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Posted: **Fri Feb 14, 2020 3:05 pm**

Hey guys! First post on this site. Thank god I found a site like this. Anyways. I just picked up a 2006 CRF250X, did a oil/tranny fluid change, oil filter and spark plug, brand new gas (bike sat for a while). Anyways. She seems to run good, my question is, how many of you guys street ride your bikes? I just got it tagged and plates put on it so it’s legal. But I’m not seeing too many posts on how reliable they are for basic street riding. My grom is my main riding bike for streets but this thing would be fun because there are tons of urban jumps and things to explore around my city. My main concern is just how reliable they are in normal city riding. Can anyone help? Thanks!

Posted: **Fri Feb 14, 2020 3:29 pm**

Welcome to the site !! $\:D/$

The only issue with street riding a X as opposed to a L is the lack of cooling fan , so when sitting in traffic it will tend to overheat ..... but , with a aftermarket cooling fan , it will thermostatically turn on/off the fan and you won't have to worry ..... that would be the only real issue with it ....

What I would do is get the fan kit :
https://www.crfsonly.com/catalog/produc ... ts_id/5402

Replace the stock Radiator Cap with a 1.6 or 1.8 or 2.0 bar cap:
https://www.crfsonly.com/catalog/produc ... ts_id/3202

and you should be good to go for the most part (with the exception of a mirror , or whatever is required in your area) ...

Posted: **Fri Feb 14, 2020 3:37 pm**

Welcome to the site !! $\:D/$

The only issue with street riding a X as opposed to a L is the lack of cooling fan , so when sitting in traffic it will tend to overheat ..... but , with a aftermarket cooling fan , it will thermostatically turn on/off the fan and you won't have to worry ..... that would be the only real issue with it ....

What I would do is get the fan kit :
https://www.crfsonly.com/catalog/produc ... ts_id/5402

Replace the stock Radiator Cap with a 1.6 or 1.8 or 2.0 bar cap:
https://www.crfsonly.com/catalog/produc ... ts_id/3202

and you should be good to go for the most part (with the exception of a mirror , or whatever is required in your area) ...

I appreciate your quick reply! I’ll look into the fan and cap. Really have taken it on a long ride yet due to it being 25 degrees here lol. I was mainly worried about cooling and someone mentioned if you ride them on the street, you would have transmission “oiling” problems. Not sure if the tranny doesn’t get oiled while riding on flat ground but idk. I just hope I didn’t waste my money on a bike that I will rarely take off road. But I definitely want to be able to take it out for a solid weekend of riding once it warms up, like this weekend. Any links to thermostats to keep an eye on my temp? And how often should I change the oils and what not if I’m only riding street? Thanks!

Posted: **Fri Feb 14, 2020 6:03 pm**

Jim, I assume the X doesn't have some form of cush drive at the rear wheel to stop shock loading the transmission. Not sure if the L does either hence the question.
That would realy be the only long term issue with riding on tarmac lots.

Posted: **Fri Feb 14, 2020 6:31 pm**

Jim, I assume the X doesn't have some form of cush drive at the rear wheel to stop shock loading the transmission. Not sure if the L does either hence the question.
That would realy be the only long term issue with riding on tarmac lots.

I’ve heard of some people street riding them quite frequently and others not so much. So I’m just trying to get inputs because I wanna rip her around this weekend

Posted: **Fri Feb 14, 2020 7:26 pm**

No cush drive Ray ..... not sure the L does either .... as it is kind of the same platform but mainly street oriented ....

Hunnellz12 , About the only thing I would recommend (aside from getting a L if the main purpose is street and not 50/50 street/dirt or so) , would be suggesting running a full quart in the tranny , this will help keep it lubed up .... the issue with the tranny is when running for long periods in 5th gear at speed , it tends to evacuate the oil around the gears , as the area is really tight around the gears , so there is not much oil in the first place , then running on open roads or fast desert riding off road , it flings the oil away from the gears causing a seizure of the tranny bearings and or gears ... the "fix" is to run a full quart (which won't hurt anything) and it at least keeps the gears more submerged in oil ......

Basically the X can be made to work on both street and dirt , but the L is a actual street bike that you can ride in the dirt , and you can get a 250L for decent prices .... Not sure where you are located , but this place always has killer deals and is where I am going to get my 2019 450R when I decide to pull the trigger ... to me it is worth the couple hundred mile drive , and I would still get it cheaper than I can locally .....

These are brand new leftover (2018's): And I feel after you explained what type of riding you will mainly be doing I think one of these would make you happier .....

