crf250 Rally

[minkyhead]

myn 2012 300s battery went round 3years ago i bought one of these ..itwas 65 quid then ? i decided to put the rallys battery in the 300l and lithium in the rally ..you cant tell anything with weight of course but when you hold the lithium its laike lifting a empty box
its cca is very good buts its about haf the capacity of a shorie
that said its a crf so in ten years ive yet had it fail to start 1st time ....true story

i have a skyrich that i use on trips as a spare /booster pack that is now 8 yrears old and holds its charge seemingly forever ..i mean like a year and it still reads 13v ..it was my bacup for the ccm that was never used ..
anyway all in all ive had no bother with lithium at all
intersting i left the ignition on on the crf one night must have used the kill switch and forgot ,,,,flat as feck ..6 mins is all thats needed to get the bnattery to crank and start so that was a a bit surreal

what i can say with certanty is the jmt battery works fine and has given me no issues for over three years on the rally if that helps anyone

we ha a shopshire meet last week ...slippy as feck skittish rock steps and allsorts of ruts ......rally just ate the lot ...its so easy to get going and get yer feet up in half abike length ..ithey are supreamly user freindly ..point being 7 yeras ago i was billy no mates ...last meet there were 7 crfs in the lineup .......pennys dropping ..they get you around just fine and ask nothing back in return ..got to be the easierst trail bike to own by a country mile ..rode the 110 miles home and it was a pleasure ..too me ..near all the big bangers are carted around in vans ..im in a minority for sure but make no mistake the rally will travel as far as you like between trails ...more adventures ahaead this year and not a van in sight or wanted


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141908225131 ... R5aj3qbTYQ

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Lithium batteries advantages:

High power-to-weight (and size) ratio
Will provide maximum cranking power until they go flat
Hold a charge for ages

Disadvantages

High-price-to-power ratio
Need a dedicated charger...a conventional charger will fry them
Need to be 'woken' at low temperatures...leave the ignition and lights on for a few minutes before attempting an engine start at low ambient temperatures to warm the battery up
When they go flat, see above...hero to zero in no time at all.
If they catch fire, there's no putting them out.

I've read about charger type issues. It seems illogical to me. The charging system in the bike is conventional charging system, and has no extra features for Lithium batteries. Why would that not fry the batteries?

I was reading that there are Lithium batteries that have reserve power function. If you leave the lights on, and "drain" the battery, you just press a button on the battery, and it'll give you enough power to start the bike. Of course that requires some extra credits from the wallet.

Apparently most current Lithium batteries are not directly connected to the bikes electric system. Instead there is a two-way DC/DC power converter between them. This makes them more reliable.

Conventional chargers tend to give a big boost when first connected to 'desulphate' the lead-acid battery...this is what kills an Li-Ion battery.
In electric vehicles, letting the battery charge fall below 20 per cent or exceed 80 per cant can be damaging, and repeated fast-charging certainly is. You tend to find this out when your warranty claim is refused.

[garyboy]

Hmmm .. light, more modern, and powerful .. but finicky, vulnerable, and can catch fire.
I think I'll stick with the old fashioned, heavy, but more robust lead acid battery .. wot I know more about, and hence more reliable for me.
Plus the cost of a new charger.

Thing is .. my Emtb is designed as a whole with li,ion battery at its heart, but my motorbike is not, and I would feel safer say, abroad, with an oem designed electrical system.
But that's just lill ole fashioned me. .. unless the whole bike comes oem electronically matched. .. ie , led lights, matched safe charger, bike on-board charger, ecu etcetc.

But great if you are confident in your electronic knowledge.. but that saving in weight, to be effective, needs to be matched with weight savings in exhaust, number plate, wheels, etc etc.

A CRF250 is not a KTM, .. the whole point being that, as a budget robust reliable machine, it is not meant to be.

[boboneleg]

Hi Minky,

I made use of your old under cowl at last. Shropshire finally killed off the O/E item , can't complain after 5 years of (mis)use . I bolted the Kodama Composites sump guard to your old cowl . Braaaaaaaaaaaap

IMG_3879.JPEG (128.81 KiB) Viewed 1219 times

[minkyhead]

chrises kodima stuff seems to work pretty well bob ..looks good too

[Brenhden]

chrises kodima stuff seems to work pretty well bob ..looks good too

Yeah, I've had great performance from his stuff

[adventure steele]

Hows everyone getting on with the plastics on the 250 and 300 rally after a few drops?

My dad might be fancying going the Honda route and just weighing up between the 300 Rally and 300L

[garyboy]

Hows everyone getting on with the plastics on the 250 and 300 rally after a few drops?

My dad might be fancying going the Honda route and just weighing up between the 300 Rally and 300L

I think the seat height is 1" more on the Rally, but is more for long distances, and bigger tank, with more plastics to emulate a rally bike.
The 250 L is pretty bash-proof, and i must admit i feel more concerned with the plastics on my 250Rally, especially the sides and the tower fairing. I have Chris` "kardoma" watsit composite bashplate and it fits in really well to the looks.

however, i have not ridden the Rally much and the few drops i had did not mark or break the plastics, bearing in mind that the handlebars projecting take the brunt of a small drop on even ground, .. best to keep the handguards loose fitted.

I think the L handles better off road, but the Rally is better for road??

I think ... make your choice,.. and forget about damaging the plastic??

[adventure steele]

Cheers Gary yep will be interesting to see what he picks for me it'd probably be the Rally but never know with dad I think the rally makes a bit more sense as we both do a bit of night riding. Something for after the move to sort for him.

[minkyhead]

Hows everyone getting on with the plastics on the 250 and 300 rally

mine are perfect unmarked ....but they have been hung up in the garage for 6 years
to be fair there hasnt been that many cracks and breaks with the majotrity ..you do need a bit of luck with the rally but push comes to shove you can always cut them off later if they get boshed in ...most seem to get away with minor knocks but they can break for sure ..its subjective most like the rally look ..i prefer the trail bike look with a proper belly pan .it keeps things simple in terms of sevicing and access ... the rallys main accets imho are the 12litre tank headlights and wether protection ..the coal scuttle as i call it is a matter of taste it doesnt do much in reality exept get packed with leaves and mud and is a minor pain in the ass when you need to work on it proper
does look kinda cool with the scuttle but its a long time since i cared about stuff like that ..i like it long term cut down ..deffo better day to day for a number of reasons not least the proper frame and belly pan protection tbo she is pretty marked up now so im past the point of givin a dam about that kinda thing