Motorcross bike for enduro and or other bike recommendations.

Quick background...except for 2 recent test rides I haven't been on a motorcycle in over 30 years. I recently to moved to the mountains and want to ride enduro type singletrack.
I used to enjoy difficult trails. I hope to do that now but I am 56, 6', 230lbs, average condition so after not riding for so long I may not be doing much more than basic single track.
I rode a 2004 KTM 250 exc, super clean, ran great, it had a Rekluse clutch that I assume was not set up right. I hated the clutch. $2,900

Next up a 2012 KTM 350 XC-F not as clean but decent shape. It also had a Rekluse clutch, on this bike it was great. The bike puffed a little blue smoke every once and a while but otherwise ran great. The electric start did not work. No hour meter $3500

Another 350 that was a piece..

Interested in but have not looked at yet

2019 YZ250FX 39 hours super clean(from pics) $4250

2013 KTM XCW 200 2 stroke 218 hours Rekluse, clean, $3900

2016 KTM XCF 450 75 hours, clean $4700

And the MX bike tempting me even though it may be the wrong bike...

2023 Husqvarna FC250 88 hours, ims tank, 18" rear wheel, oversize radiators, get ecu etc. guy says it is his practice bike set up for trails(oem forks, rear shock modded?) super clean $4000

Thoughts?

I'm not a fan of recluse clutches either.

2004 is a dinosaur...Easy pass. Not to mention thats near the price of a high hour smoker thats 10 years newer..

First time on a bike in 30 years? I'd steer clear of the 450's. Same for peoples "practice bikes"

No flies on the yamaha, or the 350's. Hard to go wrong with a 250/300 smoker as well. I dont have much use for the track bikes.

I forgot to add the 2013 xcw is a 200, elec and kick start

And another I didn't mention a 2016 KTM XC-F 250 Rekluse, 2024 forks...

A 200 would be a fun bike. But 230lbs +gear means you are going to have to rail the piss outta that thing. Which is fun But its a lot more work than a 250/300

What area are you riding?

North Ga, I am still looking for places to ride close by.

I liked the smooth power and low end grunt the 350 4 stroke had but I see all 2 strokes running hard enduros so there must be a reason. I was lean towards 4 stroke partially for the sound. The quieter the better for me these days.

Mr.Ratbastard said:

I liked the smooth power and low end grunt.................................The quieter the better for me these days.

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2 strokes and 4 strokes have kinda flipped sides, from what they were last time you rode. Go buy the freshest 300 that is in your budget and enjoy. It'll lug lower than that 350 and both in tone and noise, will be quieter than a 4stroke.

My old man went through this exact thing last year. He will make a comment once or twice, everytime we ride..."two strokes arent supposed to do this"

You can find a newer SX for fairly cheap. Think I'd hold out for woods bike though

I was wondering about the SX, I will keep an eye out for a 300

Suspension and mapping on the woods bikes are going to be more betterer for what you are wanting to do.

Steve knows his woods and enduro setups. He's got a lot of spot on info in his responses.

3rd'd on FUCK rekluse clutches. They make your bike slower, they make enduro techniques like splatters and pivot turns way harder, put more wear on the clutch, and when setup mostly properly don't really give any stall protection. Any bike that you buy that has one, swap it out with a stock setup asap.

I personally like the smallbore 4 strokes for enduro riding, (current enduro setup is a 22 350xcf) but agree with Steve that you're not going to beat a modern 300 in the low end grunt department. They're incredibly forgiving to lugging and are better at finding traction in critical situations because of the shortened gap between power strokes.
I've seen a buddy's 60ish year old dad have an absolute ball doing some pretty hard shit in Moab on a similar YZ250FX. It's just meant to be more racey and not as compliant.

The 2019 YZ250FX is the lowest hour cleanest bike I have found so far. Most of the bikes are 80-100 miles away.

I grew up on 2 strokes. A couple years ago I bought a Tri-Z 250, 250R atc and a 350X that I put a 400ex engine in. I only blasted them around my backyard(1 acre) but they were fun as hell. I wish I would have hung onto one of them.

Whats your budget?

$4k

gawdamn why does every 4+ year old bike in georgia have a recluse in it?

Heres a brand new Beta for $6500

Theres a few bikes that I'm seeing. But most the deals are old ad's. You might have to just keep an eye out for a lil while

I was just at the dealer and a brand new gasgas 300 was $9989 CAD, marked down from just shy of $13,000. That should almost fit your $4k USD price.

Anyway, fuck an MX bike on hard trails. Been there, done that, it sucked, bought a 2023 300XCW.

I also hate semi auto clutches. Just use your left pointer finger better.

I also hate kicking a bike now, but those yz-Xs are pretty good bang for buck.

Now, when you say "hard trails" do you mean singletrack, or do you mean "fuck the goddamn trials riding monkey with wings who thought this was a good idea, I just saw a scared looking mountain goat"?

Cause if it's option B, I'd be looking at a 10 year old trials bike, not a dirtbike.

Steve300xcw said:

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This one.

Absolutely this one, then put some beduro flags on it, some kinda pipe guard or flange saver, and buy a rear gummy tire.

Or skip the beduros and just find a set of stock orange take offs.

Squamch said:

This one.

Absolutely this one, then put some beduro flags on it, some kinda pipe guard or flange saver, and buy a rear gummy tire.

Or skip the beduros and just find a set of stock orange take offs.

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They are called cycra's

Steve300xcw said:

They are called cycra's

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Ewwwww.


Have you seen Beduros? They're fuckin sexy.


