A year ago Honda showed a concept bike called the CRF250 Rally that combined the styling of the firm’s Dakar Rally racer with the mechanical parts of the CRF250L. It’s set to reach production later this year and will be shown in revised form as a ‘prototype’ later this week.
There’s a fairly straightforward, step-by-step process in operation here, and it’s one that Honda has used before. A bike is initially shown as a ‘concept’. At this stage there’s no guarantee it will go further, but if it’s received positively it will move on to the ‘prototype’ stage, which means it’s under development for production but the firm isn’t ready to commit to final specifications or a production schedule.
The ‘prototype’ stage for the CRF250 Rally has now been reached, meaning it’s had the green light for production. It will be shown in prototype form at the Osaka show on Saturday (19 March).
To get an idea of when it will be ready for production, it’s simple enough to note that exactly a year ago, at the 2015 Osaka Motorcycle Show, Honda revealed the ‘prototype’ versions of the RC213V-S and the True Adventure, which would go on to become the Africa Twin. Within just a few months, both bikes were on sale. The same is likely to apply to the CRF250 Rally.
Where the original concept used several aftermarket components including a race exhaust and Renthal bars, the production version will use standard, Honda-made, road-legal components. A design patent has already been filed showing a CAD/CAM image of the CRF250 Rally in production form with the final exhaust and handlebars fitted.
In terms of specifications, the bike is likely to be near-identical to the CRF250L. That means it has a 250cc, 17kW single making 22Nm, upside-down 43mm forks and a Pro-Link monoshock at the back. 21-inch front and 18-inch rear wheels help it have a significant off-road ability. As a lightweight adventure bike, the Rally version looks extremely promising. The final version is likely to make its debut at one of the major bike shows towards the end of this year.
