Motorcyclist Magazine test rides Honda's CRF250RX dirt bike ($8,499).
Photography: Jeff Allen and Adam Waheed
Video: Adam Waheed
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Preprinted Backgrounds: Nlab Studio
Motorcycle Riding Gear Worn
Helmet: Alpinetars Supertech M8
Goggle: 100% Racecraft 2
Jersey: Alpinestars Racer Semi
Gloves: Alpinestars Radar
Pant: Alpinestars Racer Graphite
Boots: Alpinestars Tech 10 Supervented
Helmet: Alpinetars Supertech M8
Goggle: 100% Racecraft 2
Jersey: Thor Terrain
Jacket: Thor Terrain
Gloves: Alpinestars Radar
Pant: Thor Terrain
Boots: Alpinestars Tech 7 Dry Star
Motorcyclist Shirts: https://teespring.com/stores/motorcyclist
Shop Products We Use: https://www.amazon.com/shop/motorcyclistmagazine
See more from us: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/
Photography: Jeff Allen and Adam Waheed
Video: Adam Waheed
Insta360 Video Footage Courtesy: https://store.insta360.com/product/x3
Preprinted Backgrounds: Nlab Studio
Motorcycle Riding Gear Worn
Helmet: Alpinetars Supertech M8
Goggle: 100% Racecraft 2
Jersey: Alpinestars Racer Semi
Gloves: Alpinestars Radar
Pant: Alpinestars Racer Graphite
Boots: Alpinestars Tech 10 Supervented
Helmet: Alpinetars Supertech M8
Goggle: 100% Racecraft 2
Jersey: Thor Terrain
Jacket: Thor Terrain
Gloves: Alpinestars Radar
Pant: Thor Terrain
Boots: Alpinestars Tech 7 Dry Star
Motorcyclist Shirts: https://teespring.com/stores/motorcyclist
Shop Products We Use: https://www.amazon.com/shop/motorcyclistmagazine
See more from us: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Hey folks, wintertime in the American Southwest can mean only one thing, dirt bikes!
00:06 We just wrapped up our official review of American Honda's 2022 CRF250RX.
00:13 Now the 250RX is a relatively new off-road model in American Honda's power sports lineup.
00:21 It was originally introduced for the 2019 model year.
00:26 It is positioned alongside Honda's CRF250R, which is a competition specification motocross
00:35 racing bike.
00:36 The 250RX is also a competition specification racing bike, but instead of motocross competition,
00:42 it's designed for off-road racing, desert racing, GNCC, and works style competition.
00:50 It's also a great fit for the weekend warrior who wants a fun and capable motorcycle that
00:56 they can ride on the trails off-road and they can still bring to the motocross track on
01:01 the weekend and go off jumps and have some fun.
01:05 Now the 250RX effectively replaces American Honda's tried and true 250X, which was retired
01:13 a few years ago.
01:14 This vehicle is a little bit more high spec compared to the 250X, and it also doesn't
01:20 benefit from a headlight inside the front number plate.
01:24 Now for 2022, American Honda has given this 250RX platform a host of modifications that
01:31 follow along the lines of the CRF250R.
01:35 Let's begin with the engine.
01:37 This engine continues to be powered by Honda's 249cc liquid-cooled dual overhead cam engine.
01:45 It benefits from a four valve cylinder head and now only one exhaust pipe.
01:51 That's right, American Honda campaigned the twin pipe setup on its 450 and 250 for a long,
01:59 long time.
02:00 It claimed that it made for a bike that had improved balance.
02:05 While we don't dispute that, it also made for a bike that's more expensive to replace
02:09 two mufflers instead of one.
02:11 Well, American Honda gets back to the basics with a more conventional one exhaust pipe
02:17 that terminates on the right-hand side of the bike.
02:20 Looking at the header, it's much bigger in diameter than the previous twin pipe design.
02:26 And oh boy, does it bark.
