CRF300L Rally | 1 Year Review + My Favorite Mods

[@Davran2742]

Thanks for the insights. I've not ridden for twenty years (after riding all the time before that), and a crf 300 rally or 3rd-gen klr 650 are at the top of my short list for an impending purchase.

[@NatePoeppel]

Nice! I've owned a gen 2 KLR as well and now a Tenere 700. All great bikes and super reliable. Another bike I've been interested in lately is the CFMoto 450MT. Worth checking out if you're between those two bikes. It'd be a much better highway experience than the 300L and a little lighter than the KLR for about the same amount of money. Also less vibration than a KLR.

[@Davran2742]

@@NatePoeppel I almost had a 450mt on order, but the gas tank's not big enough for what I want. The Kove 450 rally looks great, but I'll wait a year to see if they bring out an adv variant, and what the reliability is.

[@davidparadis490]

Changing front and rear sprockets is the best way to adjust any bikes performance to match your desire

[@stevendaleschmitt]

After 40+ years on street and superbikes, I bought a CRF250 Rally in metallic charcoal. Performance and MPG are perfectly balanced. Too bad Honda doesn't offer more colors, kinda sick of red. Meanwhile, I have a Superglide for sale.

[@aribpm]

@moskito5864 that’s actually a really good idea. Could change color schemes very easily.

[@MartsBoddy-ri9uu]

Great vid pal, lots of detailed info and nice laid-back style 👌

[@smendez43]

Great video! I'm about to purchase one. Any links to products you used?

[@richardvg03]

Thanks for the great overview!

[@ruserious9577]

Not just wilderness...These days, most urban riding also warrants a nice bear-spray mount as well!

[@philippelabelle9988]

Thanks for pivot pegz suggestion!❤

[@itsallabouttheridekeepingi4449]

Great 👍 review mate , Paul from Australia I have a 300 Rally as well and done a few mods so far , I do like your explanation on the 15 front sprocket as well 👍

[@JCrozier1]

first time viewer.Looks like a great setup. I've been dreaming of mixing van life and a bike on the back. I'm going to subscribe and hope you have some content that overlaps that. nice work on this video.

[@telefunkenyou47]

I removed the air box snorkel and added 3 UNI vents to the door and modified my exhaust. I tried a 13 up front and just lost a gear. But a 15 with a 91 octane stage 1.0 tune sounds like it might get it where I’d like it on the road and dirt. (As long as I can still clutch it up in second.) And then I have to get the fork kit. I hate how the front end dives when I hit the front brake. And then……

[@scotthart8278]

Nice work Nate, looks like you are enjoying a reallife of adventure!

[@magnusb6311]

Nice, is that the same kind of bike Itchy boots is driving?

[@NatePoeppel]

Yeah!

[@mynox67]

Hi Nate, I have the exact same setup as you. Solis Pocket and the 300 Rally. What hitch carrier are you using? Did you have to upgrade the curt hitch and change anything on the suspension? Great video.

[@NatePoeppel]

I got the 600 lb Black Widow one that was sold on Amazon for around $250. It’s held up, but I’ll probably upgrade to something nicer in the future or will reinforce this one somehow. There’s more wobble than I’d like in it. I upgraded to the 500 lb tongue weight curt hitch but the 750 lb one looks like a much better design for this amount of weight. I’d go for the 750.

[@PickledShark]

Hey man, new to your channel. That was great info, thanks for that! Can you tell me about how you’re loading it on your van? I’ve got a lifted sprinter van that I want to get a bike for and this is near the top of the list for me

[@NatePoeppel]

750 lb tongue weight hitch. 600 pound Black Widow motorcycle carrier I got on Amazon. Key locking hitch pin. Soft ties connected to the fork tubes or handlebars to prevent chipping. Short rackets going from them to the front mounting points on the carrier. Fork saver brace between the front fender and tire to protect the fork seals and make the bike more stable. Ratchet covered in rubber tubing wrapping under the hitch carrier and connected to the subframe or footpegs pulling downward to compress the bike centrally. Additional tie down running from handlebar closest to the van to the actual van hitch. Tie down running from left end of handlebars to right door upper hinge. Carved out yoga block or tennis ball on right handlebar end nearest the van to protect the glass.

[@mehmetsoysal1567]

​@@NatePoeppelIt would be beneficial for everyone if an episode was shot to show this.

[@IRQ1Conflict]

Do a 606 in the rear and a Perelli M21 on the front. I hear that's a great combo.

[@danr8203]

Don't forget about that SRC kickstand enlarger!!

[@NatePoeppel]

Haha yes! I love the enlarger but not the kickstand. I wish it folded higher up and had a stronger spring.

[@LuckyNikitaBoba]

How much do you weigh? Great video!

[@ferttcd]

Hi every body! 2 months with my 300 Rally and loving it😬. A cuestion about the 15 teeth front sprocket.. does it modificate fuel consumption in general? And, does it gets a little bit more top speed? Thanks!

