Motorcycle riders love to stand out. We buy wheels, plastics, and exhaust to make our bikes stand out from the crowd, and whether it’s random people in traffic or fellow riders at the stunt spot, we love the feeling when our bike turns heads like it’s a Lamborghini. One sure-fire way to snap necks is by riding a street legal dirt bike that nobody expects to see on the road.
We’re here to count down 10 of the craziest dirt bikes you could ever make street legal. Most of them are street legal in parts of Europe already, and you could make each of these dirt bikes street legal in the US – if you’re crazy enough to do it.
Without further ado, these are some of the most insane dirt bikes in the world to make street legal.
TM 300 2-Stroke
Nothing says “ask me about it” like the TM 300 2-stroke. Amid a sea of Japanese dirt bikes, this baby stands out like a bright blue Aston Martin. It’s every bit as fast as a 450 four-stroke, and it can beat most sport bikes light to light while belching two-stroke smoke in their faces.
Riding a dirt bike on the road is way different than throwing a leg over your friend’s Harley 883 or Yamaha R6. There’s no comparison between a street bike and a dirt bike, and that alone puts you in an exclusive group on the open road. But make a 2-stroke dirt bike street legal and suddenly you’re dealing with an even wilder animal. Most people aren’t prepared to make that jump – are you?
WHY IT’S AWESOME: It makes your friend’s Husqvarna look as common as a Camry.
Maico 700 2-Stroke
If you’ve ever ridden one of those mechanical bulls for an entire round, there’s a chance you could ride a Maico 700 across an empty parking lot without looping it.
This behemoth thumper was meant to take a beating and dish it right back out. We’re talking about 685 ccs of ass-kicking torque, the kind that would rather you 12 o’clock it than ride a decent wheelie. There are sport bikes out there that don’t have 82 horsepower, and they aren’t belching white smoke and ripping down dirt trails unless there’s something very wrong with their riders.
WHY IT’S AWESOME: A Maico 700 supermoto is one of the meanest street legal dirt bikes in the world.
Husqvarna FC 450
From the makers of the world’s baddest chainsaw comes the BMW S1000RR of street legal dirt bikes.
Packing more top end than a TM 300, the Husky 450 is the darling of the internet and the MXGP video games. A well-balanced package from the factory, the FC’s carbon fiber subframe and potent 63hp engine makes those Japanese dirt bikes look ancient by comparison.
Making an FC 450 street legal is like bringing a laser to a knife fight. On the road it’s no less sharp, poised, and flickable than it is on dirt – you’ll swear it was designed with pavement in mind, and so will the people you pass.
WHY IT’S AWESOME: Faster than a supercomputer playing checkers.
Honda CRF450L
Instead of tinkering with some old Craigslist dirt bike to make it feel stable on the road, why not get one that’s already street legal?
Honda shocked the world by dropping the CRF450L, the long-awaited factory street legal 450cc dirt bike that doesn’t sacrifice off-road capabilities for on-road comfort. For too long we’ve pined for the old days, when manufacturers simply took their dirt bikes and slapped a license plate on them. Lo and behold, Honda heard our call.
With an MSRP of $10,399, the factory street legal Honda CRF450L costs as much as legalizing two Craigslist CRFs from the past decade. That’s a tall order for the everyman, but it's a small price to pay for one of the best dual sports ever made – and a bargain compared to what’s next.
WHY IT’S AWESOME: The no-frills street legal dirt bike of the future.
CAKE WALK CAULK KALK
When you see a press photo of something with a minimalist design wearing artfully-placed splotches of dirt, you know you’ve encountered dangerously high levels of pomp and circumstance.
The Kalk was penned by a former IKEA designer and its name stems from the latin calx, or “limestone.” One can only speculate about how that name ended up on a $15,000 electric dirt bike, and since I can’t afford one, I will.
After attempting to search the web for kale recipes, a Cake worker stared at their erroneous misspelling in the search bar for a fleeting moment before dismissing it as a mere typo. After realizing the true potential of the word during the next morning’s shower, they produced a 5-minute Prezi drawing abstract parallels between the qualities of sedimentary limestone and the company’s as-yet-unnamed electric dirt bike, codename Filthy Rich.
The board members golf clapped in unison, and the Kalk was christened.
WHY IT’S AWESOME: Getting a Kalk muddy is like splashing some Pollock on a Mondrian.