02:29 That's the thing that you really notice about this 2022 CRF250RX, how much more bark that
02:36 engine has.
02:38 The previous version certainly wasn't lazy, but this thing has a little bit more peppin'
02:43 at step.
02:45 It also has noticeably more low and mid-range torque.
02:48 I love torque.
02:50 Torque does the heavy lifting when you're trying to climb steep grades and this engine
02:55 has it.
02:56 I really like that you can just leave it in third gear and just lug the engine.
03:00 If you need to climb something, you just hold the throttle wide and it lugs right up it.
03:05 Now power's put back to a DID 18 inch rear wheel through a chain final drive and a five
03:14 speed gearbox.
03:16 The chain benefits from O-rings inside of it so you don't have to lubricate the chain
03:23 every time you ride, which is good for a lazy rider like me.
03:28 Now this 250RX is shod with Dunlop's Geomax AT81 specification tire.
03:35 This tire is a little bit more gummy.
03:37 It works in a wider range of conditions.
03:41 The only caveat is because it's gummy, it wears out a little bit faster than the MX
03:49 Geomax tire version.
03:51 So not a bad thing, but just something to be aware of.
03:55 Now the thing I like about this 250RX is just how easy it is to ride.
04:02 With a full 2.1 gallons of fuel, it weighs 238 pounds, a few pounds less than its predecessor.
04:09 And to be fair, it also carries a little bit less fuel.
04:13 It also doesn't have a titanium fuel tank like the CRF250R.
04:17 It just has a plastic fuel tank.
04:20 Now this bike's neat because it feels very light in motion.
04:23 It's really good in the single track.
04:25 It's really good in the fast desert.
04:27 It is a very versatile bike that you can ride in basically any type of condition.
04:32 You don't even go off jumps.
04:34 The suspension is, while maybe not as stiffly sprung as the R, you'd be surprised how firm
04:42 the suspension on this bike is.
04:44 I weigh a little bit more than most at 200 pounds right now, so I actually like the way
04:50 the suspension feels on this bike.
04:53 It soaks up the rough stuff really well, and I like how you can tailor the damping of the
04:59 fork and shock to your liking.
05:03 Now another neat thing about this 250RX is its adjustable power modes.
05:09 So with the button on the left side handlebar, you can switch between maps.
05:15 It has a standard map, which is the default setting.
05:18 By pressing and holding the button and getting two flashes, that gives you a smoother map.
05:23 So that is good for riding in slick, hard terrain, or if you're a rider who wants a
05:29 little bit less abrupt throttle response, a little bit easier throttle response.
05:35 Conversely, if you want a little bit more power hit, if you're riding in soft terrain
05:39 or deep sand, you want the engine to have a little bit more peppin' it's step, press
05:44 that button, get three flashes, and the power band will be a little bit more aggressive.
05:49 It still pumps out the same amount of horsepower, right around 38 HPs at the business end of
05:56 that GeoMax tire, but it'll just get you there a little bit quicker with a snappier throttle
06:01 response.
06:02 Overall, I like the standard setting.
06:04 The standard setting worked really well for me.
06:06 It still had a lot of juice, but it never wore me out.
06:09 So that's what I would like to run.
06:11 It's also neat, although we didn't do any actual races on this motorcycle, it comes
06:16 with a whole shock assist programming.
06:19 Again, it has three levels of adjustment, and what that does is it reduces the engine
06:26 RPM ceiling.
06:27 So when you're launching the motorcycle, instead of having to worry about keeping the engine
06:33 RPM at a certain threshold and releasing the clutch, you can literally hold the throttle
06:40 pinned and only worry about using the clutch.
06:43 It's very similar to the launch control that sport bikes were using a decade ago.
06:50 There's three RPM ceiling increments, a low, medium, and high.
06:55 Realistically, we like the low setting because that just keeps the engine from spinning too
07:01 hard and you're not going to prematurely wear out the clutch so fast because the engine
07:06 is spooled down a little bit less.
