My New to Me Honda CRF230L Dual Sport

Well, I decided to sell the '79 Honda dual sport and get a modern one instead. The bike was just too nice to take off road and mess it up. So I just picked up a 2008 CRF230L last week, and have been getting it ready to hit the road and trails.

I got it in really good shape - only 452 miles on the clock. The bike was not assembled from its original crate by the dealer until late 2011, and was bought and titled by the original owner in 2012. They rode it mostly on the street, and dropped it on their first off road outing and decided not to ride it anymore. So now it's mine! It's mostly stock except for the bark buster hand guards, handlebars, and an aftermarket muffler tip.

I am going to replace the muffler tip back to the original stock spark arrester, as I want to see how the bike runs fully stock before I start making exhaust and carb modifications. I know many people make those modifications right away, but I really want to see the difference, and get used to the bike as it is first. Plus, the current muffler tip is a lot louder than I'd prefer.

Today I installed a Flatland skid plate, and just changed the oil and clean/lubed/adjusted the drive chain. Here's the new skid plate installed...

I'm waiting for the stock muffler tip to arrive, and I've also ordered a rear rack and auxiliary attachable gas tank for the rear. She's all set to go, and now I just need to find a day off work so that I can take her out on the trails for the first time!