I’m an older rider, exactly as you described. First bike was a 1976 Z50, then moved to an XR75 then an XR350 in college. Haven’t been on a bike in 30 years and for $3800 used, with 30 hours on it, my CRF250f is perfect for getting back at it. It’s all about expectations. They hold their value, are low maintenance and if I want to keep riding, can sell it for a more capable bike. Getting on it brought that feeling back, twisting the throttle, the torque, you can’t describe it unless you ride and for that alone, it’s great for me, for now.
100% !!! At age 61, I am just getting started with trail riding, same time as my 20 year old son. I got my 250F three weeks ago after watching Soup Moto’s videos about it. My son and I both love this bike! We are learning and progressing quickly. Prefer this bike to all of our friends’ bikes. Thanks for the recommendation Soup 👍
that's awesome to hear! i'm glad the videos have been helpful in finding the right bike for you guys. glad to hear you're really enjoying it :) keep shreddin
Trail bikes are heavily slept on. They're soft, forgiving, and actually enjoyable to ride. They're not trying to kill you or take tons of skill to have fun. I have a KDX200E and it's great.
I have a crf250f I've been driving since I was 4 years old back in 1984. I'm in my mid-40s and I like going trail riding. It does perfect for everything I needed to do. What's so funny is I see all these yzs and r models out on the trail and they'll usually let me lead because they're doing everything they can just to try to keep up with me. We're talking about tight trails that's what the bike to me was meant for and to be honest it outperforms any race bike in those situations. Well at least with me on it lol.
I’ve heard that comment a lot😂 I’m actually doing my first hare scramble race on Sunday and I’m gonna race the 250f just for giggles so we shall see how it goes
It’s actually fun to race c class with this bike. It’s funny to see all the other people struggling on tighter sections but since this thing is such a tractor it just pulls right through it
I'm 55yrs old. This is my first bike. I love the fact that it is a turd. I don't want that snappy over powerful bike. I love riding dirt roads and taking my time and enjoying the ride. This bike has more than enough power for me.
I have been riding since I was 4 and I got this bike for trails because it was cheaper then I wanted to get into motocross and it is making it harder to ride on the track. I road my brothers kx450 and it was performing amazing on the track but that’s an 11,000 dollar bike
yeah unfortunately the new mx bikes are quite pricey! check out my video on the 125 2 strokes. for sure a more affordable way to get into more advanced riding and moto as well. ua-cam.com/video/sE8srnhl208/v-deo.html
Dude loving the videos 👍🏼 I recently decided I want to get a bike first time and I think the 250f is gonna be the one, just to start out I think it would be perfect to start out with, and your past videos made that apparent. Keep the good content up man you make good informative videos and that’s what people like me are looking for 🔥
I would totally own one as my second bike from my kx450. I think people get really mixed up between trail bikes, cross country and Enduro bikes. This bike is just reliable, easy to ride, cheaper to maintain. Not looking to podium the trails.
I mean topped out people are getting what between 65 to 70 mph that's plenty fast enough on a dirt bike. Especially for the trails it was meant to hit.
I've never been riding dirt bikes, wanted to get in and got a crf250f. It's a nice bike, but man - it was just boring. It's too easy 😀 I ended up giving it away to my 13y/o daughter and getting a crf250rx. I love the RX - it's absolutely perfect! So, try before buy.
Most people should be riding these kind of bikes on the trail over race bikes. Unfortunately, every time I go riding, everyone is on ktms and crf 450s bogging down in 3rd gear as you let them breathe the dust your kicking up. Give me a xt250, crf250, ttr250 drz250 anytime of the day.
i have a crf250f and use it round a farm a couple fast laps every now and then i love it for that and all i love how i can put around knowing nothing will happen and the maitnence but im starting to feel a little like its to slow what do i do
if you feel like you're outgrowing it skill wise and want something faster, there's no problem with that. what type of riding do you like doing? might be time to upgrade
@@notsoupmoto Please look into the big bore kits avaliable from Brazil for this bike, their getting rave reviews from the people that have them and they claim it turns the bike into a fire breather, comes with an ATHLON tuner too, the company is called LOJAFORCECAM. Would love to get your opinions on this.
@akustaka definitely sounds interesting. i usually shy away from big bore kits personally just because I don't really like messing too much w the engine. I just like bikes that I can get on and ride haha but for those that like tinkering with stuff like that it would be worth looking into for sure. thanks for the suggestion!
The big difference (performance wise) is not water vs aircooled. It's the compression ratio of the engine. Bump the air cooled 250f motor up to 13:1 compression and see what happens.
