2009 Honda CRF250R - Love At First Sight

by JP Siegling
(Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa)

I have never owned any other brand of motorcycle other than Honda, so when the time came to upgrade (and my finances didn't look too hectic) there was no question as to what my next throttle rocket would be. In 2009 I purchased, for the first time, a brand new out-of-the-box CRF250R and like every other motocrosser I kept telling myself that I would definitely be much faster on a shiny new bike..

Honda's are the prettiest bikes of the lot and the 2009 with its new white rear fender just made me smile from ear to ear every time I looked at it. The first time I kicked her to life she purred like a wild lion, and boy she runs like a lion too. Needles to say, I was on the track and in the bush-trails more than I was home.

What I love about Honda's four stroke range is how easy they are to maintain and when you do it right they will treat you the same. Since 2009 I have not had a single mechanical problem with the bike. Regular oil and filter changes together with greasing of the linkages and tightening of loose nuts saw to it that nothing that could have been prevented happened.

However, all of the Honda's that I have ever owned have had the same common problem. Fork seals on Honda's tend to give in all too often, even though this is not a major problem it is still a pain in the backside. On average I have had to replace fork seals once a year. Another small thing is the rear suspension linkage bearing that wore out, this could however have been because of frequent hard riding.


I can report that the HPSD (steering dampener) works perfectly and it has saved my head from many potential tank slappers. The bike rips straight out of the gate (standard) and is competitive, if not dominating, amongst other standard 250's. Unlike other 250's I have never struggled to get her started again after a crash or when it stalled, and I find it somewhat amusing to see other riders kick 'till they are blue in the face.

I must admit that I am somewhat jealous of the newer model Honda's looks but it's safe to say that the 2009 will remain a stunner in my eyes.

- You might notice in my pictures that my number plates and numbers are beautifully made with simple electrical tape.. this means that I would really be stoked to win a One Industries Graphix kit!

- Nice one JP. I can feel the love when you speak - I feel the same way about my YZ. I also have ongoing problems with leaking front fork seals - even though I have seal savers on the forks. Good luck on winning the graphics kit!

Hayden -