Photo: Honda
Africa Twin is unquestionably one of the nicest arrivals in the adventure segment this year, but Honda's line-up is about to be complemented by a quarter-liter machine, too. The house of Tokyo trademarked the CRF250 Rally name for both the US and Europe, and we believe it is in a straight line for production.
Several renderings already surfaced, based largely on the CRF450 Rally Dakar racer. However, more images also made it to the surface, and the CAD drawings seem to show a slightly different design. Still, the major cues reveal that the Adv force is strong with the CRF250 Rally, and this is great.
A quarter-liter machine is maybe the bike these guys were expecting the least, but Honda's move might prove to be a very smart one. Small-displacement bikes are on the rise in all the segments, and the adventure/rally niche is no exception.
A bike like the Honda CRF250 Rally will surely be a very appealing choice for the younger demographic in search of an all-rounder with strong off-roading capabilities. If anything, the CRF250 Rally can be an awesome training bike for those eyeing to get behind the bars of a CRF450 Rally production racer or other similar, bigger and more powerful machines.
We might get to see a prototype at EICMA, even though there is no word from Honda on this matter. As for the rest, we can hope that the house of Tokyo will add a bike in the middleweight segment, too.
Some might feel like Honda is making efforts to avoid building a proper middleweight machine
With the Africa Twin becoming a liter-class beast and leaving the acclaimed middleweight bikes behind, some have been expecting that the next adventure motorcycle would be a replacement for the XRV and Transalp.A quarter-liter machine is maybe the bike these guys were expecting the least, but Honda's move might prove to be a very smart one. Small-displacement bikes are on the rise in all the segments, and the adventure/rally niche is no exception.
A bike like the Honda CRF250 Rally will surely be a very appealing choice for the younger demographic in search of an all-rounder with strong off-roading capabilities. If anything, the CRF250 Rally can be an awesome training bike for those eyeing to get behind the bars of a CRF450 Rally production racer or other similar, bigger and more powerful machines.
Don't get your hopes too high, because CRF250 Rally is not derived from the Dakar motorcycle
Despite the name similarity, the CRF250 Rally is not derived from the Dakar machine, so those expecting a vile bike might feel a bit disappointed. The new Rally bike is developed from the CRF250L, so some of the race-grade components will be missing, at least in stock trim.We might get to see a prototype at EICMA, even though there is no word from Honda on this matter. As for the rest, we can hope that the house of Tokyo will add a bike in the middleweight segment, too.
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