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Small Dual Sport Bike Buyer's Guide | CRF300L, KLX300S, XT250, DR200SE, TW200, Trail125, CSC TT250
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Nov 15, 2022
Small dual sport bikes are lighter, cheaper and handles better in the dirt. You can also tour on a small dual sport. In this video I compare the specifications and features of 7 small dual sport bikes that I am interested in buying. For all the details, check out https://adventurebiketroop.com/smalldualsport #DualSport #CRF300L #KLX300S Price 3:33 Engine size 4:40 Power 5:05 Torque 5:19 Weight 5:30 Fuel tank size 6:21 Ground clearance 6:50 Seat height 7:31 Suspension travel 8:20 Compression ratio 9:01 Fuel system 9:32 Tire sizes 10:11 Brakes 11:08 Gearbox 11:44 CSC TT250 12:25
View Video Transcript
0:00
In this week's video we're going to compare seven of the smaller dual sport bikes
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We're going to look at specifications, likes and dislikes, and some of the features
0:14
Hi, I'm François from adventurebiketroop.com. Now, I own a Honda XR650L, and it's featured a lot on this channel
0:22
You can check it out, there's a playlist for it. I mostly play in the dirt with it, ride close to home
0:28
I had done some highway riding, but I found that the bike is almost just too powerful, tall and heavy for what I want to do with it
0:36
And I'm a very cautious rider, I'm getting older now, I don't want to hurt myself, so I'm actually looking for a smaller bike that you can ride harder
0:45
So I find it's always more fun to ride a slow bike hard than to keep holding back on a faster bike
0:53
And in my previous video where I tested the 13 tooth sprocket on this XR650L, you would see I mostly ride in first and second gear on the trails
1:02
And with a smaller bike, like this MR250, with this bike I can go flat out through all five gears and you still do the same speed
1:10
And I find that is just more fun. So in this video I'm going to look at seven of the smaller dual sport bikes
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Now I'm looking for a second hand bike. I'm going to compare the specs, what I like and dislike about the bikes
1:21
I haven't owned any of these bikes so I'd love to hear your comments, but I've done a lot of research
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I'm going to show you this sheet the spreadsheet the bikes we're going to look at is the
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CSC that's the California scooter company TT 250 it's a Chinese bike. It's basically a zongchin you can find it all over the world
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cheap bike then the Honda Trail 125 that's a fairly new bike the
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Suzuki DR 200 SE the Yamaha TW 200 the Yamaha XT250 and then the Honda CRF300L and then the Kawasaki KLX300S. Those are the seven
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bikes we're going to look at. I'm going to compare the specs of all these bikes so if you are interested
2:04
in any of these bikes you might find this useful. Give it a like please and then if you have any of
2:09
these bikes please let me know how you find the bikes and that will help me as well. And then we'll
2:14
have a look at just what I think I like and dislike about each of these bikes from the research that
2:21
I've done. So this is not a review of these bikes. It's a preliminary review of what I have found in my research
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Okay, so before we continue you might think of a couple of bikes that you would want to add to this list
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One that pops to or two that pops to mind is Europeans. There's the BMW G
2:38
310 GS fairly new bike while it's been around for a couple of years and in the KTM 390 Adventure
2:44
Now we're getting into the territory of the price range of the 650s
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I mean the KTM 390 Adventure is almost the same price as the new EFI KLR 650 for 2022
2:57
Or the Honda XR 650L if you want to buy a new one. So I've left out those two bikes and they're also a bit faster
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The BMW, the specs are some of it's not that far off the CRF and the KLX
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But the price is about $6,000. So it is in that 650 territory
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So I left out those two. I stopped it at the two 300s. 300 I also compared the CRF 300 hour and the KLX 300 is in a separate video which can check up here
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So let's get started and the first category category or first thing
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We're gonna have to look out in the specs is is the price So the price is the the cheapest bike in this range obviously the Chinese like the Zongchen
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It's almost half the price of the second cheapest one. So Zongchen is $2,295
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and the Trail 125 the small little Honda that is really out of its league
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in this group is almost $4,000 so the Chinese bike really is
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very cheap. You might say yes it's because it's built cheap and it's
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not going to last that long but I've rode a Chinese bike through the length of
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Africa from Cape Town to Cairo it was less than $1,000 back then
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and we rode that bike for 3 months without swapping the chain or the sprockets even 15,000 kilometers 9,600 miles and the bikes lasted
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and i even commuted for a couple of years after that with that same bike 60ks a day so yes it built cheap but it will last it do to last and there parts everywhere but anyways we get to that so it the cheapest
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one most expensive is that KLX 300s now always throw this in here because we're
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comparing the bikes though let's look at the engine size the biggest engine is that KLX with the 292cc they're all single cylinders then obviously the trail
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125 is 125cc. We've got two 200ccs in here, the DR200 and the TW200. And that will affect the
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power, which we'll come to next. Power output. So the most powerful bike is the CRF300L
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which is no surprise. It has one of the biggest engines here. And it's only one horsepower more
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at 27 horsepower than the KLX300S. So basically the same, the two 300ccs, no surprise there
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and then the 125 way behind. Now if you look at torque it's interesting that the CRF300L the Honda
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stands out above the rest. It's more than 10% more torquey than the Kawasaki with a slightly bigger
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engine. Okay something else that's important that I mentioned earlier is the weight of the bike
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That's why I want to go down to a smaller bike. It's not necessarily that it's too powerful but
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you want a smaller bike, I pick up this XR650L so often. The lightest bike is obviously going to
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be the Trail 125. It's the smallest engine. The engine is almost half the size of the other
