No problem Bill, it really is a great improvement.

More kits will be available soon. Ari and Maverick might have to increase production once more people discover how good this is and spread the word.

Look out for the 550 Performance BLACK FRIDAY SALE. Pre-order your kit during the sale for shipping in 2-3 weeks.

Thanks. I was very keen to do this when I discovered Ari had developed it.

Yes, it definitely feels complete now.

You will like in improvement of the added power and torque that Stage 1 gives.

I was loving my Stage 1.5 too and actually a little hesitant to change anything... But, now that I have... WOW!

I'll definitely give it a good testing over our summer and report back.

I plan on keeping my CRF300 Rally long term and, as you say, the lower purchase price helps offset the cost of these modifications. I am very happy with my setup now and can't wait to do some big trips over my summer holidays.

My thoughts exactly .

I'll give it a good workout Tony and let you know.

I'll deliver your mail and roost your lawn before you ever know I've been there 💪

Thanks for the compliment, Ari is a cool guy and was happy to contribute to the video.

You better be a good boy for Santa then....

$9000 for a good 2nd hand crf300Rally + $3000 suspension and the rest? EXCF500 with lots more power and forget about the silly statements re daily servicing. Try 2500km for adventure riding and legendary reliability, an easy 50-100,000 km with routine maintenance plus the easiest bike to maintain I’ve owned.

Yes, it wouldn't take much for one of the big four to make a 400-500 version. Hopefully the competition from Kove will help the evolution of future bikes.

Anyone that thinks modified suspension on a Honda brings it to KTM level is delusional, I've ridden with a buddy who has the full Rally Raid kit and he'd tell you that my battered 2006 450 EXC is streets better when things get real tough, a couple of laps of a MX track will tell you that. On the trails the massive reserve in the suspension is a huge safety factor if you start upping the speed. People always compare new-bike prices but if it's a performance comparison then that's pointless, my €2.5k old dog with 850hrs on the engine smashes any modern pseudo dirt bike with no effort and power upgrades I just have to order the parts from KTM. Valve adjustment is ten minutes (though they haven't shifted in 300hrs) and apart from filters, discs, pads, fork bushes and wheel bearings it's never had a new part in it's life. I'll probably give it a new timing chain and piston this year but maybe not.

​@@jimtitt3571As soon as the service intervals are measured in hours, most sane people say "Yeah-nuh". 2006 with 850 hours on it? What happened?

Which riders should Honda listen to? As a novice off-road rider, I'm delighted with the docile nature of the 300. I can get myself in over my head quite adequately on the power it has, I've not found a hill that it won't pull me up, and in most situations I'm limited by traction and skill, not power. I'm also delighted there's an option for a power bump if/when I want it. Best of both worlds IMO. The fact is, none of those other bikes you mention will do the job the 300 does. Too expensive, too powerful (yes, that's a thing), too fragile, too tiring on the highway, or all of the above. As for this $3K for suspension number that keeps getting thrown around: it can be done much cheaper, and if we're honest, a huge number of the more expensive bikes also get all of that and more spent on upgrading them. Sure, they end up way more capable, but so they should.

You will be in the right place for plenty of accessories and great riding!

Thanks mate, it really is so good.

Yes it is. I just did a ride with some stock CRF300's and did some back to back testing... Is such a different bike now, much nicer to ride.

You will love it. It makes the bike so much more fun!

I owned two WR250R's at one point i actually thought they would make a WR450R or the like haha-what a shame

Yes, the sweet spot is probably somewhere in the 400-600cc range.

Yes, I was 100% happy to try it once I found out he developed it.

That put me over the edge in purchasing it. Can't wait to try it in the spring.

@@brucerossonthetube You will love it. Take a look at my latest video with some gearing setup advice for the 301cc kit.

Even though it is not 39hp, it now feels a lot closer to the stock DRZ than the numbers suggest.

