Dirt Bikes I Like and Want

2025-05-05 by Andrew Holmes

I've lately had a real hankering for a new dirt bike. I haven't owned one since selling the DRZ four years ago, but now my son is approaching five years old I want to get him on a PW50, and for that I'll need something smaller than the 790 Adventure myself. Of course me being me I don't want just the usualy suspects, but also some wierd and wonderful thrown in for good measure.

I really like the bikes that were being developed around the beginning of the 2010's, for some reason it seems like more manufacturers were experimenting with wierd and wonderful ideas. Of course not all of them worked out, and not all were actually good ideas, but at least they were trying new things.

So with that in mind, here are the bikes that I'm thinking of (all prices in NZD):

  1. Kawasaki KLX300R - super reliable and well made Japanese dirt bike. Not street legal in NZ, no lights etc, but a strong motor and half decent suspension. Brand new cost $8k (according to Kawasaki NZ) or $9k (according to TradeMe). 30ish HP and 128kg.

  2. Thumpstar FSE300R - Chinese knock-off of a 2017 KTM EXC-F. These are sold as GPX in the US and seem to be reasonably popular over there. Over here they don't come with a lighting kit so aren't street legal, though do have a good LED headlight, full dash etc so could perhaps be made streetable (under the Enduro rules). 114kg (though the GPX version weighs in at 124.5kg with light kit) and 30ish HP, decently lighter than the KLX and has much better suspension (closed cartridge forks). Looks awesome too!

    The detractors aren't into the fact that it's a Chinese bike that has basically copied the KTM frame (though the Zongshen engine is all original as far as I can tell). I kinda like it, though I wish we got the full dual sport lighting kit like they do in the US. Resale value would be non-existent (as with all Chinese dual sports).

    $9k on the Thumpstar website plus shipping.

  3. BMW G450X - yeah this is a bit left field, I'll admit.

    I really like these bikes, they have a lot of pretty cool engineering in them. They don't really get great reviews, but those seem to be mostly by pro level riders, those who trail ride them seem to really like them. I've had a quick scan of eBay and it seems that there are plenty of parts still available (some new, most second hand, but all reasonably priced including shipping) with one massive exception - the torque limiter. This is a wear item, and seems to slowly lose clamping force over time. You used to be able to buy replacements for roughly US$250 but they are unobtanium now (though it seems there are a bunch of people hoarding some). There has been talk of refurbishing them, though I can't find anything about this online.

    They crop up very occasionally for around $8 ~ $9k on TradeMe with spares etc (two were advertised around 6 months ago with about ~100 hours on them).

  4. Kawasaki KX450X - this thing is a 450 beast! Close to 60hp, short gearing, light weight, crazy short maintenance intervals. There is no reason I need something like this other than it would be super epic. Imagine this with an Adventure Spec rally screen and a larger tank, if I could somehow make it street legal this thing would fly! The short gearing and only 5 speeds would hold it back a bit though. In fact that's the biggest problem - I'd like the flexibility of plating it if I could in case I ever get the chance to ride around the South Island doing awesome tracks or something.

    Around $14~$16k new depending on the year.

  5. If you thought the BMW G450X was left field wait until you hear an Aprilia RXV450/550 at full noise! These are amazing bikes, usually set up as a super moto (as honestly that's a better set up for them), but also available as an enduro model.

    These bikes are powered by tiny 450 or 550cc V-twin engines that rev to the moon and produce silly power for their size - we're talking over 60hp for the 450 and over 70hp for the 550 from the high compression engines (13.5:1 for the 450, 12.5:1 for the 550). A bit heavier than the others at roughly 135~140kg but still light enough to have a lot of fun.

    Smooth, broad power comes at a cost though - you need to change the oil every 2500km and check valves (an engine out job no less) every 10,000km. But if you keep up with the maintenance the engine should give you 40,000km+ in normal ADV riding conditions. They have a reputation for unreliability but that is usually down to lack of maintenance by owners (a lot of squids bought the super moto versions as they are crazy fast, but then neglected the race bike maintenance schedules).

    The biggest downside is they are thirsty beasts - people only get around 150km or so from the 12 litre tank on the 550 (in comparison a G450X gets roughly the same distance from 8 litres), and while the 450 should be better in theory I'm not sure it's that much better.

    I've only ever seen one in NZ (at the GS Rallye no less), so I'd have to import one and get it VINed etc. Having said all that, they do appear to be easy to work on (assuming you can still get parts for them going forward), even taking the engine out can be done in under 40 mins by one person. I love these and would love to own one.

    $$ not sure as I haven't seen any for sale here, but go for between $4k~$10k NZD overseas.

  6. My latest thing (basically based on there being no G450X's or Aprilia RXV's on TradeMe) is the Husqvarna TE449/TE511. These were created when BMW owned Husqvarna, so basically the Italian Husqvarna crew was given a whole pile of G450X engines and told to make a bike with them.

    A lot of people think that these are basically the G450X with a Husky badge but they are actually completely different beasts, sharing only the motor and strange coaxial countershaft sprocket and swing arm. They use a new 6 speed gearbox (which by all accounts is a wee bit narrow in range), new cradle frame, a split fuel tank design with a 6.5 litre main tank draining into a clear 2 litre primer tank with the fuel pump, a split swing arm bolt design so you can change the countershaft sprocket more easily, and a host of other changes (48mm Showa forks vs 45mm Marzochi's, linkage swing arm (with the linkage on top of the swing arm so it doesn't hang low - how cool is that?) etc).

    By most accounts it is all around a better bike than the G450X with the exception of the gearing. It was also very popular in Aussie so parts are a bit easier to come by. There is one on Trademe currently for $6k with some spares with ~2300km on the odo (not sure of hours).

    It also helps that these look absolutely gorgeous.

  7. I've lately become mildly obsessed with the Yamaha WR450F. They're sold here new with road kits so are completely street legal. A nice power band, broad spread of torque and a wide ratio gearbox means these are great for all sorts of terrain. Five speeds is a knock against them, but the gear spread from the wide ratio box is actually better than something like the Husky TE449. All new for 2024, they are light weight, have excellent suspension and are very reliable and easy to ride, or can be turned into beast mode by tweaking the fuel map in the phone app. The biggest problem with them that I can see is the small fuel tank size (only 7.5 litres), and the way the tank is fitted under the seat means that you can't really fit larger ones easily (the bigget I've seen is by IMS at 10.5 litres).

    They currently retail for $17699 new.

  8. A new kid on the block is the Triumph TF450-E. This is an all new design (and Triumph's first dirt bike), and is very well designed and thought out. It is currently gaining a lot of hype as it's about to be launched to the public. Very light, excellent suspension, loads of power and torque, a wide ratio 6 speed gear box for a top gear overdrive, plus it can be road registered. This would make it a great light enduro.

    It is hard to say how long it would take for the aftermarket to catch up as this is a new bike, but over a few years I'd guess there would be a robust market for farkles as I'm guessing this bike will be very popular.

    Introductory pricing is $17,999 at time of writing

So there you have it - now I just need to come up with the money and convince me wife that I need a new bike...