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ADV BikesHonda CRF250 Rally Now Just One Step Away From Production

Honda CRF250 Rally Now Just One Step Away From Production

Honda's 250cc ADV Bike concept gets updates and moves to prototype stage.

Published on 03.22.2016

At last year’s Osaka Motorcycle Show, Honda unveiled an exciting new concept bike called the CRF250 Rally. The concept started out as a CRF250L dual sport, then it was given a larger fuel tank, windscreen, revised bodywork and other treatments to make it look like a mini replica of Honda’s Dakar Rally bike – the CRF450 Rally. The end result is a bike that many adventure riders have been longing for — a small, fuel-efficient, off-road capable adventure touring machine from a Japanese manufacturer.

The reaction to the concept bike has been positive to say the least and Honda has continued developing the CRF250 Rally. At this year’s Osaka Motorcycle Show, the CRF250 Rally is once again on display and Honda upgraded it from “Concept” to “Prototype,” which essentially means they’ve refined it to make it a more marketable production bike. As a prototype, it’s just one step away from becoming a production model.

Honda CRF250 Rally Prototype


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No official specs have been provided by Honda at this time, but we can see a number of refinements have been made. The 2015 concept was designed to be more of a CRF450 Rally replica with a more exotic parts list that included dual Mugen racing exhaust, billet aluminum wheel hubs and triple clamps, along with several anodized aluminum pieces. The new CRF250 Rally Prototype appears with a more street-legal looking Termignoni single exhaust pipe and standard aluminum triple clamps and wheels hubs.

Honda CRF250 Rally Prototype

Other refinements include a trimmed down seat, new Givi hand guards (no longer full wrap-around) and a newly designed GPS mount. The iconic clear rally windscreen is still there, except it now uses mounting bolts instead of the concept’s quick release tabs. The windscreen also sits a bit lower and new LED headlights appear to be further developed for street use. We can also see subtle differences in the tank design and the prototype sports the latest 2016 CRF450 Rally graphics kit.

Honda CRF250 Rally Prototype

Overall, the new CRF250 Rally Prototype is looking very close to being production ready. Most likely further cost cutting measures will be performed, like the removal or replacement of the carbon fiber protectors and the Termignoni exhaust. But as we’ve seen in the past, Honda prototypes have proven to be very close to their production model versions. No official statements have been made but Motorcycle News magazine claims to have insider information stating that the production version of the Honda CRF250 Rally will be released towards the end of this year as a 2017 model.

Author: Rob Dabney

Rob Dabney started a lifelong obsession with motorcycles at the age of 15 when he purchased his first bike – a 1982 Honda MB5. Through his 20’s and 30’s he competed in off-road desert races, including the Baja 250, 500 and 1000. Eventually, his proclivity for exploration led him to dual sport and adventure riding. Rob’s never-ending quest to discover what’s around the next bend has taken him on Adventures in Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and throughout the American West. As a moto journalist, he enjoys inspiring others to seek adventure across horizons both near and far.

Author: Rob Dabney
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17 Comments
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Sarat
Sarat
March 22, 2016 3:28 pm

How about a 450? A detuned, refined single 450 chugging with 40 ponies would be just about perfect. It won’t add much weight to it, and makes a world of difference on the highway.

stack
stack
March 22, 2016 6:08 pm
Reply to  Sarat

They already have one of those… its called a 450X ; )

Brian Edwards (@BrianBuzz)
Brian Edwards (@BrianBuzz)
March 23, 2016 11:14 am
Reply to  stack

A 450X is not plated and has the oil capacity of MXer, meaning it’s not suitable for dual sporting. This would be an insanely interesting bike if it had a 450 motor. A 250 is pointless for experience riders who want to have enough power to have a good time.

John Poe
John Poe
March 24, 2016 11:04 am

I agree 100%! No 250 – even one as cool as this – is going to make me get rid of my tricked- out 13-yr-old DR-Z 400S, but If Honda ( or any of the other Japanese makes) made a 450 like this, I’d be putting a deposit down!

Christian
Christian
March 24, 2016 1:38 am
Reply to  Sarat

I think that motorcycle is called a CCM GP450? Very interesting with a 250 addition to the class.

covalle1969
covalle1969
March 22, 2016 5:05 pm

I hope Honda hear at last adv fans wanting a lighter product, hopefully below at least 180 kg wet. KTM should listen also (when a 640 adv replacement?)! I want an adv bike, but not a heavy one. Let’s hope we finally get our dream bike.

Mark P.
Mark P.
March 23, 2016 3:44 am

As the general adventure bike demographic ages(I’m nearing retirement and I like the small bikes), I think we’ll see more small adventurized bikes with modern features. The customers with the deep checkbooks are aging and want smaller lighter bikes. They want to keep riding.

Daryl
Daryl
March 23, 2016 11:25 am

Y not sell the fmx here

trackback
Honda CRF 250 Rally - From Concept to Prototype
March 23, 2016 8:21 pm

[…] market. Now, if it were a 300 or a 350 and had an updated tensioner? That would be nice… Honda CRF250 Rally Now Just One Step Away From Production – ADV Pulse I know there was someone on here who was really looking at this as a serious possibility, when it […]

RobG
RobG
March 27, 2016 2:15 pm

I really liked this until I saw the headlights. Too BMW-esque for my tastes.

Charles Webber
Charles Webber
May 11, 2016 1:25 pm

Make a 450 rally too…for us bigger guys. Cmon Honda, step up your game and knock it outta the park for once.

Stephen Fischer
Stephen Fischer
June 2, 2016 8:50 am

No thanks. This is too small to be classified as an “adventure bike”. So far I have yet to see something displace my DRZ400S. It is quite agile, reliable, and can take a beating. If you can bring to Honda reliability to eclipse that, then it would be more interesting.

YOLO
YOLO
August 5, 2016 5:26 am

Owning a CRF250L and knowing what it’s like to be on the highway with it loaded up with camping gear, I say this concept is a bust unless they do something about the power. A 350 or 450 would be cool. This concept will undoubtedly be heavier than the CRF250L and if it has the same mild engine and budget suspension, good luck touring on it. Dear Honda, we are fat. We’re sorry. We need bigger engines and better suspensions.

Kyle
Kyle
August 17, 2016 2:41 pm

The concept headlight was awesome and then they changed it to a Bmw one? What!? The first headlight was beautiful design, seamless windshield with light behind it but someone had to eff that one up.

This would be the perfect bike for an XR 400 engine revival. I could chug up many hills on that thing.

A detuned 400cc+ in a KTM is basically what we’ve all been wanting for a decade now. My KTM 640 was cool until it started failing at 9000 miles.

24moskito
24moskito
August 22, 2016 5:09 am

Agree with some others here, all I need is a bigger fuel tank and a little bit bigger engine, 450ccm or 500ccm would be absolutely perfect….and the double exhaust to make it more symetric looking…
I would order it imidiately since I LOVE my 250CRF-L

phuketbungalow
phuketbungalow
October 22, 2016 9:01 pm

Old Article, any NEWS??? Its OCTOBER 2016!!

ADV Pulse
ADV Pulse
October 24, 2016 7:15 pm
Reply to  phuketbungalow

Honda is still keeping things in suspense. We’ll see if they decide to give us a surprise before the year ends.

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