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so 259 pounds. And then two others that are, so if we ignore the Trail 125, then we look at the
5:58
DR200S at 278 pounds. And that's exactly the same as the TW200, which is quite a light bike
6:05
But I found that even the XT 291, that's not too bad
6:10
That Zonchen is quite heavy at 333 pounds That's almost the same as my XR650L for the 250
6:16
Okay, let's look at something else that's quite usable Something that's annoying about the XR650L is the small tank
6:22
So let's look at a tank because I want something that you can still tour with
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Like I said, we tour through Africa with 200cc Chinese bikes I feel you can tour on a 200, 250, so tank size does matter
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and this is where the DR200S is, the biggest at 3.4 gallons
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That's even bigger than my 650, the XR650L. So that will be quite a big range
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And let's see, the second biggest then is that 250, the Zongqing 250
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Okay, so I still want to play with it off-road, so let's have a look at the ground clearance
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Interestingly, the Chinese bike, the Zongqing or the TT250, you can get this in different brands all around the world
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But let's call it the TT250 in the USA. The ground clearance is 11.5 inches
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So that's the tallest. It's taller than the CRF, which is second at 11.2 inches
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And then the XT250 is also 11.2. Now, I made a mistake in the video where I compared the KLX300S
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Kawasaki initially said 9.8 inches in the press release, but it's 10.8 inches
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So the Zonchen or the TT250 is the tallest bike in terms of ground clearance
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And then seat height. This is difficult to say whether low is good or high is good
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A lot of people struggle with higher seat heights. My XR650L is 37 inches
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That is a bit high for me. And that's one of the reasons why I drop it when I turn around
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when I do a pivot turn by spinning the rear wheels. So the TW200 is the shortest here at 31.1 inches
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It is a funny, odd ergonomics on the TW. It's more of an agricultural bike, a work machine
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But it is very accessible. My wife did her bike license on a TW 200 before we did our Crossing Africa trip
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And the tallest is the KLX 300S at 35.2 inches. That's quite tall for a small little bike like this
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CRF is also quite a big bike for a 250. And then suspension travel, let's have a look at that
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That just gives us some indication of the off-road ability. The CRF 300L is the tallest or the longest travel suspension
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10.2 inches front and rear. The KLX is 10 at the front, 9.1 in the rear
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That's second highest, but it's got adjustable suspension, which makes it, I think, the most capable off-road bike here as far as the specs go
8:43
And then the shortest travel suspension is obviously a Trail 125. It's not really a dual sport bike
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It more of a post bike but still it got some suspension travel at almost 4 inches a little bit less than 4 inches And then the TT250 and the TW200 at 6 something inches also quite low
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Let's look at a couple of specs that you can't really rank them. Compression ratio, I always look at that, just give you an indication of how modern the engine is
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how overstressed the engine is. The TT250 is at 8.721. That's almost the same as my Honda XR650
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It's very low. I sort of like that run on dirty fuel without knocking etc
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Whereas the KLX is the highest compression ratio 11.1 to 1 that's higher than a new Africa Twin even
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Then the fuel system. We've got four bikes here that's EFI fuel injection
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The XT250 now has fuel injection. I think since 2013 it's got fuel injection
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Then the CRX300L has fuel injection. Same as the old 250 and the KLX300S has fuel injection
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And then interestingly the Trail 125 has fuel injection, which is quite nice for a funny little small bike like that
9:57
The others all have carburetors. That's the DR200, which is almost the same for the last, how many years is that
10:04
Since the early 90s, the TW still has a carburetor and that TT250, the Chinese bike, has a carburetor
10:11
Tire sizes. So all these bikes, dual sport bikes, have 21 inch in the front, 18 inch in the back
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That's the same as most 650s, like my Honda XR650L as well, the Karasaki KLR, etc., the KTM 690s, even the big 1290s, etc
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Has a 21 front, 18 in the rear, nice for off-road. But then there's two that stand out
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The Trail 125 has a 17-inch in the front and the rear
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I like the look of that. And then the TW200 is that weird size
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it's got the rear tire in the front, the big fat 150 or 140 18 inch in the front, a rear dual sport bike tire
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and then at the back that ATV tire, the 14 inch, so you can almost ride at an angle of 45 degrees, so very weird that
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and for touring it's an odd little bike to ride with these round wheels with, what do you call it, tread all around
11:06
Then the brakes, just the only thing we can go on without riding the bikes is the rotor sizes and whether it's got drums or discs
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Now most of these, they all have discs front and rear except for the DR200 which still has a drum in the rear and the TW200 has a drum in the rear
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The two more agricultural like bikes. All the others have discs, single discs front and rear
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Biggest disc up front is the TT 250, the Chinese bike at 162 mm
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And then at the back is the KLX 300S at 214. Okay, and then the last specs that we're going to look at is the gearbox
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Now they all have 5-speed manual gearboxes except the Trail 125 has a 4-speed semi-automatic
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gearbox so no clutch. And then the CRF 300L and the KLX 300S has a 6-speed gearbox with a slipper clutch on
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the CRF 300 hour. So that's all the specs. I'm just going to quickly run over the
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dislikes, the likes and dislikes for me by just reading up on them, watching
