Honda’s newest, most highly developed “off-road” bike, developed straight from the 250R motocrosser. Aimed at the enduro racer, plus anyone wanting the latest in off-road ability, the CRF250X offers a premium four-stroke welterweight engine in a responsive, highly developed chassis. A welcome addition to the existing line of venerable XR off-road bikes, the water-cooled CRF250X supplements, not replaces, the air-cooled XRs.
Tightly packaged, the 250X engine presents a minimum of hoses and wiring. It’s a mid- and top-end power maker that lives to rev but will pull when it must. The power is great in tight sections, and certainly okay in the wide-open west. Kick starting is a back-up to the electric start; the lever is just a hair high and short, but works easily enough.
And while the motocross line-up gets the big-and-little 450R and 250R, the off-road line so far has featured just the 250X. A CRF450X is highly anticipated, but when and where it will arrive is anyone’s guess. For now, the CRF250X is the undisputed leader in mid-bore Honda off-roaders.
So, what puts the 250X ahead? In short, everything. As Honda is reknown for their engines, let’s start there. The CRF250X mill is thoroughly modern, lightweight and remarkably compact. Blessed with electric starting, it wings to life rapidly, especially if you leave the throttle alone while cranking. The accelerator-pump equipped carburetor is easily capable of flooding the engine, so simply pushing the button and waiting a few revolutions does the trick. Cold starting is aided by a two-stroke style enrichment valve on the left side of the carb; hot starting is normally a quick pushbutton affair, but if not, a lean out lever is provided next to the clutch lever. It worked like a charm.
We found the 250X’s front brake powerful and nicely weighted. One finger operation is the norm, but the action isn’t so light you must adjust to it. The rear brake is lighter to the touch, perfect for quick turning but something we had to think about when slowing through tight spots.
If our test bike had a fault, it was the carburetion. Occasionally slightly lean in its California emissions tune, our test bike’s engine was touchy just off idle, delivering a modest power hit whenever the throttle was cracked, rather than a smooth ramping up of power. This was noticeable only when putt-putting at the slowest possible speeds around the campsite, and was hardly a factor on the trail. Worked hard and bouncing down steep downhills we got the odd engine stall as well, but this was probably due to poor riding technique on our parts as anything else. And with the electric start, getting the engine going on the fly was no big deal anyway.
With the throttle open, the 250X ran like a demon. The easiest way to describe its power is to say it feels like a very powerful 125cc two-stroke, but with a ton more bottom end. The 250X is still “only” a 250 and won’t pull a heavy rider around like a tractor, but has enough torque to just save your bacon when a handful of throttle is the way out. That’s a highly desirable trait in a trail bike, and not easily had in a machine this light and flickable.
Hot starts are made quick by pulling on this small lever while cranking. It leans the carburetor and worked great. We only had to use it a couple of times, but it was a help.
Get any meaningful revs going and this engine soars in a smooth, even powerband. There’s 9000 rpm to play with, and the more of it you use, the happier the 250X is. Ridden with any enthusiasm and throttle response is firecracker quick and the thrust huge for a 250. Frankly, we expected this rev-happy nature from a tuned-up Honda, but it was still a thrill to confirm what a joy the 250X is to squirt from corner to corner.
Honda played to this light bike’s snappy engine and handling with relatively low gearing. This makes the 250X easy to get moving from rest and responsive over obstacles. Five well-spaced ratios are on hand so top speed is not mind-bending. If you normally scorch across the desert with friends on big bores, then a sixth gear would have been nice, but that’s missing the 250X’s intended mission of ripping between obstacles.
Narrow is the word. It makes moving around fun, but doesn’t leave a ton of saddle for the long ride home. Both the head and LED taillight are lit whenever the engine is running; there is no switch. Thankfully the stainless steel muffler is good and quiet, too. The chain knocking on the swing arm makes as much noise as anything.
As you’ve guessed by now, handling is the high point. There’s only 228 lbs. of 250X to begin with, and combined with a bred-to-turn suspension it whips down into corners, then rails or pivots as quick as you can think of it. The spring and dampening rates are relatively high, giving the 250X not a nervousness, but a definite firmness and eagerness to bounce and turn at slower speeds. Ride it harder and the suspension goes plusher. Clearly Honda had the seasoned rider in mind when setting up the 250X. This puts big smiles on the folks who have been riding awhile; it also means new but enthusiastic riders will learn quickly as this bike rewards the proper technique. It’s a bike that’ll please for many years as the rider explores its many capabilities.
More than matching the go power are two very powerful disc brakes. The rear brake is especially light to the touch, an aid in quickly locking the rear tire when pivoting through slow corners. For simply slowing, we found lightly squeezing the front brake and the modest four-stroke compression braking at the rear tire enough for the average trail pace, although fast riders will naturally use both brakes in earnest. They’ll be stopping as if tied to a boulder, and we can’t imagine fading either brake.
Kudos as well to Honda’s selection of full-size ergonomics on the 250X. Often mid-size bikes get mid-size frames, but not this one. The 250X is borderline tall for shorter folks, and plain old comfortable for a six footer. That swoopy, motocross inspired styling, with the seat running right over the gas tank is combined with a narrow saddle and tank. That makes monkeying all over the CRF a swing in the park. It’s easy to get your weight over the front end for aggressive turning, or climb to one side when laying it well down. The saddle sports a very grippy vinyl, complete with little bumps for extra traction, so hanging on it easy to do.
Geared for quick action, the CRF250X isn’t a desert hero. It’ll keep up with your buddies on 400 to 600cc machinery as long as they aren’t going for broke and you don’t mind revving your 250. It certainly doesn’t seem to mind.
We suppose there is a price to pay for the narrowness, in that the saddle is no tractor seat for lard-lugging farmers. If you’re, er, full-framed yourself, the firm, narrow saddle may communicate with you more than expected at the end of a long day of riding.
Of course, Honda didn’t build the CRF250X for the sit-down kind of guy. It’s a state-of-the-art dirt carver, engineered to satisfy the hard-charging enthusiast who spends most of his time crouched in the attack position. Fresh out of the crate this bike can win enduro races-although the inevitable engine tweaking will definitely make that job easier-so there’re no worries about its ability to shine on the trail. At $5,999 the 250X follows Honda’s expensive-but-worth-it policy. If you’ve got the coin and are looking for a deeply satisfying off-road ride, the CRF250X will deliver.