Any Vintage Dirt Bike
For the opposite experience, travel back to the days before any human alive had ever said the word IKEA.
Considering the scarcity of paved roads in the mid to late 1800s, dirt riding actually preceded road riding in much of the world. Victorian daredevils found thrills by piloting their new-fangled motorized bicycles all over the countryside.
Fast forward to the 1960s: as primetime television networks searched for the next best thing, a fringe sport called motocross grabbed the attention of a few key players, and in that moment Supermoto was born.
By riding a street legal vintage dirt bike on modern roads, like the 1983 Yamaha YZ250K two-stroke pictured above, you’re keeping the past alive. Wave goodbye to all the mathematical precision and calculated accuracy of today and experience unbridled motorcycling the way God and nature intended.
WHY IT’S AWESOME: All street legal vintage dirt bikes include a free full-body workout.
ATK INTIMIDATOR
I’m pretty sure you’re legally required to type that in all caps.
Sure, the ATK Intimidator is essentially a rebadged Maico 700 2-stroke. But saying they’re the same is like telling a Firebird owner he’s driving a Camaro.
First off, the Intimidator has no equal in the naming department. What do you ride? An INTIMIDATOR. This dirt bike has a bicep tattoo with tribal lettering, barbed wire, and tons of naked women. It’s not to be messed with, and it wants you to know it.
As with the Maico, the Intimidator weighs about 240 pounds dry and makes nearly 80 horsepower. That’s some serious power for such a light bike, and while Maico is quiet about the torque figures on their engines we suspect this one would easily exceed 100 lb.-ft when you’re on the pipe. That’s enough to propel the ATK to 110 MPH on flat ground; your buddy’s YZ450F tops out at about 100.
WHY IT’S AWESOME: That extra ten makes all the difference.
AJP PR5 Extreme
When asked what country makes the fastest dirt bikes, most people aren’t going to say Portugal. But that stunning coastal locale cranks out some truly incredible street legal dirt bikes for European riders to enjoy. The discerning American can buy one too, of course, and this is the one to have.
AJP is a household name in Europe, known for making inexpensive bikes that don’t compromise on quality and tech. One of the best 250 dirt bikes to make street legal is the top-of-the-line PR5 Extreme, a fuel-injected four-stroke that comes factory with Doma exhaust, Galfer rotors, Sachs suspension, and a frame and forks anodized cherry red – all for $7,500.
WHY IT’S AWESOME: Cheaper than a Fiat, scarcer than a Ferrari.
KTM 450 SX-F
From that image of a supermoto ripping around a road course like it ain't a thing, seasoned riders already know this is no ordinary KTM.
The SX-F 450’s party trick is a top speed of 123 mph, a feat even modified dirt bikes struggle to achieve. A street legal SX-F runs with R6s and ZX-6Rs any day of the week. For the daredevils out there, with some sticky road tires and a few gearing adjustments the SX-F will go even faster – as fast as you’re willing to take it. Somewhere in Mexico, of course.
WHY IT’S AWESOME: The makings of the world’s fastest supermoto.
This Hill Climb Bike
It's hard to beat the SX-F as the Craziest Street Legal Dirt Bike, but to top it we've turned to our imagination and the most insane dirt bikers of all: hill climbers.
But not just any old climbing bike would fulfill our street legal fantasy: we'd have Jason Smith’s paddle-ripping, championship-winning, nitro-methane-burning machine in our fantasy garage – with a license plate to boot.
This beast is comprised of Yamaha YZ450 suspension and a handmade chassis built by Jason and his dad. It packs a Yamaha XS650 engine backed by Dyna ignition, fully built internals, a custom clutch with extra plates, and dual exhaust that’s routed through the frame rails. That massive swingarm and paddle tire ensure this dirt bike stays planted on hills that make San Francisco look like Nowhere, Kansas.
WHY IT’S AWESOME: Why climb Pike’s Peak on the road when you can go right up the side?
There you have it, some of the craziest dirt bikes just waiting to be made street legal. Most of them are legal in parts of Europe right out of the box, and that makes it even easier to make them street legal in the United States.
You happen to be talking to the experts. We can make your dirt bike street legal or your money back – even if you only have a bill of sale. To learn more, click here to check out our conversion process or have our people call your people.
What other dirt bikes would be crazy on the street? Let us know in the comments!
Are you a Nun of Anarchy or a dirt biking legend just waiting to happen? Time to find out.