Ride Reports (CRF250L/M)

[kayakersteve]

Milkyhead - You should have done those hairpin turns one handed holding your camera - That would be interesting.

[f_2]

Any 2017 CRF250L (non-rally) yet?

[2timer]

I keep checking sites for reviews, ride reports, anything really. Just release the gosh darn bike already

[kyss meg bak]

Just got back from Moab, UT.

Unfortunately no ride report, cause I was stupid and didn't take the bike. I'll never make that mistake again.

I would say Moab is bucket list worthy. Anyone that DS, rides off road, loves scenery, or is a Jeeper. Since I fit all those, I'll be back.

Next time I'll take the Jeep and the motorcycles.

[Tfd366]

Any 2017 CRF250L (non-rally) yet?

I have one on order here in Michigan, I'll post pics when it comes in. Soon hopefully

[Guest]

On 3/19/2017 at 5:54 PM, f_2 said:

Any 2017 CRF250L (non-rally) yet?

Got mine mid-December

[Tfd366]

Got mine mid-December

Not sure when they are gonna release them in the US

[f_2]

16 minutes ago, Tfd366 said:

Not sure when they are gonna release them in the US

Knock on wood, mine is slated to arrive in a couple of weeks.

[Tfd366]

Knock on wood, mine is slated to arrive in a couple of weeks.

Yes I heard late April early May

[f_2]

On 4/10/2017 at 6:38 AM, Tfd366 said:

Yes I heard late April early May

 H/C   YR  MODEL      CLR QTY  PER UNIT  TOTAL AMT EST SHIP DT  COMMENT       
xxxxxx 17 CRF250LH    RE    1  x,xxx.00   x,xxx.00 04/21/17    SHIP DELAY

[Tfd366]

 H/C   YR  MODEL      CLR QTY  PER UNIT  TOTAL AMT EST SHIP DT  COMMENT       
xxxxxx 17 CRF250LH    RE    1  x,xxx.00   x,xxx.00 04/21/17    SHIP DELAY

Delay?????

[f_2]

10 minutes ago, Tfd366 said:

Delay?????

 

Original was 4/10.

[Tfd366]

1 minute ago, f_2 said:

Original was 4/10.

Ok gotcha, I'm gonna call my dealer today and see what he says about mine. last I talked to him they were gonna be released on 4-14-17

[Deiotarus]

"Where you think it is small, and you feel, still, smaller ..." (Murcia, Spain)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Deiotarus]

"Where they drank water, ate figs, and planted vines..." (Murcia, Spain)

 

 

 

 

[milkyhead]

took the rally for a weekend off roading   ..nice machine  ..im not tempted to  ,,mess around with the feuling or stuff like that  ...the 2017 engines seem to have  addressed alot of problems over the old one   ...it went pretty well      ..considering if to put the 300 rr engine in the rally and sell the 250.. but the rally  is a better chassis   much more stable on and off road   ...abs gave no trouble off road      except remembering to switch it off   ..ive upgraded the suspension   and find it  soft and plush  .....impressed with the yss   rear shock and would buy it again over the racetech fitted to the 300r..it has no advantage at all  over the yss   .....the longer travel suspension screen   brakes  seat height and stability of the rally tip it in favour for me  ...if i was to swap a 250 id go for the rally  its better   ...the one thing is when you do the supension the seat height is  aound  930 ml   ...but im a big unit so  it suits me  

 

keeep well  

 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2017 by milkyhead

[Kompact]

Starting at about 8:45 you would have been better off in a canoe for the next couple of minutes.

[Evan D]

Awesome video. The hill to the left at 11.18 would be great dry. Heck it would all be great dry.

I have to ask what mods are on the bike? I see bars, GPS and the upper wind screen, racks. Did you remove the lower fairing and add a bash plate? Sounds good for the stock pipe.

 

[milkyhead]

19 hours ago, Evan D said:

Awesome video. The hill to the left at 11.18 would be great dry. Heck it would all be great dry.

I have to ask what mods are on the bike? I see bars, GPS and the upper wind screen, racks. Did you remove the lower fairing and add a bash plate? Sounds good for the stock pipe.

 

  nothing    dramatic   ..cut the lowers off   ..cant see any practical use for them  ..bell pan  renthals    gpr exhaust .. yss shock   sm sidepanels  ..home built spring  and spacer  in left leg  ...i use 14/41  and for most trail situations  it works ok   ....there isnt a big leap in power    but honda have compleatly reworked the delivery   ..there is a deffinate power band between 6 and 8  you can feel it  ...this make the bike much much better  on faster roads   its for the most part able to  pull top gear   preperly   without gearing down  ro a 13   id  say that this will be the same for the L model   ..the engine is much improved   for sure  ..keep it busy and 6 is the magic number   ..much more guts at higher speed   ..not mental but enough to stop it bogging dowm like me old 250...done good job have honda  .. nice bike  

http://aaaaaaaaaaaaa_edited-1 by minkyhead56, on Flickr

Edited June 17, 2017 by milkyhead

[SoftwareDevJason]

I've started trying to thoroughly document my rides for a future web site.  Bear with me!

Ride Report: Brown Mtn OHV to Table Rock Round Trip

Date: Sunday June 25th, 2017

Starting Location: Brown Mountain OHV Park.  Bike was trailered to this location.

Ending Location: Brown Mountain OHV Park.  Bike was trailered home from this location.

