Honda CRF250L & Rally Mods For Adventure | DIY

[@alexanderbuys2051]

Love your videos! Sick bike too! I'm looking at getting one myself. Can't wait.

[@davebethell1]

Good honest opinion regarding worthwhile modifications. With genuine reasons how you came to your conclusion. Nice to see a channel without promotions or plugs for things you don't need. Well done

[@lightweightadv]

Thanks Dave, we appreciate it 😎

[@mermerac9610]

Thank you man. I've been on the fence about the L or Rally because of the lower fairing. Now I have it all worked out in my head. Safe travels 🤟🏻

[@freshsmoothie1463]

Good video for inspiration. But, my ears busted when the music came on. xD

[@shawnames2271]

"I'm not being weird...probably being a bit weird" -Everyone caught fiming themselves ever. 😆

[@brianrussellbrd]

I agree with so many of your modifications. It was almost like watching a recap of my own bikes evolution. The Lomo throw over soft luggage was one I have gone for that you didn’t mention. Good quality at a great price. I missed your first years weekend rally. I do hopefully will be doing it again this coming year.

[@lightweightadv]

Thanks Brian, that's ace to hear 👊🏻😎. The lomo bags are ace, we used them for a long while, but needed something that little bit bigger fir longer trips. Yep, the festival will be coming back, we're holding it in July this year. Will be ace to see you there

[@lightweightadv]

Here's a link to the site with the details of next years festival 👍 www.lightweightadventurers.co.uk/

[@fatpigeonadventurerider2118]

One mod I did was fit a CBR250R ECU, it strengthens the mid range not a huge amount but noticeable

[@lightweightadv]

We're working on a project around that! Will have to wait and see how it pans out 😎

[@gordonblackley8863]

I know we’re mates, which makes me less likely to say this, but I do like your videos 😎

[@carkdonwah1528]

Another great Vid. Must get round to fitting my Michelin Trakkers. Had them ages just not finding an issue yet on the tracks I’ve been on. However I only tend to go out in the dry lol. I’ve got the full FMF exhaust and love the sound of it. Indeed just changed my one month old street scrambler exhaust to the straight through pipes. Love a bit of noise. Great Vid Mark. Keep it up.

[@Jaffa1951]

Enjoyed this. Like your style - both of you - Your Rally looks great. Subscribed.

[@rosarioroberto5823]

Greetings As usual very informative and detail video, keep producing more.🇺🇸🎉🍾🇺🇸

[@lightweightadv]

Thanks for the feedback! The vids will keep on coming 😎👍🏻

[@iangriffiths9930]

I went with a 14-42 tooth setup, made a big difference off road but agree that the bike does Rev a bit more, think I’m doing 6500 revs at 60mph. Best mod I’ve done was the suspension, I am thinking about getting the forks re valved as they are a bit harsh on big hits. As always really enjoyed the video 👍

[@spiceychilli57]

Nice roundup there Marc 👍🏻 this weekend for my trimmed fairing Rally... Paint the header pipe a nice coat of black. I've got a standard silver CRF heat shield like on Jamie's L, but can't find the little formed standoff bracket bit for the end ☹️ if anybody down South would let me have a go on one with the suspension upgrade i would be forever grateful 😂

[@iseeyou1596]

Great video Mark! I’ve made a few mods to mine and have just ordered the hyperpro springs after watching you guys do it. I have a rally and bought a B&B Off Road bash plate from Australia, specially made for the Rally! Got stung for import taxes though 🙄😂.

[@cakeshoe]

Nice vid. Thanks. I have a 3 year old CRF Rally. Haven’t done much at all to it. I prefer touring / camping and I live in Indonesia where there are no motorways - so I don’t need any top end. I’ve added a rear rack and pannier racks, but the Rally has such a wide arse; if I change the exhaust it would be purely get a narrower rear to save a few inches. But then I’d have to redesign the pannier racks to suit. I’ve been running a Shinko E805 big block tyre on the rear (as I found that the standard tyre used to wiggle sideways when offroading on gravels and volcanic pumice (also, it’s a bit less noise and vibration on the roads). I have a humungous bashplate but think I’ll swap it out for a lighter one. Also, I wrapped the whole bike in a dark gray camo - I dislike the ‘children’s-plastic-toy red’. Gas Gas!

