New Honda CRF250F

Verminator said:
Just got a new 2025 Honda CRF250F Dirt Bike for my boy. I don't see any previous posts from users who have this particular model, but I'm looking for recommendations for a good engine oil for it, other than the overly expensive Honda GN4 dino oil. The Amsoil Metric Motorcycle Oil in 10W30 seems possible, but then I've also read that you should run the Honda dino oil for the first few changes before switching to synthetic? So I'm just not sure.

It seems from the research I've done so far that 4-stroke motorcycle oil is different than car/truck oil in that it also doubles as the transmission oil on the dirt bikes (or at least the CRF250F) and automobile oil lacks this extra "whatever" it is, and can make the clutch "slip" if you don't use "motorcycle oil", so not sure about that either.

So any advise from anyone who has a Honda CRF250F Dirt Bike with some experience in this area would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Hello

So what oil you run at the moment in this race machine ?
 
I have the CRF125F and have looked into oils extensively for this line of motorcycles.

The Honda manual isn’t very specific with the 10W30 vs 10W40 temp scale, as you are aware. Just says both can be used.

I did find a blurb on the net somewhere that said 10W30 was good for up to 86 degrees F, and 10W40 would be better for temps higher than that. Since I live in Florida and it’s higher than 86 degrees most of the year, I have opted for 10W40.

I don’t know why they changed from 10W40 to 10W30 in the manual. My only guess is that Honda , as an entire company, is worried about CAFE and wants to improve fuel efficiency across its entire fleet of vehicles. That being said, 10W40 offers a bit more sheer strength for hot days.

As for oil, I regularly have Honda GN4 10W40 or Yamalube 10W40 or Valvoline 10W40 motorcycle oils in my garage. They all work perfect, all have the same shift feel, and all are affordable and easy to find. I use whatever I have on the shelf in my fleet of dirt bikes and ATV’s.
 
That is only a 150 hour motor. Yes 150 hours before rebuild per the book. The race version is 30-35 hours. You are doing yourself a favor by changing oil after every weekend or two tanks of gas and ignoring the schedule in the book. Don’t skimp keeping the oil clear and new. FWIW the main cause of eating up these motors is changing the air filter. No mater how carful you are specs of dirt get in it when you pull it off. The second biggest cause of blowing these motors is cleaning air filters. If any filter says it is washable, especially dry filters on cars, then only replace them. Wait until your air filter is absolutely filthy dirty and then just put a new one on. Like a quarter inch thick of dirt and never clean and reuse. My friend and neihbor is a race mechanic for Kawasaki. You can see him in the backgrounds at races on TV. The other funny thing he taught me is chain lube. It doesn’t matter who the teams are sponsored by none of them use chain lube. They all use tri flow. This from AI:

“”The CRF250F engine typically requires a top-end rebuild around 100-150 hours, depending on riding style and maintenance.Some riders may opt for a rebuild sooner, especially if they race or push the bike hard, or if they notice signs of wear like decreased performance or excessive oil consumption.“”
 
Stumpalump said:
That is only a 150 hour motor. Yes 150 hours before rebuild per the book. The race version is 30-35 hours. You are doing yourself a favor by changing oil after every weekend or two tanks of gas and ignoring the schedule in the book. Don’t skimp keeping the oil clear and new. FWIW the main cause of eating up these motors is changing the air filter. No mater how carful you are specs of dirt get in it when you pull it off. The second biggest cause of blowing these motors is cleaning air filters. If any filter says it is washable, especially dry filters on cars, then only replace them. Wait until your air filter is absolutely filthy dirty and then just put a new one on. Like a quarter inch thick of dirt and never clean and reuse. My friend and neihbor is a race mechanic for Kawasaki. You can see him in the backgrounds at races on TV. The other funny thing he taught me is chain lube. It doesn’t matter who the teams are sponsored by none of them use chain lube. They all use tri flow. This from AI:

“”The CRF250F engine typically requires a top-end rebuild around 100-150 hours, depending on riding style and maintenance.Some riders may opt for a rebuild sooner, especially if they race or push the bike hard, or if they notice signs of wear like decreased performance or excessive oil consumption.“”
Click to expand...
what is tri flow ? when you refer chain
 
TrialKid said:
Hello

So what oil you run at the moment in this race machine ?
Click to expand...
Well, we decided on Amsoil 10W40 Dirt Bike Full Synthetic. I've always wanted to try Amsoil, so finally did it. We did the first oil change after 5 hours and man did it ever need it! It just glistened and swirled with silver metal when we drained it in to the used oil pan. Those brand new bikes definitely need a short interval for the very first, and maybe the second oil change to get all the manufacturers shavings and such out of there.

I have a short video showing how bad it was, but apparently can't upload videos, so here's a screen grab from the video. This was after about 4 hours after getting it brand new.
20250419_140932.webp
 
Last edited:
Verminator said:
Well, we decided on Amsoil 10W40 Dirt Bike Full Synthetic. I've always wanted to try Amsoil, so finally did it. We did the first oil change after 5 hours and man did it ever need it! It just glistened and swirled with silver metal when we drained it in to the used oil pan. Those brand new bikes definitely need a short interval for the very first, and maybe the second oil change to get all the manufacturers shavings and such out of there.

I have a short video showing how bad it was, but apparently can't upload videos, so here's a screen grab from the video. This was after about 4 hours after getting it brand new.
View attachment 274540
Click to expand...
On a fresh rebuild on November 2024 on wife's bike
After the 3 heat cycles without ride the bike (just on stand), we run the bike for a short distance up side down 10km approximate.

Oil come out like yours, like sliver glowing one.

1st oil was mineral (short distance 10km)
2nd oil mineral (about 100km with soft revving and let engine breaking down itself), oil looks normal colour without silver glowing.
3rd Dirt bike 10W40 (rev limiter and engine braking without downshift, we run it for 500km)
4th Dirt bike 10W40 and she likes it a lot.
 
Stumpalump said:
That is only a 150 hour motor. Yes 150 hours before rebuild per the book. The race version is 30-35 hours. You are doing yourself a favor by changing oil after every weekend or two tanks of gas and ignoring the schedule in the book. Don’t skimp keeping the oil clear and new. FWIW the main cause of eating up these motors is changing the air filter. No mater how carful you are specs of dirt get in it when you pull it off. The second biggest cause of blowing these motors is cleaning air filters. If any filter says it is washable, especially dry filters on cars, then only replace them. Wait until your air filter is absolutely filthy dirty and then just put a new one on. Like a quarter inch thick of dirt and never clean and reuse. My friend and neihbor is a race mechanic for Kawasaki. You can see him in the backgrounds at races on TV. The other funny thing he taught me is chain lube. It doesn’t matter who the teams are sponsored by none of them use chain lube. They all use tri flow. This from AI:

“”The CRF250F engine typically requires a top-end rebuild around 100-150 hours, depending on riding style and maintenance.Some riders may opt for a rebuild sooner, especially if they race or push the bike hard, or if they notice signs of wear like decreased performance or excessive oil consumption.“”
Click to expand...
TrialKid said:
what is tri flow ? when you refer chain
Click to expand...
https://triflowlubricants.com/product/tri-flow-superior-lubricant-aerosol/
 
Stumpalump said:
That is only a 150 hour motor. Yes 150 hours before rebuild per the book. The race version is 30-35 hours. You are doing yourself a favor by changing oil after every weekend or two tanks of gas and ignoring the schedule in the book. Don’t skimp keeping the oil clear and new. FWIW the main cause of eating up these motors is changing the air filter. No mater how carful you are specs of dirt get in it when you pull it off. The second biggest cause of blowing these motors is cleaning air filters. If any filter says it is washable, especially dry filters on cars, then only replace them. Wait until your air filter is absolutely filthy dirty and then just put a new one on. Like a quarter inch thick of dirt and never clean and reuse. My friend and neihbor is a race mechanic for Kawasaki. You can see him in the backgrounds at races on TV. The other funny thing he taught me is chain lube. It doesn’t matter who the teams are sponsored by none of them use chain lube. They all use tri flow. This from AI:

