My Life—250cc Sized

Rad. RideApart.

Best Dual Sport Bikes has added 6HP and dropped 20 pounds. Epic. Mods will start coming on mine once cross season is over.

250L custom from Thailand, want the black plastics.

My bike is just a smaller version, right?

I just bought a Honda CRF250L. It defies logic. I’m not a retiree looking to revisit motorcycle riding, nor am I 21, and swinging a leg over a bike for the first time.

 I’m 36 years old, married and, with regards to motorcycles, I would consider myself experienced. I’ve owned a slew of different bikes and though I’m not sure Honda knows who they’re marketing this bike to, I’m probably not the target market.
How did I get here?

I haven’t owned a bike in the last 24 months, so my desire to be on one had recently been overwhelming. The hardest part was figuring out what it was that I wanted to buy. Money is relatively tight, and this purchase would be the only one for 24 months or longer, so be smart I told myself, be smart.

So running down the list, I’ve owned the following: F4i, RC51, Brutale, Monster, Hypermotard, and real motards, lots of motards. I’ve owned a KTM LC4, 650R, SMR450 and a DRZ SM. Once you ride a dual sport or a motard in The Bay, it changes everything. Near death experiences happen less often. Even better, you arrive at your destination with a smile on your face, and more often than not you get there faster than you would on xyz sportbike.

Read the entire article at Hell For Leather.

The bike is home, and I’m loving it. I wrote an article for Hell For Leather, and I’ll post it up shortly.

Forget the Stussy branding for the “collab”, the flat black everything is awesome. File under things to consider.

The 2013 CRF250L.

$4,500 MSRP, pegged as a do-it-all slash entry level bike. I’m pegging it as a future classic, and the beginning of a return to awesome, sensible motorcycles.

I’m a Honda guy and I’m neither a beginner, or a returning rider—aka old guy. Instead I’m just a dude who wants a rad bike that he can rip around the city on, go camping with, and in general have a blast on.

I live in California, and I wanted a new dual sport. Most of the bikes on the market are lame, heavy, or expensive—or better yet… all three. The CRF250L is affordable—costs less than the premium being asked for aging dual sports or homogenized “cafe” Honda CBs, and additionally it looks pretty alright, and has a license plate.

I get mine in a few days, in the meantime here is a stock PR photo.