Air cooled engines have to run lower compression because of things like engine knock and reduced air density when they get hot. That’s why the CRF250R and other liquid cooled race bikes can run the 13.9:1 compression ratio. They are able to run a higher compression due to the liquid cooling. The crf250f only runs a 9.6:1 for that exact reason. But yes you’re correct. Higher compression = more power
dawg compression ratio isn’t gonna make that fat of a difference, especially the difference of the R model and F model 💀 it’s just such a fat combination of a lot of things that makes the R model as powerful as it is
You could hit small jumps on it but it doesn’t really have the power or suspension to hit big jumps. Also if you plan on hitting jumps just be mindful of the kickstand. You may want to remove it so it doesn’t come down when you land and wreck you.
the only bikes I have ridden offroad are big heavy 210kg up motorcycles, 990adv, 850gs and now t7. recently I bought a crf230f and life in the trail is a lot more fun, now I don't have to be careful with my bike, I can buy all the plastic for less than a 100 bucks, with the t7 just 1 piece of plastic is like 300 bucks.
Yeah I found that the hard way when I crashed my Supermoto… once you go to something street legal the parts get extremely expensive 😂 I thought about getting a t7 but they’re just too big for the type of trails I like to ride :/ Glad to hear you’re enjoying ripping the 230!
If you're riding single track in the mountains or climbing hills, you need to switch to after market brake and clutch foot pedals and swap the front sprocket to a 12T
@@notsoupmoto It didn't take too many hits on rocks to bend them like noodles; and the hits weren't very hard, I'm new and not going fast but the single track out in Idaho is pretty tight. And once they bent, after being bent back, they seemed to bend easier/worse than before. I ended up with my rear brake lever spaghetti'd into my pedal and had to ride out on my tip toe lol
@@Arkhotep haha that makes sense. my buddy got BBR ones for his 125F. I'll probably end up upgrading mine at some point down the road. Did you do anything with the kickstand? I've see mounts that put them up at a 45 degree angle and was thinking about getting one of those.
@@notsoupmoto Kickstand hasn't been an issue to me at all; the one guy I've seen on the trail a ways back on a KTM was having all sorts of issues with his not staying up so
i haven't had much trouble with mine either. coming from mx bikes I’m a bit worried it will come down when i land jumps though... only issue i've seen so far is the back of my boot rests on top of it and kind of pushes it down when i'm riding w the balls of my feet on pegs. that 45 degree mount probably wouldn't even fix that though... lol i'll just have to deal w it probably or take it off completely
I actually want to get back into a more trail oriented, air cooled bike to putt around. I like the CRF250f, but if you’re over 5’ 10”-11” you will look like an absolute gomer. This bike is short af.
definitely on the shorter side of things. i can't speak to the power delivery first hand since i haven't ridden them but i think something like the beta x-trainer might be closer to a full sized bike just with toned down power. don't quote me on that though.. just something to look into
It’s a shame you have to Spell everything out for some people. Don’t know if they’re not listening to what you were saying or they just expect a CFR250R for the price of a CRF250F.
How do you find the shock? is it adjustable like an old xr250? i was looking into a crf300l but the shock is basically garbage for anyone heavier than a kid lol ive got a 2021 yz450f and a 1999 xr250 and hands down im faster on the xr everywhere other than an mx track haha
the shock on the crf250f is fully adjustable and is located in the same spot as the vast majority of other modern mono-shock designed motorcycles. the shock is preload adjustable there are companies that make suspension upgrades for this bike in the case that you'd need to accommodate a heavier rider. same can be said for the other bikes you mentioned as for being faster on the xr, i'm like that with some bikes over others too. some bikes just have much more useable power for particular riders. for example, i'm never ever going to be able to use all the power that a 450 mx bike has to offer whereas ken roczen will be able to use much much more of the 450s power effectively haha on the crf250f however, i can really shred the thing to its full potential. that's part of what makes these slower bikes more enjoyable for the average rider have fun out there!
About to get into motorcycles, hoping to eventually upgrade to a super pro for stunting. What do you think would be the best beginner bike to get into stunting?
