RIDE REVIEW I 2022 HONDA CRF250RX
P78
The RX is now fitted with plastic
handguards (thank you, Honda!),
and, as before, a removable side
stand. (Like the motocrosser, the
RX has an engine guard and front
disc-brake guard.)
Topping things off are the
RX's off-road-designed Dunlop
Geomax AT81 tires versus the R's
more motocross-specific Pirellis.
Like the R, the RX comes with
modern-looking black D.I.D rims,
same as it did last year.
And then there is the price. At
$8499, the RX runs $400 more
than the motocrosser, but you'd
spend way more than that on just
a rear-wheel conversion if you
started out with the motocross
CRF250R. Add in a larger fuel
tank, handguards, etc., well, you
can see what we're getting at.
TRAIL MIX
>>
Many of the things we love about
the new CRF250R's motor we
also love on the trail with the
CRF250RX. There is indeed
more bottom-to-mid power and
torque as Honda promised, yet
the bike still revs and pulls hard
on top, again, just as Honda
said it would. They did not lie.
This thing rips compared to
the previous model. You could
say that the 2019-'21 RX felt a
little lethargic but not anymore
with the '22 RX. It feels much
livelier and more aggressive
than before; the bike just feels
competitive now, and we like
that. Remember, this is a race
bike, not a trail bike.
When it comes to West
Coast-style off-road racing,
such as WORCS, NGPC (grand
prix), and hare and hounds
(you know, the fast stuff), we
can now roll up to the start line
on the Honda with way more
confidence than we would on
the older bike. Right off the
showroom floor, we feel the RX
can now compete head-to-head
against comparable proven
machinery from Austria (KTM,
Husky and GasGas) and Yama-
ha, with its excellent YZ250FX.
