RUST magazine: RUST#41

HONDA CRF250RX
The paint on the (new) garage
floor had barely dried before
I rolled this brand new 2019
Honda CRF250RX into what
precious little space there is left (already)
after the rest of the JB clan had laid
claim to their storage needs. But heck,
what a beauty this is, Honda sure know
how to build a pretty bike, it’s going to
break my heart to get it dirty.
And what a machine! We’ve been
waiting some time to see this. It’s kind
of a replacement for the long-running
CRF250X that dates back to 2004 – itself
a replacement for the long-running
XR250 that preceded it. I was on the
launch of the ’04 CRF-X and it was a
little beauty, but time has marched on
(a whole 15 years!) and so a successor
was much needed. This one borrows
heavily from the 2018/19 Honda
CRF250R motocrosser and so instead of
the gentle 28hp of the X, this RX snorts
a reported 45hp – it’s a whole different
kind of bike. And honestly there aren’t
many mods that differentiate this from
the motocrosser – a bigger tank (8.5
litres), an 18” wheel, a sidestand, and the
suspension settings and EFI mapping
both have been tuned to suit off-road.
Even the motocrosser’s launch control
has been left on – so yes, this is going to
be a rapid little beast for sure. Oh, and
thanks to the initiative of Honda UK this
Brit-model has lights and indicators and
is capable of being registered for the
road (as a competition bike).
There’s so much to say about this bike,
and so much to learn, but that’ll have to
wait until our next issue – although look
for blog updates on the RUST website.
www.rustsports.com
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