MXA RACE TEST: 2025 HONDA CRF250 WORKS EDITION

01/28/2025 11:22 AM

 THE GEAR: Jersey: Moose Agroid, Pants: Moose Agroid, Helmet: Shoei VFX-EVO, Goggles: Scott Prospect 2.0, Boots: Alpinestars Tech 10.

Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2025 HONDA CRF250 WORKS EDITION BETTER THAN THE STOCK 2025 MODEL?

A: For the first time, Honda has released a CRF250 Works Edition (CRF250WE) with many of the same upgrades that have been coming on the CRF450 Works Edition since the CRF450WE was introduced in 2019. Of course, KTM began the “Factory Edition” craze with its 2012-1/2 KTM 450SXF Factory Edition, which was built specifically so that Ryan Dungey could race next year’s bike that year. Because of the AMA’s homologation rule, KTM had to make a production version of Ryan’s race bike and make an additional 400 units available for sale to the public to make it race legal.

It took Honda seven years to jump onto the rule-bending bandwagon with its 2019 “Works Edition” CRF450WE. Amazingly, Kawasaki took three more years before coming out with its KX450SR (“Special Racer” edition) in 2022. For the Austrian brands, the Factory Edition models are a mid-year release with the marketing tagline being “Next year’s bike now”; however, Honda and Kawasaki don’t offer early upgrades to the engine or chassis. They simply add aftermarket parts to their current bikes and release them shortly after their production bikes hit the showroom floors. 

Is the 2025 Honda CRF250 Works Edition better than the stock bike? Yes! Let us divulge. The 2025 Honda CRF250 Works Edition shares a wide range of upgrades and products that are borrowed from the 2025 Honda CRF450 Works Edition.

Q: WHAT AFTERMARKET UPGRADES COME ON THE 2025 HONDA CRF250 WORKS EDITION?

A:Here’s a list of the parts that distinguish the CRF250 Works Edition from the standard CRF250. These added parts hike the price up $2300, from $8299 to $10,599. 

(1) Hydraulic clutch. While the hydraulic clutch has come stock on the CRF450 since 2021, the CRF250 has stuck with cable actuation. It should be noted that the factory HRC team has been running hydraulic clutches on its CRF250s since 2022 when Jett and Hunter Lawrence were on them, and Honda’s current 250 riders, Jo Shimoda and Chance Hymas, also use the hydro setup. It’s refreshing to see Honda’s factory parts trickle down to their first-ever Works Edition 250. 

(2) Exhaust. The CRF250WE comes with a full-titanium Yoshimura RS-12 exhaust system; however, it’s not the same RS-12 that Yoshimura sells to the public. This is an early version of their aftermarket exhaust. It was tested, approved and ordered by Honda long in advance so it could come standard on the CRF250WE model. During the time between Honda placing the order and the bike being released to the public, Yoshimura came out with a new and better exhaust for the HRC Honda team. The RS-12 that comes stock on the CRF250 Works Edition has a longer header, which is often used to create improved low-end power on a 450. The updated RS-12 exhaust is available from Yoshimura with the shorter head pipe. 

(3) Engine. Like the CRF450 Works Edition, the CRF250WE comes with hand-polished cylinder ports. It does help, but they are not modified to the extent that Pro Circuit, Twisted Development or XPR ports are. Also, instead of an OEM Honda air filter, it comes with Twin Air. 

(4) ECU. The ECU fuel and ignition settings have been optimized to work with the exhaust and polished intake/exhaust ports. It’s impressive what can be done with an ECU tune on modern-day four-strokes. 

(5) Suspension. It has the same Showa forks as the stock bike, but the outer fork tubes have been Kashima-coated, while the lower fork legs have been titanium oxide-coated to reduce stiction. The shock also gained an 18mm titanium oxide-coated shock shaft. Going up from the 16mm to the 18mm shaft creates more hold-up in the rear, while the coatings make it easier for your suspension to compress. Of course, the CRF250WE comes with dedicated suspension valving to work with the bigger shock shaft and the coatings. The shock adjusters have also been coated to look like A-kit parts, and the fork caps look like factory Showa forks with adjustable-by-hand compression clickers. 

