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I'm glad you liked it! Yes, without him I would not be riding offroad now - that door was fully closed for me several years ago. Thank you for your comment!

Thank you, man! I used to ride very big powerful bikes, but now I am all into smaller ones and I love them much more. Extra power and weight are good for highways, but now I prefer offroad riding. Thank you for watching! I'm glad you liked the video!

Often it's a blurry line: I ride some nice forest trail and once I get quite far it suddenly turns into a super ugly ATV trail section with massive mud... Sometimes I have to turn back. But thanks to XT250, quite often I can actually pass even some very scary parts. Thank you for watching!

I had the same issue... even here in Laurentian mountains when I just got my XT250 - I knew only one short forest trail and that was it. No internet search returned any results or hints of where to ride. But then I used google maps - terrain view - and checking any lines through forests that looked like a potential trail. After that google street view at the entrance to see if there are any Private Property signs or gates (street view is outdated in rural areas, but still it's great to cross out anything that's unavailable already). And after that - just riding to the entry points and see if I can enter. Also, whenever I ride - I always scan for any possible forest trails leading from the main road. Now, after 2 seasons of riding - I discovered SO MANY trails! Of course this approach won't work everywhere: when I lived in New York City, it doesn't matter how much you search - it's always private property everywhere you look. Anyway, I hope this info may come useful for you. Good luck with your search! By the way, CRF300l is an amazing bike! Great choice there. Ride safely!

@@noobster101 it's great that you are already doing it! Even if you take a basic street bike to a very light offroad trail- it's already better than not riding offroad at all (if you like offroad riding). I have several motorcycles, one of them is Ninja 400. Sometimes I ride it and see a beautiful forest or field trail - and I go there anyway. Sport bike with road tires - and it still goes easily and I have a ton of fun (it's a very gentle offroad riding, but nevertheless it's offroad with all its beauty and fun parts). That is to say, if you like offroad exploration - you can do it on almost any bike. Don't wait for the perfect condition. But of course you can go much further easier with the right equipment, so I hope you get a dual sport motorcycle with the right tires soon! Thank you for your comment! Ride safely, my friend!

@@josephlacroix9493 thank you - and thank you for watching! Happy holidays!

This motivated me into a great ride up a mountain on my XT today. So thank you!!!

@@josephlacroix9493 I'm happy you did it, my friend! I look forward to the spring - I want to take my bike deep into some mountain forest and get lost there for a while... I need it. Thank you for being part of this channel!

@@nkk8888 thank you! While working on this video I felt like I needed the Spring more than ever: just want to take my bike and get lost in the forest trails for a good solid day of riding... I need it. Thank you for watching! Happy holidays!

@@carllinden533 man, it's just too tough. A kind easygoing man with the passion for motorcycles that goes back decades (his first bike was a run down 1970s Harley Davidson that he took apart to the last bolt and reassembled back like new). Three children. Working very hard the whole life to support his family. And through all this he would always find time for his passion. My first big motorcycle adventure was with him - we went around the whole Hawaii Big Island together many many years ago... Life started to get easier for him, a bit more free time for motorcycles, kids are older, his daughter started motorcycle license course, he just got his Tenere 700 for his 50s birthday... Lots of plans for the future. And then a sudden illness that progressed way too fast for anyone even to realize what happened. Within 2 months he was gone... His daughter, who loves bikes as much as he did, for years dreamed about joining her dad for a ride... That childhood dream would stay a dream now. I know I always take tomorrow for granted. Not anymore. Man, enjoy today - enjoy the Now. It's crazy how easily it all can be lost... Thank you for the comment!

@@SquareHelmet Everything is truly temporary especially all living things. To appreciate life even more after that, you are a powerful man. I cannot make the most of life but I'll try. I've indulged in most hobbies I can think of. I probably should try creating things, heard it brings an ultimate joy just short of adventure and leaves some proof I was here. Thank you for the difficult response.

