Whether you’ve been in the two-wheeled automobile space on the streets for years or you just want to purchase your first set of wheels, classifications of motorcycles and bikes can be confusing. This is even more true when it comes to a dirt bike vs. motorcycle.
While dirt bikes might seem similar to street motorcycles on the surface, in reality, nothing could be farther from the truth.
What this implies is anyone interested in making an informed decision when it comes to buying a dirt bike versus a motorcycle needs to familiarize themselves with certain details first.
If you’ve already got the best riding jeans, we’ll be highlighting everything else you need to know about motorcycles and dirt bikes, from what they are to how they stack up against each other in certain departments.
Without further ado, let’s delve in!
What Are Dirt Bikes?
Dirt bikes have been around for nearly a century now. This type of bike came into existence thanks to the efforts of Soichiro Honda who successfully transformed classic two-wheeled vehicles into something more sensational in the 1950s.
This played a pivotal role in sports like Motocross and other types of motorcycle racing taking off a few decades later.
While dirt bikes are a type of motorcycle, they’ve successfully become a separate vehicle in their own right due to certain unique features they possess. For example, dirt bikes have engines that are more lightweight and they have narrower seats designed for short-distance travel and more agility.
These large and small-displacement motorcycles also feature prominent hydraulic tubes and systems that make it easier for off-road riding.
Ultimately, all of these attributes and more are why you see most dirt bike riders using their motorized bicycle for just two things: racing and/or off-road riding.
What Are Motorcycles?
This term covers a wide range of two and even three-wheeled motorized vehicles. As such, classifications of motorcycles can be rather complicated.
For instance, popular types of motorcycles range from standard to cruiser, sport, and dual-purpose. This means that everything from the dual-sport bike to the touring bike, street bike, muscle bike, pit bike, monkey bike, modern scooters, streamliner motorcycles, blood bikes, and modern-day motorbikes are, by definition, motorbikes.
Of course, this includes the dirt bike as well.
However, for this article, we’ll use the term “street bike” to differentiate dirt bikes since both are technically considered motorcycles.
Generally, street bikes are significantly heavier than the average dirt bike. They also have larger and more comfortable seats designed to make it easier to ride them for longer distances.
Their road tires are specifically designed to provide a more comfortable ride and better traction on smooth surfaces and more ideal road conditions. Because of this, they perform better on paved roads than the knobby off-road tires typically found on dirt bikes.
At this point, it bears mentioning that recently auto manufacturers have started to produce and sell motorcycles that more closely resemble dirt bike motors. They’re referred to as hybrid bikes or hybrid models.
What Are Hybrid Bikes?
These two-wheeled vehicles are essentially the same as more popular types of motorcycles with the one noticeable distinction being their tires. Their tires are designed with thicker threads.
Because of the knobby tires, they’re more adapted for comfortable riding in the same off-road conditions as a dirt bike without losing their functionality on public roads.
They also come with better hydraulic tubes and systems, making it easier for this type of bike to absorb shock better than conventional street bikes. They can be considered a more street-legal dirt bike.
With all of that out of the way, let’s get down to brass tacks! Dirt bike versus motorcycle – what exactly does each machine offer?
Dirt Bike vs. Street Bike – The Showdown
As we mentioned earlier, the dirt bike and the street bike are as different as night and day. So, except for machines that blur the lines like hybrid bikes, side-by-side, the distinction between these two types of vehicles is fairly easy to see.
We’ll be weighing dirt bikes and road bikes based on 10 different parameters.
Let’s get started!
1. Suspension Capacity
Beyond having a generally flat surface, the profile of roads can differ significantly, even foot by foot. And, as you would expect, the condition of the surface of a road has a significant impact on how a vehicle performs on it.
Two-wheeled vehicles try to account for and offset this variable by having a device known as a suspension or shock absorber in place. This is what ensures that bikes and motorcycles stay erect when they hit a bump on the road.
The first key difference between dirt bikes and road bikes presents itself here.
