If you think that’s bad, that amount of dealer markup is considerably less than it was a year or two ago. $900 in freight/setup/bullshit charges is like a third to a quarter of what dealers were tacking on not too long ago. It’s actually not too bad.

If you want to pay less, I would consider maybe getting a drop shipped Chinese bike. And before the inevitable bitching starts - the XR150L is also a Chinese bike. It’s made by Sundiro with input from Honda, and is a low-end bike that’s already been sold in South America and other developing areas for quite some time. The only thing “new” about it is that it’s available in North America for the first time. The ones sold in the US are assembled in Mexico. Owners have been reporting since day one the fit and finish is noticeably lower quality than Honda’s other more expensive bikes.

At the moment the Lifan KPX250 appears to be the bike to beat. You can have one dropped in your driveway for $3k and enjoy: Noticeably more horsepower, fuel injection (the 150L still has a carb), a 6 speed transmission, and a better dual sport tire selection with the larger front and rear rim sizes it comes with. The only knock against it for some new riders I can think of is that it’s taller.

You can spend the $1200 change on a helmet and gear, tools, and fuel.