Key Roads: Brown Mountain Beach Rd, Table Rock Rd, FS 210 B, FS 496, NC 181

Key Destinations: Brown Mountain OHV Park, Table Rock

Duration: 3 hrs – full day.  Depends on the amount of time spent at Table Rock hiking and the amount of time at Brown Mountain on the OHV trails.

Route:

Starting at Brown Mountain OHV Park, head west on Brown Mountain Beach Rd toward NC 181.  Make left onto NC 181.  ¼ mile, turn right onto Simpson Creek Rd.  ¼ mile, turn right onto Table Rock Rd.  Table Rock Rd is a gravel Rd.  Follow Table Rock Rd until you run into FS 210 B on your left.  Follow FS 210 B until reaching pavement.  Follow pavement to the Table Rock parking area.  When leaving Table Rock, get back onto FS 210 B.  Turn right back onto Table Rock Rd, the way you came.  Almost immediately after getting back onto Table Rock Rd, turn left onto FS 496.  Follow FS 496 all the way to NC 181.  Enjoy NC 181 all the way back down to Brown Mountain Beach.  Return to the OHV Park.

Review:

The goal was to simply hit a few forest service roads to see what they were like and document them.  I’ve been meaning to do it for so long it’s kind of sad.  In an attempt to do my research, I found the Forest Service website for NC has several detailed maps listed for the National Forests.  These maps show the forest roads as well as the ones that are typically open.  I compared these maps side by side with my navigation software (Google) to set my waypoints.  The night before, I downloaded the entire area for offline access.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nfsnc/landmanagement/planning/?cid=stelprdb5188503

I simply picked a few roads that were close to Brown Mountain OHV Park on the map and the decided to make Table Rock the primary destination.  Table Rock Rd, FS 210 B and FS 496 are all gravel roads.  I would categorize all of these gravel roads as more relaxing and peaceful than exciting.  They are maintained very well and you can easily drive most cars/trucks down them.  The forest is beautiful in the area with abundant wildlife.  I saw both turkey and deer.  During one stop I saw several postings about it being a bear sanctuary so I wouldn’t be surprised to see black bear as well.

The riding on Table Rock Rd and FS 210 B was extremely easy.  Mild switchbacks on manicured gravel roads with gradual climbs.  There were a few larger rocks that had surfaced from under the gravel and a few turns were rough from washing.  I’m not sure what the speed limit is on those roads or if one exists but I was in 3rd gear most of the time.  The switchbacks on the paved portion leading to the Table Rock parking lot were probably the worst and sharpest ones I came across.  The vegetation was really high along the paved portion which made the turns blind.  I ran into the only other dual sport of the day on near this portion.  It was some sort of Husqvarna I believe.  At least half of the vehicles in the Table Rock parking lot were normal 4DR sedans.  That should tell you how well the roads were kept.

Once I arrived at Table Rock, I stuffed my tank back into my backpack and headed up the 1 mile trail to the summit.  It’s only 1 mile but it’s not the easiest 1 mile walk.  Lots of rock steps and a steady incline the entire way.  Carrying the gear that was on my bike and my helmet didn’t help.  I only carried my helmet so I could keep my GoPro and mic setup functioning.

After leaving Table Rock I took FS 496 back to NC 181.  The conditions of FS 496 were the same as the others.  I was hoping for a little rougher terrain or a creek crossing but no luck.  I found one small pull off location on FS 496 where you could almost make out a waterfall about 100 yards into the woods.  I didn’t venture in there since I had other plans.

I took the short drive down NC 181 at the exit of FS 496 to get back to the OHV Park.  I ran into a couple dozen bikers during that 10 minute descent on 181.  181 is a fun road and popular with bikers.  The roads are twisty but perhaps better suited for larger displacement dual sports/supermotos or sports bikes.  They are probably what I would call high speed twisties.  The 250L did fine but the FZ-09 I pulled out behind made it look effortless everywhere that wasn’t a sharp turn.  Also, the profile of the MT43 rear scares me a little in sharp turns.  It hasn’t slid out from under me yet or showed any signs of doing so but it just looks so square.  I need to just find an empty parking lot and find the limit.

It was getting later in the day when I made it back to the OHV Park but I had another hour or so to burn so I headed up the main trail at Brown Mountain.  The trail is just marked “Trail 1” I believe and is the easiest trail up there by Brown Mountain standards.  I think I’ve been on every trail at that park on my CRF 230F but I still enjoy hitting trail 1 then taking trail 8 back to 1 for my warm up ride.  It’s very rocky and sandy but a ton of fun.  Even on this trail, the RaceTech suspension and new tires really shine.  The same sections I bottomed on previously are soaked up with relative ease.  I goofed around on some of the rock surfaces at the top of trail 1 and then headed back down to the truck.  Trail 1 and 8 are listed as 6 miles total, I assume one way.

OHV Map: http://explorecaldwell.com/uploads/media/pdfs/brown_mountain_ohw.pdf

I believe I spent about 6 hours total riding/exploring and another 2.5 or so commuting.

Tip:

If you see areas on the side of the forest roads where many people have pulled over, check it out.  There is probably something cool in the area (e.g. rock formation, waterfall, hiking trail).

If you are going to take up a truck/trailer spot at the OHV Park, the least you could do would be to purchase an OHV pass.  Technically, you probably only need a pass to ride the trails at Brown Mountain, not park in the parking lot.  However, this feels like a shit thing to do especially knowing the lot is full on the weekend during summer.  I bought a pass and made sure to hit up a few trails before leaving.  I’m unaware of other public parking areas that would be friendly to someone parking and unloading.  However, I did see a few people parked in public camping areas in the forest.  That might work too.