Does anyone here know anything about dirt bikes? I am looking at a Honda CRF250X. Just want to trail ride with some minimal jumping. Putt around basically.

How dangerous are these things?

Been riding them for god, 30 years, sucks to get old. The nice thing about dirt bikes is that they are approximately as safe as you are. What I mean by that is a tree doesn’t pull out in front of you while your going 60 mph. Your skill level and risk level pretty well dictates the danger. Of course if you’re at some dirt bike park where there are thousands of nuts that will be out of your control but that’s no fun anyway. The only time I’ve ever had to go to the hospital was because of a street bike wreck. They are much less forgiving.

I've been riding dirt and road bikes for the last 25 years, and I have recently bought a DRZ400E - great fun
From what I have heard, the Hondas need a bit more intensive valve maintenance than some other bikes.
A great resource is ThumperTalk

Soon you won't just be 'putting around' so the Honda you mentioned will handle going a bit faster too!

Bikes are only dangerous when they stop moving

Also, check out Adventure Rider . It's geared a bit more toward long-distance "adventure" touring on unimproved roads, but there is a ton of stuff about day rides on trails and stuff. Great pictures, too.

If you have an interest in riding to your trail destination on roads, you may want to consider a "dual purpose" bike, especially since you're not interested in jumping. The bike you can ride every day on roads, and is still a perfectly capable, if heavy, dirt bike is the Kawasaki KLR650. Might be overkill for you.

KTM makes fantastic dirt bikes, but they are a bit on the expensive side.

Jim