[@NatePoeppel]

I’d have to ride on it longer to know an answer on fuel consumption. As for top speed, it’ll definitely go faster on a downhill, but the bike in general doesn’t have enough power to pull me (160lbs) over 75mph on a flat section. The biggest benefit I notice is that the bike can run around 65-70mph under 7000rpm now. That was my main reason for doing it - giving the engine a bit more of a break on highways.

[@ferttcd]

@@NatePoeppel thanks Nate.. what I can tell seeing and reading about this bike, is that there is quite different top speed for each case. It vary quite much.. sorry for my english

[@NatePoeppel]

I have a better answer on fuel consumption now. With the stock gearing, I was getting around 60 mpg and now I’m getting 57.

[@ferttcd]

@@NatePoeppel thanks man.. good to know.. I'm getting around 60 to. And on the top speed matter I reached 140 km/h and then had to brake.. but the bike was still pushing a little. (95-97 octanos fuel). Comfort traveling speed in my opinion is between 100 and 115 km/h

[@dcummings7253]

Does anyone delete the cat on these. Or is that not possible. If not it's off my list.

[@tieoneon1614]

If u know how to ride offroad, these 50/50 tires like the D605 are actually great for these kind of bikes {except mud}. They come stock on the KLX, and air'd down to 13-14psi for slower speed trail riding they actually grab good. I have an air pump and on long trips I bring it with. Even DOT knobbies rob any enjoyment of riding on pavement, vibrate and cant lean into curves.

[@edword3457]

What air pump are you using?

[@tieoneon1614]

@@edword3457 right now I have a $37 Amazon battery one, bought the size of a silo beer can. I keep it in my pack, partially cuz it can be used to power my cell phone also that happened to be same type C port. But I was happy with my foot pump for $12.

[@maxyorkshire5930]

Van needs its own video. What do you do for a living to live life on the road?

[@NatePoeppel]

I do primarily audio mixing work. Sometimes shooting and editing videos.

[@hickokaviation2249]

Thanks!

[@bombidude]

Whats the top speed on the highway with that 15 tooth sprocket?

[@NatePoeppel]

Still around 80 but it’s a lot easier on the engine around 65-70 and 5th seems more usable on highway hills now. I lost about 3-4 mpg.

[@muzjmhjmh]

Itchy boots ride's one of these

[@danielskalnins]

how much was it for the suspension?

[@NatePoeppel]

$1648 shipped for the K-Tech shock, fork cartridges, seals, bushings, oil and springs. I spent about $400 to get the fork components installed. Overall, a huge improvement for $2k.

[@NatePoeppel]

A note on this is that it wasn’t super easy to find someone willing to install those components. I had a few places turn me down before I found a guy. We also had a quality issue with one of the springs and the tech I hired and his friend at Race Tech weren’t entirely thrilled with how K-Tech designed the fork setup. It basically turned into a process of getting the suspension done, noticing an unusual noise on the left fork leg, shipping that leg to CA from AZ, waiting on an out of stock replacement from K-Tech and finally getting that after 3+ weeks just to find out that it’s better but still has a small amount of spring noise I can hear on the left side. It’s pretty hard to say if I’d recommend someone going the K-Tech route. The bike rips now. Seriously so much more capable of hard riding, but hopefully this info helps you or someone else decide if it’s worth going through the process to have it done or to research other companies.

[@danielskalnins]

@@NatePoeppel Appreciate the detailed response! In most videos I’ve seen about the bike where one has to say something they’d change or improve in it, it is the suspension, so will see. Curious to find out how I’ll feel about it.

[@refuztosay9454]

Great video. Thanks for posting. What was the weight at the end of the mods? Too bad the eco-cunts banned 2 strokes. Imagine how sweet a street legal KTM 300 would be…

[@prairiedog879]

That looks like Desert Wells...Superstition mountain in the background

[@bbaz6729]

I initially looked at this bike and the rally version. The forks and rear shock are abysmal for off road use. (Not even as good as the old XR's/DR's) By the time you do the fork mod and swap the rear shock for something like an Ohlin piggy back - You are within $2000.00 of the Honda 450 RL, which is much better in every way. I have an old (91) DR250 I ride. It came with better forks and a piggy back fully adjustable rear shock.....In 1991. I'm still looking for a replacement for it, because in my mid 50's I'm getting tired of kicking :)

[@Mic636]

Hey some free mods you can do is if you have the original air filter it comes with a graded mesh I removed that also the factor spark arrestor also comes with a graded steel mesh that can also be removed both give the bike a bit of pep not neck braking but noticeable

[@Caplta]

Nice dirt scooter 👍

[@danielklopp7007]

FYI: @1:14 - the correct terminology is "damping" (not "dampening"). dampening = getting something damp (i.e. wet) damping = controlling spring oscillation (i.e. not letting the spring compress or rebound too quickly). @Nate: don't worry, most (non engineers) get this terminology wrong. Please don't take offense, I'm just trying to help improve your channel!

[@NatePoeppel]

I noticed it after I filmed it haha. I wasn’t too worried about it to edit. Thanks for informing, though!

[@kmathers101]

Clickers ? 😂

[@NatePoeppel]

Never heard compression and rebound adjusters called that? www.dirtrider.com/features/adjusting-your-suspension-clickers/