Best Dual Sport for Aggressive Off-Road Riding?

acing_spades · 02-25-2021, 12:27 PM

I've been riding street bikes for several years now and I'm itching to throw in some dirt time

My SUV only has 200lb tongue weight capacity and I don't currently have a hitch or trailer so I'm primarily looking at dual sports so I can ride to and from the trail. Because I still have my street bike, I wouldn't be riding the DS around town much so it's great if it's much more dirt bike oriented. I'm a small person -- 5'6" 125lbs 30" inseam -- so power to weight ratio is important. I'd also be riding alone often so if I dump the bike I need to be able to pick it back out of the mud by myself and if it's kick start only it needs to be responsive.

I'm looking at doing some possibly aggressive off road riding including MX track (but not racing). This is FL so we don't have mountains and it's pretty easy to legally tag a bike but I'm not interested in converting a dirt bike to a DS. Our used market is a little high -- early to mid 2000's TTR125L/KLX140L/CRF150F's go for about $2200-$2500 and have usually seen some notable abuse.

I've been eyeing the Orion RXB150XL for awhile for its sheer power to weight ratio and general upper-quality appearance (particularly suspension), but I've also looked at Brozz, RPS, CSC, and Apollo. If I stretch the budget I could probably go for PitsterPro/GPX but it would really have to be worth it. The other option is a suspiciously cheap 2008 Yamaha XT250 for $2000 a couple of hours from me but I'm concerned about suspension for aggressive riding and weight.

Is the GPX really double the bike as the Orion? Are the others really not that much worse and justify the cost savings? Should I just get a hitch and trailer for a dedicated dirt bike? A higher class pitbike even? Take the Japanese offering?

02-25-2021, 12:27 PM	#1
acing_spades Join Date: Feb 2021 Posts: 1	Best Dual Sport for Aggressive Off-Road Riding? I've been riding street bikes for several years now and I'm itching to throw in some dirt time My SUV only has 200lb tongue weight capacity and I don't currently have a hitch or trailer so I'm primarily looking at dual sports so I can ride to and from the trail. Because I still have my street bike, I wouldn't be riding the DS around town much so it's great if it's much more dirt bike oriented. I'm a small person -- 5'6" 125lbs 30" inseam -- so power to weight ratio is important. I'd also be riding alone often so if I dump the bike I need to be able to pick it back out of the mud by myself and if it's kick start only it needs to be responsive. I'm looking at doing some possibly aggressive off road riding including MX track (but not racing). This is FL so we don't have mountains and it's pretty easy to legally tag a bike but I'm not interested in converting a dirt bike to a DS. Our used market is a little high -- early to mid 2000's TTR125L/KLX140L/CRF150F's go for about $2200-$2500 and have usually seen some notable abuse. I've been eyeing the Orion RXB150XL for awhile for its sheer power to weight ratio and general upper-quality appearance (particularly suspension), but I've also looked at Brozz, RPS, CSC, and Apollo. If I stretch the budget I could probably go for PitsterPro/GPX but it would really have to be worth it. The other option is a suspiciously cheap 2008 Yamaha XT250 for $2000 a couple of hours from me but I'm concerned about suspension for aggressive riding and weight. Is the GPX really double the bike as the Orion? Are the others really not that much worse and justify the cost savings? Should I just get a hitch and trailer for a dedicated dirt bike? A higher class pitbike even? Take the Japanese offering?
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