@@ShonkyProductionsand a much better gearbox

Less vibration too

@@ShonkyProductions Interesting. The deficit to the stock drz is similar to how much you just gained so it's still around 7hp behind. Then compare to an equally modified drz434cc engine and it's probably around 12hp behind. Piped and well jetted my stock cylinder 400e would be around 42hp for reference. I'm not trying to be an ass, just putting different power outs into perspective for comparison sake 🙂

@@guestappearance3211 An ACT Gearset helps but they're spendy.

The big bore kit doesn't require all of those peripheral mods, but it certainly benefits from the and you're leaving performance on the table by forcing the bbk to breath through the stock air filter/air box and exhale through the stock exhaust. With just the kit you'll certainly gain some power and snappier throttle response. The compression ratio alone is going to help with that.

@@AriH211 Many thanks for the great info, exactly what i was hoping to understand.

The crank is different between the 250 and 300 so the 301 kit won't work on the 250 (it would yield a ridiculously high compression ratio), but swapping cranks is very straightforward.

Just buy a crank kit and the 301cc kit and there you are....or by Wiseco STD piston with increased compression 11,5:1 (same compression ratio what the 301cc kit uses). That does not mean you get the same hp/torque gain ;-) Another option is to bore the cylinder 2mm and get a Wiseco +2mm piston (also 11,5:1) this will lead to 263cc but i don´t know if this has been done yet.... There are many option...

Early impressions are good. because you don't need to rev it to get the same power, fuel consumption should be the same or better. I will report back after a few big rides.

Definitely worth the money. In the next video I'm going to ride with a few other CRF owners, swap bikes and get their opinions, so it's a more balanced review of the improvement.

@@ShonkyProductions Did you do the instal? Can you do it in the bike or does the engine have to come out. Do the cases have to be opened for the cyl?

@@gregjetnikoff7124 I did it with the motor in the bike. Just removed the tank and radiator. No need to touch the cases.

He was more alluding to the aftermarket big bore kits developed in Thailand. We were talking off air and discussing some of the other kits out there and the problems they have had with piston rock and broken engines. The whole bike is made in the Honda Thailand factory. I get any of my OEM parts directly from Thailand... super cheap too.

Exactly. I guarantee you will love it.

Check out my latest video on gearing for the 301 kit. I can sit on 110kph at 6750rpm. Top speed is still untested, but I have seen 135kph.

@@ShonkyProductions Thank you, I've already seen that video, very interesting transformation process. Looking forward for new updates. 👍

I've spent a lot of time on DRZ400's but they would not be my choice to ride across the country. No 6th gear, no wind protection. The top heavy feel would be worse with luggage. I did think about one before I bought my CRF300, but I am very happy with my choice. I'm not trying to make the CRF300 into something it's not... Just maximising it's potential.

It's a Moto-X header pipe with the longest cheap eBay muffler I could fine. I found the standard Moto-x Muffler too loud. The Stage 3 tune needs CBR cams, CBR intake and free flowing air filter and vented airbox lid to work best. More kits will be available soon.

@@ShonkyProductions thank you for that. I have the MotoX header and muffler too, and while I don't find it too noisy, it seems to restrict the power at the top end compared to the stock system. Any concerns with plugging the air filter too often with the airbox mods?

@@brucerossonthetube I found when I had the MotoX muffler and the baffle installed it restricted power and gave a vibration around 8000rpm. The new longer, free flowing muffler helped power and does not induce any vibration. I run a Uni-Filter filter and just use the yellow pre-filter that goes directly onto the main filter, I haven't had any issues with performance drop due to clogged air filter but I do check and change the pre-filter after every ride.

Look out for the 550 Performance BLACK FRIDAY SALE. Pre-order you kit during the sale for shipping in 2-3 weeks.

Yeah I wanna know that as well

Like with the 550 Performance Stage 1 and Stage 1.5 tunes, this will require 91 fuel as there is an increase of compression as well as adjustments to timing.

They'e a standard 10mm x 1.5 flange nut, Honda part number 94050-10000. Definitely use new ones; 50% of the time the reused nuts strip.

