With the recent boom in outdoor activities and the popularity of camping tours, more and more riders are interested in riding off-road on flat forest roads that are not so hard.
So, what kind of motorcycle is best suited for first-time forest road touring?
I have considered the best motorcycles for your off-road debut, with a focus on off-road models of the high street variety.
If it's your first time driving in the dirt, it's important to have good footing and light-weight.
In general, the lightness of the motorcycle is vital in off-road riding. The same is true for both off-road and on-road motorcycles, where motorcycle weight has a significant impact on athletic performance. Off-road models such as motocrossers and enduro machines place particular emphasis on lightness, which is why even today most competition models use lightweight, compact, single-cylinder engines. When touring riders consider the best model for riding on relatively flat dirt roads such as forest roads for the first time, the lightness of the chassis is a very important item. The lighter the motorcycle, the more likely it is to be able to support the rider's car without falling over when trotting or stopping at very low speeds, or when making a U-turn to turn around when the road in the woods is too rough to continue.
For almost the same reason, good footing = low seat height.
In the case of off-road sports models, the seat position is necessarily quite high because the motorcycle height is raised while using a long-stroke suspension and large-diameter front and rear wheels to secure the minimum ground clearance and improve off-road drivability. However, if the motorcycle is to be used on flat forest roads, it is not necessary to have such a high minimum ground clearance, and in many cases, the low minimum ground clearance makes the motorcycle suitable for use by off-road beginners who want to ride slowly on dirt roads while keeping both feet on the ground.
The disappearance of the Serow 250 was a major blow
Discontinued in 2020, the Serow 250 has a seat height of 830 mm and a motorcycle weight of 133 kg.
The motorcycle weighs less than its rivals.
An off-road motorcycle with full-size wheels, a machine that can be ridden without problems on a variety of roads, including highways, and can trek on two wheels and two feet with relatively good off-road footing and a lightweight chassis. For many years, this was the exclusive domain of the Yamaha Serow 250. In the past, rivals such as Honda's SL230 and XR230 and Kawasaki's Super Sherpa existed, but they were discontinued due to stricter exhaust gas regulations. As a result, only the Serow survived and has continued to advocate the joys of mountain trekking since its first generation was born in 1985 as the Serow 225.
However, the production of the Serow will end with the Final Edition, which will be introduced in 2020, 35 years after the birth of the first generation and 15 years after the 250 models were introduced. As a result, there are now fewer options for new motorcycles available in Japan that are suitable for beginners to take to dirt roads, sometimes with both feet on the ground. Nevertheless, Honda and Yamaha have reduced the seat height of their light motorcycle off-road models and made them part of their regular lineups. These are likely to be the first to be targeted for forest road debuts.
Seat height & motorcycle weight of off-road models (as of September 2022)
| Manufacturer Name | Model | Seat height (mm) | Motorcycle weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honda | CT125/Hunter Cub | 800 | 120 |
| Kawasaki | Versys-X 250 Tourer | 815 | 183 |
| Kawasaki | KLX230S | 830 | 136 |
| Honda | CRF250L | 830 | 140 |
| Honda | CRF250 Rally | 830 | 152 |
| Honda | CRF250L | 880 | 140 |
| Honda | CRF250 Rally | 885 | 152 |
| Aprilia | RX125 | 905 | 134 |
| Fantic Motor | XEF250 Trail | 915 | 122 (dry) |
※Graphs were prepared by the editorial department based on manufacturer information as of September 2022.
※Motorcycles in red are those featured in this issue.
KAWASAKI KLX230S
Stepping up to the Japanese physique and preferences
Sold in North America and Southeast Asia, the KLX230 is an off-road model that was newly introduced in Japan in October 2019. It is powered by a simple 232cc air-cooled single-cylinder engine with a maximum output of 19 hp mounted on a steel frame, but the first-generation KLX230 had a high seat height of 885 mm due to its long-stroke, full-fledged front and rear suspension, and this was the only factor that kept it from being suitable for beginners.
However, Kawasaki has revamped the KLX230S for Japan with the 2022 model year. Here, the front suspension wheel travel has been reduced from 220 to 158 mm, the rear suspension from 223 to 168 mm, and the seat height has been lowered to 830 mm, equivalent to that of the Serow 250 and CRF250L. The standard version has been discontinued, which is disappointing for those who wanted longer legs, but it is an improvement that suits the Japanese physique.
HONDA CRF250L
Low seat specification is treated as standard
The CRF250L is currently being developed as Honda's representative off-road sports motorcycle for public roads.
It is equipped with a 249cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine mounted on a steel frame and features inverted front forks and a cast aluminum swingarm for enhanced mobility. There is also a CRF250 Rally model based on the CRF250L, but it weighs 12 kg more, so we chose the standard L model as it is more suitable for beginners to enjoy riding on forest roads.
The standard specification for this series is the so-called low-down type, and the seat height here is 830 mm.
The seat height here is 830mm, which is equivalent to that of the already discontinued Serow 250. On the other hand, the CRF250L, with a seat height of 880mm, is also available for users who want a more serious ride. You can choose the suspension specifications according to your physique, level, and riding location.
HONDA CT125 Hunter Cub
Lightweight and no clutch operation make it easy to use.
Finally, we change our focus a bit and pick up a model with an automatic centrifugal clutch in the moped class, Honda's CT125 Hunter Cub, which has been very popular since its launch in June 2020. This is not a pure off-road model, but it was developed as a model suitable for outdoor leisure activities, including off-road driving, and the manufacturer's catalog includes scenes of it driving on flat off-road terrain.
The seat height is low at 800 mm.
Because of the seat's width compared to most off-road models, the footing is not as good as the numbers suggest, but the motorcycle weighs only 120 kg, so there is little sense of uneasiness. With an automatic centrifugal clutch, it does not require clutch operation when starting, stopping, or shifting gears, which may have the advantage of allowing the driver to concentrate on throttle and brake operation even on slippery dirt roads. The motorcycle also has an appealing look that is different from the style of a typical off-road motorcycle.
