Which Dirtbike Should I Buy?
Real talk: if we had a dollar for every time someone asked us this, we'd have enough to roll out on a pretty nice bike ourselves.
Here's the thing though: we don't sell bikes. We sell the parts, tunes, and support that go on them. So we've got no skin in which one you pick, no quota, no model we're trying to move. When we say we have no idea, it's not a dodge, it's the honest answer.
And it really does come down to way too much to call from a text: how tall you are, what you weigh, whether you've got real seat time or you're starting cold, the terrain you actually ride, and what your wallet is good with. There's no one-size-fits-all bike here, and we'd rather say that straight than hand you a confident wrong answer that bites you six months in.
Why Such A Short List?
Quick thing before the picks: our whole world is dual sport, enduro, and technical trail riding. Plated bikes you ride to the trail, out across the desert, and through the gnarly stuff. That is what we ride, what we wrench on, and what we know cold, so this list is built around that. Not motocross, not big adventure touring, not flat track.
If that is the riding you are chasing, you are in the right place. None of this means the bikes we left off are bad, plenty are great. They are just not our lane, and we would rather stay honest about what we actually know than rattle off a long list to look smart.
Too Lazy To Read? Pick The One That Sounds Like You.
Don't Guess. Watch Our Build Videos.
Specs and forum threads only get you so far. Seeing one of these get ridden, wrenched on, and broken down is what makes it click. Our builds go deep on the good, the bad, and the why, so you land on the right bike before you spend a dime.
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What Actually Decides It
Before any bike makes sense, these five do most of the work. Be honest with yourself on all of them.
Height & Inseam
Most of these bikes are tall. Flat-footing it matters more than people admit.
Weight
Bigger riders lean toward more bike. Lighter riders can get away with less.
Experience
Zero seat time changes everything. A forgiving bike keeps it fun, not scary.
Terrain
Tight single track, open desert, and fire roads each want a different tool.
Budget
Not just the bike. Gear, tires, and the mods you'll want after add up fast.
The Three At A Glance
Same picks, side by side, before you dig into the details.
How They Pull
Throttle character, low rpm on the left to redline on the right. This is about how the power feels, not measured dyno numbers.
The 500 makes grunt early and everywhere. The 350 climbs and rewards revs. The 450 slams on, then pulls hard.
OK, Fine. If You Twisted Our Arm...
Cornered and forced to pick, here's where we'd point most people. Read the cons as hard as you read the pros, the con is usually what someone ends up regretting a year later.
Pick it if you're newer, you ride a lot of tight technical trail, or you just want the least intimidating bike that's still a blast.
- The single most forgiving, manageable bike we hand people. Feels light, flickable, and doesn't punish mistakes.
- Right at home in tight, rocky, technical stuff where a bigger bike just wears you out.
- Relaxed state of tune. Friendly down low, but it'll still rev out when you ask for it.
- Runs out of breath up top next to a 500. On long highway slogs or wide-open desert it's working harder to keep up.
- Some riders end up wanting more grunt and start buying power mods. At that point a 500 was the better buy from the jump.
Pick it if you want one bike that does everything, you ride mixed terrain, or your days mix pavement, open desert, and trail.
- The genuine do-it-all bike. Trail, desert, dual-sport, mild adventure, it covers more ground than anything else on this list.
- Silly amount of torque. Lugs up hills without a downshift and holds a line at speed where smaller bikes get kicked around.
- Light for a 500. Doesn't feel like the big bike it is until things get really tight.
- Can feel heavy and like more work in true single track and slow, first-gear crawling. The stock wide-ratio gearing doesn't love walking pace.
- More bike than a brand-new rider needs. Tall seat, real power, less margin for error.
Pick it if your riding is mostly fast, open desert and you actually like a sharp, aggressive bike. Less ideal if your days run slow and technical.
Honda CRF450RL
- A brilliant high-speed desert weapon. Fast, planted, and loves wide-open terrain.
- Not good for much else. The snappy, abrupt on/off throttle is something most riders end up not liking, especially in slow or technical stuff.
- It's a race bike with a license plate, full stop. (We've got a whole sheet on taming that throttle if you go this route.)
KTM 450 XCF-W
- Aggressive, revvy, and holds speed up high. The angry one of the bunch.
- Same story as the Honda. High-strung and race-leaning, less forgiving than the 350 or 500 when the going gets slow and technical.
Bikes We Didn't Pick (And Why)
Not because they're bad. They're just more specialized, or a different rabbit hole. The quick version:
250 Four-Strokes
A blast and easy to ride, but a lot of riders outgrow the power on open terrain faster than they expect.
300 Two-Strokes
Kings of gnarly hard-enduro and tight single track. Lighter and more playful, but a different maintenance and riding rhythm.
690 / 701 Big Singles
Huge range and real highway manners, but heavy and a handful the second the trail turns technical.
Husqvarna / GasGas
Basically the same KTM engines and chassis in different plastics, so everything above still applies. Pick on looks and price.
Beta / Sherco
Genuinely good bikes with loyal followings. We lean KTM here for parts and support reach, not because these can't hang.
Still Stuck? Go Watch.
That's normal, and it's exactly why those build videos exist. Put in the time, narrow it down, and when you land on a bike, you know where to find us for the parts and tuning to dial it in.
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