Honda XR bike: 250R and 650L- first hand experience?

[idahodave]

I used to work professionally clearing trails on USFS lands in Idaho off of dirtbikes. I've ridden and used them all, and still do as a part of my profession.

There are better "performing" trail bikes out there, but there's never been a more reliable/durable bike made than an XR250.

You'd have to run pretty fast to hand me keys to a 650 for anything short of gravel roads.

Dave

 

[Customweld]

I used to work professionally clearing trails on USFS lands in Idaho off of dirtbikes. I've ridden and used them all, and still do as a part of my profession.

There are better "performing" trail bikes out there, but there's never been a more reliable/durable bike made than an XR250.

You'd have to run pretty fast to hand me keys to a 650 for anything short of gravel roads.

Dave

That 650 is a lot of bike for single lane FS trails.

 

[BadDogPSD]

XR250 is a good bike. I liked my XR400 a bit more, probably because of my size (6'3" 230 lbs). I had an XR650 for a short time. Too big & too heavy for for my use.

 

[TheGDog]

Valves probably need checked too. Tight valves = very hard to start.

He said it was after setting any appreciable bit, so I assume gas that's getting old. Which can cause the holes for the opening of the jets in the carb to have that thin lacquer of varnish from the old gas slough-off and clog it. That's what that fuel stabilizer stuff prevents from happening.

 

[Blockcaver]

I had a a 2002 XR250R for a couple years starting in 2007. I did not like it very well for high country CO (10,000’ to 13,000’ elevation) use.

Too tall, too under powered for gearing, felt heavy but don’t remember weight. Glad to get rid of it and get a Honda 350 Rancher 4x4 quad for less money.

My favorite dirt bike was a mid-70s TL250 Honda trials bike. Perfect for my usage. But way to old to get into now days. And Thant thing started well even when over 25 yrs old.