The Honda CRF300L Rally debuted in 2021—the same year I locked eyes on the Yamaha Ténéré 700. The Ultimate Motorcycling Ténéré 700 Project Bike has held my attention for four years, and now I’m turning that same interest and passion toward the CRF300L Rally.
After thoroughly researching only ultra-reliable bikes in the lightweight adventure category, the Honda CRF300L Rally stood out as the one I could count on to take me everywhere I’d been going on the much heavier, more powerful, and also ultra-reliable Ténéré 700. My plan is to replace my venerable steed with something younger, lighter, and more agile that can handle the same scenic routes the Ténéré.
From everything I’ve read about riders who switched from a Ténéré 700 to the CRF300L, standard or Rally, the off-road capabilities and manners seemed acceptable. However, freeway performance was a mixed bag. While I had no intention of turning this lightweight bike into a touring machine, I needed to know if it was safe on the freeway.
Most of my weekend rides include 30 minutes to two hours on the freeway to get to off-road areas or meetups. If the CRF300L Rally can’t handle the freeway, it’s not for me. Having logged 8000 miles on a Honda XR250R that topped out at 56 mph, I had my doubts. Fortunately, the Rally has an extra 37cc, liquid cooling, and fuel injection.
My first ride was about three hours after the Rally arrived in my garage with 150 miles on the clock. I am used to plugging in a GPS, mounting a phone, installing an Insta360 camera, and wiping the front and rear dashcam lenses before a ride. It’s been a long time since I had a bike with no electrical outlets and almost no accessory mounting points.
After checking tire pressure and doing a safety once-over, I headed out to a section of highway about 10 miles from home to see if it would hit 70 mph, and whether it felt safe at that speed. I’m a stander, and it’s legal in Oregon to stand. As I left my driveway and stood up, I immediately felt the rubber inserts in the foot pegs and pulled over to remove them. Inconveniently, they’re bolted in, so I left them in as it was already getting late.
I reached the highway, and it ran right up to 71 mph indicated. That was the limit without tucking. My only serious concern about the 300 Rally was quickly resolved.
The 2024 Honda CRF300L Rally is still in its break-in period, so I didn’t spend much time at 70 mph. However, in the 20 seconds I held an indicated 71 mph, I took in everything—the steering feel, vibration, throttle response, wind protection, and how that speed felt on a 335-pound, 57.2-inch wheelbase bike. I wouldn’t want to do an Iron Butt ride on it, but in that brief moment, my concerns vanished and I smiled. I’d read that the Rally makes you smile, and sure enough—it did.
On the exit ramp looping back, I quickly shifted through the six-speed transmission and hit the apex of a sweeping right-hander. Suddenly, the rear end settled by what felt like two inches, which was brief and unnerving. I’d read about the issue, but didn’t expect to experience it so soon. The quick settle in a hard acceleration sweeping tells me the shock will be part of the Project Bike customization.
On the way home, a box truck ran a stop sign directly in front of me. I got an impromptu emergency braking test. The test bike is the non-ABS version of the Rally, and I didn’t feel I needed it. The bike is light, and the brakes stopped me just fine. The front end dove hard, likely bottoming out, but I didn’t lock up the OEM tires, and the truck driver gave me the universal “I’m sorry” wave.
My second ride was a 40-mile loop I’ve done many times on the Ténéré. It includes long uphills, twisty downhills, high-speed esses, a few miles of gravel, and a rough, pothole-filled park entrance road. The Rally did everything the Ténéré did—just with a lot more shifting.
Standing for 40 miles gave me time to settle into my posture. Wider pegs, 1.5-inch bar risers, and Steg Pegz will make a big difference in standing comfort. On the 10 mph park road, the throttle felt like an on/off switch. I ended up shifting into third at 10 mph to avoid jolts.
My third ride was a 160-mile loop with tool-laden Giant Loop saddlebags, an SW Motech tail bag for my cold-morning layers, and a spare 21-inch tube. The route was a mix of city streets, highways, freeways, mountain twisties, and about 30 miles of mixed off-pavement. I’ve ridden this same loop several times on the Ténéré, so I knew the area and the speeds I was used to.
The 2024 CRF300L Rally did it all—at the same speeds—with less
physical effort. Again, I found myself smiling. Flicking instead of pushing through turns, more body-directed steering, quicker line changes in rocky sections, and 65 mpg all added up to a very enjoyable ride.
