The best MX/offroad bike you've EVER ridden and why?

2016 YZ250X. 

Had a friend that had a 2012 kx250f and he was so freaking fast on that bike think i never seen anyone hit a outside berm so fast as he did on that bike, and it sounded like a race bike but was stock.

Riding at home my Alta was my favorite so far because of less noise and less to maintain. AER48 Forks sucked, even after putting money into them. Sold it and had Stark on order from day one.

Racing I like my MC350 the most. It's easier to judge jumps than on an electric bike. Not enough power to get me in trouble, but enough to jump anything I'm willing to do. It's just bullshit that you buy an expensive bike that needs big money put in the forks for a spring conversion. Where's the Japanese 350 at?

KX500 is a garage queen. Just cool to have it, sniff it, sometimes even hump it's leg while that guy cleans my boots.

None of them are perfect. Perfect to me would be fairly quiet yet plenty of power, lightweight, spring forks, Suzuki like cornering, tuneable power, and a functional clutch lever. Quick attach headlight and kickstand would be nice. I wonder if a 450 with a choked air box and exhaust could run like a 350 just for the sake of being quiet. 

Old bike from my youth-1989 kx250. Bike was magic

Last 10 years- Alta. Cornered like no other. Throttle connected to rear wheel. 

A well set up RMZ 450 is a great bike to ride. My friend had a 2011 with a yosh exhaust and it had a torquey, manageable power delivery that was easy to use. Even better, he’s about my size and knows how to set up suspension and I’ve never been that comfortable on a bike. So intuitive to corner. On the other hand, I rode a 2016 model basically right of the showroom floor and hated it. Suspension felt awful, motor felt choked up, and it felt twitchy and the opposite of confidence inspiring. I wanted to buy that 2011 bike when he sold it but someone else beat me to it. 

'08 CRF450 for all the reasons everyone said - these were the best bikes in existence for a good 5 years after they were built. The clearest example in my era that things do not necessarily improve from one generation to the next.

I really like the 2012-2014 KX450s, they were very similar in feel to that old Honda with a little more overall output and crisp EFI. The original PSF-1 air forks are superb if you learn to work with them.

Big fan of the 2020-22 YZ450s, though the ergos might not be everyone's cup of tea. For me they are stone reliable, dead stable, huge power, great suspension and have resulted less tinkering and more smiles than anything I've ever owned.

Honorable mention:

95 CR125

97 YZ125

00 CR250  

My 1990 CR500 was a stone axe of a bike that could be ridden through and over anything you could throw at it with nothing more than a front sprocket change and maybe a larger gas tank. Was it the sexiest or best bike I ever had at a certain discipline? No it wasn't but the damn thing was a bulletproof guided missile!

I wouldn’t call it the best but, I’ll say it made the biggest impact on my perspective of open bikes.
 

As a 13 year old kid, I had a 83 CR 125. After a day of riding, my uncle let me ride his 76 RM 370. All I could  think the whole time was, holy sh**. Just the feeling of that power under me (for it’s time) I was overwhelmed with joy.  Looking back, I don’t think anything can replace the experience of a well jetted, big bike being ridden by a kid. Every crack of the throttle, it was like that bike was telling me, fu** around and, find out. 

The first bike I ever owned was the best.         Parents said, you want it, you have to earn it.   So I worked around the neighborhood to earn the money to buy a broken down YZ80...and work even more to buy the parts to fix it.   Dad showed me how to tear it down and put it back together again. 

...that is the bike that started the love affair with riding off road.   Nothing will ever compare to that thrill of the first.

That  little kid still knows how to have fun....

I agree on the 370.  I have a 76 model now and that thing still really barks and hauls the mail. 

Sounds like a open chamber bike. 

Nice Bike.  I feel the same.

1988 KX-250. Great lowend/midrange motor, good chassis, good suspension. Just a good all around moto/offroad bike.

If I were going to restore an older bike, this would be the one I'd chose.