@@toooldforgaming makes sense! The riding difficulty increases with every pound of extra weight you add. Overall, I'm happy I gave offroad riding another shot - I absolutely love it. And thank you - this loss was so unexpected and crushing... I still can't get used to it somehow.

learned that the hard way. i was carrying a spare battery for my car from home to work. its an old battery so it was heavy. strapped it on the back and i could feel how different the bike handled even on smooth paved roads. and it was a wet battery so anytime the bike moved the liquid inside would slosh around and the bike would sway with it. almost had my bike end up in a gutter when i was turning but luckily my bike was light so i could stop immediately and not drop it on my feet.

@@mikelobdell2666 exactly this! KLX, CRF - they all appear as more capable bikes for most situations. But for the toughest places XT250 wins for me. Put it differently, XT250 can go anywhere a KLX or CRF can go. But KLX and CRF can't go everywhere where an XT250 can. And for me personally, I get a better "connection" with a smaller bike. It simply disappears when I ride and I just feel like I'm moving through space and time by myself. A bigger bike feels like you are riding it. It's like traveling by bus or a car - you feel more agile and more involved in driving when you drive a car. A small car is even better - I remember I loved Mini Cooper! No big powerful car can match that sense of agility and lightness. Small bikes are the same. As for the large rocks - man, it's the hardest part for me. Exhausting even on a small light bike. I still hadn't figured out how to handle them well. Thank you for your comment! Ride safely!

@@tuhinchoudhury561 I just checked rukka AFT D30 - it seems to be another great option here. It has Level 2 in shoulders and elbows, so it's probably a bit bulkier than Scott. It may be closer to Proteus - Proteus has an amazing elbow protection. Regarding rib injury: abrasion resistance won't do anything there, so I don't think there is any advantage for off-road. For me the most important part is back protection: not because injury is common there, but because of how critical a damage there can be. After that elbow: you often fall on elbows. The rest - I don't really care that much. It's hard to protect everything in every situation. One thing to look at is Knox armoured shirt. I didn't know about it, but one of my subscribers suggested. I think it has all the right components to be a winner here. It even has the abrasion resistance for when you go on paved road. It's like a less bulky Proteus - I wish I knew about it sooner to try it. I hope this is helpful. Thank you for watching!

@@BillySBC are there any reliabilities issues related to XT250 injection? I know it's an ultra reliable bike (and still built in Japan), but maybe I missed something. So far I've never had any issues with it.

@@BillySBC I started with the Honda. Excellent bike, especially now as I built more skills. But at that time it didn't go well. My very quick take on the two bikes (just my opinion based on how I ride them): 1. I never felt a lack of power on XT250, on or offroad. Offroad Yamaha's torque and extra smooth fueling does everything I need. On the road, I don't go faster than 100 kmh or about 65 MPH: it's just not safe on a light bike. So even if I had more power - I would still not go faster. I would need more weight for stability, but that would defeat the offroad purpose of the bike. So extra power for me personally doesn't add much. To add more power to XT250 we could add more displacement (more weight) or squeeze more out of the same displacement (lower reliability). I don't like any of these two options. 2. Extra gear is great for road and mostly of you go faster than 65 MPH. I don't, so XT250 again is ok for me. 3. So we are down to extra weight - Honda is a bit heavier. 4. Radiator (in theory, less reliable as there are more parts to damage or break). Though I wouldn't worry about Honda's reliability. 5. Most importantly, seat height. This was the deal breaker for me. I am 5'10" and the Honda still felt too tall for me in the places I like to go (I go to really rough places!). So, Honda's extra power and extra gear is just a "nice to have" for me but Yamaha's weight and seat height are really a must have. Now I can easily handle even a very tall bike, but still for the toughest places XT250 gets my choice. Honda is a great bike though. If I stayed away from the 5% of the hardest trails I go - I would probably pick Honda. Thank you for watching!

I'm glad you liked the video! Both bikes are great! If you don't plan to go to very hard offroad places, maybe KLX 300 could be a better choice since it has a bit more power for the roads and the suspension there is nice. For truly "Any Road. Any Time. Anywhere" type of riding, it's the XT250 in my opinion. The seat height makes the biggest difference offroad. Both are great bikes and I really love KLX300! Also, it's great that you are considering a used bike - makes sense for starting offroad or going back to offroad (I even added this as one of the main points for new or returning offroad riders th-cam.com/video/ipO1mmRgoyc/w-d-xo.html). I hope you get a great bike! Thank you for watching.

