Right now I have a 09 ninja 650r which I like but I wish it was a little bit faster. I'm thinking about buying a used 600cc for a little more power and less weight, or buying a 250cc dual sport (maybe a little bigger like 400). Being able to ride around streets and off-road looks like a blast but I've never done off road riding before.

For the same price that I can buy a used 600cc the dual sport would be the same but brand new and insurance for it would be about 1/4 the cost for full coverage ($1800/yr vs ~$450/yr) for me, so it might be cheaper in the long run.

My only concern is how well they'll be able to handle highways. I don't do a lot of highway riding but sometimes it's the fastest way across town. I'm specifically looking at the yamaha WR250R.

I'm interested to hear people's opinions or suggestions.

Thanks

For a start you should not have continued to ride once you realised your bike had problems, it could end up very badly. I once rode my bike for 80 miles with no problems, then had a scraping noise from the front brake, ignoring it I rode another mile, applied the brake and went straight over the bars – someone had loosened the caliper to remove a tax disc, the caliper rotated and jammed the front wheel – fortunately I was going slowly at the time. Now if I suspect a problem I at least stop and investigate it.

Unfortunately there are any number of hoses, cables and exposed parts that a vandal could attack but I would be surprised if a motorcycle chain is not robust enough to take a stepping on – what might have happened though is that, by stepping on it, the output sprocket or shaft has been affected.

I hope you can identify the culprit, however I doubt they will get more than a talking to – vandalism is not high on the priorities these days.

Sounds like a vacuum leak. Check the carb mounting boots/flanges....... Spray some carb cleaner around the intake tract connections. When the idle smooths out, you're in the neighborhood of your vacuum leak.

Can I ride a Honda CRF250R?

Ive had my heart set on a Honda CRF250R. I have no past experiences with dirt bikes, this would be my first one. I went to a Honda Dealer and the bike looked a lot bigger in person but when I got on it i wasn't flat footed on both sides but I was on my tippy toes. I could hold up the bike and a employee said it wouldn't be crazy for me to start with this bike. Im currently 15 5'6 and about 120 Pounds. When I sat on it kind of felt intimidating because of the size but also thought that I would get used to it soon.

The longer the ramp you have, the les chance of flipping it over on yourself. For my money, I'd pull it up in the bed with cable puller winch....about $15 at Wal-mart (damn sure cheaper than a trip to the ER for bustin' your melon....)