2025 Honda CRF300L Review
When Honda introduced the CRF250L in 2012, they made a good bike, and through later updates, they made it better and better – especially when they updated it to the 286 cc engine in 2021 (they call it a 300, but don’t be fooled), and also put the bike on a diet, losing 11 lb. But for the past decade-plus of CRF-L production (including the Rally sub-model with travel bodywork), these machines have had one weakness: The suspension was just not as solid as the rest of the bike.
For their latest update to the platform, announced for 2025 for most markets, Honda finally solved that problem too. While the bike’s updated suspension is still not at the level of a true enduro, its KISS approach will keep most buyers extremely happy. A week’s touring on the backwoods trails of Cape Breton Island left me very impressed with the bike’s most recent update.
What’s New for 2026
Honda’s CRF300L sees a host of mostly minor updates in 2025, with one major change, but nothing that you’d notice at a first glance.
The cooling system has a new radiator, grille, and shroud to better divert hot air away from the rider. There’s a new LED headlight and new LED turn signals. The engine sees some tuning tweaks to meet Euro5+ emissions standards. The graphics are slightly changed, and the LCD dash is revised to be more legible, with a USB port on the side to power your phone. The rims now have a black finish. All in all, nothing that stands out unless you’re super-familiar with the previous model.
But the biggest change is very noticeable once you get in the saddle, even if you can’t see it with a quick look. The suspension front and rear is stiffer, with damping improved to stop the bike from pogoing around under normal dual sport usage. There’s also a new bearing on the rear shock mount instead of a rubber bushing, helping it articulate more freely when first compressed.
The MSRP for the ABS-equipped model stays at $5,749 despite these upgrades; there is no non-ABS model.
2025 HONDA CRF 300L
- Offers the basic features that dual sport riders need at a price they can afford
- Proven build quality
- Much better suspension than previous CRF-L models
- Should come with a basic skid plate
- Black-painted rims show scuffs and scratches quickly
Full Test Results
Styling / Aesthetics / Design: 7
You get a dual sport motorcycle with contemporary styling, painted bright Honda-esque red – either you like it or you don’t. Adding some blue to the graphics package makes it look more in-line with their larger adventure bikes. Personally, I think it works; while a lot of older riders won’t find it particularly attractive, there’s nothing especially ugly-looking here. Some riders will like the black finish on the rims, but I found it got beat-up easily, and think a shiny, polished finish would make more sense. And the seat has that weird extra-light red coloring that Honda sometimes uses, almost pink, but I think the fact that Honda has sold a bajillion of these bikes worldwide shows that most riders are OK with it.
Powertrain / Engine / Performance / Acceleration: 7
Honda’s liquid-cooled DOHC 286cc single-cylinder is a direct descendant of the engine that originally powered the CBR250R all the way back in 2011. It’s tough; they raced these things worldwide in entry-level series for youths, when that CBR first came out. With claimed output of 27 hp @ 8,500 rpm and 19.6 lb-ft @ 6,500 rpm in its most recent iteration, the CRF-L will never have the muscle of a larger bike, but it is enough to power the machine along a fast-flowing multilane highway; it just won’t be fun if you have to slice-and-dice with larger vehicles while battling a headwind.
But on a backroad, this engine is loads of fun; you can ride the bike as fast as it’s intended to go without getting too worried about Johnny Law. At some point we can expect Honda to make its E-clutch available on this machine (with no clutch lever needed to shift), but for now, it’s 100-percent manual. The 300 shifts smoothly through the six-speed gearbox, with chain drive to the rear wheel. You’ll have to row through the ’box to get up a hill at speed, but I noticed the machine does have considerably more torque than the weedy small-bore dual sports that Japan used to sell.
The engine does not have the raw aggression that a modern four-stroke European dirt bike will display, but it will last you for many years and many miles of adventures on-road and off-road as long as you take care of it.
