Before you go and lay down your hard earned on a 2017 - 2020 Honda CRF50F, check out what our tech Editor Mat Boyd says to look out for.
The 2017 – 2020 Honda CRF50F is the perfect bike for kids or anyone learning. They have a low seat height which means they won’t have far to fall and getting their feet on the ground will be much easier. They are a no frills bike with drum brakes and basic suspension but they are a little work horse capable of running for years and years with just a little maintenance. If you change the oil regularly and clean the air filter every few rides then these little motors will last forever.
It’s when adults or larger kids get on them and start to flog them that things start to wear out. I have seen broken spokes, busted hubs, bent and broken frames and even the footpegs bent, broken or even broken out of the bottom of the engine due to adults trying to jump a 2017 – 2020 Honda CRF50F. When you are looking to buy a 2017 – 2020 Honda CRF50F for your kids have a good look over the bike for any signs of abuse and even ask who owned and rode the bike.
If they point to their twenty one year old son then it would be safe to say the bike has had a hard life. The poor little spokes can’t handle adults jumping on them so any broken ones are usually a dead giveaway that someone has been riding the bike that shouldn’t have been.
The motors last well if they aren’t abused. People over revving them or not changing oil leads to worn out piston and rings or stretched timing chains. If you get one with a rattle then it is most likely the timing chain, especially if it sounds like it is coming from the left hand side of the engine. Give the bike a ride and make sure the gearbox is working correctly. Adults jumping these bikes usually leads to stripped gears in the gearbox or slipping clutches which repair costs for can often exceed what the bike is worth.
Other things that wear on these bikes are the fork bushes and steering head bearings. This will be felt by play back and forth in the steering head and forks. The CDI units are also known to fry out. This causes them to either not rev up properly or just lose spark all together. Luckily replacing the CDI unit is an easy job.
The carburetors can often gum up with old fuel as these bike tend to sit around in between school holidays. If you are going to leave one of these bikes sitting around unused then make sure you drain the fuel from the carburetor and fuel tank.
New
2017 $2,099
2018 $2,199
2019 $2,298
2020 $2,448
Second Hand
2017 $1,500 – $1,750
2018 $1,700 – $2,050
2019 $1,700 – $2,050
2020 $1,800 – $2,100
Market Equivalent
17-20 Yamaha TTR50E
$1,500 – $1,900
18-19 Suzuki DR-Z50
$1,800 – $2,100
