Wanting to create a tame 2 stroke dual sport

I need/want a smallish dual sport to tote around on the motorhome & ride when home. I've had some awesome KDX200's. Those are great but want something smaller & lighter.  My last 2 stroke was a '79 IT400 which was a beast. 
I really really like 2 strokes. If I could have a 2 stroke car I would. The Banshee's we had were also amazing on the pipe in the dirt. Sold all the toys when we moved to Florida. 
Seriously leaning towards a 05 up YZ 125 to make into a dual sport but are very on/off for a dual sport & some street use.  Maybe even a 100 of some type. Really like the new Honda Trail 125 but of course is 4 stroke. Any suggestions?

Add a seat and convert a trials bike?

IIRC Yamaha made a DT125 and DT175 that might fit the slightly smaller and lighter than a KDX200. Not sure how easy they are to find in decent condition.

I believe pretty much all of the newer trail bikes that can be road registered to havefour stroke engines due to emissions.

The new Husqvarna fuel-injected two strokes are supposed to be really tractable and rider-friendly. They make the 150cc TE150i that is supposed to be 219 pounds dry. It isn't street legal where I live in Oregon, but it has lights and I know that there are states that will let you plate them. They aren't cheap, but they are supposed to be great trail bikes with modern brakes and suspension. I think there is a KTM equivalent as well, given that they own Husky.

We had a DT100 growing up. Road the wheels off that.
Emissions -we do need no stinking emissions here in the Florida panhandle, especially this small beach town.  I've also read that it's not too difficult to get titles for them if they only had bill o sales. 
Would be great to have a new one, especially KTM but not spending that kind of $ on it. Will go older/used. 
That TE150 looks like an awesome little bike.

Smaller and lighter than a KDX200 but also tame? That may be tough. A YZ125 isn't going to be tame, and even the TE150i is still pretty pipy. Both are great bikes for ripping around on.

KTM 250 Freeride might be an option. They are little tiny bikes with very liner power since they rely entirely on displacement instead of a pipe and power valve.

Maybe an old PE175 or something? They are small, light, and tame based on the one that I've ridden. Any of those old 70s and 80s smaller 2 stroke trail bikes are probably a decent choice.

1988 -1992 KX500, triple the headgaskets and bolt to a 1991-1994 KDX250 bottom end. Done.

Edited to say you would likely need an aluminum spacer plate to adapt the bigger jug (maybe not) in which case no extra head gaskets required. 

KE100. Street legal from the factory, <200lbs wet, oil injected, loooong production run stretching into this century means they're usually dirt cheap. 

I've been looking at KLX300s for a similar purpose.  300lbs wet

matthewmcl said:

Add a seat and convert a trials bike?

Good idea but does come with caveats - still uncomfortable, come with a variety of handling issues at speed and almost certainly very difficult to make street legal.  
 

TRS are a new Spanish trials manufacturer, have a 300 trail bike with electric start, a big(gish) tank and a seat. Like most trials bike euro emissions compliant but very basic lighting and stuff. Not sure about their geometry as I haven't ridden one. Claimed weight is 75 kg or so. Currently 13k or so in NZD so maybe 60% in your money

FI two strokes are cool, I like the sound of that Husky someone suggested up thread but other than only firing ever second revolution there is nothing wrong with the Free Rides.
 

gearheadE30 said:

KTM 250 Freeride might be an option. They are little tiny bikes with very liner power

36" seat height, 56" wheelbase and full size wheels. It's definitely not a tiny bike.

Sherco has the X ride which is similar to the Freeride, but I've ridden them and they're too much like a trials bike and really tame.

If you're going to spend money, Beta X-Trainer would be my choice.

Beta makes a bike called a Xtrainer (cross trainer) and many people plate them. It may be bigger than what you want but it's for exactly what you want.

Next on the list would be an old IT175.

The older Yamaha DT's are really heavy for what they are, easily 30-40lbs heavier than a proper dirt bike.

Honda CRF230s are heavy, kinda under powered but will take heaps of abuse...............I've ridden one around a motocross track, it was way to soft and bottomed a lot but the bike didn't seem to care......but alas it's a 4 strokes.

I've once rode my 01 YZ125 down 3 miles of remote paved forest road (25mph speed limit) while it wasn't great, the bike happily droned along even with a bit of motor chatter.

I found a really nice KX100. Never ridden  one but 34.5" seat height, 19hp & 149lbs. 
Now if the seller will just get back to me. 
The tank is small, need a big ol desert tank. Then the lights, mirror & a horn. 

If you end up with it there’s a few build threads on ADV rider that are with a look. I used to own a KTM105 modified for single track, and I’ve ridden KX100’s, which seemed a little smaller.  Since kawi’s come out with the KX112 now I’m thinking about it again

That KX112 looks awesome.  Wish they would make a KX112R with lights.

Look for an old DT125 Yamaha.  Came with lights and turn signals. They were plenty tame and had optional electric start.  Nice ones aren't cheap but still way cheaper than anything new.  They are easy to restore and plenty of parts availability.

I've ridden the DT's & IT's from the '70's. I don't like how they handle. There is something different about the front rake angle or something. The front washed out instead of turning sometimes.  This was really obvious when I had a KDX200 & an IT400. My son & I rode around a lot & on the same corners the IT400 wanted to lay down. A co-worker has a restored DT & he actually brought it up while taking the DT on a camping trip & turning around this tree the front end washed out & other newer bikes were fine. He tried it a few times & twice dumped it. He had to be really careful to make it. 
Eventually I'll have a KTM150 XC.

I picked up a 2016 Husky TE250 last Dec and love it.  But if I were to do it again i'd get 2018 and later for the oil injection simplicity.  Fun bike all the clickers and adjustments you'll ever need and stable traction. Not much fun over 60mph on the road but that's not my main desire with it. road legal to get to the trails and explore dirt roads, and enduro / turkey runs ect.

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In reply to mdshaw :

A 125 DT isn't like an IT400 or a KDX.  Only a million people learned to ride on one.  You weren't clear on the use, but I assumed from "Motorhome" you were looking for something to putt around the campground and cruise local streets.  For dirt work I wouldn't recommend.  New suspension tech makes the totally obsolete.

2 stroke and dual sport don't generally go hand in hand these days.  You say you don't like the handling of the old DT's.  Well, that's pretty much how all the old dual sports from the 2 stroke era handled.  They had very different chassis geometry from modern bikes.  If you live in a place where you can plate a dirt bike, then a KDX220 is the obvious choice. But remember, as much as you may be able to get it plated, if you get into an accident on a plated dirt bike, there's a pretty fair chance your insurance company is going to run away from you as fast as they can.

Otherwise, don't discount the 4 stokes.  There are a slew of really nice 4 stroke dual sports out there. 

I loved my KDX200's I had. I would just like something much lighter weight & more nimble. 
I picked up an over rev'd '95 CR80 to rebuild & sell but as usual got really attached to it while working on it. So making it a big wheel, stiffer sprung big boy bike.  
The big wheel/expert didn't exist in the US until '96 & up. Figures I missed by a year. Will be extending a swing arm & adding the 19" /16" wheels. 
The cylinder & head are off to Eric Gorr getting a low/mid porting & higher compression to run on 93 octane.
Rebuilding the bottom end myself. 

Sounds like what you really want is a KX100.  

However, i thinks you've got a pretty low chance of getting either plated.

In reply to Sidewayze :

I know. This will be the off-road play bike.  I found all kinds of spare parts for it. In the future it will be a 102cc.