@@joshparnow9044 exactly! And I loved your point about zombie apocalypse - I had this thought crossing my mind many times when I rode it. If humanity breaks down - which bike would I pick as the main survival transportation? Easy - XT250! Thank you for the great comment! Merry Christmas 🎄

@@carllinden533 same here - can't wait for the new season!

@@josephlacroix9493 if all goes as planned, I'll be riding XT250 and KTM this season. I got into an accident on my XT250, so it's been damaged. Insurance claim process is not finalized yet, so we'll see how it goes with the repairs or if I have to buy a new one. Overall, having XT250 is a must for me - my favorite bike! And now I know that even an accident can't really kill it - it took a hit from an SUV and still had no problems bringing me home. I doubt there are many bikes out there that could do the same. Respect. What a bike!

That was a very considerate reply. Thanks. I own the same XT and did some of the BDR in Washington this year. It's an amazing bike but I certainly hated the highway sections....especially on the windy days. I'm in the market for a new bike similar to the 390 as well. I'm sure that will be an amazing purchase. I'm glad you don't seem hurt from the accident.

Really happy you’re ok! I hope you’ll keep doing XT content, yours is some of the best I’ve seen.

@@ericweber1969 I'm ok, brother. It was scary as it was my first high speed crash... But I ride paranoid and expect everyone to swerve into me any time I ride on paved roads - so when this guy unexpectedly turned into me - it wasn't completely unexpected. I managed to avoid the worst - almost no damage to my body. My bike is done though... I'm buying a new XT250 shortly. Makes me like offroad riding even more - no distracted drivers there... Thank you for the comment - great to see you in the comments section again! Ride safely!

I'm still on the stock tires. I bought Dunlop D606, but haven't installed them yet. You can go very far on the stock tires - I've gone pretty much everywhere I wanted, which often involved very tough places. But they reach their limits offroad quite fast, especially in mud where they become like track racing tires without any knobs. At this point there is no traction at all... I'll post a video on tires once I try D606 on my usual forest trails. Thank you for watching!

@ got it. I ended up purchasing a stiffer spring and planning to install it. One thing I found was the bike is very plush and I come from a MTB background and I bottom out a lot when riding off road trails.

60,000 kms! Wow, this makes me feel more confident about my choice. Thank you for the tip about the oil - I'll keep an eye on it. Thank you for watching!

Thank you! Man, I love motorcycles and whenever I get a new bike - I feel like a child who got everything he ever wanted :) We have a few months of snow ahead of us, but this makes the summer riding season even sweeter... KLX300 is the bike I never tried before, but I would love to - I heard it has the best suspension in its class! Good luck with the KLX300! Should be an awesome bike.

XT250 is my favorite bike! Period. It's absolutely amazing for "Any Road. Any Time. Anywhere" type of riding. If you never rode offroad before - take it slowly and I think you'll love that bike. As for the suspension: I did not modify it. In fact, all my XT250 videos so far are on stock bike - even the tires. I am 72 kg (158 lbs) - I never had an issue with suspension bottoming out. And I ride it in really rough places for sure. The suspension is very basic, but it does everything I ask and never complains. Also, I have to mention that when I go fast offroad I am always riding standing, so my legs act as the extension of the suspension. With that being said, if I have a bit of extra cash lying around - I would splurge on the suspension upgrade. I feel with some premium plush suspension this would be simply amazing. Thank you for watching! And good luck with XT250!

Ah, great point! That's the main thing that made me hesitant about my purchase... I REALLY love the 2025 390 Adventure R - I feel it's the winner! Here's what tipped the scale toward this 390 Adventure: 1. Current model is tried and tested and all the initial bugs have been fixed. The new model may not be as reliable. 2. The price will most likely be higher for all 2025 models. I got mine at a huge bargain. 3. But most importantly, 390 Adventure R would be too big of an overlap with my XT250. For hard core offroad I use XT250. 390 Adventure R would still not match it: it's heavier, more complex, taller, more expensive (I would think twice before throwing it at some hard trail. XT250 - I throw it anywhere!). The only benefit 390 Adv R would offer for me is extra power, which I really don't care about on the rough trails - XT250 has enough for me. So, I wanted to have a true Adventure category bike: something that's mostly road focused with some ability to go offroad. This, plus the price, is why I finally pulled the trigger and got it. But your point is good. I may still go for 390 Adv R later on, if Yamaha still doesn't want to build Tenere 400/XT400... Or... I also absolutely love the new Suzuki DR Z4S! Maybe I'll get that one! Thank you for the comment!