Thanks Ari for your reply. It appears Honda in their wisdom have changed the part number for the cylinder flange nuts on the CRF300 models. The part number for the 10mm flange nut is now 90204K87A30 and it appears there is no stock. Using your experience, do you feel the nut with the part number you supplied will do the same job? @@AriH211

@@paulpotter236 Interesting. Hopefully they've made it stronger in some way. The part number I supplied is what is/was used on the CBR engines. I keep a pile of them in stock so that I can always use fresh ones on builds. I've never had a new nut strip out, only ones that I tried to reuse.

Thanks Adrian, I'm on the NSW Central Coast so Watagan State Forest is my goto testing ground.

Initial fuel consumption figures look good. I'll report back after a few big rides.

I’m still getting 65mpg on my build. 301 bore with ported head and race cams.

@@TheGardenSnake that's great to hear. I'm getting about that on mine too with standard top end and the Stage 3 tune.

Stage 3 is with the CBR cams, Stage 4 is with the custom sports cams. I will test Stage 4 later, but it favours top end over bottom. It does give more power, but I'm not sure if I would give away the bottom/mid for a little more top end power...

@ShonkyProductions , nah, bottom to mid is where nearly all of the riding is.

@ShonkyProductions , so kit comes with bigger injector or is there enough with standard?

@@DCV65 standard injector is fine.

@DCV65 "Can the kit go straight onto the 250 as well?" -NO! (technically yes, you will get 263cc but look at Ari´s comment further above) You need the 286cc crank make the kit work as intended. If you are riding a 250 Rally the EX Cam is the same as in the CBR300R only the IN Cam is different (according to part number). The strange thing is that the cam width and height in the repair manual of the 250 Rally and the CBR300R stating the exat same figures.....leading to the assumption that they are equal despite using a different part number, but that´s only an assumption. Need to measure both cams to get the exaxt figures. The 300 Rally has totally different IN/EX Cams to the other 250´s or 300´s. The CRF300 cams are restricting the engines potential, so swapping to CRB300R cams is an easy and cheap (depending where you get the parts) option. I would also like to see a specific 250cc Kit but you will be still down on torque and hp compared to the 301cc. You can get to it by porting the head, boosting the engine compression to 12:1 and putting some decent (cutsom made) cams in; but will still lack the bottom grunt of the 301cc. Also the airbox of the 250L/RL is different to the 300.....so it´s not as plug and play as on the 300L/Rally 😞

No, fuel consumption has remained pretty much the same.

Depends on where you are. Here in Australia we get stung with currency exchange rates and shipping too. The CBR cams and CBR intake are cheap though.

Which 450 Rally would that be? Do you mean the CRF450L? The CRF450L is still based on a enduro bike with enduro bike service intervals. Its bigger motor also creates bigger vibrations and would not be as comfortable on the road. Yes, it would be more powerful, but not a better package for me on my adventures.

The Kove 450 would be an interesting comparison

@@AceCarleton Yes, definitely. We're yet to get them in Australia.

@@ShonkyProductions yes ,and a balance weight on the stator cures the vibration like it did the husky 701 , the kove 450 will be in Australia soon .

@@cliff1551 hey cliff mate, what makes you think the Kove 450 is comming? I am really interested in the bike but looks like mojo motos not going to bring it cause CF moto coming out with a competitor.

I actually have a Stage 4 ECU and sports cams in a box for future testing. I doubt there is any reliability issues between the two, just the Stage 4 favours outright horsepower over bottom end torque. I am not sure that I want to give up this great bottom/mid range for a few extra horsepower up top. Supermoto guys, CBR owners and anyone looking for top end power might... but for off-road trail riding and adventure this is awesome.

Ah ok makes sense, I didn’t notice the torque numbers and i see peak torque comes on earlier with the stage 3 tune, cheers.

That is an exciting project! Exhaust does play a role in performance and I have experimented and felt different configurations changed felt torque. Also vibrations felt stronger with an exhaust with baffles. I now use a longer, free flowing muffler that has an acceptable noise level.

@@ShonkyProductions cheers looks good,i may invest in all this!

Thanks, I'm not sure of anything similar for the CB500X.