Street bikes have a shock absorber system designed to only help them handle any minor imperfections they might encounter on paved roads such as a crack or a raised pavement.
They can’t handle much more than this as they’re fitted with suspensions that can only travel a short distance.
However, the dirt bike, as a more lightweight motorcycle, comes with a superior suspension system that can easily take on everything from mud puddles and gullies to even hills. The average suspension travel on a dirt bike is 12 inches, minimum.
Their ability to easily manage such high levels of shock is why they feature prominently in road racing events that involve jumps and bounces.
2. Brakes
As you’d expect, the brake feature plays a very crucial role in how automobiles perform. Although both types of bikes have brakes, how they operate is considerably different. This is due to the difference in suspension capacity, tire, and the speeds at which each machine moves.
More specifically, a street bike on smooth, public roads or highways runs at above-moderate speeds. Also, because their larger wheels get excellent traction on paved roads, they need a more powerful brake.
As a result, they offer more stopping power when their brakes are applied. The powerful brake triggers a lock-up of the wheels and the road conditions enhance that response.
With dirt bikes, the situation is considerably different. On rough surfaces, you want sturdier, not larger, wheels and a much lighter brake. An average dirt bike has three brakes – one for the front wheel, one for the rear wheel, and a third for the shift-down engine. The rear wheel brake is the one that provides the needed stopping force as it helps the wheel dig into the uneven surface and gain traction.
3. Tire Build
For various reasons, different motorcycles have different tires. In the case of the dirt bike and the street bike, their tire builds are different primarily because of the terrain that each one is adapted to navigate.
The operation of motorcycles like street bikes on paved roads is optimized by the fact that their tires are made of rubber, have a rounder and smoother surface, and lack deep grooves. These features enhance the grip-ability of the vehicle on smooth surfaces.
The reverse is true with dirt bike tires because, as they navigate uneven surfaces, they have to have a build that compensates for that. The first visible evidence of this is that dirt bikes have very knobby tires.
What’s more, these tires have considerably large and deep spaces between each knob. From the way they perform off-road, one can say that this design is to help the tires dig into more uneven materials like dirt and mud and achieve more traction.
4. Navigation and Steering
For the average motorcycle rider on a street bike cruising down the highway, turning is a breeze. All things being equal traffic-wise, you simply need to lean in the direction you want to and the bike will follow suit.
The story is quite different when you’re on an off-road trail riding a dual sport bike or street bike. In these conditions, you have to physically turn the relatively short handlebars if you want to change direction.
However, you can only turn so far till your hand comes in contact with the gas tank on either side, due to the way the bike is built.
The story is considerably different when it’s a dirt bike on the same trail. While you will still need to lean sideways to turn, these automobiles boast a much longer handlebar, giving you more latitude to navigate and change direction with greater ease.
5. Sitting Position
Another way these two classes of bikes differ is how a rider has to sit on them.
Except for certain machines like the dual-sport bike and adventure bikes, you sit leaning forward on a typical motorcycle. This not only offers a better reach and grip on the handlebars but it puts less stress on the back and butt if you’ll be riding for long periods.
Perhaps because dirt bikes aren’t designed for use for long periods, the ideal sitting position here is upright. There are a couple of reasons for this.
The first is that this sitting position helps the feet of the rider more easily reach the rear wheel pedals. This puts the rear brakes directly under your torso so you can easily access them.
The second reason for this position is that it helps the rider more conveniently adjust to mobility on uneven terrain. As you’re sitting upright, it’ll be easier to lift your butt a little when the ride gets rocky, making you that much more comfortable.
6. Weight
As we mentioned earlier, the dirt bike is a considerably lighter motorcycle compared to the street bike. It is also lighter than a street-legal dirt bike, touring bike, pit bike, and muscle bike.
Even adventure bikes carry more weight than dirt bikes.
Because they typically navigate uneven terrain, even heavy-duty dirt bikes can be loosely referred to as small-displacement motorcycles.