(6) Wheels. The Works Edition comes with stronger D.I.D L-TX rims. The Pirelli tires on the stock CRF250 have been switched out for Dunlop’s MX33 tires with a 110 on the rear (instead of the 100 Pirelli). Rolling those Dunlop tires is a gold D.I.D chain. 

(7) Grip. Two small but mighty upgrades are the grips and seat cover. The Works Edition comes with ultra-durable Renthal Kevlar grips and a ribbed Throttle Jockey seat cover. 

(8) Aesthetics. The triple clamps and fork lugs are the same as stock, but they’re both anodized black. The bike also comes with HRC-inspired graphics and a powdercoated metallic red cylinder valve cover with the CRF Works Edition logo engraved into the exterior of the cylinder. 

Q: HOW DOES THE 2025 HONDA CRF250 WORKS EDITION RUN ON THE TRACK?

A:MXA’s test riders were giddy with joy when shaking down the new 2025 CRF250 Works Edition. Yoshimura’s RS-12 not only makes the CRF250WE look and feel like a race bike, it now sounds like one, too. Believe it or not, acoustics play a big role in the rider’s experience on a bike; this bike sounds racy. 

On day one, MXA’s test riders were blown away by the engine on the CRF250 Works Edition, thinking it was light years ahead of the stock CRF250. Then, after more back-to-back comparisons against other 250Fs, we concluded that it didn’t have otherworldly powers; it just filled in the gaps in the stock CRF250 powerband. The initial throttle response has a more connected feeling on the CRF250WE, but it doesn’t necessarily pull any better than the stocker. Where our test riders felt the biggest difference was in the midrange. It picks up faster and revs quicker, which is a good thing. Likewise, the combination of the clutch, engine upgrades and ECU mapping makes it easier to sing through the gears. Then, once you reach the top end, the rev limiter is more friendly on the WE model, with less rev-limiter degradation. While the stock bike flatlines and signs off once you hit the 12,000-rpm peak, the Works Edition limiter comes on smoother and slowly curves flat. ECU mapping helps with this, but we know the Yoshimura RS-12 is a big contributing factor. The Yosh exhaust helps the engine run more freely with less engine braking, too. 

Q: HOW IS THE 2025 HONDA CRF250 WORKS EDITION’S HYDRAULIC CLUTCH?

A:As mentioned, this isn’t Honda’s first hydraulic clutch. They’ve had one on the CRF450 since 2021, and it has never been a strong point of that bike for us. The engagement point can be hard to find, and it has been difficult for our test riders to be consistent with the Nissin setup when doing starts on the CRF450. We’ve seen some riders install the Kawasaki KX450’s hydraulic master cylinder on their Honda CRF450s, and they love it. 

Thankfully, the new Nissin hydraulic-clutch master cylinder on the CRF250 doesn’t have the same issues as the CRF450 unit. We had zero complaints. The slightly larger window of modulation made it easier to wick up the CRF250WE’s engine without making mistakes on corner exits. It helped liven up the engine, making it easier to hold the rpm where we wanted it. 

According to Honda’s R&D crew, the hydro setup reduces lever tension by 16 percent compared to the stock cable setup. We believe it, because the CRF250WE’s hydraulic clutch is easy to pull and awesome to use. Honda built a new ignition cover for the CRF250 Works Edition to be able to accept the hydraulic clutch, which means that you won’t be able to plug this hydro setup onto your regular CRF250 until you switch out the ignition cover. 

Q: HOW IS THE 2025 HONDA CRF250 WORKS EDITION’S ECU MAPPING?

A:As with the stock CRF250 and CRF450 models, it comes stock with three different maps. Map 1 (light blinking once) is the stock map, map 2 (two blinks) is the mellow map, and map 3 (three blinks) is the aggressive map. Yamaha and Kawasaki offer free smartphone apps that allow you to customize the mapping. Triumph has an app, but you have to pay for it, and KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas all offer customizable maps as well, but you have to purchase the CUO hardware for $249.99. 

Are we complaining that Honda doesn’t offer this fancy stuff? Some people are, but not us. With our 250 test bikes, most of the time we just set them in the fastest, most aggressive map possible and leave it. Not many riders are looking to tame the power of a 250F. Thus, smartphone apps don’t really move the needle for us. Likewise, the CRF250WE has traction control and launch control settings, but those aren’t really necessary on a 250, either. 

