Tubeless wheels and upgraded clutch

After a couple of years of being sidetracked by buying and prepping a T700 for an overland trip; I am back working on the CRF. Newly inspired after seeing one of the guys on the China trip (Colin) doing his RTW on a CRF 300 Rally.

First up: tubeless wheelsets from Haan in Holland. After fitting tubeless wheels on the T7 and running them on the 10,000 (ish) mile trip from Kyrgyzstan to Thailand with no issues; I am sold on the virtues of this set up. 

Kept the same circumference (18 and 21 inch), but had to go for wider than stock rims (2.15 and 2.5) as the Excel rims smaller than 2.15 don't come with the safety bead for tubeless tyres (apparently!). Not sure what the story with the tubeless rims on the T7 as they are stock size?!?

Problems arose when, during fitting, it was discovered the spacers on the front wheel were the wrong dimensions to take the spindle. So, rather than spend weeks of back and forth with the suppliers, my excellent mechanic (John) fabricated replacements after an attempt to bore out the spacers left them dangerously thin (especially for the rigours of off-road riding!). This meant new, non standard wheel bearings for the front (Inner 17mm x  Outer 42mm x Width 13mm). After putting it all back together, the ABS warning light came on, so the sensor had to be shimmed out. Not ideal.....but I took it for a test ride and it was all good.

The more I read, the more I became concerned with the stock clutch on the CRF. Mine hasn't had any issues, but it's not really been ridden hard as yet. So after much research, an upgrade was in order.

Parts were sourced:

Uprated clutch plates from EBC (CK1313). Stronger springs from Barnett (501-45-05050). Crankcase gasket (11394-KYJ-900) and a new lock nut; single use apparently (90201-KYJ-900).

Reading on various internet forums, the consensus was that it was a good idea to junk the judder springs when upgrading the clutch; although the reasons for doing this were vague (beyond making wheelies easier!?!). On the test ride after the upgrade, all was good: the clutch pull was smooth and precise.

Soundtrack: "Space is Deep" - Hawkwind

Engine crash bars

Wasn't going to go for these as I didn't want to add too much extra weight. However, on a ride out to Loomies cafe I met another CRF250 rider who said his fairing had "exploded" the first time he dropped it off road. He had reinforced the fairing with some sort of kevlar mesh and added a set of GPKompozit crash bars/skid plate. The bars looked good; so after some research, I narrowed the (limited) choice to the GPKompozit (from Turkey) and the Motoskills (from Thailand). The Thai ones were slightly cheaper, but the Turkish ones were a couple of kilos lighter. 

The small engine bars on my XT definitely saved the water pump in an off in Mongolia; so I decided it was probably wise to get a set for the CRF. I’ve seen many examples of over the top crash protection; the XT has integrated “crash panels” which work pretty well, but many people seem to think they also need crash bars to protect the crash panels giving the full scaffolding look; superfluous and heavy......madness!

Anyway, I digress.........

Didn’t need the integrated bash plate on the GPKompozit as I already had the stand-alone one from Thailand. The fitting of the bars was another opportunity to showcase my incompetence. Took me a while to work out how they fitted (which included the removal of an engine bolt). I had to zip tie a spanner in place on the engine bolt on one side of the bike before I could tackle the nut on the other side. It would have been much easier with a second pair of hands and a functioning brain, but you can only work with what you have....!

Soundtrack: “Space Monkey” - John Prine

Camel tank (auxiliary fuel).

The fuel economy of the little CRF is very good. It can get +/- 21 miles to the litre (pushing 100 mpg). The standard 10.1 litre tank can get between 200 to 220 miles depending on how "enthusiastically" it is ridden. With the hoped for big trip in mind, I wanted to increase the range. Could have gone the rotopax route, but I was drawn to the auxiliary fuel tank from Camel. Not cheap, especially as import duty was added by the lovely customs people. The alternative was the replacement tank from IMS; these hold around 13.25 litres, so a gain of just over 3 litres from stock whereas as the Camel tank gives an extra 6 litres over stock. (Reading this post back, I am aware of how tedious it is, but it is for my own benefit as a record of the bike build). 😴🥱😴🥱😴🥱😴🥱😴

The 6 extra litres extends the range to the 320-350+ miles. If I also go for a Rotopax then the autonomous range will be very healthy indeed.

Note: real world experience; last fill up produced a range of approx. 344 miles. Pleased. Next fill up: 347 miles.

https://camel-adv.com/products/honda-crf250l-

camel-tank-ct-250l?variant=42197151117

So, the fitting of the tank: this required the removal of the lockable panel where I’d fitted the Tutoro chainoiler. So that needed a re-think. Fortunately, there was no need to remove the rear rack, it was a tight fit but they do work together.

It was the usual routine of sweating and swearing to get the tank mounted. The instructional video said it would take about an hour to fit; several days later.............it was finally on. Managed to connect the main tanks overflow rather than vent pipe to the camel tank on my first attempt! I'm not good at this sort of thing....

Took it out for a test ride; works superbly well! Very happy.