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YouTube videos, doing my research, a quick like and dislike of each of these
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bikes and then let me know what you think and if you have any of these bikes, if you disagree, please let me know what you like and hate about your specific bike
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Okay, let's start with the cheapest bike, the TT250. What I like about this is
12:28
obviously that it's super cheap. I mean you can buy one of these for the same price as quite an old
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any of the others, an old one, 10 or 15 year old bike. You can buy a brand new TT250. No one's harassed it or
12:43
punished it before. And another big advantage is that these bikes are available all over the world
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Third world countries all through Africa, South America, wherever you go, you will find spare parts for this
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because it's a Chinese Zonchen, which you can see all over. Then this likes, obviously, it's the poor quality
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It's a Chinese bike. It will rust quickly. Everything is just not made as well
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and it doesn't look as great as all the other bikes. And also then that it's quite heavy
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Compared to the other bikes this is quite a heavy bike at 339 pounds Now that 339 was not a quote that they gave us a dry weight and I had to add fuel and oil to more or less estimate it So it will end up between 330 and 340 weight weight which is much higher than any of the others
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Then the Trail 125 likes. It's the classic look. I just love that classic look
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The big rack that it already has at the back. The fact that it has EFI, so no starting problems or surging problems or anything like that
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Dislike. It's slow. It's very expensive for what you get. It's a small little 125. So you pay for the history, the retro look and the name. I mean, it looks very close to that old CT 110s from the early 80s when I was born
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Then the DR200SE Stuff that I like It's been around since the early 90s
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It's a two valve Single carb, single overhead cam Super simple, it's the simplest bike
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Probably of the lot here It's been sold since the early 90s
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And still sold new all over the world I love that about it
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Dislikes maybe, that's got a real drum break I can't think of anything else
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That I don't like about the DR200 And if you watch this guy's video
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Torture Test Magazine gave real how he raced a 24 hour race
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on a DR250 DR250S, an old one a 2003 model I think
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even although I can't remember, but he came second in a 24 hour race
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on a beat up 200 and that's how I actually fell in love with this
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specific bike. Then the TW, what I like about it, it's indestructible
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it can ride anywhere, you can road it off a cliff, it'll still run
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it's just it's just like a little mountain goat or a tractor
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dislikes it's a weird bike, weird to find tires, handles weird especially on the tarmac
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you won't be able to go fast, it's out of place amongst the other
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bikes here, but still, and it's quite expensive if you want to buy a new one, and to get
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old one it's difficult to find someone who's willing to sell their old
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TW, especially where I am then the ST250 I love it that it's simple, reliable
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It has EFI now since 2013 They made it since The 80s, I think Rainbow Road
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One in a movie in the 1982, just after I was born
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So it's been around forever The XT name is Synonymous with reliability
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They stopped it for a bit in 1990 or 91 to make
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The XT350 I'm actually looking at the 350 because they're quite Light, it's 120 kilograms
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and it's got a six speed gearbox the only issue has got two calves which is a
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weird thing that the XT's did from there on until they did EFI. Not sure it's a
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huge problem. Then the CRS 300L it's nice speed powerful modern EFI it's a
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beautiful looking bike but the big downside for it apart from that it's
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expensive is that it's heavy. The rally model is the same weight as my
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CR as my XR 650L and but still this too the even this 300l is quite a heavy bike and it's a big bike
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so i'm looking for something that's lighter than that then the KLX 300S more off-road orientated
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i love that it's got adjustable suspension and i just like the Kawasaki especially in that green and
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white dislikes price it's the most expensive here you're looking at something close to a new 650
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So, yeah, probably a bit too expensive for what I want to do. Those are my thoughts on these small little dual sport bikes
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I know I left out a lot of these bikes. I left out a lot of the information on it
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I haven't owned any of these. So, please let me know if you have any of these bikes. What you like, what you dislike
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Do you think it's a stupid idea to go down from a 650 to one of these
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I just find that riding hard on a small bike is always more fun
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Especially if you have to pick it up on your own Multiple times in a ride when it's hot Then
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Holding back on a big powerful bike And being scared You're going to get hurt
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I don't want to jump my XR650L And not land it properly
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But in this little MR50 Next to me here I've jumped it and if you don't make it
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You just jump off, it's not a problem And you just pick it up with one hand and you go again
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And that's what I like, that's what biking is about for me. Anyways, thank you for joining and I'll see you next week
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