Like a $600/hr hooker sexy. You're gonna feel kinda bad paying the money, but holy fuck.

Squamch said:

I was just at the dealer and a brand new gasgas 300 was $9989 CAD, marked down from just shy of $13,000. That should almost fit your $4k USD price.

Anyway, fuck an MX bike on hard trails. Been there, done that, it sucked, bought a 2023 300XCW.

I also hate semi auto clutches. Just use your left pointer finger better.

I also hate kicking a bike now, but those yz-Xs are pretty good bang for buck.

Now, when you say "hard trails" do you mean singletrack, or do you mean "fuck the goddamn trials riding monkey with wings who thought this was a good idea, I just saw a scared looking mountain goat"?

Cause if it's option B, I'd be looking at a 10 year old trials bike, not a dirtbike.

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The GasGas would be great but it looks like That's still about $7k.

I will skip any mx bikes.

2 stroke clutch skills were intact on the three wheelers. With my vast experience using the auto clutch(10 minutes) I concluded proper setup was crucial to liking or hating it.

Ideally kick and electric. Crazy to me how many are electric only.

I mean difficult trails but not quite what I picture for trials bikes. BUT I may ride like a 7 year old on a CR500. I may quit like a bitch and buy a bicycle. My brain tells me I can do it but my a heavy aged body will protest the whole way so we will see.

Steve300xcw said:

They are called cycra's

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Squamch said:

Ewwwww.

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Nah I'm with Steve on this one. Cycras are the best looking handguard out there and they're bomb proof. Those beduros are pretty stout for flag style, but sexy they are not

Mr.Ratbastard said:

The GasGas would be great but it looks like That's still about $7k.

I will skip any mx bikes.

2 stroke clutch skills were intact on the three wheelers. With my vast experience using the auto clutch(10 minutes) I concluded proper setup was crucial to liking or hating it.

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I used to think this until I bought a bike that had a properly set up one and still hated it

Mr.Ratbastard said:

Ideally kick and electric. Crazy to me how many are electric only.

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Everyone who's never had an Estart only bike always says that. Always. You'd be surprised how fast you get over that fear. It's the same thing everyone was saying about radiators back in the 80s.

Mr.Ratbastard said:

I mean difficult trails but not quite what I picture for trials bikes. BUT I may ride like a 7 year old on a CR500. I may quit like a bitch and buy a bicycle. My brain tells me I can do it but my a heavy aged body will protest the whole way so we will see.

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You're on the right track. A scruffy old 300 with Estart and a low first gear sounds perfect. XC-W class or any of the other offroad based 300s. (Beta, etc. or a YZ250x if you're a real man )

willis_racing said:

I used to think this until I bought a bike that had a properly set up one and still hated it

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I have never seen somebody who had one. Where they didnt use it as a crutch. Then they started riding lazy because they could, and that fucked them even more.

willis_racing said:

Everyone who's never had an Estart only bike always says that. Always.

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Kickstarts are for people who dont have Estart

willis_racing said:

You're on the right track. A scruffy old 300 with Estart and a low first gear sounds perfect. XC-W class or any of the other offroad based 300s. (Beta, etc. or a Sherco if you're a real man )

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Mr.Ratbastard said:

I mean difficult trails but not quite what I picture for trials bikes. BUT I may ride like a 7 year old on a CR500. I may quit like a bitch and buy a bicycle. My brain tells me I can do it but my a heavy aged body will protest the whole way so we will see.

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Watchin the 'ol man try and learn how to ride again. Upper body strength to ride a bike is lacking quite a bit. I'd start working on that now. Until you relearn how to let the bike do the work. It sure looks like you need a lot more strength.

Steve300xcw said:

Watchin the 'ol man try and learn how to ride again. Upper body strength to ride a bike is lacking quite a bit. I'd start working on that now. Until you relearn how to let the bike do the work. It sure looks like you need a lot more strength.

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That's the main reason for getting the bike, my muscles are leaving town fast. We sold our house, looking for land to build a cabin but in the meantime we are living in a travel trailer. I hoped to be out working on a piece of property by now but no luck yet.

If thats the case...How relaxed are the rules for a plated bike? Depending on where you are at, that might be the way to go

Steve300xcw said:

If thats the case...How relaxed are the rules for a plated bike? Depending on where you are at, that might be the way to go

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Not sure but it is a concern. I may end up on Forest service roads but that doesn't sound that appealing. The 2013 KTM 200 is plated.
I am not having much luck finding single track. Beasley knob ohv is close and should be pretty good depending on how much sxs activity there is. It's closed until April I think.

Here are a few I am considering
YZ250FX
I would rather it didn't have the big bore but hay be ok? I got a terrible video from him doing a cold start. It probably took 3 seconds to star, no smoke, maybe noisy bottom but hard to tel. 100 miles away.

KTM 200
Plated, a 200 would likey be fine.

KTM 250
Clean looking.

KTM 300

Super clean, low hour and from the area I moved from. 8 hours away, ugh. I just drove down over Christmas and hate the idea of doing it again so soon.

I would still shy away from the 150/200 class of bikes. They are fun, but certainly not a one bike to do it all kinda bike.

Your local spot is closed until April. You have plenty of time to find something. Your budget will getcha something fairly decent, just gotta be patient.

Local racer up here is selling a pair of 250FX bikes. VA is only a few hours north

'20 for 3500


'23 for 4900



I bought my '22 with 37 hours this summer for 5200. I have only gotten to ride it 3 times since I bought it due to injury so haven't been able to determine how I like it compared to my old 17 Beta 250 smoker.