Thanks for your reply. I will keep looking. ​

Stage 1.5 and cams is great. I've had that for the past 12 months and loved it.

550Performance answered me that it is possible. I wrote an email to them asking them if the stage 2 and 3 ECU flash and tune is available for the European CRF300L an this was their answer: Hey Pedro, I can build the tunes for the E11 ECU, just need inquiries to do so. If this is something you wanted to go after, It would probably take a week to get the calibration’s built out / ported. If this is something you are interested in, please let me know. Thanks, -- Maverick | Owner

@@Pedro-pt8pi that's great. I've always found Maverick very happy to help customers.

@@Pedro-pt8pi good to know!

@@drewmisko YES, still going strong 💪

Could be a good option to increase oil capacity. I change my oil every 5,000km or less and I've never noticed any oil loss.

YES, definitely. Exactly the same motor.

​@@ShonkyProductions Woah that was a quick response . Right after I wrote my question I started the video again and yes I saw you have a rally version I believe . Getting this would probably void any warranty but it would be worth it to me . I am over 200 lbs and with riding gear 230 . Add luggage moto camping gear ect and it could push 280 lbs . That extra power would help there too . Wow I am really intrigued about this as it appears that a CRF300LS is at the top of my list with this development . Looking forward for a longish term review with more pavement and trail time . Man 34hp is only 10 less than the DR650 I had in 2018 though 2020 . This set up and a little suspension work and I am in business . Thanks again for this video .

Yes, if you were thinking of upgrading to get some extra power, this is the answer... a cheaper answer too!

Mention Shonky Productions to receive your complimentary gift of extra bubble wrap in your order.

Not that I've noticed yet. I will be riding it more over our summer so if there are issues, I should see them. Not that I'm expecting any...

As with any of the 550 Performance tunes (besides the stock improved), you will need to run US 91 fuel (Aussie 95). Initial results show no detrimental effects to fuel economy... maybe even an increase as you no longer need to rev the bike as much to make the same power. I will report back after a few longer rides.

@@ShonkyProductions Very good. Thanks.

I can sit on 110-120kph all day and have more left to overtake traffic. It's still only a 300cc motor, If you want more top speed than that try either the Stage 4 with sports cams or a bigger big.

No, I hadn't heard of that. Where did you hear about it?

Thanks, it's an Adventure RallyX tower with one of their prototype rally screens on it. Unfortunately the fitment between the screen and the CRF 300 Rally shrouds wasn't compatible and this option never made it into production. I was able to modify the screen to fit with some effort.

In the video I was running 15/41 (2.733) and now I have just changed to 14/39 (2.785) to be closer to the standard 14/40 (2.857) for a ride with other CRF's tomorrow.

It's a cheaper option to upgrading to a new bike.

Still going strong. Just got back from a 5 day, 2,000km adventure ride and it didn't miss a beat.

Yup!

I'm not sure what a mechanic would charge for labour, I was able to do it my self. A cheaper way would be to buy just the piston kit from Ari and have your mechanic bore your stock cylinder, then purchase the tune from Maverick at 550 performance.

It's a Moto-X header pipe with the longest cheap eBay muffler I could fine. I found the standard Moto-x Muffler too loud.

@@ShonkyProductions Yeah, same thing here the motox is way too loud for my taste. Could you give me a link, i wanna get the same muffler too.

@@samtheman1287 I got one of these. But be warned... it's not a straight fit, I had to custom make an adaptor and a new bracket to move the muffler mount further back. www.ebay.com.au/itm/134441776001?hash=item1f4d5ab381:g:8iQAAOSw7Qpj41a5&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0Lc1uDd4I47EZFoSFD27uOkqScMeNAYXip1WuYDhOqvzDXUJL1JxA%2BnwXsw6qM4Zdg5sHDSSBiHe1cvz3VZMxabTjfC1aOe3B2YuqPglo8g0U5PxwBIqhBhkHabvG0F%2Bn8ejnlEkr4jEdoDwSMTcq8qkBCnVjHIUkKbGs7HbrUB1UBZtli6YgKhU79UyU5EEISmn%2BMN0KL3Y3ezXcjcV1OsxqQDHeQYUWD2VHBizZxxGCE%2F3hXMMBsutxddoxQSP1uIo9BAEKfSon%2FiTnt7uHUU%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7Ddvdn-Yg I got the one without any "carbon fibre" as I didn't trust it not to melt.

