I am interested in buying an old or older dual sport/enduro bike. I want to keep it under $1000. It needs to be street legal and offroad capable. This will be a beater that I can learn to ride on. It will also be something I work on myself. In my area the only place these type of bikes are for sale is craigslist.
I am thinking of something similar to the XL250. Is this a good learner bike or should I go bigger, smaller or possibly newer?
Thanks
Joshua
For offroading, smaller is generally better because of the lower weight.
However I'd be wary of sub-$1000 dual sports - most of them have been planted in the dirt a few times too often, loving wrapped around a tree a couple of times and then abandoned in the back yard. At least that's the case out here, although with a bit of searching you can find really nice 70s/early 80s small dual ports for about 1500.
That's an awesome learner's bike. Get a 250R not a 250S. The R is much better. It came out in 82 or 83.
To be truly street legal in just about every state, you will probably need an XL250S or XR250L. The R model bikes were off road only and can sometimes be snuck by the DMV, but the aggravation is probably not worth it, along with the necesary mods. For instance, they don't have brake lights, horns or high beam headlights. Not to mention no speedometer.
Get a cheap sport bike and convert it to dual-sport.
Curmudgeon wrote: To be truly street legal in just about every state, you will probably need an XL250S or XR250L. The R model bikes were off road only and can sometimes be snuck by the DMV, but the aggravation is probably not worth it, along with the necesary mods. For instance, they don't have brake lights, horns or high beam headlights. Not to mention no speedometer.
You're confusing bikes there. The XR250 is off road only. The XL250R has full street equipment. The XL250S was an earlier version of the XL250R. The S had dual shocks and (I think) two valves. The R had a single shock rear, two carbs and four valves starting in '84.
XL250S:
XL250R:
http://motosvit.com/Honda%20CRF230.html
Scroll down.
Woody wrote:Curmudgeon wrote: To be truly street legal in just about every state, you will probably need an XL250S or XR250L. The R model bikes were off road only and can sometimes be snuck by the DMV, but the aggravation is probably not worth it, along with the necesary mods. For instance, they don't have brake lights, horns or high beam headlights. Not to mention no speedometer.You're confusing bikes there. The XR250 is off road only. The XL250R has full street equipment. The XL250S was an earlier version of the XL250R. The S had dual shocks and (I think) two valves. The R had a single shock rear, two carbs and four valves starting in '84. XL250S:
You are right, I was thinking the later XR250L which is in itself a good beginner bike. It might be available in that $1k price range by now, too. It's basically that XL250R with some upgrades like an aluminum swing arm and front disc brake, they had drum rear from 1988-90. In 1991, the rear disc was addded along with a six speed transmission and cartridge forks, also an upgraded rear shock and some other detail improvements. I had an '88 and a '91 R model, both great bikes.
This one's a Euro market bike, notice the plastic tank and if you look closely the oil cooler just above the lower triple tree. The US market bike had a metal tank (NHTSA requirement).
US market bike:
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