[@jimdicko1483]

Top top video mate. You’ve pretty much sold me on these. Think it’s gonna be my next bike. How much do you want for the rally?! 😁

[@garethowen61]

Great video and advice as ever👍 For me on my 300 Rally I will see how it goes in Scotland next month to gauge what further mods to do but tyres will be a priority I think. So far I’ve got a H2C rack and Zeta XC hand guards, the latter still to be fitted as getting the bar end core is a bit of a bugger with my limited toolkit🙄 I think updated springs may follow. Keep up the good work, essential viewing!

[@gazguzzler8294]

No mention of bhp increasing stickers this week? :-) Good to run through all the mods and how they work together.

[@Declan4253]

Love the channel. Very relatable for me as I have a buddy who is interested in motorcycles so we will likely buy or rent and do some trips like you have. I am looking at a dual sport and customizing it for offroad adventure riding. I am from the US, but lived in the UK for awhile in a little town call Bishop's Stortford. While my wife and I were there, we loved how you were allowed to walk around any field you wanted to. This is not legal in the US. I wonder where you find places to ride? Does the zoning let you ride in the country the way you are allowed to hike around the perimiter of any field? That is my biggest issue where I live in Maine. There is so much nature around, but it is not accessible by motorcycle for the most part. They get a lot of tourism where I live so I don't think they want the noise as it doesn't fit the sailboat reputation of our area I am guessing. Thanks for the videos.

[@lightweightadv]

Finding legals rights of way to ride is getting harder for sure. We're lucky enough to have a green lane/unpaved road network, but it's being constantly squeezed. Modifying a dualsport for Adventure is definitely the right way to go in my opinion. Best of all worlds

[@Declan4253]

@@lightweightadv Thanks again. You guys are great.

[@duncanelliott5120]

Brilliantly helpful. Many thanks.

[@reededdie11]

Hi. I can't find your video on doing the airbox mod. I can only find one about your test results, do you have a link?

[@lightweightadv]

Hi, I think that is all we did actually, I don’t think we did a how too as far as I can remember, sorry

[@mickoe1053]

Fantastic video yet again Marc. Covered several of the mods I'm considering and great to hear your honest opinion of how easy they were to fit and if they were worth it the end. I'm same height as you and have been looking around for a cheapish bar riser but reckon may think about the Renthal option. How easy were they to fit?

[@chrisknight2772]

Thanks for advice...been riding same bike for two years...only changed tyres, heated grips and lever protection. Have delayed other mods due to lack of confidence in DIY mechanics. Are all the mods achievable for a relatively inexperienced biker/mechanic? Cheers

[@lightweightadv]

Hi Chris, yes, I'd say so. The suspension upgrades are a little bit more involved, but achievable if you are logical. The clutch upgrade appears difficult when you start stripping the engine, but is, in reality, incredibly simple. You will need a good basic toolkit 👍🏻. Go for it, you'll surprise yourself 😎

[@RichieRides]

Great vid, Ive just purchased a 250 Rally and its got all the mods you have listed, except the bash plate which I plan to do asap. Ive got a full YSS shock replacement its great. Do you find the seat in need of improvement on long distance? I have purchased it with a plan to do longer distance off road riding so road miles to get to the off road.

[@lightweightadv]

Hey Richard. The panels fit well once cut 👌🏻, no drama. The bash plate is Adtek, they're available online, but there are better ones out there now in all honesty. I've since fitted a cool covers seat cover, but I actually find the seat OK to be fair...

