Setting aside the arrival of the resurrected Rebel in 300 and 500 guises, the most interesting new machine from Honda may be the CRF250L Rally. It plays on Honda growing commitment to Rally racing – a commitment that includes giving Monster Energy naming rights for the 2017 rally season. The pint sized Africa Single is an obvious extension of the great Africa Twin that appeared last year. Yes there is a lot of the standard CRF250L found in the Rally but that is far from a bad thing. The proven liquid cooled 250 is a versatile engine and the long travel suspension able to soak up the rough stuff. Improvements for longer hours in the saddle include a floating windscreen and a bit more body to provide additional weather protection. The front wheel gets a bigger disc to aid in stopping from higher travel speeds and significantly, the bike’s ABS system features the ability to turn off the rear wheel ABS which is exactly what you need when descending some treacherous loose gully. One of the keys to success for what looks like an excellent option for light adventure touring will be customer willingness to pay the premium over the standard CRF250L for the CRF250L Rally which currently stands at $800 in the US market. We have to wait to see how that currency conversion works for north of the border but you have to be looking at something near $1000 CDN.
