Your top 3 250cc for occasional hare scramble.
 

Hey Folks, I have been looking at the dual sport and dirt bike 250's. It's for my 15 year old son that us 5'9, 210lbs. I have been leaning towards the Apollo DB 36 and the X-pro titan 250rx. He has been riding for a few yrs
Started on xr100 and has a Thumpstar 140, that's modded with race cam, valve springs and larger carb. I picked up a Husky te310 for myself. So he started riding my klr 250. He really likes the power of the klr but it is a little heavy and tall. Of course being a teen he wants something that looks more modern. I think the ergonomics should be more updated as well than the klr. So which 250 would you chose for woods riding and the occasional, may be two to three hare scrambles per year. Thanks!

There aren't too many other full-size dirtbikes from China available. Powersportsmax has been renaming (or adding to existing brand's names) their X-Pro brand. For some bikes, it makes it a bit confusing, such as the X-Pro Hawk 250 (just a slightly re-labeled RPS Hawk 250). But from what I can tell, the OEM of the X-Pro Titan is Orion, although the X-Pro has different plastics. However, distributors spec out their versions of bikes in China, so even the 'same' bike might have better parts on it from one distributor than another. Orion has a bike that seems to be the same bike as the Powersportsmax bike but with different plastics and a much higher price tag. However, as JerryHawk pointed out, they might have better suspension bits and bobs on the Orion branded bike than the X-Pro. But if they are the same bikes, than the X-Pro is a bargain! https://www.orionpowersports.com/ori...embled-tested/

The only other full-size dirtbike I can think of is by a lesser known Chinese brand called X-Motos. Few if any members have joined us and reported on one of the X-Motos. No link as there is no definitive distributor, although I do recall RPS (same company that distributes the very popular Hawk 250 dual-sport used to show X-Motos bikes on their site but not anymore).

Thanks for your input. Looks like it comes down to components. I could not find info on the Zongshen 250. If there were different performance options within that class of motor. Went with the Apollo 36. Will probably do a carb and muffler upgrade after break in. Will be interesting to see how the frame holds up. I went with this company in Tx.
https://lowestpriceatv.com/apollo-db...rt-bike-250cc/

Pistons and cams from the CRF230F work on these engines.

This bike has a great reputation here on Chinariders.

Wow, I had no idea. That is awesome. I don't know much about metallurgy. I wonder if there is a big difference between the metal used in the Honda motors compared to the zongshen.

That's for your input.

I had the DB36 and do not recommend. It weighed more than my WR450F, would ping like crazy when riding tight single track (thought it would destroy the piston) and often not wanting to restart when hot. There's a possibility the main jet was a little lean but it didn't bog or perhaps it the ignition trigger was to advanced from the factory. In under two weeks (no track riding) I lost one spoke and many others very loose.

On the opposite end of the scale was the EGL A17, some build issues but once corrected it would run against anything in the woods (EXC300, CRF250X, etc) and had the best clutch and brake handles I've ever seen on any bike. It was far better balanced than the DB36 and lighter. I ran it at the track and would hit about 40' - 60' jumps with no issues. For MX beginner riders (D class), it'll do anything you can throw at it. She wouldn't be competetive for C class under any circumstance. Very reliable with the weak point being a battery is required and will not run without it (cannot be kick started with a dead battery).

EDIT: Not really any difference than your KLR, so disregard!

https://youtu.be/q4gGPPwsGtk?si=QnKd2pG0o3f-fh4r

Maybe slam one of these into it. 29 HP of four-stroke goodness: https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...031714273.html