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Honda CRF250 Rally concept: Please, Honda

Mar 18, 2015

My heart skipped a beat or six this morning scrolling through my RSS feed. 

Let's all just pause, take a second, and really soak in that picture — because there's a good chance we'll never see it, at least not in the form we (I) want.

The Honda CRF250 Rally concept is based heavily on the existing CRF250R motocrosser, while pulling in styling cues from the current CRF450 Rally that runs Dakar and performance bits that will make the 250 less track-biased and more trail-focused.

Honda CRF250 Rally Concept
The CRF250 Rally concept. Honda photo.

My biggest question is: What's the engine going to be like? The one in the friendly CRF250L dual-sport or the one in the race-worthy CRF250R? The CRF250L is a great bike for riders who are new to dirt. As with the rest of the Honda lineup lately, it does everything well but in a kind of boring way. The flip side of the coin is that Honda uses the CRF250R motor and the thing is never allowed to touch public roads. The inclusion of signals, mirrors, and a license plate holder would hint that this is not the case, but you never know.

Part of my excitement about this CRF 250 Rally concept and the True Adventure prototype is because these bikes are so physically reminiscent of a time when Honda was on top of its game that they might finally be a departure from hum-drum Honda we've seen lately.

Honda CRF250 Rally Concept
The CRF250 Rally concept. Honda photo.

In any case, there is really nothing to indicate this is coming to the United States, but that doesn't mean we can't write petitions or try to get Obama involved or something. The fact that it's being released at the Osaka show isn't a good sign, either.

Sorry if it feels like this post is rambling. I literally can't keep myself from daydreaming about riding this thing around Los Angeles and then promptly being arrested for general acts of awesomeness.