Hav you ever wonder why you keep stripping your motorcycle screws? Well.. this is probably because your motorcycle is made in japan and you are using an american screwdriver on the bike. In north America we tend to use philips screw heads which is intentional cambered for use in automotive manufacturing so the bit would camber out and prevent torquing off the skew head.  This design how ever is more prone to stripping. The Japaneeese have came up with their own version of the phillips called the JIS. The Jis bit uses more precise angles rather than foundered edges to prevent stripping. It can be a challenge to find these screwdrivers locally or even online with out costly shipping prices.. so like any good DIY’er i decided to make my own.

How do you tell which is which?  As you can see in the image below the JIS has a much flatter tip where the philips is rounded.  The other main difference is the bottom angle is at 26.5 degree rather than 19.

image curtsy of agcuato

How do you identify a JIS screw?  Just look for the dimple!

If you have an aftermarket exhaust or an EJK you will want to mod your airbox to increase airflow into your engine . Moding the airbox is pretty easy and you really have two different options. Street riders tend to put holes in the side of the airbox and generally add little filters. This works great if you are on road only but if you use your CRF off-road and like to get wet and dirty I would advise against this method.  I chose to increase the size of my snorkel to keep the bike decently water resistant.  I upgrade the tiny stock snorkel using a 2″ flexible plumbing fixture which increase the intake by about 60%.  Note, I would not advise you do this mod unless you have the EJK fuel controller installed. You will need to add more fuel to balance out the increased air flow

After debating buy an EJK (electronic Jet Kit) I decided to take the plunge and add a little more performance to my 2014 CRF250L. When you buy the EJK it comes pre-programmed for a stage 1 kit which consists of headers, exhaust and air box mods.  Street riders tend to open up the side of their air box and insert little mini holes/filters. Since I love going off road and getting wet and muddy..this wasn’t an option. To open my air box up I took out the stock snorkel and used a 2″ flexile plumbing fixture.  My exhaust is still stock as I find it nice to ride with out going deaf.. Plus its nice to explore random areas with out drawing extra attention!.  Opening up the air box made the bike sounds pretty mean.. the extra fuel with bigger hole give the bike a nice throaty sound. I love it. the EJK is easy to install and give you instance tune ability.  With the push of a button you can change your fuel mapping to tweak your performance for your current or future setup.

How do i like it?  
I was hesitant on if it was worth buying the fuel controller with out the exhaust..I wasn’t sure if i would get much benefit.. but I was wrong.. I love it! (well that along with my other mods). If it was a bone stock bike i would probably pass. but if you don’t mind opening up your air box (and i would recommend a 13T front gear) you will be a happy camper.  The EJk  allows your to increase fuel for cruise, accelerate and wide open throttle. I bumped up the cries to a moderate 1.5, accelerate to 2 and 2.5 for WOT. This modest boost was all the bike need to “wake up” and give you that get up and go. I no longer feel any gaps in the power band and the bike always wants more with every millimetre of throttle turn.  Don’t expect a night and day difference but it is certainly noticeable and that smile that the bike seems to put on your face will grow just that much bigger.

PS. I LOVE the sounds of that throaty mean sounds as the bike sucks in air to burn up that extra fuel i’m now feeding it.. Happy bike .. Happy Rider!

Installing the EJK is a pretty simple process and only takes about 20 minutes.

Start off by removing your seat by undoing the two rear bolts.

Unscrew the left hand side panel (1 bolt at the bottom) top sides are held in with clips.

Loosen the wire holders and run your wires  along the stock wire bundle until you reach the engine area

Unplug the grey stock connector located at the top rear of the engine

Plug the stock connector into the EJK and the pig tail to to the stock location

Install the ground wire onto your batteries negative terminal

Program your EJK
press Mode,
Green light - cruise
Yellow Light – Accelerate
Red light – Full Throttle.

Press mode until the desired colour light flashes then use the +/- keys to adjust the value.  If a just 3 flahes then that is your setting. If it was 3.5 then both 3/4 would light up.
For my bike with stock exhaust and a modded air box i used Green 1.5   Yellow 2  Red 2.5

 
Once you get your ejk installed you will likely want to mod your airbox for more flow

IF you are a taller rider and go off road you will want to get your self some handle bar risers. The stock bar height is fine for on road but as soon as you get into the tricky stuff and stand up on the bike the stock bars force you to bend forward rather than stinging in a comfterable riding position.  I ordered my self a set of TUSK 30mm 7/8″ bar risers for a whopping $20.  I must say it was $20 well spent.  The install was very easy.