[@derrickjoness]

Hey with the upgraded springs do you think you could get a second passenger on the bike without it bottoming out or sagging to much in the rear. I don't need to go fast as i live in Bali and the roads are shit lol

[@lightweightadv]

Hi Derrick. I've not tried to carry a passenger, but my educated guess would be that it would carry a smaller passenger just fine. As a rough estimate, I would say it has stiffened the rear shock a further 25% from stock. I ride trails hard with 20kg mounted on the back and have had no issue with it bottoming over rocks, drop offs etc. Hope that helps

[@andybiker8647]

Remove judder spring and smaller friction plate , fit standard oem friction plate and new gasket £30 👍

[@jeffreystivala3386]

Hi, first of all great Vid keep it up. Is there a reason why you didn't fit crash bars. No issues with the radiator when you drop it . Thanks

[@jeffreystivala3386]

@@lightweightadv I understand. Thanks. Still building my courage to trim the fairing as I really like that mod.

[@matthewmoreman4145]

Good video, thanks, should be collecting my Rally at the weekend & similar to you, I think, it's to get to somewhere adventurous & back again so needs to be best of both on road & on trail. Performance mods are interesting, have the bikes been on dyno to quantify performance differences? Have you had to do anything about mapping? more air giving a leaner mixture....

[@lightweightadv]

Hi Mathew, no we haven't had them on a Dyno or adjusted any of the fuel mixtures so can't give 'official machine tested' figures I'm afraid, these are just what we have found ourselves. We are currently working in the background on a potential mapping option that if it works could be really good, will keep you posted on that 😎👍

[@matthewmoreman4145]

@@lightweightadv Be interesting to see how you get on! Enjoyed the videos so far, picked my own 250 rally up a week ago after trying big bike friendly trails for first time this year on a f650gs twin...plan is to get used to the crf as is for a bit then see how I go...watching your progress with interest👍🏍😎

[@kingtingz41]

Love it! 👍🏼

[@oliversutton4596]

What size Michelin’s did you fit?

[@joecamel6835]

Just got a black/silver version, 2018 but only 950 miles on her , came with luggage rack , k&n filters and those sprockets uninstalled should I choose to use them .

[@lightweightadv]

Can't say which sprocket to use Joe, perhaps try both out and see which you prefer. It's a fast swap out. The K&N is a good mod, have you seen our airbox mod vid?

[@porter5877]

Another great video, question... I've fitted renthal high bars and went to fit 2" pivot risers but the clutch cable is way to tight no slack at all... Did you get a longer cable? It seems some bikes have just enough slack while others don't which seems impossible as it should all be the same.. Any info appreciated

[@porter5877]

@@lightweightadv thanks for info will trace cables back and habe a play

[@hickokaviation2249]

What do you recommend for riding gear? I was noticing your knee protection.

[@lightweightadv]

Yeah, I wear the Leatt dual axis knee guards. I don't go out without them, they're an essential part of my kit.

[@airadaimagery692]

Does the front suspension upgrade require replacing a spring, or adding a spring? I heard someone say that one of the forks did not have a spring in it, that’s why I’m asking... I’m looking at a 2018 250 Rally that Im thinking about purchasing

[@lightweightadv]

It can mean both! Some upgrades replace the existing spring and others add a second spring. Both have pros and cons. The one spring system is lighter and can be adequately sprung (as hyperpro proves), with dampening achieved by adding heavier oil to both forks. Dual spring setups are heavier, have greater rebound but unless you adjust the valving ans/or oil weight, dampening is compromised

[@airadaimagery692]

@@lightweightadv great! I definitely don’t want to add weight unless necessary. Thank you!

[@CarparkCarl]

Noticed the tail tidy too, do you find it allows mud to hit your back at all? Before I got my rally, my previous bike had similar and I always had a brown back at the end of the day 😃

[@CarparkCarl]

@@lightweightadv it's so easy to overlook as far as mods go :)

[@shaunbarclay1309]

i got a speedo healer off ali express for £30 and the front sprocket was half that at £15. Gotta disagree with the "big money" part

[@shaunbarclay1309]

@@lightweightadv beginning to feel that way myself tbh. Its great for off roading but i feel my CRF is more a winter road bike at this point

[@angelteamnolimit624]

I just bought a 2017 in amazing condition 3000 miles and only thing I complain about is the big ugly screen does anyone know of something that looks way better then the stock screen ?

[@lightweightadv]

I covered mine with carbon fiber effect film. Makes it look far better 😎👍🏻