However, we love that Honda updated the mapping on this bike to make it snappier than the stocker. Mapping can make a big difference in an engine’s character, and our test riders attribute a big portion of the midrange pickup they felt on the track to mapping. To determine how much the hand-polished cylinder head ports really affected the engine, we tried the mellow map (map 2) on the Works Edition back to back against the aggressive map (map 3) on the stock CRF250, and then they were much closer in power. 

The ignition cover is different from stock to fit the hydraulic clutch.

Q: HOW DOES THE 2025 HONDA CRF250 WORKS EDITION HANDLE ON THE TRACK?

A:Honda went all out with its chassis for 2025, updating both the CRF450 and CRF250 models in the same year. Their R&D efforts were focused on handling, and it paid off. We love how both bikes handle, and we were much happier with the suspension this year than we have been in the past. In the “2025 MXA 450 Shootout,” the Honda CRF450 moved up to an impressive second place in the 450 rankings. The CRF250 didn’t place so well in our “250 Shootout” (it was fifth), but it wasn’t because of the chassis. 

Even though we liked the handling of the stock CRF250, most of our test riders reported that the Works Edition suspension was hands down better than what comes on the stock 2025 CRF250 model. The window for performance and comfort is larger, making it easier for the riders to get comfortable on the bike. Thanks to all the fancy coatings, the fork and shock action are more responsive and compliant on the WE model. Just as the engine has a freer feel, the suspension is freer as well. The suspension works together with the hydro clutch, Yoshimura exhaust and updated ECU mapping to make the bike livelier, exciting and more fun to ride. 

Q: WHAT DID WE HATE?

A:The hate list.

(1) Horsepower. Although we love how the CRF250WE engine feels, there was one major caveat—the MXA test riders were adamant that the three Austrian bikes (KTM, Husky and GasGas) were faster on the start straight and up the hills. 

(2) Filter cover. It’s only a minor gripe, but the air filter does take an extra step to remove now. You have to remove a black airbox cover, plus the left-side number plate, to access the new filter.

(3) Radiator cap. Right away we switched out the stock 1.1 kg/mm² radiator cap with a 1.8 Twin Air high-pressure radiator cap to keep our coolant from exiting stage right. 

(4) Seat. We like the gripper seat cover, but hate how thin the seat foam is. Even our lightest test riders have complained about blowing through the seat foam and hitting their bums on the subframe rails. 

The hydraulic-clutch master cylinder, clutch perch and electronics suite take up a lot of handlebar space.

Q: WHAT DID WE LIKE?

A:The like list.

(1) Price. The price is a sticky wicket. The WE at the end of CRF250 adds $2300 to the price tag. The question most commonly asked is if there are better mods that a CRF250WE owner could make that cost less. Not discounting personal taste, we think that Honda spent the money on the right things

(2) Engine. We appreciate that the CRF250 is easy to ride and that it moved more power up to the top for 2025. 

(3) Weight. The CRF250 gained weight for 2025, but it feels light on the track.

(4) Front brake. The updated front brake is nice. Not every test rider felt a difference, but our picky testers felt the new front brake didn’t surge as much.

(5) Shock. We love how easy it is to remove the shock now. You don’t have to fiddle with the subframe anymore. 

(6) Skid plate. The lightweight and flexible plastic skid plate is nice. It’s not off-road-worthy, but it’s fine for motocross.

(7) Bodywork. We love the new side number plates. 

The full-titanium Yoshimura RS-12 exhaust system isn’t the one that the factory team uses now, but only because they had to be ordered before the Honda team finalized their 2025 race spec.

Q: WHAT DID WE REALLY THINK?

A:The stock 2025 Honda CRF250 was already a huge improvement over the prior-model CRF250, and we were blown away by Honda’s ability to make it even better for the Works Edition version. Even though it wasn’t light years faster on the track, the Works Edition erased almost all of the blemishes of the stock bike, making it extremely fun to ride and reminding us how good the new CRF250 can be with just a few upgrades. Because this bike was only produced in limited quantities, don’t be discouraged if you can’t find one at your local dealership. Just spend your money wisely on upgrades and use this bike as inspiration for improving your stock 2025 Honda CRF250. 

Although not more powerful than the stock 2025 CRF250 on the dyno, the Works Edition is better on the track.

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