Thank you for the suggestions! I plan to add some accessories (already ordered skid plate as I go very rough trails quite often). Also checked the ADVinJapan channel - nice! It's on my "dream adventure list" - travel around Japan on a motorcycle on a culinary exploration trip - try signature dishes from every province and region. Thank you for watching!

@@WojciechKalka damn... You think there will be problems servicing it if KTM goes under?

@@naddp2454 Thank you! I hope you get a good one!

@@ashwinpradeepkumarnair-1666 Thank you! Good luck with the purchase!

@@anarsamedi7358 I want to ride both in 2025. The question I want to answer is if KTM 390 Adv can come close to satisfying my "Any Road. Any Time. Anywhere" requirement. I don't know if it's something my subscribers would like to see though? Overall, the XT250 is by far my favorite bike.

@@SquareHelmet I definitely share your goal with finding that bike. Time will tell if KTM390 is indeed that bike! Looking forward to your content man.

@@mikethebikemt07tracer thank you! Maes me feel better. I know I made an informed choice, but still it's good to hear that someone else sees it the same way. Thank you for watching!

@@johnman7251 Thank you!

Great bike too! To compare it to XT250: if you have never been riding offroad - you can just get a TW200 and you will be amazed how far you can go! Without any skills or prior experience it will take you to places you would never thought were possible. If you are just starting up - definitely go for TW200 - and you may never need to change it. XT250 is just a bit harder for an offroad novice - but after a quick learning curve it's definitely more capable than TW200 on and offroad. And once you build skills - TW200 would have hard time catching up with XT250 (though I think TW200 would go pretty much anywhere where XT250 can. I think "pretty much" because there are places where you need momentum and higher ground clearance, and TW would struggle there. For what it's worth, I started my search with TW200 and gradually migrated to XT250 (I owned both bikes though - both amazing). But XT250 takes my vote as the only bike, on and off-road. Ride safely!

LOTS of places to ride here in Canada! You just get a bit north from where most people live - and you have untouched forests with lakes and mountains. As for the longer videos - I am still debating about which format is the best for videos here: I wanted to stay at 5 minutes and less, but I don't always fit there. I have many longer single track riding videos, but I thought they would be boring... even though I watch a lot of them myself too. I'll post a few later to see if they are liked enough. Thank you for watching!

@ I watch all kinds of stuff but the long form single track rides anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes really draw me in. I don’t ride as much as I’d like to an hearing the sound of the bike and watching technical stuff is the second best!

th-cam.com/video/tw91LwUegvo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=YqwpvX_cAQsxyX-k This guy just posted some awesome technical riding in Utah. If you like single track videos you will like this

@@calebtrujillo7025 that's a nice one! I miss riding - we have over 2 feet of snow now... Looking forward to the spring. XT250 is a special bike - love it. I'll post a couple of longer videos from "Quebec BDR" soon 👍 Thank you for sharing the video!

@@justinscott8993 :) good question. The answer is No and Yes. I can lift any bike - so no bike is too heavy for me... in ideal condition: when the ground is flat and firm. Lifting XT250 is nothing here. But when it falls on a steep hill climb, especially when the top is pointing down, and I can barely stand on loose rock - lifting XT250 is hard. Anything heavier than XT250 - and I'd really struggle. Check out my video when I just went for a ride in the forest - I fell between two rocks and XT250 pressed my foot... It was hard to lift it in that situation. So that's it: XT250 is light for me, but in some places where I ride it's right at the edge of being too heavy...

