Street reliability!

[Hunnellz]

Hey guys! Just grabbed a 2006 X. Changed all the fluids and have street tires ordered. I have my Grom as my main “on road” bike but I want this bike to have its fair share of on road use as well! How many of you ride yours on the street for periods of time? Like if I want to go out exploring on the weekends and such. I understand overheating may be an issue so I’m open to ideas for cooling fans. I also plan on changing the fluids every 2 rides. I’m just curious to see how many of you ride yours on the roads quite a bit and how well do they hold up? Thanks!

[mlatour]

Changing engine oil/gearbox lubricant every 2 rides might be excessive, 

depending on conditions (say moderate rpms and loads), you could safely consider every 10-12 hours.

 

As with any street legal dirt bike or dual-sport, it's always a compromise of off-road performance versus good street manners.

Your anticipated road cruising speeds will determine which final drive ratio to pick (sprocket size)

avoiding the unnecessarily buzz the engine at higher rpms down long stretches of road but also having the necessary grunt for off-roading.

 

Mine isn't street legal but our provincial trail system regularly use long stretches of connecting roads,

With longevity of the engine in mind, I prefer no to go past 1/2 throttle for sustained cruising, which allows for about 55-57 MPH.

 

Edited February 15, 2020 by mlatour

[Hunnellz]

Changing engine oil/gearbox lubricant every 2 rides might be excessive, 
depending on conditions (say moderate rpms and loads), you could safely consider every 10-12 hours.
 
As with any street legal dirt bike or dual-sport, it's always a compromise of off-road performance versus good street manners.
Your anticipated road cruising speeds will determine which final drive ratio to pick (sprocket size)
avoiding the unnecessarily buzz the engine at higher rpms down long stretches of road but also having the necessary grunt for off-roading.
 
Mine isn't street legal but our provincial trail system regularly use long stretches of connecting roads,
With longevity of the engine in mind, I prefer no to go past 1/2 throttle for sustained cruising, which allows for about 55-57 MPH.
 

Thank you for the reply!! Sounds good. Im gonna keep her around 15 hours on fluid changes. Mainly worried about the valves. Mine sound good and the bike starts right up. Just wanting to get advice from someone else who rides theirs on the street. I ordered 2 small fans for the radiator for summer riding as well

[mlatour]

As for the cooling fans, only at very low trail speeds / waiting at stop lights / stuck in traffic would overheating become an issue.

As soon as you are moving 5 MPH or more, the airflow thru the radiators is greater than what a cooling fan can move.

 

Of course it doesn't hurt to have one, 

I have a cheap 5$ PC fan on mine and it helps greatly in keeping the engine cool even in slow technical trail riding.

Edited February 15, 2020 by mlatour

[mlatour]

Something you might encounter when cruising at speed but using moderate throttle is 'chain slap'

(not only applicable to the CRF250X but common to many bikes)

where the drive chain, engine & road loads create some sort of 'harmonics' which sounds like valvetrain/engine noises.

 

Apart from making sure you chain slack is adjusted correctly, the easiest way to avoid that occurrence 

is simply to either slow down or, speed up a bit, changing the harmonics.

Edited February 15, 2020 by mlatour

[Hunnellz]

Something you might encounter when cruising at speed but using moderate throttle is 'chain slap'
(not only applicable to the CRF250X but common to many bikes)
where the drive chain, engine & road loads create some sort of 'harmonics' which sounds like valvetrain/engine noises.
 
Apart from making sure you chain slack is adjusted correctly, the easiest way to avoid that occurrence 
is simply to either slow down or, speed up a bit, changing the harmonics.

I’ll keep an eye on that!!! Thank you!!

[Chuck.]

I have a  05 CRF250X that is plated and the engine is buzzy on the road so I gear up with a 48 tooth rear sprocket. That reduces rpm by 10% which helps, and the bike is still rideable on trails.

I also have a Trail Tech fan kit and a Vapor for engine temp and the fan only comes on during low speed ST. 

[Hunnellz]

I have a  05 CRF250X that is plated and the engine is buzzy on the road so I gear up with a 48 tooth rear sprocket. That reduces rpm by 10% which helps, and the bike is still rideable on trails.
I also have a Trail Tech fan kit and a Vapor for engine temp and the fan only comes on during low speed ST. 

How easy was the Trail Tech temp gauge to install??

[Chuck.]

The Vapor comes with a water temp sensor that slices into the coolant hose from the cylinder head to the left radiator, so easy install.  The Trail Tech Fan kit has a temp probe that screws into an unused fitting on the right radiator.

[Hunnellz]

The Vapor comes with a water temp sensor that slices into the coolant hose from the cylinder head to the left radiator, so easy install.  The Trail Tech Fan kit has a temp probe that screws into an unused fitting on the right radiator.

Hell yeah!

[hondamac]

Oil is cheaper than pistons and cranks. Use the best oil you can in engine, it doesn't hold much. Keep the level up. When the oil gets dark or oil consumption increases it's time to change it. Use Honda filters only. You can change it every other time if the oil is kept good. Keep good oil in the transmission too but it's not as critical. Go down 4-6 teeth on the rear sprocket depending on how much dirt riding you do. Try taking off in second gear to give you an idea how much you can go down. 

[somethingnuw]

10 hours ago, Hunnellz said:

 

 

Thank you for the reply!! Sounds good. Im gonna keep her around 15 hours on fluid changes. Mainly worried about the valves. Mine sound good and the bike starts right up. Just wanting to get advice from someone else who rides theirs on the street. I ordered 2 small fans for the radiator for summer riding as well

 

 

I had that problem with my 07.... it’s because I wasn’t seating my air filter properly....big hands n that airbox just didn’t work for me...

 

[Hunnellz]

I had that problem with my 07.... it’s because I wasn’t seating my air filter properly....big hands n that airbox just didn’t work for me...
 

That can be a pain!

[somethingnuw]

2 hours ago, Hunnellz said:

 

That can be a pain!

 

Ya, switched to the loud mouth air intakes best thing I ever did....the guy who bought bike still has it up n running....it went SS valves I think....cause the exhaust valve was always out...n had a hard time starting 

[Hunnellz]

Ya, switched to the loud mouth air intakes best thing I ever did....the guy who bought bike still has it up n running....it went SS valves I think....cause the exhaust valve was always out...n had a hard time starting 

I’m definitely looking into SS valves can you post a link?

[petza914]

I put Kibblewhite SS  alves into my son's CRF100F when we did the 120 BBR big bore kit. High quality pieces and I'm sure they make them for the Xs we have too. That's what I'll be using in mine if I have to rebuild it. 

[somethingnuw]

3 hours ago, petza914 said:

I put Kibblewhite SS  alves into my son's CRF100F when we did the 120 BBR big bore kit. High quality pieces and I'm sure they make them for the Xs we have too. That's what I'll be using in mine if I have to rebuild it. 

sorry no I didn't do them … the new owner eluded to getting them done... back in the day seems to me the Honda ATV SS values were the way to go... any honda dealer should be able to lead you in the right direction... should be lots of old posts on the subject...