Small upgrade to preserve reliability. Anything bigger would compromise reliability for performance.

I commented prior to seeing the whole video..... My Bad! The numbers you showed were indeed, impressive. But as big bore kits go this was one of the smallest I'd ever seen which is why I asked about it. I understand many people go too big for the rest of the components but again, I'm looking at the Rally version & wanted to know all the good, bad, and indifferent about her before buying one. This was a positive to my view of the bike & possibilities for it. Thanks man

@@ShonkyProductions ~ I've found another guy, "Jake the Snake" who did this as well so I know that it's all straight forward. He also got his "Tuned" as you did w/ similar increases. I'm sold. peace

I was running a full Moto-X exhaust but I found it a little loud. I removed the Moto-X exhaust and fitted a longer, generic (cheap eBay) muffler.

@@ShonkyProductions Thanks Shonky!

I'll be taking a new 450RL for a test ride this week to see what the difference is. I'm sure the 450RL will also need to money spent on it to bring it to the level of comfort, range and versatility that my 301 Rally has.

As I understand it, you would need to install the 300 crank also, but I'll let Ari confirm.

That sounds logical. I didn't think about the counter-balance. The 300's crack would take the extra weight of 286 to 301, but the step up from 250 to 300 is a big difference.

*crank*

@@ABeauclage It's not an issue of balance, but stroke. This piston is designed to work with the longer stroke of the 300.

No issues so far.

550 Performance sells the kit. You will need a 300 crank.

Great, thanks!

I have added a link in the video description now, thanks for reminding me. www.550performance.com/products/crf-300l-301cc-big-bore-kit

Yes, I've been testing different gearing kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pLZ_m5SgsrO8iGg.htmlsi=yozPuDxQ55Z7CR4x And have recently changed to a Dunlop D606 rear tyre in 120/90 18 size with 14/39 gearing. I was able to reach 138kph.

The engine was originally a 250cc which Honda stroked to 286cc. With the 301cc kit it is only over bored 2mm, I'm not sure if there is room for a 400cc kit.

@@ShonkyProductions cause the Kawasaki 250 had a 351 kit. I like the Honda 400

Initial results show the same as I was getting, maybe a little better as you no longer need to rev the bike to get the same power. I will report back after further testing.

@@brucerossonthetube it's still going great. About to put another 1000km adventure ride on it soon.

I have the Moto-X header pipe and a cheap generic muffler from eBay. I found the MotoX muffler too loud.

Exactly!

Exactly 👍

Haha... Honda needs to build to a world market and that means low octane fuel. This kit takes advantage of higher compression and improved ignition timing to help deliver the increase in power and torque. US 91 fuel (95 in Australia) is needed now.

I had a KTM500 (KTM530) and done many miles on it. This CRF300 is more comfortable and versatile. The KTM500 is a great bike and can be used as an adventure bike, but it is double the initial price of the CRF300 Rally and then you still need to spend money on modifications to make it into an adventure bike.

WTF? That sucks. How do they check for tampering?

emissions ?@@ShonkyProductions

No, I'm very happy with the CRF300 Rally platform. I'm just maximising it's potential.

They are selling out quickly. They are only done in small batches and there will be more soon. If you would like to get one, email Maverick at 550 Performance.

New kits are being made this week!

Look out for the 550 Performance BLACK FRIDAY SALE. Pre-order your kit during the sale for shipping in 2-3 weeks.

@@ShonkyProductions Damn, I must have missed the boat. The website still says "sold out".

@@2000jago Yes, they sold out the next shipment at lunchtime on Black Friday. Keep checking back or email Maverick at 550 Performance to secure one of the next batch.