A road racer gets his feet dirty on
Honda’s new dual sport
Around the time when Michel Mercier was
winning his last Canadian Superbike championship, he began teaching other
riders the sweet science of road racing. I was just beginning my racing career
and didn’t know there was science in it; pretty early on I had displayed an
enthusiastic talent for crashing, but not for winning. I took the track-riding
course with Michel, and with his help I figured out how to change the order of
those two activities, crashing and winning. I regretted that I had not listened
to him a little sooner, and now, almost 25 years later, I look out at the
Ganaraska Forest and think that, yes indeed, a little knowledge can be a good
thing.
Honda
CRF250L
And with that in mind, I start listening.
Steve Weykamp, not Michel Mercier, is doing the talking. Weykamp runs an outfit
called Trail Tours and has a 40-acre riding facility next to the Ganaraska,
where he’s been teaching the skills of dirt riding for about 15 years. Honda
has delivered a handful of 2013 CRF250L ($4,999) dual sports for the use of
journalists who have shown up for this bike launch, and Weykamp is providing
instruction, though whether it’s the new bikes or the journalists that he’s
trying to protect, I can’t say.
Anyway, I’m not entirely new to this
dirt-riding environment. I learned to ride here with my father, who brought me
out to these trails back in the 1980s. For many years we came out nearly every
weekend when the weather was warm enough, and riding an enduro motorcycle
became second nature to me, like putting on shoes. Those old skills aren’t
forgotten, but time has passed a lot of time. So I listen to Weykamp, who is
talking about staying upright when the surface is loose.
Stand on the balls of your feet, he says,
and use your legs to grip the skinny back portion of the bike. Hold the bars
loosely and look far ahead of the front wheel. Once you’ve committed to a track
through muddy clay terrain, stay on that track and don’t look down. Don’t sit
down, either - standing puts weight on the rear wheel, which improves traction,
makes the bike more stable, and allows the front wheel to wiggle around without
upsetting the bike and rider.
Riders
looking for the performance of a dedicated, race-derived off-road machine will
find the CRF comes up a bit short. But for the vast majority of riders that the
CRF is intended for, this bike is highly capable when the pavement ends and the
trails begin.
Soon, I’m putting his advice to the test.
Riding a one-track trail, swerving past trees in a way I haven’t done in years.
I can smell the dirt and around me are leaves changing into the reds and
yellows of fall. I was in my late teens the last time I rode here, but
splashing through mud puddles and seeing the blur or fall colors takes me back.
The Ganaraska Forest is 11,000 acres of
multiuse terrain about an hour east of Toronto. The central section is reserved
for what they call passive recreation, things like hiking and horseback riding,
while the east and west areas permit motorized vehicles and hunting. Between
two days of riding, we will sleep in the new Ganaraska Forest Centre, which
accommodates up to 80 visitors and has break-out rooms where students take
outdoor educational programs.
When I think of Honda dirt bikes, enduros,
and dual sports, I think CR, XR, and XL, designations that Honda used back in
the day. The naming conventions have not changed very much, but Honda now calls
their dirt bikes CRF-R, their enduros CRF-X, and their dual sports CRF-L.
The 2013 model line marks an entirely new
second generation version of the CRF 250L model, which now comes with 21-inch
front and 18-inch rear aluminum rims, fuel injection, disk brakes, and a fresh
look that makes it feel both modern and closer to being an enduro than ever
before. A 43 mm Showa fork provides 250 mm of travel up front, while a Pro-Link
single-shock rear suspension delivers 240 mm of wheel travel. A digital
multi-function instrument panel includes a fuel-level gauge and a clock that is
easy to read, and the new 250L clearly has a better fit and finish than its
predecessor.
Digital
multi-function instrument panel includes fuel-gauge and clock, in case you stay
out past your bedtime. Twenty-one inch wheel, disc brake, and 43 mm Showa fork
update the 250L to modern standards. Finish is typical for a Honda: nearly
perfect.
Manufacturing is now in Honda’s Thailand
facility, where some models have been produced since 1967, including Honda’s
entry level CBR250R sport-bike. The DOHC 249 cc single-cylinder four-stroke
engine in the 250L is derived from the 250R’s, but has been modified for lower
peak power output but more tractable throttle response. Some aftermarket
components for the CBR are expected to work on both models, so they’re already
available for the 250L.
Training starts on a closed circuit sandy
terrain test track where sticking my knees out and using the front brake are
bad ideas. A quad journalist who has never ridden a motorcycle before is
expected to catch on earlier than me, due to the long list of bad habits that
road racers need to break in order to ride well on the dirt. Standing on the
pegs with knees tight between the tank and rear number plate while pushing the
bike right and left through a slalom course takes a bit of getting used to, but
it’s coming back quickly. Positive feedback is always good, and I’m told that
I’m catching on quicker than expected. Still, I need to tuck my leg in closer
to the bike so it won’t get ripped off on the side of a tree. Useful advice.
A
fully modernized instrument cluster is one of the many features that make the
CRF appealing to a wide array of riders.
The CRF250L proves to be a competent if not
a particularly thrilling dual sport. Honda’s Programmed Fuel Injection (PGM-FI)
works well while riding but is problematic on idle and stalls twice. The bike
is nimble, comfortable to ride for hours on end, and fuel-efficient. Most of
this launch is conducted on dirt roads and trails of varying difficulty,
emphasizing the dirt-handling bias of this motorcycle. It handles surprising
well, even in the hands of an old racer who’s trying to regain his footing in
the dirt.
