My Ridingbuddy Craig wrote this and said it was ok that I posted it on my blog.

No single dirt bike is best at everything. You have to pick your intended purposes and find the bike that best suits your needs.

Dirt Bike Types

• Desert Racing | Motocross
• Trails | Hard Enduro | Single Track <
• Dual Sport | Adventure

• Trials bikes are the most nimble, light, for very difficult riding
• Hard enduro is like trials riding, but with a full size dirt bike
• Single track is like mountain bike trails
• Desert racing is fast, open racing, but not many jumps
• Motocross, jumps, high speed/acceleration, stiff suspension, etc
• Dual Sports are factory street legal that can do road and dirt. Sort of a jack of all trades, master of none. Some dual sports are pretty darn good at everything, but will still miss out on advantages of bikes from the edges of the spectrum.

Due to my own personal preference, this document will focus on Trail Bikes.

Best Trail Bikes

Trail bikes refers to single-track and hard enduro style riding. Slower speeds, more technical trails.

Features of Best Trail Bikes

• Kickstand
• 2 stroke
• Headlight
• Softer suspension
• Electric start
• 300cc is best, 250 is great too
• Heavier flywheel (less stalling)
• Lower gearing
• Lightweight

300 vs 250

300 2-strokes are the ultimate engine for slow technical riding because they have low-end power. 250’s rev faster and are generally more lively, which can lead to some surprising behavior under throttle! 300’s are more tame, geared for low-end torque. Both engines are great and should be considered, but for slow riding, 300 takes the advantage.

Best Trail Bike Manufacturers

• KTM
• Husqvarna (owned by KTM)
• GasGas (owned by KTM)
• Sherco (French)
• Beta (Italian)
• TM (Italian)

KTM

KTM is generally considered the best trail bike manufacturer. When there is a competitor in their space, KTM seems to buy up the competition (Husqvarna, GasGas, Husaberg, etc).  Yamaha and Honda haven’t been investing in 2-strokes.

Husqvarna and GasGas are now manufactured by KTM and are basically considered to be the same bike with different colors and slight component variation.

KTM became a large enough manufacturer in Europe that they were forced to follow stricter emissions regulations. They created “TPI” (Transfer Port Injection, or just fuel injection) to accomplish this, removing the need for a carburetor. More on TPI vs Carb later.

2012-2016

Carbureted

Not counterbalanced, which means you can feel some engine vibration

2017-2018

Carbureted

Counterbalanced

Some people consider ‘17-’18 the very best years of KTM for the counterbalanced engine and tried and true carburetor without electronic components that could potentially leave you stranded.

2019+

TPI / Fuel Injected

Husqvarna (“Husky” for short)

Husqvarna is KTM’s slightly more premium brand. Same engines, white plastics, different wheels, brakes, levers, etc. When choosing between Husqvarna and KTM, generally comes down to color preference and suspension type preference (PDS vs Linkage).

A big feature of Husqvarna is the seat height is generally 0.8” lower than a KTM, which can make a difference when trying to find the ground!

GasGas

GasGas is a new acquisition for KTM. GasGas bikes 2021+ are made by KTM. If buying new, and if red is your color, GasGas is a great way to get a cheaper KTM.

Sherco

Sherco is a smaller brand with some avid followers. If you want a new 300 2-stroke that isn’t fuel injected and considered to be more reliable than Beta, Sherco is the brand for you.

Beta

Beta is the largest non-KTM brand trail bike to consider. Parts are harder to get than KTM, so local Beta dealers will become your friend.

Best Trail Bike Models

KTM 250/300 XC-W (2012+)

Husqvarna TE 250/300

• All the good trail bike features
• Wide-ratio transmission (means low 1st gear for going slow)

KTM 250/300 XC (2012+)

Husqvarna TX 250/300 (2014+)

• XC/TX is slightly better for going fast than slow, but can be geared down if desired
• No factory headlight, could be added later

Sherco – Any year, any model

Beta 200/250/300 RR

Random Thoughts

Do I want a street legal dirt bike?

Short answer, probably not. A good off-road bike won’t be much fun on the road. Have to get DOT tires, need to carry different clothing layers to not freeze while heading to the trail and might be too hot while on trail. Extra equipment on the bike (mirrors, turn signals, horn, etc). It’s a great idea to think you won’t need a truck or trailer, but turns out to not be very practical.

New vs Used? — Needs updated: used prices have come down a lot!

There’s no winning here. If you can purchase with a Montana/Wyoming address, new might be best. Used prices generally plan on paying full taxes and dealer fees for a new bike, so a 2 year old used bike will be listed near MSRP of a new one!

COVID made both scenarios bad: dealers had no inventory, used prices skyrocketed.

Best of luck on your decision.

TPI vs Carb?

TPI is probably the future of 2-strokes. KTM is getting better at it, they’re becoming better understood by internet mechanics.

Carbs generally don’t fail on the trail, but there’s maintenance to them. There are special after-market carbs (SmartCarb, Lectron) that remove the headache from traditional carbs, but they can be ~$500. Many people agree a SmartCarb/Lectron is the best of both worlds.

If you don’t have money for TPI or Lectron, you’ll want to learn about Carb jetting eventually.

PDS vs Linkage?

This is a rear suspension consideration. Linkage bikes sometimes have a lower seat height. Linkage is “more playful”, but hangs down and “could” get hung up on a rock or log. Most people won’t notice the difference.