Unclip the wire holders, unbolt the 4 bolts on top of the handle bar, insert your risers (add some lock tight blue) and install the new screws… simple quick and a very nice upgrade!.

Before Bar riser

After Br Riser

Emperor Racing makes some very nice products. I recently picked up the Emperor racing skid plate and Rad guard for my CRF250L. The build quality and design is outstanding. It is a amazing what they can do with laser/water etching these days!  Not only is the skid plate aesthetically pleasing.. its made out of  3/16th thick aluminium making it one of the strongest I have seen for the CRF250L to date. The Emperor skid plate weights in at about 3 lbs which is not bad considering how much metal is there protecting your engine.  The radiator guard is made out of 1/8″ aluminum and provides a strong cage to protect your rad from rocks/branches. The only real way it could see it getting damaged is if you some how rolled backwards into a sharp thick stick (very unlikely) .   The install was pretty quick and easy, my only real issue was getting the top bar into the space between my engine and the frame, however this was solved with a few good smacks of the hammer.  The Radiator guard was very simple to install and only required removing a few screws and the stock plastic rad guard. The new aluminium radiator guard uses all of the stock mounting location with the addition of a re-enforced bracket for extra strength.  Check out the video below to see how easy it is to install your own!

After replacing a bent shifter on my previous bike I decided to be proactive and replace the crf250l shifter with a folding one. There is a number of aluminum after market ones popping up.. However once bent, aluminum doesn’t really like to bend back and has a tendency to snap and break after a few bends. I opted to go with a steel leaver as it can take years of anise and be bent time and time again!

Now luckily enough honda makes a stock folding leaver for the crf150r that is a direct fit!
The honda part number is 24700-KSE-305

Side by side comparison of stock CRF250L (top) and CRF150R  (bottom)

Stock CRF150R Shifter

Stock – non folding shifter (i have no idea how folding leavers ar enot a standard feature these days)

Stock CRF150R shifter on my CRF250L.. much better!

The stock spring on the CRF250L is extremely soft. If you weigh over 120lbs (which you probally do..) you will want to load up the pre load.  turning up the pre-load will keep more tension on the spring and making the suspension a little stiffer and better for us non child riders

Start by jacking up the CRF250 or putting it on a stand to take the pressure off of the spring.

If you look on either side of the bike you should be able to see the spring under the seat. The two rings on top are how you adjust the preload. The bottom ring is the adjuster and the top ring acts a a locking nut.

You should be able to adjust the rings using a large flat head screw driver and a hammer. Don’t worry about being to gentle as these rings will take some force to break free and spin. (don’t worry they are tough.. give them a few hard smacks!)

Standing on the right hand side of the bike you will want to spin the top ring forward to loosen the nut.  Once loose you are free to adjust the bottom pre-load ring. Smack the bottom ring towards the back of the bike (when standing on the right side) until its reaches the bottom of the threads.  Looking from down below you should be able to see how many threads are left.

Once you have the bottom ring all the way down (or to where you want it), spin the top ring towards the back to tighten it back up and lock the bottom ring in place.  Put your tool away, go for a ride and enjoy your slightly stiffer suspension.

The stock rear fender on the CRF250L is a giant conglomeration of excess parts.. I’m sure its the way it is to meet legal/safety requirements of multiple countries but in my experience all it does is create more a spot for mud to collect!  After many hours of debating ordering the actual crf250l fender eliminator i decided to just make my own.. not only was it an easy mod.. it didn’t cost me a cent!

So what do you need to tidy up the end of your CRF250l?

-Dremmel with cut off wheel,
- Socket set
- Hot glue or Silicone
- Chunk of clear plastic or lexan

Step 1. Start with one stock Honda CRF fender

Step 2. Remove the 4 bolts holding on the CRF rear fender cover

The big fender removed (yes you are right, its big and heavy…well relatively!)

Step 3. Remove these three screws using #3 philips.  These 3 bolts attach the light assembly to the bike.

Step 4. Remove the 2 bolts holding in the stock licenses plate light.

Step 5. Get our your Dremmel and a cutting wheel and cut out this lovely diamond shape template Honda generously added to the bottom of the light (it’s almost like they planned for this mod)

Step 6. Next  trace your cut out onto some clear thick plastic to fill your new found hole.

Step 7. Fit your plastic as cloase as you can to the cut out.

Step 8. Silicone or Hot glue your clear ‘diamond’ into the bottom of the CRF250L tail light.

Step 9. Use your cut of wheel to cut along the bottom of the fender.  This piece will be used as a cover for the screws and wire connections.

Step 10. Screw in your tail light and bolt up the new cover

Step 11. Enjoy your sleek new DIY CRF250L fender.