I don’t know a whole lot about stunting but I have heard that many people start out on small bikes like the ttr125 or even Honda groms to learn the basic tricks at first. Maybe start there?
only downside i could see with the 250f for stunting is its very heavy. but like you mentioned it would definitely be better on the road... wouldn't count on it for high speed traffic though. anything above 45mph roads and you'll be pushing it
Turd comment =. Beginner rider who hasn’t put the years in to know how to ride an underpowered bike. That bike can take ya anywhere, Momentum and knowledge. No oh. Has not enough power. Not enough experience. My 2 cents. I ride a tw200. Goes anywhere. And yes I can hit fmx ramps on 2 strokes also. Get rid of the turd comment. ✌️🍻🇨🇦
Me and my dad watched this as he wants this bike so we can ride trails together but a bad thing is my bike was bogging down so i shifted down but accidently dumped clutch and the bike went out from under me so I bruised my tailbone and had to go to er so i wont be able to ride for a little while sadly
Dude loving the videos 👍🏼 I recently decided I want to get a bike first time and I think the 250f is gonna be the one, just to start out I think it would be perfect to start out with, and your past videos made that apparent. Keep the good content up man you make good informative videos and that’s what people like me are looking for 🔥
![How to Ride a Dirt Bike with Clutch | Beginner's Guide 2024 | Mastering the Basics [Honda CRF250F]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qS3d9UtTQcA/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to Ride a Dirt Bike with Clutch | Beginner's Guide 2024 | Mastering the Basics [Honda CRF250F]](/img/tr.png)
I’m an older rider, exactly as you described. First bike was a 1976 Z50, then moved to an XR75 then an XR350 in college. Haven’t been on a bike in 30 years and for $3800 used, with 30 hours on it, my CRF250f is perfect for getting back at it. It’s all about expectations. They hold their value, are low maintenance and if I want to keep riding, can sell it for a more capable bike. Getting on it brought that feeling back, twisting the throttle, the torque, you can’t describe it unless you ride and for that alone, it’s great for me, for now.
wonderfully said! thanks for the comment :) glad you're enjoying getting back into it
100% !!! At age 61, I am just getting started with trail riding, same time as my 20 year old son. I got my 250F three weeks ago after watching Soup Moto’s videos about it. My son and I both love this bike! We are learning and progressing quickly. Prefer this bike to all of our friends’ bikes. Thanks for the recommendation Soup 👍
that's awesome to hear! i'm glad the videos have been helpful in finding the right bike for you guys. glad to hear you're really enjoying it :) keep shreddin
Trail bikes are heavily slept on. They're soft, forgiving, and actually enjoyable to ride. They're not trying to kill you or take tons of skill to have fun.
I have a KDX200E and it's great.
So true 😎
its also way more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow, super surprised u didn’t mention that
That's exactly what I do. Slow old bikes very FAST
Just got the 2024, I’m 6’3 and 200lbs. Feels fine to me, I live in a desert and it’s kicking ass on the sandy trails.
That’s awesome! Would love to rip some sandy trails at some point. Looks really fun
I have a crf250f I've been driving since I was 4 years old back in 1984. I'm in my mid-40s and I like going trail riding. It does perfect for everything I needed to do. What's so funny is I see all these yzs and r models out on the trail and they'll usually let me lead because they're doing everything they can just to try to keep up with me. We're talking about tight trails that's what the bike to me was meant for and to be honest it outperforms any race bike in those situations. Well at least with me on it lol.
I’ve heard that comment a lot😂 I’m actually doing my first hare scramble race on Sunday and I’m gonna race the 250f just for giggles so we shall see how it goes
It’s actually fun to race c class with this bike. It’s funny to see all the other people struggling on tighter sections but since this thing is such a tractor it just pulls right through it
Haha that would be incredibly fun
I'm 55yrs old. This is my first bike. I love the fact that it is a turd. I don't want that snappy over powerful bike. I love riding dirt roads and taking my time and enjoying the ride. This bike has more than enough power for me.
Glad you enjoy it! That’s awesome
I have been riding since I was 4 and I got this bike for trails because it was cheaper then I wanted to get into motocross and it is making it harder to ride on the track. I road my brothers kx450 and it was performing amazing on the track but that’s an 11,000 dollar bike
yeah unfortunately the new mx bikes are quite pricey! check out my video on the 125 2 strokes. for sure a more affordable way to get into more advanced riding and moto as well. ua-cam.com/video/sE8srnhl208/v-deo.html
Dude loving the videos 👍🏼 I recently decided I want to get a bike first time and I think the 250f is gonna be the one, just to start out I think it would be perfect to start out with, and your past videos made that apparent. Keep the good content up man you make good informative videos and that’s what people like me are looking for 🔥
That’s great to hear! I appreciate the feedback
I would totally own one as my second bike from my kx450. I think people get really mixed up between trail bikes, cross country and Enduro bikes. This bike is just reliable, easy to ride, cheaper to maintain. Not looking to podium the trails.