Chassis / Suspension / Handling / Ride Characteristics: 7
The suspension is very basic: no adjustment on the fork, and the shock is only preload-adjustable by going to work on the threaded collar. It’s old-fashioned. But the average buyer of this bike doesn’t want to tune their suspension. They want to ride gravel roads and even further into the dirt without being bucked off by a shock that isn’t cooperating. It’s perfect for the kind of rider this bike is intended for; if you want to ride aggressively in rough country, go buy a European repli-racer.
Brakes / Stopping / Brake Performance: 6
It’s a small-bore dual sport, not a trackday racer, so the brakes are basic, like every other machine in this category. The CRF300L has a single 256 mm disc up front mated to a two-piston caliper, and a single 220 mm disc in back with single-piston caliper. You’ll have no trouble stopping, but you might have to grab a bit harder than you’re used to on your normal street bike. Off-road, the brakes are great for the machine’s intended use. And with switchable ABS now standard, you can lay on the binders without worrying about locking up that front wheel.
Rider Position / Ergonomics / Comfort: 7
You’re getting a bike made to fit a wide range of riders in a wide range of body positions, from aggressive street riding to standing on the pegs while dirt riding. A straight bar is the standard in this category, for off-road control, but it also helps you avoid getting your arms and wrists too cramped up. Pegs are situated underneath you for easy standing, and I never felt cramped. What I didn’t like was Honda’s weirdo horn button position, in the spot where your turn signal switch usually sits. Aside from that, no ergonomic complaints, not even the seat – no low-priced dual sport has a particularly comfortable seat, but this one wasn’t particularly uncomfortable either.
Features / Technology / Safety: 7
The CRF300L is about as basic a bike as you can get in 2026. No radar warning you of rear-end collisions, no smartphone integration into your dash, no riding modes, no traction control.
It does have ABS, though, as mentioned above, and it can be turned off for when you’re dirt riding (at the back wheel only; locking up your rear can sometimes be beneficial in the dirt, but you never hear anyone wanting to lock up their front wheel). And the new USB charger on the side of the dash means you can use your smartphone for navigation (make sure you’ve got a proper mount) without running your battery down. It only has the basics, but that’s all that most dual sport riders really need.
Range / Fuel Economy / Energy Efficiency: 6
Honda says the fuel tank holds 2.1 gallons (7.8 liters) and the machine is supposed to get between 60–70 mpg (about 3.8 L/100 km) under normal usage. I can tell you that you’ll drain the tank more quickly if you’re flogging the bike, but if you are in panicked make-it-to-a-gas-station mode, you can stretch that fuel a lot longer. On my longest stretch on a single tank of fuel, I managed about 125 miles of riding, with much of that being lower-speed, higher-RPM woods riding, without running out of gas; I expect a day of riding around the speed limit on back roads would indeed give most users 120–140 miles of range. The LCD fuel gauge on the dash is a bit panicky, but on a bike with a tank this small, you will definitely stop more often for gas.
Value Proposition: 8
With the CRF300L, Honda offers a bike that has everything a dual sport rider needs at a price they can afford, thanks to its origin in a Thai factory. They have floppy elephant-ear style handguards to this bike, not particularly robust but better than the nothing-at-all you get from competitors in this price range. A basic skid plate, even a plastic one, would suit the bike well (and protect the lower frame from stone chips and scratches). But overall, while the price on this model has risen a bit since COVID, it’s still a basic-but-modern bike that almost anyone can afford, and almost anyone can take anywhere. That’s a combination that’s hard to beat.
Conclusion
For years, the CRF300L and its CRF250L ancestor were reckoned to be robust dual sport bikes for someone not worried about performance. They still have basic suspension, but it’s much-improved now, and will suit almost every buyer much better. They aren’t super-powerful, but they have enough get-up-and-go to get the job done at legal speeds on highways and byways all around the world. While many dual sport and ADV riders lust after flashier machines with more muscle, this is all the bike you need to go to the most remote corners of the globe, or explore the trails of your own neighborhood. Honda will sell them by the truckload as a result.
Review Summary
Marketplace Inventory
Zac Kurylyk
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