Honda CRF300 Rally Review – Motorcycle Test

Honda CRF300 Rally Review

Little red Elmo. The all-road postie bike. I tried to come up with a nickname that encapsulated my impressions of the ‘Rally’. In the end I settled on Red Robin. We do have robins in Australia, if you didn’t know. Scarlet, Flame, Red Breasted, Red Capped, Pink, and Yellow-breasted robins. You get the idea. Pretty little birds that always seem like they are having fun. Flitting about, hopping from one spot to the next with nary a care in the world. A little like the bike in question here…

There is also the whole Robin being the sidekick to Batman thing. Which, in this case, is a little more of a complicated analogy to carry off, as Honda has three larger Adventure bikes. The Africa Twin, obviously, but also the newer Transalp we tested last year, and the CB500X soft-roader that’s being revamped into the new NX500, that hopefully we’ll get to have a romp on soon, too.

So, Robin it is. Quite the good-looking bike to my eye. A five-metre stunner. I say that because once you get up close and have a good look at the details, the build quality and components betray the price point the bike is built to. In places it looks fairly agricultural. Cabling, plastics, ‘bars, paint, and even the mirror on this one looked a bit ordinary. But that’s because it is cheap. You can pick these up for a little over 10 grand on the road. But remember, this is still a Honda, which means that reliability is basically a given. Which explains why they have developed a bit of a cult following.

In no way is this bike a Rally bike. Nor is it a race bike of any kind. That HRC sticker arguably has no place on the bike and possibly sets the wrong expectation for potential customers.  For the more experienced rider looking for a lightweight Adventure-Rally weapon, a quick look at the power output and non-adjustable suspension will tell you this is not that bike.

However, if you’re someone more at the beginner-end of their offroad journey, or someone shorter of stature and leaner in the muscle department, this could absolutely be the thing for you. The fact it tips the scales at just over 150 kilos ready to roll is a massive tick. It feels light, too. On the trail, picking your way through tricky terrain, it is in its element. Completely unintimidating, super user-friendly, and encouraging. See that single-track line up that hill? Let’s give it a crack. If it all goes pear-shaped it won’t be a big deal to rectify.

Along with being lightweight, another reason the bike is so easy to ride is the engine. The 286 cc single cylinder unit delivers 26 hp and an equal number of Nm in a way that is absolutely no fuss. Which is to say it’s not overly powerful. It’s not an engine that will get you in trouble in a hurry. But it will happily lug up that trail, especially with the super-short gearing the bike comes with.

Yes, it will handle highway-speed work, although admittedly that’s not where it does its best work, nor is that seat the most comfortable after about an hour on a boring stretch of tarmac. It’ll do it, but there are better things for that. My butt was not particularly happy doing long highway stints.

And while the tank capacity of just under 13 L might not seem a lot, it’ll get you past 300 kms for everyday riding, which will be more than enough for 95 per cent of riders if they’re honest with their ambitions.

Get off the beaten track though, and it absolutely feels more at home. And this is one of the better bikes I’ve ridden for a learner rider to get out there amongst it and learn the ropes. I just had to recalibrate my own expectations and ignore the ‘Rally’ and ‘HRC’ stickers, and think of it more as a trail bike with an Adventure fairing. Which is essentially what it is.

The suspension is also beginner-focused. It is almost comically soft for a more advanced rider who wants to slip along more quickly, hitting whoops and jumps here and there. It’s simply not up for that and will bottom out very easily if you give that a crack. At both ends. Quite harshly.

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But conversely, it is that same softness that forces the rider to take a steadier pace and find the groove this bike plays in. Going too fast will have you bottoming out and bouncing off bumps instead of soaking them up, but mellow it down a little and it starts to work. That might sound like a negative for more experienced riders, but for beginners, the weight transfer from that softer suspension unlocks almost unfathomable amounts of grip from the rear tyre.

Time and time again I underestimated how much that back-end would squat under acceleration. The outcome of said weight transfer was that the rear hoop just hooks up. Grip City. Pretty sure there’s a pic mid skid with the front off the ground…

Ergo-wise, other than the seat that’s not awesome for road miles, it’s not bad. The standing position felt a little small for me to begin with, but I got used to it and made it work. I’m around 181 cm, or close to 6 ft in the old money. Again for smaller riders, it’d be a winner.

Oh, and one upside to super plush suspension? You can bounce the front up into a decent wheelie! Which is always a win. That surprised me actually. Something for the beginner to aspire to 😉

The fact the suspension is non-adjustable is a drawback for many. I get it’s built to a price-point. But ultimately, some suspension work will be required as the beginner starts to improve and pushes the envelope, because they’ll be looking to firm it up everywhere, especially towards the end of the stroke. There is possibly a decent thing here for someone with a little experience as well, once that suspension is upgraded. Beginner or not, I’d say forget about pillions or loading it up with lots of luggage until you do.

The clutch is super-light, although lever take-up and feel are fairly blunt. The gearbox is fine. Does the job, no more, no less. I don’t recall finding any false neutrals and the ratios felt well-spaced, although I do think I’d run a taller sprocket on the front. First gear is really very low.

Brakes at both ends are nice and progressive. There is a single tap and hold button on the dash to deactivate ABS on the rear to allow for locking that up when wanting to do slide turns, etc, and at the speeds the bike is likely to do, the front ABS works well enough.

So, if we think of it more as the ‘trail bike with an Adventure fairing’, or even a ‘dual sport’ I think it’s closer to the mark. A worthy entry-level dual-sport bike. No doubt Adventure riders will also be looking at newer entrants to the market in bikes like the new Royal Enfield Himalayan and CFMoto’s 450MT. Especially if they’re looking to do more than occasional road duties.

But both of those bikes in question are noticeably heavier, less ‘trail’ and more ‘Adventure’ focused. For newer riders and those wanting to tackle some trickier terrain, the little red 300 might just be up their alley. That weight advantage alone is a massive win for the 300. It really is super-light by comparison.

Us more experienced riders just need to keep waiting for Honda to do a proper ‘Rally’ 450 replica. Even just starting with the 450RL, the adding the rally droptanks and pukka suspension would do the job…

I like the CRF300 Rally because:

• It’s so light, unintimidating, and usable. A great entry-level dual-sport bike.
• Cheap too. With Honda reliability built in.
• Grip for days from that rear-end.

I’d like the CRF300 Rally more if:

• The suspension will need some stiffening up for experienced riders.
• Gearing could be a little taller, but that’s an easy sprocket fix away.
• Not really a Rally bike though, or a racebike, so the HRC sticker doesn’t belong…

Honda CRF300 Rally Specifications

Images by RbMotoLens