100% it's easy to get them mixed up if you're new to dirt bikes. thanks for the comment! :)
I think the 250f is fast but it’s not quick if y’all know what I mean
Exactly
I mean topped out people are getting what between 65 to 70 mph that's plenty fast enough on a dirt bike. Especially for the trails it was meant to hit.
You’re the most underrated UA-camr I’ve seen tbh-
I appreciate it! Glad you enjoy the videos
I've never been riding dirt bikes, wanted to get in and got a crf250f. It's a nice bike, but man - it was just boring. It's too easy 😀 I ended up giving it away to my 13y/o daughter and getting a crf250rx. I love the RX - it's absolutely perfect! So, try before buy.
Nice! I’d love to try out the rx at some point
Most people should be riding these kind of bikes on the trail over race bikes. Unfortunately, every time I go riding, everyone is on ktms and crf 450s bogging down in 3rd gear as you let them breathe the dust your kicking up.
Give me a xt250, crf250, ttr250 drz250 anytime of the day.
Haha true facts
i have a crf250f and use it round a farm a couple fast laps every now and then i love it for that and all i love how i can put around knowing nothing will happen and the maitnence but im starting to feel a little like its to slow what do i do
if you feel like you're outgrowing it skill wise and want something faster, there's no problem with that. what type of riding do you like doing? might be time to upgrade
@@notsoupmoto Please look into the big bore kits avaliable from Brazil for this bike, their getting rave reviews from the people that have them and they claim it turns the bike into a fire breather, comes with an ATHLON tuner too, the company is called LOJAFORCECAM. Would love to get your opinions on this.
@akustaka definitely sounds interesting. i usually shy away from big bore kits personally just because I don't really like messing too much w the engine. I just like bikes that I can get on and ride haha but for those that like tinkering with stuff like that it would be worth looking into for sure. thanks for the suggestion!
@@notsoupmoto Ok thanks
The big difference (performance wise) is not water vs aircooled. It's the compression ratio of the engine. Bump the air cooled 250f motor up to 13:1 compression and see what happens.
Air cooled engines have to run lower compression because of things like engine knock and reduced air density when they get hot.
That’s why the CRF250R and other liquid cooled race bikes can run the 13.9:1 compression ratio. They are able to run a higher compression due to the liquid cooling.
The crf250f only runs a 9.6:1 for that exact reason.
But yes you’re correct. Higher compression = more power
dawg compression ratio isn’t gonna make that fat of a difference, especially the difference of the R model and F model 💀 it’s just such a fat combination of a lot of things that makes the R model as powerful as it is
@@dxquinnno exactly. the R and F are just engineered to be completely different bikes
Can you still hit jumps on it or occasionally hit a big jump on it or should I completely avoid jumps on it
You could hit small jumps on it but it doesn’t really have the power or suspension to hit big jumps. Also if you plan on hitting jumps just be mindful of the kickstand. You may want to remove it so it doesn’t come down when you land and wreck you.
@notsoupmoto ok. Thanks
@@jackahtiainen5011 no problem!
the only bikes I have ridden offroad are big heavy 210kg up motorcycles, 990adv, 850gs and now t7. recently I bought a crf230f and life in the trail is a lot more fun, now I don't have to be careful with my bike, I can buy all the plastic for less than a 100 bucks, with the t7 just 1 piece of plastic is like 300 bucks.
Yeah I found that the hard way when I crashed my Supermoto… once you go to something street legal the parts get extremely expensive 😂
I thought about getting a t7 but they’re just too big for the type of trails I like to ride :/
Glad to hear you’re enjoying ripping the 230!
If you're riding single track in the mountains or climbing hills, you need to switch to after market brake and clutch foot pedals and swap the front sprocket to a 12T
Yeah adjusting the gearing would be a big help on slow technical trails. Any particular reason you like to switch out the shifter and brake pedal?
@@notsoupmoto It didn't take too many hits on rocks to bend them like noodles; and the hits weren't very hard, I'm new and not going fast but the single track out in Idaho is pretty tight.
And once they bent, after being bent back, they seemed to bend easier/worse than before. I ended up with my rear brake lever spaghetti'd into my pedal and had to ride out on my tip toe lol
@@Arkhotep haha that makes sense. my buddy got BBR ones for his 125F. I'll probably end up upgrading mine at some point down the road. Did you do anything with the kickstand? I've see mounts that put them up at a 45 degree angle and was thinking about getting one of those.