“”The CRF250F engine typically requires a top-end rebuild around 100-150 hours, depending on riding style and maintenance.Some riders may opt for a rebuild sooner, especially if they race or push the bike hard, or if they notice signs of wear like decreased performance or excessive oil consumption.“”
Click to expand...
Hmmm, AI hasn't been on the trails much! I think add a zero, for most of the CRFXXXF bikes for an actual head rebuild, if ever... As a teenager I don't ever recall an air cooled honda bike even burning oil a little? And we've been looking at 10-15 year old ones now and some pretty abused ones still had no blue smoke. I guess this new 250F is 4 valves and maybe have been "improved" to be less durable and gained 2hp, but I think honda would keep these pretty indestructable.
Valve clearances should be checked on all of them, and 100 hrs sounds like a good interval for the air cooled F models.
 
IndyIan said:
Hmmm, AI hasn't been on the trails much! I think add a zero, for most of the CRFXXXF bikes for an actual head rebuild, if ever... As a teenager I don't ever recall an air cooled honda bike even burning oil a little? And we've been looking at 10-15 year old ones now and some pretty abused ones still had no blue smoke. I guess this new 250F is 4 valves and maybe have been "improved" to be less durable and gained 2hp, but I think honda would keep these pretty indestructable.
Valve clearances should be checked on all of them, and 100 hrs sounds like a good interval for the air cooled F models.
Click to expand...
125 hours at 40 mph is 5000 miles. It's hard to believe that the engine would be worn out at that mileage.
 
That 30 hour interval on the 2 stroke is probably for race motocross bikes, measured in competition hours and still seems overkill. I don’t know anyone with a CR250 that has rebuilt theirs, myself included on my 2003. I don’t know how many hours are on mine but it’s way more than 30.
 
I've used Rotella T 15/40 in my XT225 since 2004. Zero issues. Yamaha recommends 20/40 and were the only folks selling it at a crazy price.

Paco
 
Got out yesterday, finally, for what could be classified as my 1st real bike ride in 25+ yrs. Got to say, overall, I am really pleased with this bike and I can't wait to get out again. The suspension concerned me coming from moto-cross bikes but overall, it is way better than I was expecting. Although yesterdays ride was just trail riding, I still encountered some decent size whoops, rocks, mudholes, etc, and not once, that I noticed, did I bottom out anywhere. The power is there too which also surprised me. Overall, for the money of 7g's OTD, I think this is a great bike for the money. I will 61 yrs old next weekend and to me, I couldn't have picked a better bike for what I was looking for. My Moto-X days are far behind me but I was concerned I'd miss the suspension/power at times but not once yesterday did I wish it had more of those 2 things. Being on the short side too, and nearing the end of the day when I was getting pretty pooched, it was nice to be able to easily swing my leg over the seat and plant both feet on the ground.
Anyways, as I want to do my first oil change due to yesterdays break in period/conditions, (rain, mud, water, hail and cold) I ordered up some Castrol Actevo X-Tra 4T oil and some Tusk first line oil filters. Appears the Mobil 1 4T oil recommended here is not available in Canada, or at least in my neck of the woods here in Ontario? Hopefully all arrives tomorrow so I can get this done? Was going to, for at least the 1st couple rides, stick with Honda oil/filters but with the shop being closed today/tomorrow, decided to go this route instead. Not sure what upgrades, if any, I want to do on this bike but I am open to hearing suggestions/recommendations.



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Congrats on getting back in the saddle! It's a great feeling. Castrol oil will be fine. Fresh, clean oil during breakin is more important by tenfold then the brand. We all have opinions on our best oil based on individual experience but I've never heard of an engine failing when running any oil on this forum in all my years being here.
 
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