Should I get a new ___ (dual-sport or straight dirt) . . . ?

[iDropEmAlot]

hello ‘idropemalot’…..does your screen name imply you’re are beginner, or you love pushing the envelope? Anywho…..you’ll love Big Bend state& national,parks in W TX. Also, you’ll really like going into Mexico with the two wheel Texas crowd (2 trips a year?). Do you have a transport truck or trailer for a bike if you go enduro (not street legal). I’d personally do dual purpose but either way you can’t go wrong. happy Trails

That's a great question actually haha, thanks for asking - perhaps a bit of both. . . the screen name is a little dose of humorous humility I suppose haha.

I started riding 2.5-3 years ago with street and transitioned into dirt about 1.5 years ago. All my dirt experience is in the Black Hills of SD, as I got family up there. Got a chance to cut my teeth on a small lil' KLX 140 up there, as well as a TW200 (one of the greatest bikes ever IMO . . . I got a soft spot for small displacement haha). Anyway that's where I eventually decided to grab the KTM 125 for cheap to try and step things up a bit. . .

I wouldn't consider myself skilled by many, if any metrics, but want to keep on practicing to feel comfy on some pretty technical enduro trails.

EDIT: yea I can haul in my truck but after hearing everyone's input here, sounds like dual sport is incontestably the way to go around there

 

[iDropEmAlot]

if that were me, I'd ditch the 150 xc for el paso riding. Out there, there's endless ATV & jeep sand trails. ANd if you go 20 miles north , between EP and alamogordo, all that area is miles and miles of open desert sand to ride and camp out there for free. From Alamogordo, you're 15-20 miles from Cloudcroft, NM. This area has some of the best technical high rocky mountain single track riding , where @ 8500 ft asl, a 500cc thumper pulls like a 350cc, a 350cc pulls like 230cc. A 150cc two stroke up there will pull like a YZ85 at sea level. What's interesting about this area is, you can be riding in low elevation desert in the morning/one day, and spend the afterrnoon/next day riding high up in the rockies. Lots of diversity, so choose a bike that can do alot more than just one type

Woo, you're giving the the inside scoop for ALL the good riding spots around there haha, thanks Dao! Cloudcroft area sounds like the stuff dreams are made of, that's exactly what I'm looking for. Haven't ridden desert before, so that'd be a fun new change of pace

Yea after hearing everyone's input here, I'm darn near decided on the 350 or 500 EXC-F, like you said something that can tackle all sorts of environments.