Hello from a lost dirt rider

My user name is ChainDrive but it has nothing to do with motorcycles. It is an old truckers term to show how old you are. It refers back to the day when trucks were driven by chains.
I have been away from dirt bikes for many years and am looking to get back in and doing my best research to make the proper decision. Obviously I am leaning on a WR250R and that is why I came to this forum.
When I rode the closest a 4 cycle came to the woods is when the truck came to pick me up when my bike broke down. Even the street bike I owned was 2 cycle. Also I was raised in dirt bike heaven but did not know it. I was in the heart of open pit coal mining country before everything was reclaimed and I literally had 100 acres across the road from my house to rip around in and hurt nothing or if I wanted to go out of my way I could go up the road 500 yards to another mining area over 2000 acres with hills so large normal gravity feed carburetors ran out of fuel.
You know, all gone so I need a street legal bike and now only 4 cycle . I usually get. why do I want a dirt bike on the highway. In PA there are 1000's of acres of state forest land with miles of dirt/fire roads. State land, state roads, state rules. The plate make all the difference. I have read the comments for some time and I have some questions and some 2 cents to throw in from my research. So an old fart says hello to people who think mud is not proceeded with a 4 letter word.

Welcome, and for the record, mud is proceeded with a 3 letter word....FUN !!!

Feel free to ask as many questions as you like. The only stupid question is the one you don't ask.

Chaindrive, Welcome.
I too came back to dirt bikes after 28 years, I bought a new 2012 WR250R in July of 2013. I also grew up riding the stippins’ in central Pa, Snow Shoe area. I did get back in the dirt 8 years ago on four wheelers and been riding since 1973.
I love the WR250R, best all around bike ever!

I was not good enough for Snow Shoe, I was relegated to the suburbs between Moshannon and Pine Glen. I could however sneak into Snow Shoe if I cut through the German Settlement and Clarence.
I imagine however that even by the time you were riding quite a few of the "strippins" where already being reclaimed but there was always Kato.

ChainDrive wrote:

I was not good enough for Snow Shoe, I was relegated to the suburbs between Moshannon and Pine Glen. I could however sneak into Snow Shoe if I cut through the German Settlement and Clarence.
I imagine however that even by the time you were riding quite a few of the "strippins" where already being reclaimed but there was always Kato.  

Well, I never rode in Snow Shoe but I lived in Pine Glen and my mom is from Clarence. I lived there from 1974 to 1975 ish. we did chew some of the same dirt. When I was like 10 I worked for a few days while visiting my Uncle at the Clarence American gas station across from the IGA,The Gas station turned into C&C Fab, My uncles owned that shop.

I'm an older dirt rider too, only West not East. I have ridden mud in the Tillamook Forest in the past.

I too got a WRR thinking it would work for trails and highways. It works GREAT on highways, carries luggage, and is really good on gravel roads. It does as well or better than any other 300 lb bike on trails.

BUT. A true dirt bike is SO much more fun. I just got a Sherco 300, and everything about it is better for trails. It weighs about 230 lb and you can really tell - its also thinner. The steering precision and suspension are substantially better than the WRR (although I haven't upgraded the WRR suspension). And the 300 cc power is very smooth and controllable, starting right off idle. The Sherco is not street legal, but there are others that are, like Husky, KTM, and Beta.

Bottom line, it just depends on how much pavement you will really ride vs. the maintenance requirements of a true dirt bike.

I would agree with you if all there is to consider is the fun factor Sherco is the better bike. If I won the lottery I would own 4 bikes, a Sherco 300 or 450 to tear up things, a WR250R as my exploring & fishing bike, a Husky 350S to enter into dual sports of maybe an enduro and a trials bike so I could learn how to ride.
But reality is one bike and the options got eliminated one by one. The KTM, Husky and Beta you need $10.000 in your pocket to walk in the door. The Husky and KTM have a thong for a seat so after a new seat, sending out the 4CS forks and a Rekluse clutch your at $13,000. The Beta for street legal you need to go over 400CC;s because the smaller displacement did not pass emissions test. Sherco is fun but currently it is a one man operation for bikes getting into the US, contingent on him having enough cash to bring them in or if the Euro conversion rate is good enough to make a profit. Clay is making an excellent effort but it appears that Sherco factory involvement in the US market is that they are willing to take the check to the bank. If I were building from scratch a perfect street legal bike with no other considerations I would probably start with a Sherco foundation.
But for reliability, aftermarket support, ability to easily modify to my taste and over all value for my money, oh and I think I can have fun some to, the WR250R comes to the top. Why even this forum is a good reason to want the WR. I think some the people on here have been riding so long their first bike had training wheels. There doesn't appear to be any question that someone here has not had first hand experience in.
Sure if Yamaha offered a 300, or 350 I might go for a larger displacement but I have made peace with the idea that if a 450 passes me on the trail it doesn't mean I have a smaller winky Also in 10 years when I need a walker to get to my bike I fill confident that Yamaha will still be there and the bike will be running fine.
One final comment, bike sales figure a low except for one segment, dual sports. Their sales soar in comparison so why would a company like Sherco want to enter the US market and not offer a street legal bike and even Yamaha. When I bought my DT360 I believe they offered a 125, 175, 250, 360 and something in a 400. I would think the sales figure would get some accountant excited to offer more bikes to an expanding market.

OK I just read your original post and you weren't asking for advice or opinions.  My bad