I know they don’t really exist anymore, but the WR250R has got to be my all time favorite bike. Many stunters begin on them. They are well mannered on mild trails. They can kinda get on motocross. They do ok on the freeway. But they aren’t really great at just one thing. They suck on the highway for long periods. They leave a lot to be desired on a motocross track. They are solid trail bikes similar to a TW. Ideally, I would love a WR700 with the FZ-07 engine. The Husqvarna 701 Enduro honestly looks pretty promising but they’ve never been an affordable brand for most people.
Hard to beat the Lifan KPX250 6 spd, EFI, 20Hp, OHC, Balance shaft engine for $2900 delivered. Quality is decent, some obvious upgrades (Adj. Levers) req'd. Always starts instantly. There are big power line right of way paths to explore here. Especially for a Second, knock around, No Drama Drop, Lend it out, Second bike. Suspension is pretty good, but not adjustable. The Kaw KLX300 of course is somewhat Better, another 10HP, but for over twice the price. A whole engine/trans "Module" replacement is only $600, and readily available.
I grew up riding. Started with a Kawasaki 110, went to a Yamaha 125, and currently looking towards a Honda crf150rb (2021 & up.) Haven't rode in few years but want to get back into it. A bike %80 dirt - %20 street would be my best fit. I'm 5'4 & about 130 lbs. so I'd prefer a lightweight bike, but can't figure out the best choice!
I have a 2001 XR400R with a stage 1 cam and a Mikuni pumper carb that has been made street legal. I live in the country and wanted a true street legal dirt bike. I'm not disappointed.
Used to own a KTM 390 Adventure (my primary bike was a Sport bike) and I took it on several single track after modifying some things (pegs, hand guards, engine guard, tires, spoked wheels, and other stuff). HOwever, when I got a Naked bike that was better for long distance travel, I replaced the 390 adventure with a 350 EXC-F and that bike was okay on the road (awful on highway) but it is an amazing bike on off road! a proper off road bike! Only other similar bike I had was a KLX250S in Alaska, and I also loved that bike. Great for what I needed, though I wouldn't abuse it as much as my KTM dirt bikes or Yammy dirt bike. As for the African Twin, not so great in road as other adventure bikes, but they are actually better off road than they are on road in my opinion (way the suspension is I think). KLX250/300 is best dual sport at the moment for its price! I lvoe the Husqy/KTMs (same thing, slightly different compnents). Buddy rides Husky 701 enduro pretty hard. AS for adventure, either the 901 NOrden or the 890 Adventure are good, and the Tenere 700 is amazing! Nice video.
Thank you for your input. Yeah its tough as there are so many good options out there. Only if I could ride them all and try them out to find out which one is the best for me.
I love my Yamaha XT250! It has a low seat height which is great for me at 5 ft. 6 in. and it doesn't rip my arms off - the power is there but tame. I also like the simplicity and dependability of Yamahas. Come ride it and see.
I don’t know a damn thing about street legal dirt bikes. I searched “best dirt back/street bikes.” Gave me a nice low down. I’m leaning towards a more street friendly Suzuki that I can take on the dirt roads. Thanks for all the information!
@@dirtbikesam Yes, the KX rips hard, but is a bit of a hand full for trails and such, I do a lot of slow technical riding, and the XT excels at not flaming out, and pulling out of whatever situation regardless of gear, however, it is rather low to the ground, which has its own advantages, and is bit hard to wrestle in the gnarly stuff. I have a Wössner High compression piston installed, a mild port job done, everything else is as I got it, so I really cannot tell if the cam was done, but it pulls impressively hard for a 42 year old bike. The KX has Vforce3's and a Doma Racing pipe. Both sit on Michelin Cross AC-10 rubber.
@@dirtbikesam nice bike dude, yeah the KX is a bit twitchy, an all or nothing kind of bike, you either ride the pipe, or leave it in the shed. There is nothing in between. Well, very little... Those TPIs are buttery smooth, and arguably the easiest two stroke to ride, EVER. With power delivery like that, why would you ride anything else?
@@iterminator309 Yeah the new modern 2 strokes are super nice to ride on single track for sure but sometimes its fun to ride a bike that trys to kill you when you swing a leg over it
Been looking into my first bike since my Honda 110 as a kid, I love riding quads (raptor 660) off-road but I’m at college now and can’t bring it with me, so I’m thinking of selling the quad and getting a bike. It would be easier to bring, and I’m thinking a dual sport is gonna scratch my itch for off-roading. Since I’d be just getting back into riding I was looking at a crf300l was wondering if that’d be a good first bike for commutes to home and ripping the trails, or if there are other bikes that would be better?
So the Honda CRF300L is a good reliable bike but its now super powerful so longer trips are not all that fun but for ripping round town it does a good job.
Take some handlebars to the beak? I payed around $6,000 to fix mine lol. Alsmot had to show up to my insurance providers house with a pitchfork and torch.
@@dirtbikesam After I ate my handlebars, my uncle a few weeks later crashed and his ankle bone was pushing out his shin guard. I'm trying to go street legal now, lol. Done with all that motorcross junk we were trying.
It’s a heavy under powered street legal bike that is ok if you plan on riding mostly roads. If you plan on riding single track the excf models are much better.
@@dirtbikesam typo... I meant to ask about the WR450F.. not L. If that's what you were describing, I'm a little curious. It's listed at 271lb wet. That's heavy?
@@jeremys21 haha yeah that makes more sense!! Yeah 271lbs for a single track bike is heavy but for a dual sport bike no its not all that heavy. the WR450F is a great bike but it does not come from the factory street legal, however its pretty easy to make it street legal in most states. Hope that helps.
What about as a first bike? I’m 6’3 200/lbs… I live in New York State so I’m curious could I ride in the snow… maybe 1.5/miles one way or is that just ridiculous?
I don’t recommend riding any sort of motor bike in the snow. For a first dirt bike it depends on what you plan on doing with it. Are you planning riding any dirt?
So the XR650 is a great bike with solid reliability, it’s great on pavement for moderate distance and good on dirt roads. It’s probably not a very good bike on technical single track as it’s a very heavy bike
Question for road use would a 250 be enough or do i need the 450 for the top end? Havent finisged the video yet so dont hate if its a dumb question i dont know anything about these things.
@@dirtbikesam my average would be 60 or 70 km/h i saw that the 250 can reach 130 top speed but im not scared of going bit bigger just dont want to have a bike that wants to throw me off all the time
@@dirtbikesam I’m in NJ and have taken it throughout Wharton and Bass River state forest. Handles pretty good. It’s still mostly stock so I want to get the bigger tank for it. Maybe even the vortex ECU and a Yoshimura exhaust system.
There are two other companies now making ecu for the crf450rl. Aim and Athena. There is a review on RU-vid of all three by bornagoon I think. They are all good. So you don’t have to wait for the vortex.
