Overall - in terms of simple utility - and in my humble opinion for the type of offroad riding that I do, Enduro and woods riding. The 2004 XR250R is quite possibly th best dirt bikeever made. It does everything well, able to withstand the most punishing conditions, only to ask for more. Nimble in handling, quick, more than ample torque. Reliability without compare. Yup I am convinced this is  THE BEST ALL AROUND DIRT BIKE EVER MADE! Maybe the CRF250X is quicker, has e-start etc, but for me my 2004 XR250R wows me everytime I ride it.

Motosprtman said:

It is certainly an excellent bike, and vastly under rated by most.  I'm not nearly a good enough rider to "out ride" my xr250.
R

It is the second best--the XR400 is the best!

I would think the XR400 would be fun too, but maybe overpowered in some conditions in the tight stuff, as the 250 seems almost that way - like it wants to leap ahead just when you don't want it too....

All around,,, yep, I 2nd (or 3rd) that.

I'd say they are toughest dirt bikes ever made...they lack a few ponies to be considered the best though.  I really liked mine in the really tight stuff; they're mountain goats.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it has the longest production run for Honda: '81 - '04.

I think your rightabout the production run - they made em forever and they last forever! fun, agile bike that can do just about anything you want it to, sometimes more! mine has saved my ass more than once - very forgiving bike.

I have an Xr400. Recently I tuned my daughters stock 98 XR250 and took it out riding the next day. I told my buddy to jump on it and give it a try. He did not realize that it was a 250. He came back and asked me what I did to wake it up. He said it was much faster than it used to be, thinking he was on my 400. He did mention that it seemed to run out of power sooner than it usually does.

Because of the lighter weight and the fact that the engine revs faster the 250 does seem to intially out accelerate the 400.

I was all set to buy a CRF250X and keep my 400 but now I am seriously thinking of getting an XR250 96 or newer.

Weimer01 said:

Not even close.  Apparently Honda has been making a scooter, unchanged, for almost 50 years.

Weimer01 said:

...it's not quite dead...

http://www.hondamoto...l/xr250l 06.htm

...just more conservative in its old age.

GlennF said:

DITTO !                     

I've gotta agree with the Bandit! XR 400 My buddy used to have a 97 XR 250 and it did rock. Just not enough juice for me.

I had no idea a scooter was considered a dirt bike, apples to apples was my thought here.  But looking at my wording I was not specific  

I've owned a few XR250's and loved their light feel, easy power and quick handling in tight, snotty riding.

But for me, the XR600 was the best all-round XR ever made, it had good low and high speed handling, was well suspended had excellent power delivery. In OZ it was THE bike that was used for anything, from trail/road riding to enduro and grass track racing (with some success) to the Australian Safari where it won 12 out of 15 years of the event during its model run. With all this, like most XR's it was as reliable as an axe and had very little to break when crashed. A very complete dirtbike.

I always have admired the XR600R - now there's a bike with GRUNT! but...for the type of ridng that I do I use my 250 alot more than my XR650L and granted the XR650L is NOT an XR600R by any means, although at birth the 650L shared the 600's frame, I think that is about it. Then Honda stuffed the NX650 motor in the XR6 frame and then added all the legal mumbo-jumbo junk, lights signals etc, plus a battery for the e-start and then softened the suspension for dual sport use. In a nutshell - I like my XR650L for what it is a BIG dual sport, good at mild offroading and open trails, but it's a more than a handfull in tight stuff. They went too far with legalities which added weight (but are forced to by DOT and the EPA) with the 650L,  It would of been better to have a XR6 with a bajadesigns light kit and e-start, Now there would be a dual sport!

This is all why - when I found a non current new 2004 XR250R, I could not pass it up, it's light (compared to the 650L) and a dedicated dirt bike. All that it needed was to be uncorked, as stock it is pathetic. Simple rejetting, filter and air box mods with a FMF pipe and man it REALLY unleashed it! it rips!

I'm with u guys that the XR250 is the best... for me I wouldn't want anything bigger

border bandit said:

I have never owned an XR250 so I can't really say, but I can say that every time I ride my XR400 I fall in love all over again.

I used to own a '92 XR600 and the XR400 is better by far (I'm 6'3", 190 lbs). The XR4 feels quicker, lighter, better throttle response and nimbler. For me, going from big (600cc) to medium (400cc) was absolutely the way to go. So who knows... maybe if I rode an XR250 I'd say the same thing about going from medium (400cc) to medium-small (250cc).

Bottom line: I've owned 5 or 6 XR's in my time and every one of 'em -- from 75cc to 600cc have been a blast to ride and as easy to maintain as a lawnmower.

XR's roooool!

--Sparty

Hey, I like all XRs. I had an 86 200R and still own a 91 XR 250L and a 96 400R. I would imagine the 400 doesn't weigh much more than the 250. Not sure. I know my 400R feels lighter than my 250L, but that thing is heavy !  I'm not interested in a CRF either.........

     I wouldn't give up my CRF for a second