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Changing chain, sprockets and gearing

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If you ride a small adventure bike hard on dirt, the chain and sprockets are the first things to wear out. The chain on this well-travelled Honda CRF300L Rally had stretched and the sprocket teeth were starting to hook, so it was booked in for a full chain-and-sprocket kit at a roadside workshop in Thailand — and a chance to shorten the gearing a touch for slow, technical off-road riding. Here is how the job went, step by step. What you need A new chain — we fitted a D.I.D 520VX3 X-ring Matching front and rear sprockets (here a 13-tooth front and 45-tooth rear, down/up from 14/42) A chain breaker and riveting tool, plus an angle grinder or chain cutter Chain lube, sockets, a torque wrench, gloves and a paddock stand Rolling in With the bike up on its side stand and the rear wheel free to spin, the first job is simply to size up what you are dealing with. The patient arrives — a well-travelled Honda CRF300L Rally is wheeled into a roadside workshop in Thailand. Up on the s...
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Cleaning the airfilter

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Pulled the air filter on the Honda CRF 300L Rally to see how it was holding up after a stretch of dusty Thai backroads. Spoiler: it needed it. Bike up on the side stand, tools out. Honda CRF 300L Rally — the workhorse. 1/4" ratchet with a Phillips bit. That's basically all you need. Side panel screws come out first. Panel off. The airbox cover is sitting right there behind it. A few more screws around the airbox cover. Cover lifted away. Old filter element exposed. And there's the culprit. Yellow-brown, packed with Thai backroad dust. Definitely overdue. Empty airbox. Quick wipe with a clean rag while it's open — no point putting a fresh filter into a dusty housing. New filter, clean side. Wire mesh on top, pleated element underneath. Side-on view before it goes in. Pleats are crisp, no gaps. Drop it in. Pleats facing up, gasket lined up with the airbox lip. Seated. Push it gently — it should sit flush, not proud. Cover back on, both clips snapped home. Don't forge...
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New Honda CRF 300 Rally and oil change

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 So we moved to northern Thailand and riding single tracks in the jungle these days. The 690 would not cut it as it is too clumsy so needed a more nimble toy to play with. The answer was a pimped up Honda CRF 300 Rally. I have only ridden it for a few months but already stacked up 7000+ km so really time for an oil change. Well, by the book it is 12k km but since I ride dirt it should really be at 3-4k km intervals. Anyway below are the quick steps on this very simple oil change. Parts needed Oil filter Crush washer 1.5 liter fully synthetic oil Oil filter box gasket Drain oil Use a brake cleaner to clean the outside of the crank case   Remove drain plug and take away the crush washer Raise bike upright and wiggle it until all oil is out. Put back the drain plug with the new crush washer on. Replace oil filter Remove oil filter cover on right hand side  Remove oil filter and pay attention to spring Clean with brake cleaner Put new filter in Fit new gasket on lid   Pu...
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