After three rides and about 220 miles in the saddle, the engine pulls strongly through gears the bottom five gears. First gear is very low, best for technical off-road work, while 2nd through 5th are evenly spaced, intuitive, and pull strongly through the full range of the CRF300L’s powerband. Sixth is an overdrive and needs a good run-up in 5th to reach freeway speeds. The clutch is featherlight, even though it doesn’t have an assist function. It is light that even someone with carpal tunnel would be comfortable pulling it in.
My fourth ride was to get to the 600-mile oil change. It covered 200 miles—60 freeway, 60 highway, and 80 of forest gravel, dirt, and surface mud. As I accelerated up the onramp, the 289cc engine suddenly felt different. The break-in had broken in, and I had a whole new engine. I merged, moved into the #1 lane, and glanced down to see 81 mph. My first thought: Am I tucking? No. I was chest-up, cruising at 81 mph on a stock 2024 Honda CRF300L Rally, with throttle to spare. I backed off, of course, but I was smiling again.
With the extra power available, 3rd gear had all the pull I needed—from the low 20s to 40 mph, across gravel, tight twisties, and uphill terrain. You expect a lot of shifting on a small-displacement bike in tight terrain, but the Rally’s low-to-midrange torque made shifting surprisingly rare. While I’ll experiment with sprocket sizes as I make other changes, the Honda engineers got the right balance.
I noticed another shock issue when dismounting. With my left foot on the peg, swinging my right leg over the bike, and putting my boot on the ground, I was slightly hesitating before putting my right foot on the ground. Due to my lean angle, I was unweighting the left footpeg. That caused the shock to rebound with the bike leaned over. It then tries to climb over its own kickstand.
My riding partner suggested that I weight the left footpeg, swing the right leg over in one motion, keeping centered over the peg, and quickly plant my boot on the ground. Dismounting was uneventful when using this technique, though I feel like I am racing the shock rebound.
My first impression: this is a bike you can ride straight from the showroom to the highway and onto forest roads without needing to spend another penny. It will take you where you want to go and do it with composure and just enough power to keep up with bigger bikes. With a 200-plus mile range on 87-octane gas and 8000-mile oil change intervals, it’s easy on the wallet. For those just getting into adventure riding—or riders looking to lighten their load without sacrificing rideability—the CRF300L Rally makes a compelling case.
The 2024 Honda CRF300L Rally is an excellent light adventure bike with a $6199 price tag—just a bit over half of what the ’24 Yamaha Ténéré 700 runs. The whole purpose of a project bike is to make changes and report on the quality and desirability of those changes. As I pass through 600 miles and my first oil change, I have created a wish list of parts I want to add or replace. This will be a series of reviews about my experiences as the mods are added. I am smiling just thinking about them.
The Ultimate Motorcycling Yamaha Ténéré 700 Project Bike has been a fantastic machine and an enjoyable build for nearly four years. I’ve added, swapped, and removed more than 65 accessories in search of my perfect adventure setup. However, in those years, I’ve gotten older, and the Ténéré feels heavier and more top-heavy than it used to. About a year ago, I started seeing reviews of the Honda CRF300L Rally being a fun second bike for midsize-plus adventure bike owners, followed by updates that their bigger bikes were sitting unused. Now, I understand why. The 2024 CRF300L Rally is the next Ultimate Motorcycling project bike that I’ll be helming.
And I can pick it up by myself.
2024 Honda CRF300L Rally Specs
ENGINE
- Type: Single-cylinder canted forward 25 degrees
- Displacement: 286cc
- Bore and stroke: 76 x 63mm
- Compression ratio: 10.7:1
- Valvetrain: DOHC; 4 valves
- Fueling: EFI w/ 38mm throttle body
- Cooling: Liquid
- Transmission: 6-speed
- Clutch: Wet multiplate w/ assist and slip functions
- Final drive: 520 O-ring chain
CHASSIS
- Front suspension; travel: Non-adjustable inverted 43mm fork; 10.2 inches
- Rear suspension; travel: Linkage-assisted spring-preload adjustable shock; 10.2 inches
- Front tire: 80/100-21; IRC Trails GP-21F
- Rear tire: 120/80-18; IRC Trails GP-22R
- Front brake: 256mm disc w/ 2-piston caliper
- Rear brake: 220mm disc w/ single-piston caliper
- ABS: Optional ($300)
DIMENSIONS and CAPACITIES
- Wheelbase: 57.2 inches
- Rake: 27.5 degrees
- Trail: 4.3 inches
- Seat height: 35.2 inches
- Ground clearance: 10.9 inches
- Fuel capacity: 3.4 gallons
- Color: Red
- Curb weight: 331 pounds
2024 Honda CRF300L Rally Price: $6199 MSRP
