crf 150r

[Gus150f]

hey, I ride a 150f and have really fun on it. I'm thinking of selling it and getting a 150r or rb. do you think this is a good decision? I mainly ride little tracks I make in fields or I ride 20miles away from my house on turnrows. I feel like the 150f doesn't have enough?!? not to sure what to do I feel like I throw the 150f around! thx

[mlatour]

A few considerations if you're going to trail and off-road a CRF150R :

 

-designed as a motocross race bike, meaning the engine has more emphasis on upper rpm power,

your CRF150F has more off idle grunt for slow tricky situations, the 150R may require clutching skills in certain situations.

 

-close ratio gearbox again for MX racing, meaning a tall 1st gear (may feel like starting off in 2nd on your 150F)

and relatively short 5th gear, meaning higher rpms when ridden at high speeds.

 

-suspension is also set up for jumping and high speed maneuvers, stiff settings aren't ideal for general off-roading.

 

-liquid cooled engines / radiators require constant airflow, if riding too slow it may overheat (bad for the engine)

oppositely your current 150F can sit and idle at a standstill all day long.

Radiators and water pump can also get damaged in a crash, expensive to repair and can leave you stranded.

 

-150R's are loud, a consideration if you ride near populated areas and don't want to attract unwanted attention.

-limited fuel capacity and range. The 150R has a small tank, no reserve on the petcock and, uses up gas faster than your 150F.

 

Maintenance, incomparable as the 150R requires periodic valvetrain inspection, adjustments, more frequent oil changes.

A 150F is as bulletproof, low maintenance and low cost of operation as is gets.

 

Yes a CRF150R/RB can be trail ridden, your usage does include homemade tracks (berms, jumps?) so even better suited but,

it has some considerations versus a true trail/off-road bike which you have to live with.

 

Also depends on your size, if you are already taller than 5'2" the 150R (small wheel) is already too small for you,

above 5'6" on an 150RB (big wheels), again the bike is already a tad too small for you.

Anywhere over 5'6" and you should rather be considering a full-sized bike with 21" & 18"-19" wheels.

 

Edited November 3, 2017 by mlatour

[gsa102]

This is an excellent summary.  May be worthy of a sticky.