Im looking to start doing enduros and hare scrambles but hauling my off road bike to the events is a pain for me and everyone else.  Im looking at getting an older one like an xr or something that street legal and can be taken off road.  im not really into the dual sports so all i really know is the xr and i dont know much about that either.  Im trying to keep the price at 1500 or less so I think ill end up in the 90's at least.  Ill probably sell my dirty bike if i like the dual sport and maybe upgrade it to.
what are some one from suzuki, yamaha and the others.  KTM looks nice but older ones are few and far between and ive never owned one before so i know squat about them.

Honda XR250
Suzuki DR350
Yamaha XT225, TW200
kawasaki KLR250

you can't afford a good ktm.

if you can find a plated XR400, that would be a good choice. if you get really lucky, you might be able to find a plated KDX200 or KDX220.

DR350 is another possibility. you might even be able to find an older DRZ400 for $1,500 if you get lucky.

for racing, the KDX would be the best choice, imho, followed by the XR400 (those two are better by a pretty good margin if you are talking about the S model of the DRZ...the E is much closer to it), the DRZ is next, and the DR is last.

just my opinion (based on having ridden all of the above).

I rode a '90 XR250R that I purchased new up until just a month or so ago (replaced it with a '12 WR250R), I can say without any reservations whatsoever that a good XR250R will take you anywhere you are capable of going.  They handle good, nimble in the tight stuff, lightweight (compared to other 4s of their time), run forever, and tough as nails.  Hard to go wrong with an XR250R.

Vinduroman

I have a 94 XR250L.  I picked it up a couple years ago for $1500 with only 3,000 miles or so on it.  It now has almost 13,000 and all I've had to do were rings and valve seals at 10k.  If you de-restrict the intake and put an aftermarket pipe on it they really come alive.  I like the way it handles, and with good tires (full knob up front, D606 in rear) it pretty much goes anywhere.  I did an enduro last year and the only thing holding the bike back was me!  I also like the lower seat height- it's easier to ride in the woods because it probably has 4-6" lower seat height than a DR 350.  I should add that I am 6'1" and 200 lbs.  I've even taken two road trips on it (800 and 1200 miles) and the bike ran 55 mph two lane roads all day, no problem.

The suspension is pretty squishy, but I happen to like that in the woods, it's easier on my body.  Squishy suspension can always be remedied, of course.  Kick only, not sure if that's important to you or not.  Otherwise, compared to other mid-90s bikes I can't think of any other drawbacks.

Edited by runmikeyrun, 29 June 2012 - 06:12 AM.

I've picked up a couple XR650L's around your price range.  I'm currently riding a 98 XR650L I paid $1600 for.  They are big and heavy though, so not sure how big you are looking for.

I have an '83 XL600R that is a lot of fun on dirt backroads.  But they are a bit heavy if the trails get tight.  And is an absolute PIG in sand!  Havinng said that, I'm prone to going with it for anything short of 20 miles more often than I do my ST1300 (gee, is there something wrong with me that I have two overweight bikes in my garage?).

Edited by racer1735, 04 July 2012 - 09:10 PM.

kit352, on 27 June 2012 - 06:17 PM, said:

"enduros and Hare Scrambles" ? Are you kidding? AMA enduros and big dual sport bikes don't mix ... unless you're a AA pro rider. Why not just do casual trail rides or organized dual sport events. These are easy going and FUN events made for the bigger dual sport, street legal bikes.

You're not going to find much for $1500. I hope you're mechanical or lucky because a $1500 bike may need some TLC and quite a bit of $$$$$.

If you want to race (Enduros/Hare Scrambles), keep you dirt bike. Maybe hook up with guys in your club or group to catch a ride to and from the events. Or buy a bumper hitch type carrier and toss your bike on there. I towed my race bike on a single rail, cheap and light weight trailer with my old (220,000 miles) Honda Accord for years. Never a problem.
A street legal dual sport bike will SUCK in any real enduro or Hare scrambles. SUCK!

Edited by 54321, 01 July 2012 - 04:18 PM.

how wrong you are.. you can get a nice XR400 for $1500 and ride any enduro out there.

n16ht5, on 02 July 2012 - 08:04 AM, said:

+1. you can find a good XR400 for that price--may or may not be plated, but some of them are. and those bikes ruled in the woods for a long time.

my plated 450 xc-w is absolutely awesome for hare scrambles and enduros. my DRZ did suck for racing, though. no all dual sports are the same thing. something like an XR650L would suck for woods racing (in the east at least)...as did my DRZ. but an XR400, 450 exc, etc. are great for it.

n16ht5, on 02 July 2012 - 08:04 AM, said:

The XR400 is ... and never was a dual sport bike. It was a race bike from the get. Know your history son. I owned a '97 XR400, put a Baja Designs kit on it, so I know the bike well and remember when Honda tried to race it in the Baja 1000. Did not go well.

My comments referred to OP talking about "street legal dual sports" (remember him?). He mentioned street legal bikes that he could ride to the event ... so I assumed be was including bikes like the KLR650, XR650L, DR650. Would you ride an Enduro on any of those? Uh huh. Most of the Morons on TT never give any specifics ... &%$#@!? are we mind readers?
I am a retired B enduro rider so I have some idea what it takes to ride a tough enduro. The XR400 would be a good choice if a street legal one can be found. You could make an enduro on one. Not great on the road however. I did a 2500 mile Baja ride on mine back in 2000. About half on pavement. Not great on paved roads. The other bike to consider in the 400cc class is the
DRZ400S or "E" model. I owned an E model after my XR400. Suzy better in every way.

Edited by 54321, 02 July 2012 - 10:11 AM.