@@notsoupmoto Kickstand hasn't been an issue to me at all; the one guy I've seen on the trail a ways back on a KTM was having all sorts of issues with his not staying up so
i haven't had much trouble with mine either. coming from mx bikes I’m a bit worried it will come down when i land jumps though... only issue i've seen so far is the back of my boot rests on top of it and kind of pushes it down when i'm riding w the balls of my feet on pegs. that 45 degree mount probably wouldn't even fix that though... lol i'll just have to deal w it probably or take it off completely
I actually want to get back into a more trail oriented, air cooled bike to putt around. I like the CRF250f, but if you’re over 5’ 10”-11” you will look like an absolute gomer. This bike is short af.
definitely on the shorter side of things. i can't speak to the power delivery first hand since i haven't ridden them but i think something like the beta x-trainer might be closer to a full sized bike just with toned down power. don't quote me on that though.. just something to look into
I have a 250f and I ride it like a 110 and it feels great. Wheelies amazing too
So true!
It’s a shame you have to Spell everything out for some people. Don’t know if they’re not listening to what you were saying or they just expect a CFR250R for the price of a CRF250F.
😂😂
CR250F should be an XR!
would definitely clear up confusion
The R model is the race bike this F model is like a trail bike 😉👌💨
Yup
How do you find the shock? is it adjustable like an old xr250? i was looking into a crf300l but the shock is basically garbage for anyone heavier than a kid lol ive got a 2021 yz450f and a 1999 xr250 and hands down im faster on the xr everywhere other than an mx track haha
the shock on the crf250f is fully adjustable and is located in the same spot as the vast majority of other modern mono-shock designed motorcycles. the shock is preload adjustable
there are companies that make suspension upgrades for this bike in the case that you'd need to accommodate a heavier rider. same can be said for the other bikes you mentioned
as for being faster on the xr, i'm like that with some bikes over others too. some bikes just have much more useable power for particular riders. for example, i'm never ever going to be able to use all the power that a 450 mx bike has to offer whereas ken roczen will be able to use much much more of the 450s power effectively haha
on the crf250f however, i can really shred the thing to its full potential. that's part of what makes these slower bikes more enjoyable for the average rider
have fun out there!
About to get into motorcycles, hoping to eventually upgrade to a super pro for stunting. What do you think would be the best beginner bike to get into stunting?
I don’t know a whole lot about stunting but I have heard that many people start out on small bikes like the ttr125 or even Honda groms to learn the basic tricks at first. Maybe start there?
@@notsoupmotohmmm, was considering the ttr but was hoping for 250 since I want to be able to use it on the road and not be holding up traffic
only downside i could see with the 250f for stunting is its very heavy. but like you mentioned it would definitely be better on the road... wouldn't count on it for high speed traffic though. anything above 45mph roads and you'll be pushing it
@@notsoupmoto figured that, kinda was considering a yz125 or something like that, just expensive for yamaha dirt bikes.
@@mman5544 i love my yz125. if you're looking for one of those i'd recommend used ones. you can find affordable ones still in good condition
Turd comment =. Beginner rider who hasn’t put the years in to know how to ride an underpowered bike.
That bike can take ya anywhere, Momentum and knowledge. No oh. Has not enough power. Not enough experience. My 2 cents. I ride a tw200. Goes anywhere. And yes I can hit fmx ramps on 2 strokes also. Get rid of the turd comment. ✌️🍻🇨🇦
Haha I’m with you. Get rid of the turd comment
Me and my dad watched this as he wants this bike so we can ride trails together but a bad thing is my bike was bogging down so i shifted down but accidently dumped clutch and the bike went out from under me so I bruised my tailbone and had to go to er so i wont be able to ride for a little while sadly
Dang! sorry to hear about your crash. wish you a quick recovery so you can get back out there and shred!
Hold on!
In today's world your father is nothing short of a hero.
I got a 2024 CRF250f and its got plenty of power to do pretty much anything you want at decent speeds. Definitely not a slow bike.
yup it has the power there, just not as snappy on delivery as competition bikes
if you know how to ride it it can be fast tho
Tru
Im not ok with it only because japanese trail bikes are consistantly getting worse than their predecessors.
I can understand that. It’s unfortunate that it seems like most products are getting cheaper and cheaper
Dude loving the videos 👍🏼 I recently decided I want to get a bike first time and I think the 250f is gonna be the one, just to start out I think it would be perfect to start out with, and your past videos made that apparent. Keep the good content up man you make good informative videos and that’s what people like me are looking for 🔥
That’s great to hear! I appreciate the feedback 💪🏼