07:09 Very nice feature.
07:10 It's neat that American Honda is paying attention to the details.
07:15 Other nice improvements that we like about this 250RX, of course, the new plastic handguards.
07:22 That's awesome.
07:23 We love plastic handguards.
07:24 It keeps your mitts from getting beat up on the single track style trail.
07:29 This bike also comes equipped with a skid plate and a kickstand.
07:34 Yes, we love kickstands.
07:37 It just makes parking the motorcycle and pulling along on side of the trail or even at the
07:42 track that much easier.
07:44 No bike stand to bring with you.
07:46 It also makes it easier to lubricate the chain.
07:48 Just put it on the kickstand, start the engine, and away you go.
07:54 In terms of durability, American Honda takes great pride in crafting these motorcycles
08:01 in its headquarters in Japan.
08:04 The air filter is now easier to access.
08:07 It has a simple clip mechanism.
08:10 You remove the left number plate and you can access that air filter.
08:14 Super easy to swap.
08:16 In terms of maintenance, American Honda recommends that you change the engine oil and filter
08:22 every 15 hours.
08:24 Oddly enough, they also recommend that you replace the piston and piston ring at that
08:29 same 15 hour increment.
08:31 A little strange.
08:32 In our experience, you can get a lot more run time out of this engine than 15 hours
08:38 before doing a top.
08:40 It also recommends that you replace the drive chain, which is another kind of silly one,
08:45 every seven and a half hours.
08:47 In our experience, these chain drives work really good as long as you keep them clean,
08:52 you keep them lubed, and you keep them adjusted.
08:55 You're certainly going to get more than 7.5 hours out of life of this chain.
09:02 Of course, this engine carries over a quart of oil, so you know that engine's going to
09:07 have some fluid in it to lubricate it.
09:10 It's nice to see that a little engine like this has so much engine oil capacity.
09:16 Now a couple of gripes about the 250RX.
09:20 The gearing.
09:21 Yes, it has a five-speed gearbox.
09:23 Yes, first gear is mighty low enough to climb steep grades, but fifth gear is a little bit
09:30 short.
09:31 I'm surprised how often you're riding this motorcycle in fifth gear and you're transferring
09:37 between sections.
09:38 You're really going to have this engine spooling at high RPM.
09:42 It would be nice if fifth gear was a little bit taller or if American Honda could add
09:47 a sixth gear without bumping up the MSRP too much.
09:52 Aside from that, there's not a lot to not like about American Honda's 2022 CRF250RX.
10:00 It's an excellent bike.
10:02 It looks awesome.
10:03 The engine has a lot of power.
10:06 It's easy to ride.
10:07 The handling on this motorcycle is awesome.
10:10 This thing tackles really technical single track and it also blitzes across whipped out
10:16 fast desert terrain.
10:18 It does the best of both worlds.
10:20 You can even take it off jumps.
10:22 The suspension and chassis as a whole is very versatile.
10:25 If there was one bike you had to have in your garage, only one, this 250RX would make a
10:31 great argument for it.
10:35 Well, folks, that wraps up today's review of Honda's 2022 CRF250RX.
10:42 Would we spend our hard earned $8,500 on this motorcycle?
10:46 Absolutely.
10:47 It is a real performer.
10:49 We love the fit and finish and we love the build quality.
10:52 It's nice to know that you've purchased a quality motorcycle that's going to go the
10:57 distance.
10:58 Well, folks, as usual, make sure to surf on over to MotorcyclistOnline.com.
11:03 That's where all of our content comes to life.
11:06 Give this video a thumbs up if you liked it and thumbs it down if you didn't.
11:11 Sound off in the comment section.
11:13 What do you think of American Honda's 2022 CRF250RX?
11:19 And as always, thanks for riding with us.
11:21 We'll see you in the next episode.
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