And, while adventure bikes, naked bikes, and to an extent, the pit bike might give a decent performance on off-road terrains, the dirt bike remains unparalleled here, thanks to its lighter weight, chassis build, rear brakes, and impressive suspension travel.
Its lower weight impacts the maximum speeds it can reach, to an extent. However, that drawback is negated by the fact that dirt bike motors have a superior rev and the low-end torque needed to conquer uneven ground.
7. Maximum Speed Limits
Speaking of optimal speed, we cannot stress how much the street bike overwhelms the dirt bike in this regard. Most bikers will tell you that this type of motorcycle is specially designed for easy cruising on the highways with the best motorcycle glasses on.
Many average street bikes can easily hit maximum speeds of 60 miles per hour in under five seconds! Of course, this isn’t set in stone and even small-displacement motorcycles in this category can struggle, speed-wise.
But on a paved road, even the high speeds of racier engines on a dirt bike will look moderate at best.
But, as you’d expect, the situation changes when it comes to off-road conditions. To start with, dirt bike motors are expressly designed to give out more optimal speed levels at lower displacements.
An immediate consequence of this is that even the larger engines of a 1000cc street bike will find it almost impossible to keep up with a mere 250cc dirt bike on an off-road trail.
As the speed of the dirt bike is further complemented by elements like knobby tires for better traction, multiple brakes (especially the rear brakes) for increased control, and lighter weight for enhanced mobility, engine size matters less and its optimal speed in any off-road condition is unparalleled.
In general, street bikes are considerably faster on paved roads and highways while dirt bikes outmatch them on rough terrain.
8. Clutch Usage
Another key difference between these two types of bikes is the manner and intensity of the manual or automatic clutches.
Starting with the street bike, the use of the manual clutch or automatic clutches is very minimal and, in many cases, almost an afterthought. This is because most bikers who ride this kind of bike rarely see the need to slip the clutch.
Such minimal use of even automatic clutches in street bikes can be attributed to the fact that you only need to disengage the clutch briefly and tap the through when downshifting. As you’re not dealing with any particularly challenging road conditions, doing any more would be overkill.
However, that is not the case with dirt bikes.
Since most dirt bike people prefer to stay in the same gear rather than shift often, more is expected out of their manual or automatic clutches. Consequently, this device is used to do things like make the rear wheel roll more vigorously and take a corner without shifting gears.
The low speeds that a dirt bike typically operates at make it easier and more logical to simply rely more on the clutch, rather than the throttle, for better power control.
9. Use of Pegs
The fact that street bike riders aren’t exposed to excessive bumps and bounces means that they can lay off using their pegs for the most part. Instead, they favor sticking to or sliding across their seats, as necessary.
In sharp contrast, leveraging the peg is critical for helping a dirt bike rider properly deal with the shock traveling through the bike to their bodies. These resources also play various other crucial roles such as helping the rider maintain better balance on uneven roads.
The pegs on a dirt bike also come in handy as it helps with performing flying stunts better on the motorized bicycle.
10. Safety
This last variable depends less on the automobiles themselves and more on surrounding circumstances.
How safe a dirt bike or street bike usually has to do with the same kind of variables as you have when driving a car, your level of experience as well as your mindset.
For example, even an experienced street biker may have trouble racing their automobile through an off-road track. Similarly, a fairly new driver who only knows the basics of dirt bike riding may struggle a little if they race on paved roads.
However, in their natural terrain, and at the hands of skilled riders, there’s no significant difference in the safety factor. This is because each automobile has special features that help it make the most of the space it was designed for.
Bottom Line
As you must’ve noticed by now, there’s no “winner” in the dirt bike vs motorcycle battle. This is because each vehicle is almost perfect at serving the purpose for which it was intended. What matters most is that you pick the one that best suits your lifestyle.
To that end, we hope you were able to find this article a little helpful.
And, considering that safety gear is important, no matter which bike you settle for, you can find the best-ventilated motorcycle helmet for you here.
