i hadnt hit the dirt in a while till i started riding rut tracks (like skid plate scraping, bike at 90 degree ruts) to help me when i go to race. i havent hit the ground so much sence i first bought the bike. i got some arc corona boots for like 100 bucks on rmatv, good god i love them.

 

I would not advise on taking the toe caps off.

 

don't see how it would matter as it doenst really protect the toe and it only covers the sole......i can't see the front of the sole being destroyed by riding dual sport...and after all, they're dirtbike boots anyway..they're going to get beat up

 

It's not there to protect the upper toe part of the boot, it's to protect the construction of the vulnerable part of the sole. The sole is not one piece. If left unprotected, even small scuffs and hits will quickly cause the layers of the sole at that front part to start separating. The sole of the boot at the toe and heel are possibly the most vulnerable parts of any off road boot. They need all the protection they can get.

Not sure what your definition of "dual sport" is, but for most of us it involves the boot getting abused about as much as hardcore off roading. I probably spend more time with my feet touching, paddling, balancing, and dragging the ground on my dual sport KLR650 than I do on my KLX250 just due to the heavier nature of the KLR, but the boot gets a workout nonetheless.

I don't know...you have a KLX250 to enable you to ride a multitude of surfaces with ease. If you're worried about scratching the cases or other parts of the bike, maybe you should get a Goldwing.

 

If you take them off let us know how it works out. I'm leaving mine on.

 

TNC pretty muched sumed it up. Seems like you already made your mind up, take them off and see for your self what happens. If your really worried about the metal piece wearing off your paint, open your wallet up and buy a pair of Sidi srs's that don't have the metal toe piece. The paint is going to wear off regardless.

 

Hadn't thought about it, but you make a good point on the overall issue of paint scuffing. Pants, shoes, and anything else seems to rub paint off of motorcycle frames and engine cases even when no metal-to-metal contact occurs. Maybe we could just chrome everything. Uh oh...sounds like a Goldwing again.

 

There should normally be enough mud to cover any scratches anyway. For example:

 

go to the bike shop and look at all the new (2010) boots. almost all have changed the front toe of the boot and got rid of the metal cap.

 

I just cruised through the March 2010 Dirt Bike magazine and notice most of the boots visible in either test pics, riding pics, or advertising pics still have metal guards on the toe sole. Even the new $430 Tech 8 Alpinestars still have a metal guard. I did notice that some of those pictured that didn't have the metal guard still had a piece of molded rubber or plastic cover instead of metal. It seems that most boots have something to cover that part of the sole. Thinking about it, maybe the trail and enduro boots are the ones that usually have the protection, and perhaps motocross specific boots don't need it. That said, I doubt that most folks have specific boots for specific riding. Boots that don't have a metal protector probably have design that stops the sole from delaminating, but I'd be leary of removing the guard from a boot that came with it...unless I was riding a Goldwing.