54321, on 02 July 2012 - 10:10 AM, said:

put a plate on it and...voila...it's a street legal dual sport bike. my take on the OPs post was not that he was asking about what soft 650 he could race...he was asking about what street legal bike he could race. to me, that does not mean it had to come from the factory street legal or that it has to basically be a street bike you can ride in the dirt.

Quote

the S model is not a better dirt bike than the XR400. i own an S model...raced it until i got my 450 xc-w. my buddy owns an XR400. i've ridden that quite a bit as well. the XR blows the DRZ-s away in the dirt. i've never ridden an E model, but, yeah, i can see how an E model would be better than an XR. if you subtract a whole bunch of weight from the S model, put a pumper carb on it, and add horsepower you would address the problems with the S (and that would pretty much give you a E model).

Edited by LittleRedToyota, 02 July 2012 - 10:40 AM.

Vinduroman, on 28 June 2012 - 02:19 PM, said:

Had a new 1996 XR250R. Rode EVERYWHERE with it. I was bullet proof and never let me down. Well, maybe trying to blast whoops, but let's be real: it's not an MX bike.   The 400 is just as good, just lots more grunt. For a dual sport, the 400 is the better bet.

Ol' XR's never die!

Also, if you can plate it, the old WR400 is a good bike too. More power & suspension than the XR. Had one too. A bit of a handful in the nasty tight stuff though. There is no perfect bike.

If you're just wanting to run the enduro/hare scrambles in the C or D class for fun (nothing wrong with that - it's what I do the few times I run events), then you'd be fine on an old XL250R (or was it XR250L?), KLR250, DR350S, or a DRZ400S.  Those are the only factory mid-size dual sports back in the 90's that I can think of off the top of my head.  If you want to be competitive, you'd probably have to step up to the newer model KTM/Husky/GasGas to get a factory dual sport that can compete, and that would likely blow your budget.

Heck, you could run the course on the XT225 or TW200 bikes and have fun.  If you're a big guy, you could run a XR600L, XR650l, or DR650 for fun.  You'll be slow on the small ones and tired as can be on the big ones, but you can still have fun with them.

Bryan Bosch, on 02 July 2012 - 10:54 AM, said:

Bryan Bosch, on 02 July 2012 - 10:54 AM, said:

got it for $1500 pre-plated. I wish so badly that I wouldnt have sold it. I'll get another some day

Doesnt look like im having much luck finding a decent street legal bike.  I really want to stay away from the 650s.  I rode a course on my beater rm125 and the course was just to tight and technical for anything big.
The guys im riding with are way beyond my ability too.  The slowest is a midlevel B and he's way ahead of me.  He admits some of it is his choice of bike though. Im guessing im a C at best but my current bike brings me down lower.
I think my plan now is to drop as little money into my current rm125 till i find something i like and can afford.  At this point i doubt street legal will be an option.
Im going to start a new thread of the best upgrades i can do to an older bike to make it abit easier on my to ride while i save and look.

I am still unclear what you want in a ds bike. Are you saying you want to ride the bike to the events? That really changes the picture. How far you go on these rides to get to the events and interaction with the leo's must be considered. I have a feeling that after a tough event you may not be so eager to have to ride that thrashed bike home. You or the bike may not even be capable.  For around $100 you can get a hitch receiver rail or for  less than $300 you can get a small trailer at Harbor Freight. If your friends are really friends they will be happy to have you hook up with them, pretty much how we all got started. Both the rail or trailer would make your weekend much more enjoyable.

The course is actually pretty close to my house, about 5-10 minutes.  Ive been hitching a ride for abit and using my wagon but neither are ideal.  i cant have a trailer were i live so i gotta bum a ride or ride it myself.  Ive even gone there a few times riding my bike through the woods but it takes hours instead of minutes and im waisted when i get there.

Theres tons of old XR250s out there for $500-1500 that are capable of the hardest trails out there. Anyone who says otherwise cant ride for squat..

Kept up with modern 450s just fine when I had my XR250 and Im not a great rider by any means... Never been in a single harescramble or race

LittleRedToyota, on 02 July 2012 - 10:39 AM, said:

Fair enough ... since the guy did not list specifics, hard to know. And your right, a plated dirt bike qualifies. For some reason I got that he was looking for a 650 class bike. The XR400 would be a  
better choice for sure.

LittleRedToyota, on 02 July 2012 - 10:39 AM, said:

I agree .... the "S" is NOT a good dirt bike, the XR400 is probably better. But if you know the DRZ's you'll know just how DIFFERENT  the "E" model is. There was also the kick start only model in 2000 and 20001, called the "K" model. Like the E but no elec. start.

Differences between "E" vs. "S" model:
1. different head design, valves, piston, comp. ratio, valve timing
2. different carb (E model has FCR pumper carb, S model a CV)
3. different internal gearing (lower)
4. about 40 lbs. lighter (plastic tank vs. metal, lighter (better) suspension, small/light head/tail lights, no brake lights or turn signals, smaller battery, no passenger accommodation.
5. better quality suspension (adjustable, off road oriented)
6. Much less of a rear sub frame, no passenger pegs.

I've probably missed a few more differences. I think the E swingarm may be different than the S model. Can't recall.
I did another ride in Baja on my E model and it was awesome ... but I had stock tank so range was limited. Thank goodness for buddies with BIG super tanker fuel tanks.  I did better in sand and rough sections on the E model than I did on the XR400. Both are awesome Baja bikes however and I'd happily take either one dirt riding.


The XR400 still popular as a Baja tour bike. This pic from Mike's Sky Ranch in 2008. Chris Haines Baja Tours. Here a mix of XR's, some
XR650R's CRF450X. Further down and parked elsewhere several XR400's. Not shown about 15 more bikes. BIG tours!
http://www.bajaoffroadtours.com/

Edited by 54321, 04 July 2012 - 11:52 AM.