u/Salt-Lingonberry-853

2023 GasGas TXT300 - $6800

2024 Beta Evo 250 2 stroke (with sport package) - $7000

2012 Gas Gas TXT PRO 280 - $3000

OSET 24.0R - $2500 (electric)

OSET TXP 24 $3700 (electric)

Those are the bikes that are in range of me up here in Alaska. Googling says they're all good bikes but there's honestly not as much info out there on trials bikes compared to full dirt bikes so my research is a bit... hazy.

I'm looking to get a trials bike to develop, build, and polish my skills. I expect to play around a bit in the neighborhood, local dirt lots, at campsites during downtime, etc, and hope to take those skills to my dirt bike (Beta 500RRS) while getting in some fun exercise. Any bike I get may be used on shorter trails as well when range allows if that changes anything.

What do you guys think of those options? Is there enough benefits to the newer Gas Gas and Betas to justify the extra cost over the 2012? How does the Oset TXP stack up? I know it's not a pro trials bike, but I'm no pro rider either, and not adding more gas engine maintenance to the fleet would be nice if it's a decent option (though that's balanced out a bit by the fact that it wouldn't help me with my clutch work; eMoto = no clutch).

I am just looking for any advice/feedback/suggestions on any of these bikes as I contemplate a purchase. I can afford any of them but don't want to throw money away if the newer stuff isn't worth the added price.

Note: I am definitely leaning away from the Oset 24.0R, supposedly the TXP is a significant upgrade from it, but it's near me so I figured I'd include it. If you think it deserves more serious consideration, let me know.

Here is something I think US Law has ass backwards. I'm talking about the standard 1-lane-each-direction highway that traverses a majority of the less populated areas of the country. They usually have periodic passing lanes pop up to the left of the regular lane, and cars not passing are supposed to stay out of the right lane. Officially, it is the responsibility of the car in the right lane to merge back in when the passing lane ends, but the car in the passing lane is the one that decided to pass, the onus should be on the left lane car to merge in. That is to say: the slow lane should have right of way when the lanes merge again.

The driver in the passing lane is the one who determined "I can complete this pass safely", factoring in their vehicle has the capabilities, the road length, hill slope, etc. The car in the right lane could be an RV or other unwieldy vehicle that can't maneuver, accelerate, or brake as rapidly, and they should not be responsible for dangerous situations resulting from a poorly timed pass. The car in the slow lane did not make a decision to pass and they should not bear the consequences for a passing error, and shifting legal liability onto the right lane creates a dangerous dynamic where a road ragey driver could try to box out another vehicle from merging in, or regular driver could just find out that their passing maneuver was a miscalculation from the start. Liability in crashes resulting from such circumstances should fall on the vehicle that tried to pass unless there are other circumstances to flip the situation.

Opinions?

PS: Yes, I know this is never going to change, this is still my opinion