I like the CRF230L, I believe it's seat height is about the same as the XT. And it's carbureted. I have no interest in EFI bikes. But it was only available for such a short time that very few aftermarket parts became available for it. For me the low seat height serves more than one purpose. Even though I have to stand on something to get on it, it's still fairly easy. But once on it, I need to be able to flat foot it, and I just can't do that on a bike with a 36" seat height. Back when I was a teenager, MX bikes had lower seats than the XT. There are a lot of people who can't get on a modern MX bike while it is sitting still. They stand beside it with the engine running in gear and the clutch in, then slowly release the clutch while jumping on the footpeg and throwing their leg over the seat as the bike takes off. No way can I do anything like that. I used to hop on my ten speed that way back when I was 12. Those days aren't coming back.

To me, a trail bike, as opposed to a competition oriented dirt bike, has to be rideable at walking speeds, and you have to be able to put your feet down. I have been able to ride the XT225 through a lot of stuff that would not have been possible at higher speeds or without being able to put my feet down to hold the bike up. You can put it in first gear and crawl over just about anything.

The CRF250L has a seat height 3" higher than the XT225, and it also has EFI. Two fatal strikes against it for me. It's also liquid cooled, and liquid cooling systems are pretty fragile on dirt bikes.

I liked my '08 CRF230L for the reasons you mentioned, Jerry, and disliked it for the reasons you mentioned as well. All in all, comparing the CRF230L to the XT225, as a 'go slow and smell the roses' type of rider, who enjoys being in firm control of his bike at all times, the lighter weight XT225 was simply the more nimble, more 'an extension of myself' ride as opposed to the slightly heavier, somewhat more cumbersome feeling ride the CRF230L provided. Technically the CRF230L was a decent bike, but practicably I didn't find it was on a par with the XT225, either rider wise or, obviously, with parts availability..

Yeah, Yamaha had a winner with the XT225. To bad they dropped it. I did some research and found that the TTR230, which is still being made, and with a carburetor, can be converted to street legal in AZ fairly easily and inexpensively. Unfortunately it also has a seat height 3" higher than the XT. It might be possible to lower it, or, with my weight, the stock suspension might sag enough to allow me to flat foot it. But it would likely be a rough ride. If forced to buy a new bike, I would still go that route just because of the carburetor.

I've seen TTRs for sale here in Arizona with the street legal conversion already done. Haven't seen one recently, but they did occasionally show up. If you're interested enough to keep an eye on Craigslist you may come across another one. Don't think it would be difficult to trim a couple of inches or so out of the TTRs seat and staple the cover tight again, if getting close to XT225 seat height is critical.

Interestingly the TTR225, and its successor the TTR230 (introduced in 2005 and still manufactured), use the 223cc Yamaha engine and 6 speed transmission that the XT225 comes with.

The '230' designation was a marketing strategy to give the slightly updated TTR230 a bit more 'mystique' and sex appeal. It's worked well enough to help keep the TTR in production, so its a tough strategy to find fault with.

Honda used a similar marketing strategy when they sold their CRF230F and CRF230L in 2008 and 2009. These bikes likewise came with a 223cc engine and 6 speed transmission. The big difference is that the CRF230's kinda fizzled on the sales vine, while the Yamaha TTR230 (essentially the strictly 'off road version' of the XT225) didn't..