@@justinscott8993 here is the video where it trapped my foot and it was too heavy for me to lift it: th-cam.com/video/k_bIiqIOZBI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=1foLdXRp9UsyzaKf

@@randywhite7001 I am 5'10" and it fits just right. I think for my type of riding (mostly standing up on trails or seated on highways for shorter stretches) I could be a couple of inches taller and still feel great. It's a tricky question too: I have a high tolerance for "uncomfortable" when it comes to bikes, so I rode my share of bikes that were way too small for me and I absolutely loved them. Try sitting on one at a dealership - I think this is the best to decide if it fits you. Thank you for watching!

@@SenorGato237 agreed! If you already have something - you can make it work. If it covers protection, then the rest is just a matter of playing with layers. In my case, I needed the new gear (I damaged the old one). Revit Offtrack is $480 Canadian ($345 USD per current exchange) - it's an amazing 3-piece jacket and I would be happy with it even at double the cost. I have been using it already and simply love it. As you said, if you already have something - stay with it. But if you are on the market - this one is worth trying (just my opinion, I am not affiliated with Revit in any way). I wish I knew about this one several years ago when I was buying my jacket... Thank you for watching and for the comment!

@@samhill3496 checked their website - looks interesting. Never heard of this brand before. Thank you for watching!

@SquareHelmet I have been to their factory several times. Make most products there on the east coast. Not many left like that

@@samhill3496 true, it's rare nowadays. I think their marketing effort may be lacking - doesn't look like a lot of people know about them and the website is not too informative. Would love to support them somehow. Maybe I'll consider their jacket as my next one - to show how it stacks up against the rest. My channel is new, but still about 60k views and counting could improve their exposure.

@@motodruid4327 it looks like the price difference between them is not the same. Here in Canada, Dakar is $400, Revit is $480, Baja is $800. So Revit is only $80 more, but offers protection, rain gear and thermal layer plus its "vents on demand" offer even more flexibility. I only wish it were easier to test different jackets - it would be much easier for all of us to pick the best one faster. Thank you for watching! Ride safely

I am lured toward T7 - I love that bike! It's just every time I come close to making a decision to buy it, it's kind of hard to justify it for my type of riding - there are a few places where I absolutely love to ride and I know I am not strong or skilled enough to take a Tenere there... Still it's one of the bikes on my wish list! Thank you for watching - ride safely!

Thanks for subscribing! I’m glad you liked the video.

Good one! Enjoy it, and ride safely! Thank you for watching

@@miamipastel thank you, man! Safety first. Always. XT is good at bringing you to tougher places while making it feel easy... We have to stay cool and know when to turn back. Ride safely, brother!

On my list for the next season! I know I need them. Thank you for watching and the suggestion!

I'm glad you like my videos! Offroad lightweight bikes rule... it's so great that this super light bike can actually go on the road as well as it does. Wow, you had a 45 year break in riding! I think you picked just the perfect bike now. Thank you for the comment. Ride safely!

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. Enjoy your XT and ride safely!

Glad you liked it!

Exactly! My first ride offroad was on a CRF250... Man, it's a small lighter bike - but I did not have fun at all! It was a bit too tall and I had no idea what I was doing offroad. I concluded that offroad is not for me and moved on with my road bikes... Until I first tried Honda Trail 125 offroad and got right into it... and then XT was the best next step. I still have several bikes, but this is by far my favorite! Enjoy your XT! Thank you for the comment and ride safely!

@@flyovercounty1427 same for me actually... It's been on my list for a while. Often I wait until something bad happens and gives me urgency to do something. I want to avoid the bad thing in the first place this time and install handguards already. Lol Thank you for watching!

@@tedluna624 I'm glad you liked the video! Both are great bikes with big overlap of the roads you can cover on both. XT will go further offroad. 300 Rally is easier on long distance highway trips. Thank you for watching!

I'm glad you liked the video! I don't have riding buddies, and my wife does not want to ride offroad. Lol. But safety is so important - I'm thinking about getting a Garmin inReach Mini for my rides. A few times I was riding WAY too far into the woods without any cellphone reception and just a thought of breaking something there made me scared. At a minimum I want to be able to call for help. Thank you for watching and for the comment!