hard to go wrong with any of the newer 250's. I know lots of folks scoff at them but I've had a few friends with the WR250R's that rode them everywhere and flogged the piss out of them. NO issues at all. They had to rev them and make some basic mods to get them where they wanted (exhaust, power commander, gearing and suspension) but they were very capable, even fully loaded and traveling.Figured I’d revive this thread. Finally had settled on a CRF250L but ended up picking up a new KLX250 after realizing these were reintroduced last year with fuel injection after a 2 year hiatus. Same price as the CRF250L, both are six-speed, fuel injected, and liquid cooled. After sitting on both, I preferred the Kawi as it’s narrower and lighter. It’s no speed demon but cruises happily at 55-60mph, is getting excellent MPG (70ish), and feels like an actual dirt bike off-road. OTD was $5,600 so cant complain about the price either.
Funny, my buddy recently purchased a KLR650 like many suggested on here. Nice bike and much better on the road but it’s a beast off-road for a short legged guy like me.
I do a lot of DS riding when I have the time (I was supposed to ride the Smokey Mountain 500 this past weekend but the weather scared a few of the guys and we bailed). Buddy and I rode saturday, north of Dawsonvile and up to Suches, hit flatlands and then back. I was on my KTM 950 Super Enduro and he was on his modified DR650. With he right mods his DR is pretty solid (he has a Super Enduro as well, we both did the 24 hour race in AL on the 950's). His DR has Ohlins rear shock, RMZ450 forks, some engine work, and a lot of little mods to make it more comfortable for him (he's like 6'5"). But the bike works well in the rough stuff. There's some fun riding around North GA, lots of Forest Service roads to explore and find places to ride.