See also: Quick test ride 300 Rally (2022)CRF300L – project bike (2023)
CRF 300 Rally or the latest USD CB500X? These are two travel bikes on my shortlist while I prepare for my ‘cheapest-on-ebay’ Africa Twin to get snatched up (it was snatched, but not in a good way). I’ve owned earlier versions of both these bikes (500X RR; 250L) so I know a 500X will sit comfortably at 120kph and be OK on the smooth, dry tracks I mostly ride in Morocco these days. No matter what gushing reviews say, add hills, headwinds, elevation plus a load, and I do believe a 27-hp Rally will be gasping on the open highway, but it will be much less of a handful on wetter European trails or deeper Saharan sand. It’s also ~50 kilos less likely to damage itself in a crash after which it’s easier to pick up. I also believe that speed-for-speed, a 500X’s fuel consumption is actually superior to the 300 once you factor in the sustainable higher cruising speeds. The best I ever got from my 2014 500X in Morocco was 93.5mpg; in SW USA my 2013 250L topped out at 98.5 (both imperial).
So, ahead of me trying out these bikes (I’ve now ridden the Rally but actually bought a 300L), let’s make a handy comparison table mostly based on unverified specs from Honda UK’s website (500X; 300 Rally) as well as this Honda CB500X document (includes inconsistencies), plus some added stats of use to a travel biker.
I added the 300L, but with its thinner saddle foam, lighter weight, tiny tank and – according to some – firmer suspension, it’s more of a trail bike suited to TET-like trails. (That said in 2023 I bought one anyway for Morocco). Once you factor in the Rally’s 5-litre-bigger tank, the actual difference in claimed weight over the L drops from 11kg to 7.3kg. The staggering £950 price difference between the two 300s is harder to square but it helps to factor in a Rally-sized Acerbis tank, screen, LED headlamp, bashplate, bigger front rotor and a thicker seat. Meanwhile, from the sunlit uplands of 2022 UK it’s best not to scrutinise CRF300 prices in North America too closely, though some stats seem to vary and ABS is an option.
- CB500X
- Nearly as good on fuel
- Longer range
- Costs not much more than at Rally
- Tubeless wheels
- Better LCD display and some other equipment
- CRF300 Rally
- Much less weight makes many more trails attemptable – a big plus
- CB500X
- Limited to gravel roads due to weight and basic suspension
- CRF300 Rally
- Was underpowered on the open road at times
- Less comfortable over distance
- Expensive in the UK
- High seat
- Basic suspension
- Lots of plastic bodywork to damage
In the end, in 2023 I bought a 300L with under 1000 miles equipped with Rally Raid suspension and the usual protection and a rack. With a big screen, all it needed was a 14-litre Acerbis tank (£320 import) to make it as functional as a Rally. More on the 300L’s Index page.