CRF300L

The essence of what makes a true dual-purpose motorcycle has long been in Honda’s DNA. In the late 1970s the XL250S was launched ­– a bike providing genuine on-road usability with excellent off-road performance. The entire XL range that followed became legendary and proved that combining an economical and easy-to-use single-cylinder four-stroke engine with a competent chassis created a motorcycle that was useful, versatile and, as riders the world over found, a great deal of fun.

Over thirteen years ago, exhaustive discussions within Honda R&D took place about the creation of a brand-new dual-purpose machine. The company’s long history – in off-road competition and trail-ready machinery – was a useful touchstone when development of the bike first began.

Looking to the needs of customers came first. While some riders insist upon competition-level off-road performance, many others value ease of use, practicality and convenience. For weekday, urban environments they wanted a tough, practical bike with cutting-edge off-road style. But, come the weekend, it needed to provide a ticket to ride, wherever they wanted to go, on or off-road.

Honda’s new dual-purpose bike was always viewed by its development team with global perspective. It not only needed a powerful and frugal engine, its chassis also had to have a broad and capable range. And it needed to be affordable, offering high quality and outstanding value for money, with low overall running costs a priority.

The CRF250L, launched across Europe in 2012, was just that motorcycle.

And Honda’s engineers got the formula right. The CRF250L proved a fruitful base platform which, as well as spawning a RALLY version*, enjoyed consistent sales success around the world. Gaining capacity in 20YM, the CRF300L’s new engine also received an assist/slipper clutch. Thanks to weight reduction in the chassis, it was 4kg lighter, with revised riding position, slimmer seat and tank and positive LCD dash.