Honda has announced that the 2021 Honda CRF300L and CRF300L Rally will be coming to the North American market. There was some speculation about whether or not the United States would see the revamped dual-sport motorcycles after they were announced in Europe and other countries last month. The CRF250L has served as Big Red?s entry-level dual-sport offering since 2012, and the CRF300L is a welcome update, not only delivering more power but less weight and several chassis upgrades.

Spurred by Euro 5 emissions standards, the most apparent update for the CRF300L platform is a larger DOHC single-cylinder engine, bumped up 36.4cc to 286cc by increasing the stroke from 55mm to 63mm; bore is an unchanged at 76mm. The longer stroke netted a respectable boost in peak horsepower, gaining 2.5 points to 27.3 horsepower at 8,500 rpm, and a 2.9 lb-ft bump in torque, to 19 lb-ft at 6,500 rpm. This will surely benefit riders that need to extract the most out of their dual-sports on the highway or when hitting the trail. Engineers have also updated the cam timing, air intake and exhaust system.
The six-speed gearbox utilizes shorter ratios in 1st-5th gears to improve acceleration, while the 6th gear is lengthened and acts as an overdrive gear for highway use. Moreover, the CRF300L motorcycles are equipped with an assist-and-slipper clutch, eliminating unwanted wheel-hop when downshifting aggressively.

More power is always appreciated, but it is a match made in motorc...