2021 - The year the big 4 made the jump to 300cc Dual Sports?

Kawasaki just announced their 2021 KLX300 Dual-Sport
https://powersportsbusiness.com/news/2020/11/23/five-2021-kawasaki-motorcycle-models-revealed/

Honda released their CRF300L in Thailand
https://www.advpulse.com/adv-news/crf300l-crf300-rally-unveiled-thailand/

Yamaha killed their WR250R, which seems insane to me, unless...

I am excited. I love the size of a 250 off road but like many I ve always wished for "just a little more" on the highway or on hills. Hopefully this competition between the big four breeds good things

Self-fulfilling prophecy?

GPX already made the jump with their FSE300...

Paging @Navin

I am not familiar with GPX , are they one of the chinese manufacturers ?

interesting concept, not really a fan of china these days though

That's why I paged @Navin to set you straight

The KLX was a 300 before it was a 250. Maybe we'll get the inch of suspension travel back someday that they took away in '09.

For those who search, the answers shall present themselves!

I've been watching these bikes for a couple years now and almost pulled the trigger awhile back but can't seem to get a satisfying answer to whether they are plateable without jumping through hoops.

I sincerely doubt it.

GPX? 5 dealers in Pa. you can call or ask in one of the threads or on the GPX unofficial owners FB group. Lots of traffic on that FB page.

I

Ive done a little investigating . Vague responses. Some guys said they sent the paperwork in and got titles,others not so lucky and went the Vermont route or had to get special paperwork and inspections done .Seems its kind of the luck of the draw. Its been awhile so maybe things have changed.

Yup, they wanted to get the weight and CC numbers lined up at 300.

Yep...the reason I've held on to my '06 KLX250S. Installed a factory 300 jug, 36mm pumper, and full exhaust. Now...as it was delivered, that 11" of travel in '06/'07 had some issues...undersprung on both ends and absolutely horrible fork damping. Heavier springs and Race Tech Gold Valves on both ends cured that...though I would like some better rebound control on the front. It would be interesting to know if Kawasaki has improved the internal damping on the fork on this 2021 model, but I still don't see any rebound tuning controls listed.

Sweet!

I am glad to see that Honda gave the Rally useful fuel range. If buyers were offered their choice of either a 3.5 gallon tank or a 2 gallon tank, how many would prefer a smaller tank and why?

Very true. This is another reason I hold on to my '06 KLX250/300. With a carb I have a 3.7 gallon Acerbis tank that is more than necessary on most of the daily runs I do on trips out to big riding venues. Now, like with the WR250R, maybe they'll make an aftermarket larger tank for the FI KLX300S. Even then, that's a decent amount of extra money on a bike that should come with a larger tank from the get-go. Even urban commuting on these 1.9/2.0 gallon stock tanks on many of these small DS bikes requires somewhat frequent gas stops. I've never understood this mentality of the manufacturers of these bikes. Making a 3.5-or-so gallon tank over the 2.0 probably costs very little money at the time of production. And if weight for the owner/rider is a big deal...don't fill it up. I'd hate to think they're putting these peanut tanks on just to keep advertised weight down due to the fact that most official weights are listed with full tanks.

I guess a manufacturer could justify a smaller tank if they were borrowing it from a previous generation, but this looks like a clean sheet redesign.

A bigger .tank might make the rest of the bike look small.

LOL!...does this tank make me look fat? Dranrab, yes, not many bikes use the exact same fuel tank anymore like when it was more common "back in the day". And if they took the tank off the last model KLX250, it's still an issue where the tank on the 250 should have been larger for the reasons we've covered.