Soundtrack: “Sit down by the fire” - Pogues

Renthal 613 bars and Acerbis guards

I wanted to raise the height of the handlebars as I am too tall to comfortably stand without being hunched over the bars: the Quasimodo approach wasn’t working. As higher bars were needed, it made sense to upgrade to a stronger than OEM bar. After A LOT (seriously: it was a stupid amount) of research, I determined that the popular “high” versions of CRF compatible Renthal and Pro-Taper bars (eg. the Ricky Johnson CR High or EVO CR High) were actually lower than stock. Not being a fan of bar risers and having Renthal 613 Enduro high bend on my XT660, even though they are a little wider than stock on the CRF, they ARE a bit higher (16mm) and they work very well on the XT. So, I took a punt. 

Despite the meagre gain in height (on paper); the actual feel of the bars is much better and more comfortable to stand. The small extra amount of width also seems to give better feedback.

This is a very useful comparison chart from Renthal: https://www.renthal.com/worksfit/

The stock wind deflectors (to call them hand/lever “guards” would be inaccurate) are for cosmetic purposes only. The upgraded bars needed proper guards. I had some Acerbis multiplo “e” which I salvaged from my old Aprilia Pegaso 650 before I sold it. As the cost of new barkbusters was a bit silly, they have been pressed into service on the CRF. Just needed to buy some new fittings.

As all this was going on, I picked up some Progrips 732 in black and red. Softer and more comfy than stock; and despite a personal aversion to “bling”, they do look very nice!

Soundtrack: “You shouldn’t do that” - Hawkwind

Tutoro ChainOiler

There is no centre stand on the CRF and I don’t want to add one because of the extra weight. Also, they are not generally available (as far as I can tell) which makes the decision easier. Oiling the chain manually was a faff, so after asking on an internet forum, the Tutoro chainoiler came highly recommended. It is motion activated, so no electrics or vacuum to set up. Only problem was where to mount it as there is not much available space on the bike. The solution? I mounted it inside the lockable panel housing the tool kit. Perfect fit; almost like it was made to measure! I was unreasonably proud of myself as I’m not great at this sort of stuff and there is usually more swearing than success. Drilled a hole in the tool box panel to route the oil tube through and down to the rear sprocket. It needs tidying up a bit around the foot peg, but overall it’s pretty successful. I even properly cleaned the chain before fitting the oiler.    So, Tutoro chainoiler for the CRF250 Rally: success!          

 

 Soundtrack: "Motorcycle Emptiness" - Manic Street Preachers

Wish list / potential mods.

Done:

Front and rear shocks.

Saddle.

Chainoiler.

Rear rack.

Handlebars, grips and hand guards.

6 litre Camel tank

Engine crash bars.

Upgraded clutch.

Tubeless wheels.

To do:

Radiator guard..........maybe??

https://srcthailand.com/product_detail.php?product_id=%20%20212

Auxiliary power supply. Yes. SRC switch board? 

https://srcthailand.com/product_detail.php?product_id=%20%20315

Headlight guard. Probably not.

https://srcthailand.com/product_detail.php?product_id=%20%2057

Auxillary lights. Probably not; uhmm maybe?? Or upgraded LED bulbs?.

Tail tidy. Maybe.

http://www.drcproducts.com/elect/d45-18/index_crfl.html

Aftermarket exhaust. Probably not.

13 tooth front sprocket. Don’t know enough about it. Needs research.

Bigger footpegs. Unsure.

Side stand camel toe. Unsure.

https://srcthailand.com/product_detail.php?product_id=%20%2060

Honda engine cover gasket (11394-KYJ-900on

engine cover gasket (11394-KYJ-90

Rotopax fuel container. If the extended trip ever materialises, might need extra fuel capacity. 

https://rotopax.com/1-gallon-gasoline.html?category_id=28

**Above items will be deleted if/when done.**

HyperPro shocks and Seat Concepts saddle.

Seat Concepts saddle

The stock saddle on the CRF isn’t great, though not as bad as some of the reviews I read suggested. As the intended use is for a, as yet, hypothetical long trip, I decided to upgrade it anyway. Seat concepts “Tall comfort” was ordered via a UK importer. When it arrived, it didn’t fit properly: the mounting holes didn’t quite line up to the frame bolts. So, some filing and sanding of the plastic mount holes in the seat and much swearing later, the seat was on and looking great. 

Time for a test ride. I’m not sure what I was expecting; plush armchair comfort? A fluffy duvet perhaps? Well, the new seat was “fine”; certainly better than stock, but the difference was underwhelming considering the price of the thing. It is wider than stock and is nice and grippy, so it’s staying on.
 

Hyperpro shock

The next mod made a much more significant change to the ride, a huge difference in fact. Stock suspension is very soft, especially for anyone bigger than a hobbit. A Hyperpro emulsion rear shock (with the spring rated to take myself as well as luggage) and a progressive front spring kit were ordered (after chopping off the necessary limbs to pay for them.......ouch!). Only one of the front forks has a spring in it, who knew? Well, the supplier did for one, patiently explaining to me why they only sent one spring when I asked where the missing one was. Whoops!

Now fitted, it is a new bike: more agile, responsive and predictable. A much more enjoyable ride all round, almost worth the loss of the arm and leg!

Soundtrack: “Shock Treatment” - Pallas