Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128180
The CRF150F Is slightly ......II.r .nd has slightly less power than the 230, but it's no less fun to ride. CRF150F and the CRF230F is fairly obvious: The 150 is smaller, lighter and has less power than the 230. But perhaps the biggest difference between the two bikes isn't so noticeable: their starting systems. The 150 offers a manual kick, the 230 a pushbutton (electric). My wife, Theresa, and I just got back from a weekend camping trip, where we loaded up our new Weekend Warrior trailer and hauled the new 150 and 230 to the desert. Theresa has her own Yamaha XT225 which fits her 5-foot, 6-inch frame perfectly, and the mellow power it divvies out suits her beginner riding skill, but she was anxious to give the lighter, more off-road-designed Hondas a try, and she ended up loving both of them. She started out on the 230 and quickly noted the bike's lighter weight and stiffer suspension, and she appreciated the 230's better turning prowess. She enjoyed the smaller 150 too, except when it came to some of the sandy hills, where she wished for the 230's more powerful motor. She also noticed the shorter wheelbase and smaller wheels of the 150, which she said makes the bike feel more "twitchy" in the sand and loose rocks than the 230. But, for her, the real difference between the two bikes was their starting systems. You see, she's been spoiled by electric starting on her XT, so she did not like having to fumble around kickstarting the 150, especially while hanging precariously on the side of a hill where she just stalled. Despite the lighter-compression motor of the 150, she struggled kickstarting the bike, and I had to come to her rescue quite a few times. She eventually got it figured out, but she still wished the 150 had the magic button. Another big issue for her is picking up her XT after a fall, something with which she is quite familiar in the sand, where we do most of our riding. Basically, she can't pick up her 225, nor can she the 230, but the 150 is just light enough for her to upright on her own (sometimes). As far as her re-starting the 150 after a tip-over no chance. (Actually, I even found the 150 a little difficult to start after a crash.) I also had a blast riding both the 150 and 230. I was very surprised how sturdy they both felt; normally, bikes like these are way undersprung and mushy for my 165 pounds, but the 230, and even the 150, had no problems hauling my butt around the desert. Even their simply designed, I wouldn't complain at all spending a relaxing weekend with her goofing off on these bikes. After all, at our mellow trail pace, an XR650 for me would just be overkill. (But the XR400 would've been nice.) . Overall, Honda has a couple of pretty neat bikes on its hands and is hoping that they'll be in your hands soon. My only complaint is that, in my opinion, the 150 should come with electric starting, like the 230. Yamaha learned that with their TTRI25 and 90, which will now both offer electric starting for '03. You might argue that the added weight of electric starting might make the 150 air-cooled motors kept me happily entertained. The 230 makes surprisingly good power, as does the 150 for such a small machine. They're also fairly quiet. Of course, overall I preferred the bigger and more powerful 230 over the 150. While my wife and I were taking our time touring the desert, I could easily keep myself occupied on the 230, popping the clutch and lofting its front wheel off the ground, try- ENGINE TYPE: BORE AND STROKE: COMPRESSION RATIO: VALVE TRAIN: CARBURETlON: EXHAUST SYSTEM:: IGNITION: TRANSMISSION: STARTING SYSTEM: ANAL DRIVE: FRAME: SWINGARM: SUSPENSION Front: Rear: heavier, which, in my wife's case, might make the bike just heavy ing to wheelie the bike longer than the last wheelie. I challenged the 230 to climb various sandy hills; sometimes it made it, sometimes it didn't, but I had fun trying either way. Sometimes, I got a little overexcited jumping the bike and would feel a nasty crunch from the bottomed-out suspension, but overall I thought the 230's suspension was outstanding. The bottom line is that, when it comes time to go riding with my wife, enough to prevent her from picking it up at all on her own. But with the kickstart, she might be able to pick it up but not start it. So, either way, she'd be stranded. You just can't go wrong with electric starting. Still, electric starting or not, these two bikes are a blast to ride. Whenever I go riding on them, I now think, "What I would do to have one now."eN 156.8cc air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke 63.5mm x 49.5mm 9:1 SOHC, two-valve 24mm piston-valve USDA-qualified spark arrester/muffler COl Five-speed Primary kick *520 O-ring-sealed chain; 13T/48T Semi-double-cradle high-tensile steel Box section aluminum 223cc air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke 66.6mm x 66.2mm 9:1 SOHC, two-valve 26mm piston-valve USDA-qualified spark arrester/muffler COl Six·speed Electric *520 O-ring-sealed chain; 13T/50T Semi-double-cradle high·tensile steel Box section aluminum 35mm leading-axle Showa fork Pro-Unk Showa single shock 37mm air-adj. leading-axle Showa fork Pro-Unk Showa single shock w/spring preload adj. 9.1 in. 8.8 in. 9.5 in. 9.0 in. Single 240mm disc Drum Single 240mm disc Drum 70/l00-19 90/l00-16 52.2 in. 26.7° 3.4 in. 32.5 in. 10.0 in. 2161bs. 2.2 gal. w/O.4-gal. reserve $2799 80/100-21 100/l00-18 54.1 in. 27.3° 4.4 in. 34.1 in. 11.7 in. 2381bs. 2.2 gal w/0.4-gal. reserve $3299 WHEEL TRAVEL Front: Rear: BRAKES Front: Rear: TIRES Front: Rear: WHEELBASE: RAKE: TRAIL: SEAT HEIGHT: GROUND CLEARANCE: DRY WEIGHT: FUEL CAPACITY: MSRP: Additional Features: • • • • • • • Keyed ignition switch Honda CRF racing-inspired colors and graphics High-impact plastic skid plate Motocross-style seat Snail-type chain adjusters Engine that meets CARB off-road standards Cleated, folding and self-cleaning footpegs cue I • n .. _ S • NOVEMBER 13, 2002 29