2016 Honda CRF250X - WHAT I'VE BEEN RIDING

The 2016 Honda CRF250X isn't new and it isn't particularly special. It doesn't have fancy suspension, doesn't make a ton of power, and hasn't been updated in a while. So how did it make its way into this week's "What I've Been Riding?" Love. That's how.

Two of my closest friends are getting married soon to two wonderful girls, and a half-cocked joint bachelor party plan was hatched one night over vegan donuts (most of my guy friends are vegan and straight edge, I have no idea why). They'd head out and do some stupidly long trails using their own two feet (what fools!) and the rest of us would meet them out in Zion to play in the dirt, climb some rocks, and do dude things.

"What I've Been Riding" is a new segment for editors who may not have already written about a certain bike to toss their personal opinions in. Because it's fun for us, hopefully interesting for you, and a great way to create some more discussion around the stuff you're asking us about. The bottom of the page will give you links to things like first ride reviews, comparison tests, dyno runs, and other content we've run - all of which gets the broad-based and objective evaluation techniques you've come to expect from us. If you're dying to check out the specs or have a more technical question, we'd suggest perusing those before getting upset that these "reviews" don't contain our normal, rigorous efforts.

Boosti (all of my friends also have stupid nicknames) was put in charge of planning the thing because he's a) spent the most time doing dude stuff in Zion and b) is an activity and food bully. He'd rented UTVs near Zion before while on tour with his band Saosin and found a massive house we could rent for the week and made the arrangements. He also mentioned that he'd be bringing a bike or two and that anyone else who wanted to could do the same.

Boosti, who's last name is Sorenson, is famous for inviting people on some sort of adventure and completely underplaying how hard it will be or what it will entail. Those of us who've gone on some sort of an excursion with him affectionately refer to it as "getting Sorensoned." There was the time he invited me to ride to Yosemite with him and camp near the bikes and spend two days hiking Half Dome that turned into carrying our 60 pound camping packs to a few miles short of the peak at a break neck speed without resting that resulted in my not being able to walk for a week. Or the "light day of dual sporting" that hit expert level tracks, drove us far deeper into the desert than planned, that also missed any breaks, and where I couldn't open and close my hands for two days after we got home.

Nonetheless, I looked at some of the trails near Zion and figured they were just getting UTVs for the guys who didn't know how to ride and figured it would be some pretty mellow riding. We had the new Yamaha WR450F in the office, but I thought something smaller would be more entertaining at that pace and I snagged the CRF250X from Honda.

When I arrived at the house, I noticed there were two more UTVs than planned and no bikes and I asked what was up to the response of "we didn't think the bikes would keep up out in the dunes." My mind immediately snapped to Gob Bluthe saying "I think I've made a terrible mistake." Apparently Hurricane, Utah has a lot more to offer than I'd realized.

The next morning the boys packed into their UTVs and I mounted the little Honda. Fortunately, the morning route he'd planned was mostly fire roads and hard packed hills on the way out to see the Warner Valley dinosaur tracks. While the little Honda had a hard time keeping up with the 1000 cc Polaris RZRs, the light machine was incredibly fun to jump off the hills and around the tight and rocky single track we encountered. The wee thing doesn't make a ton of power, but a little yank on the bars under power brings the front end up with incredible ease and I caught myself squealing with laughter several times as I gave it all she had.

One thing that surprised me about the CRF250X was how well I fit on it. I'd forgotten my ROX Speed Risers, a genius little piece of kit I have to add to anything I plan to ride standing up, something that would normally render my pretty miserable on any dirtbike. But, somehow, I actually felt really comfortable on the Honda even though it was still far from perfect.

I was beginning to think that maybe I hadn't made such a terrible choice after all as we head back into town to grab lunch. By all accounts, I was having an incredible day of riding and really loving trying to get every ounce of speed out of the Honda. I write often about my love for making small or slow things go fast and the idea of low consequence fun, and the little Honda was delivering on all accounts.

After lunch, we head back out, only this time things started to get sandy. And, as to be expected, the CRF250X was pretty terrible in the sand. Even at full speed, the Honda struggled to hold a line and stay on top of the sand. And then, once slowed, it didn't have nearly the power (or tire) needed to get itself righted. It didn't take long before I turned back to hide it near the entrance and jumped into one of the UTVs.

The last day of the trip had us leaving Hurricane and heading to Las Vegas to see our buddy Zedd play a Labor Day weekend show there and to celebrate his birthday. As the only morning person in the group, I'd spent the week getting up long before everyone and, on this last day, I decided to make good use of it. I tossed my sandy and sweaty gear back on as the sun rose and headed out for one last session out by the dinosaur tracks, because I love sunrises, dirtbikes, and because I'd been too lazy to shoot any pics so far in the trip.

That morning ride reminded me just how capable the CRF250X is. Left to my own devices, I could stick to the trails that suited the bike over the UTVs, and the little Honda truly shined. We often overlook the 450's smaller counterparts but, as with superbikes, I find that I often have fun and improve my riding skills more when I stick to something a little smaller. I won't be taking it in any more sand dunes, but you can bet I'll be trying to find any excuse to get it back out on the trails before the nice folks at Honda come asking for it back.

Sidenote: If you're even in the St. George/Hurricane/Zion area, I cannot recommend the Southern Utah Adventure Center enough if you want to rent some toys. The guys there could not have been nicer, or more patient, when two of the UTVs got flat tires and one smoked a transmission (for the record, I was the driver of the only one that came back in one piece). They're true enthusiasts and cater their entire business around you having an absolute blast.

Helmet: Shoei VFX-W Helmet
Jersey: CROIG Jersey
Armor: Alpinestars Bionic Plus Jacket
Pants: Fox Racing Legion Offroad Pants
Boots: SIDI Crossfire 2 SRS Boots
Goggles: Fox Racing AIRSPC 360 Race Goggles