2024 Honda CRF300L Review

I rolled out of the dealership, sitting upright and tall on Honda’s CRF300L, an entry level and very capable dual sport from big red. Back in 2012, Honda released the CRF250L, a single cylinder, 249cc liquid cooled beauty of a bike. It sold between the years of 2012 to 2020. An amazing seller since the day it was released, it brought in a whole new generation of dual sport/mini adventure riders to the world, being a very strong and extremely reliable motorcycle for the road and trail. Towards the end of the decade, people were definitely asking for an update, and a bit more juice from the motor. The original 250cc engine was rev happy and had to be tapped out to produce any power. Only having 21hp at the top of the rev range, it was great for all aspects of the road, and amazing in the trail, but anything beyond 80km/h, the bike was under stress and did not want to maintain 100 km/h on any type of uphill. So, in 2021 Honda announced and released the updated variant of the CRF line, the CRF300L. Basically, it holds on to everything that was fun about the original 250, with some much needed updates. 

The 300L is a 286cc, single cylinder liquid cooled DOHC engine, with 27hp on tap. Basically it is just a bored out 250L, and the power delivery has been changed in accordance. While the original 250L was rev happy and needed to be pushed to the top of the rev range to produce power, the new 300L is all low end and mid range torque, giving you more off the line, direct power. 19.6 ft/lbs of torque is on tap, and with the weight savings that Honda made to the new updated model, it feels far stronger than it suggests. A 6 speed transmission pushes this little zinger along, and comes with a slipper clutch for ease of clutch fatigue in your hand on a long sit in traffic type of day. 43mm upside down forks spring softly making the ride plush, along with the pro link single shock in the rear. ABS front and rear for the ABS model, and if you do get this model, there is a single button up by the LCD display to turn off the rear ABS for when you want to have fun out in the trails. 21 inch front tire and a 18 inch rear tire keep this bike upright and stable. Honda managed to help the CRF lose some weight in a few areas, and brough the weight to 313lbs wet, with the 7.8l tank full up with gas. The last in terms of the ergos and fitment of the bike, is that the seat height is 34.7 inches. There is a lowered addition for shorter riders from Honda called the CRF300LS, for people below 6ft that still want a dual sport in their garage. If you are sticking with the regular model, 6ft and above is definitely who this bike was made for. It sits tall and fit me perfectly fine with my 6ft 2” frame. 

When you mount the bike, you have just the minimum in front of you for controls and LCD layout. The display is a simple 2 tone LCD display, showing you your speed in big block numbers, and off to the right is your gear indicator. Fuel level is on the left, time at the top and a few other pieces of info in the bottom right such as your average fuel milage, ODO, and your trip meters that can be accessed with the 2 buttons on the left of your display. The cockpit is comfortable enough, if it were mine though I would change the bars out for a wider set, and maybe an inch riser so the bars sit up taller for when you go off road. When standing up, the bars and controls are just a bit lower than I would like for the trails. No wind protection at all on this model, however if you wanted a bit more coverage you can get the CRF300L Rally edition. The Rally comes with more fairing protection, a windscreen, a larger tank and a slightly different layout to the display for the space the front fairing takes up. Another thing to mention, the throttle response. In my previous review of this bike back in 2021, I didn’t really pay attention to it as much, but this time around I noticed it a bit more. It’s a bit twitchy at times, the fuel mapping feels like it wants the bike to surge forward and get the tires moving as quick as possible. This isn’t a bad thing, I think I would just say if you are a brand new rider, this might catch you off guard depending on which bike you had before this or learned on before getting this model. It’s smooth when the bike is moving, but when you hit harder bumps, or go in the trails, it does twitch around more then I would have liked. 

Honda nails it again with their CRF line, and this 300L has been a solid seller and an amazing pick for low CC lightweight dual sport options. I would highly recommend this bike to anyone, be it new to riding or an experienced rider looking to size down to something more economical and easy to throw around. Stop in to the shop and check out the full line up of CRF’s we have in stock, and see which model would suit you best for  your riding needs. 

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Author: Enrique Flores-Smith

Photo credit: Enrique Flores-Smith

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