250L
https://www.motosporthillsboro.com/defa ... wInventory

What I would do is go ahead and run around now and see how you like it , just stay out of heavy traffic , as it is air cooled so if you are not moving , it is not cooling , in the colder temps it won't be as bad , but as soon as we hit the 80's or so , you will be overheating in traffic .... then after you run around on the X for a bit , go to a Honda dealer and take a L or L Rally for a test run , and compare and decide what would work best for you ... as that is what matters is that it suits your needs without breaking the bank ...

250L Rally
https://www.motosporthillsboro.com/defa ... wInventory

Posted: **Sat Feb 15, 2020 4:37 am**

No cush drive Ray ..... not sure the L does either .... as it is kind of the same platform but mainly street oriented ....

Hunnellz12 , About the only thing I would recommend (aside from getting a L if the main purpose is street and not 50/50 street/dirt or so) , would be suggesting running a full quart in the tranny , this will help keep it lubed up .... the issue with the tranny is when running for long periods in 5th gear at speed , it tends to evacuate the oil around the gears , as the area is really tight around the gears , so there is not much oil in the first place , then running on open roads or fast desert riding off road , it flings the oil away from the gears causing a seizure of the tranny bearings and or gears ... the "fix" is to run a full quart (which won't hurt anything) and it at least keeps the gears more submerged in oil ......

Basically the X can be made to work on both street and dirt , but the L is a actual street bike that you can ride in the dirt , and you can get a 250L for decent prices .... Not sure where you are located , but this place always has killer deals and is where I am going to get my 2019 450R when I decide to pull the trigger ... to me it is worth the couple hundred mile drive , and I would still get it cheaper than I can locally .....

These are brand new leftover (2018's): And I feel after you explained what type of riding you will mainly be doing I think one of these would make you happier .....

250L
https://www.motosporthillsboro.com/defa ... wInventory

What I would do is go ahead and run around now and see how you like it , just stay out of heavy traffic , as it is air cooled so if you are not moving , it is not cooling , in the colder temps it won't be as bad , but as soon as we hit the 80's or so , you will be overheating in traffic .... then after you run around on the X for a bit , go to a Honda dealer and take a L or L Rally for a test run , and compare and decide what would work best for you ... as that is what matters is that it suits your needs without breaking the bank ...

250L Rally
https://www.motosporthillsboro.com/defa ... wInventory

Thanks for your response man! I’m located in Springfield Missouri. I’m gonna go ahead and add a full quart to the tranny to play it safe. Just wasn’t sure how many people rode theirs on the street so I was hoping they would be pretty reliable! Guess it’s pretty much just trial and error! I won’t be wrapping it out at crazy speeds either. Mainly just messing around on side roads and riding around town with friends. I have 2 small fans ordered that I’m going to wire up and hopefully that helps! Bike seems to start fine so I’m not gonna worry about valves just yet. Once she becomes hard to start, then I’ll get them upgraded to SS valves and call it good. I’ve read about another 250x owner who has 15k miles on his, from street riding and has never had to do a valve job at all and said it’s been a great bike for street riding!

Posted: **Sat Feb 15, 2020 7:56 am**

Yea ... The valves are not as much of a worry if you keep out of the dirt and mainly street ride ... the issue with the valves is dirt getting past the air filter (improperly cleaned or installed) and that is what eats up the Intakes ..... Like I said , you can make it work fine on the street , but if the goal is more street than dirt , I would eventually switch to a L ....... Either way , do what you can afford and what works for you .... each situation is different , so there are no "one size fits all" answer .... but street "kits" are available for the X because a lot of riders do dual sport them .....

And on the fans ... that is what I did to my 450X (I don't ride street with it , but do a lot of slower single track with it) , I went to Engine Ice , a 1.6 bar cap , and got a SPAL fan off EBay , and a temp switch that screws right into the right radiator , and wired it all up for right around $50.00 .... As a reference to these engines ... my 06 450X is on the original piston , clutch , the only thing I replaced was the Intakes because I did not know about the dirt past the filter issue ... have never had to adjust them since 06 when they were replaced ....

My fan setup:

Posted: **Fri Feb 21, 2020 9:35 am**

Welcome Hunnellz12! I have the same bike as you, and have been riding on the street with it for a while in AZ, mostly off road in the mountains with street jaunts to connect trails. Now we are down in the city and my 16 yr old has been riding it 99% street. I run engine ice, have stainless valves and don't have him sit/ride in traffic. It has never overheated and except for the oil transfer issue I am chasing (caused by operator error -see my previous bent shifter shaft post), it has been rock solid without issue. As verified by GPS, it will run 80+ mph on flat highway with stock gearing, but with the forks bouncing it is not that much fun -much better on the trails and playing on urban terrain.

I concur with riding it as is, see how it performs and how you like it. If you do plan on largely street riding you may want something better designed for that purpose.

FYI, AZ has very limited requirements for plating so this may not work in your area, but to get light on my license plate I used LED bolts wired into my tail light.

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