On the positive side after riding sport touring and larger adventure bikes, I can't believe what a fantastic and fun bike the CRF250l is to ride. I bought it to gain some offroad experience, to continue to dual sport and ride forestry road, and maybe (I know crazy) even do tours on it. It is an amazing all-round bike and does really well on offroad trails, you just have to pace yourself and remember it's not a full-blown dirt bike. Last week I learned the hard way that it is a relatively light bike until you get it stuck. Dragging 350lbs from a boggy quicksand hole was a real ordeal. I'm 2,500 kilometres into ownership since July and absolutely love the bike!
I'm doing the same stuff and equally enjoying it, my Tiger 800 is a real handful offroad for newbies so the CRF is more fun
