Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1088954
Flashback! Simplicity March 2019 5 In this day and age, technology abounds and yes, we've been fortunate to reap some of these benefits in our beloved sport of off-road motorcycling. Electric start and fuel injec on have been game changers for many. In fact, I think it's safe to say that with electric start added to most modern bikes, many riders have been able to con nue riding much longer than they might have. No ques on, older riders have their fair share of knee issues. Being able to hop on and hit the magic bu on might not seem too exci ng to a youngster, but it can be a godsend for many. Fuel injected dirt bikes has always been a bit of a hot topic. Old school dudes have been suspect of the need for it and ques on why one would want an over complicated bike. There's always the "what ifs". I'll admit, I've found this nega vity towards fuel injec on rather odd. We've enjoyed the benefits of F.I. for literally decades now in our automobiles. In the world of powersports, higher powered snowmo- biles have been fuel injected for close to 20 years with li le reliability issues. One of the nega ves we fuel burning junkies do face is quality of today's fuel. Ethanol blended fuel is garbage and doesn't store well at all. In fact, I've been running ethanol free, 100LL AvGas (purchased at our local airport) for the last several years in not only my bikes but in all of our property maintenance equipment. Why? I got sick and red of cleaning carburetors as pump fuel typically clogs the pilot jet within three months if not completely drained. I'd rather spend my free me riding then cleaning carbs. As for today's fuel, there's no good excuse for leaving gas that you know is going to go stale in your tank but let's face it, we're not all maintenance kings. A hidden benefit of fuel injec on is that it's proven to be much more forgiving when injected bikes and other toys are stored for lengths of me. Case in point, my Arc c Cat snowmobile, a fuel injected 2 stroke twin. This sled had sat in the corner of our shop since January of 2017. Life and work got busy and I never took the me to drain the fuel. With record snow fall here in Maine this winter, I decided to break out the 'Cat and embrace the season. Yeah, I knew the fuel was now two years old but I tugged the pull cord anyway just too see what would happen. To my surprise, it fired on the third pull and seemed to run just fine. I topped the tank and it's been running like a champ ever since with zero issues. My point is, some mes modern technology can actually lead to simplicity. Deeper in this issue, you'll read about Honda's all-new CRF250F and I'm excited about it. Why you ask? Well it's just such a sim- ple, back to basics, trail bike. A market manufacturers have lost sight of years ago. During our tes ng of this cool new model, it's proven to be so much more than a play bike but nowhere near a full-on race bike. Being air-cooled and with a low seat height, it's quite retro in looks and feel. The bonus is, it's fuel injected with electric start. A simple bike one could enjoy then park for a few months, without worry of having to take a Saturday morning and pull the carb for its annual cleaning. The lower seat height of the 250F reminds me of bikes of my youth. It's so easy to throw a leg over. With electric start, just hit the bu on and go. Simple and easy. Hats off to Honda for inves ng in such a basic li le motorcycle. I truly feel they've hit a home run with this model as it not only will a ract new riders (what the sport of motorcycling needs the most) and older riders might be able to stay in the game longer. Let's face it, op ons for youngsters moving up from minibikes are limited. Most small-bores of today are either play bikes or fire breathing, high maintenance race machines. Honda's 250F is a perfect fit. On the other end of the spectrum, there's many older riders who might be interested in ge ng back into the woods but might be in midated by the tall seat heights and 10 thousand dollar price tags. With a retail price of just 4600 bucks, a bike of this nature should get people back into the sport we love so much, the sport of trail riding!