Motorcycle.com

Very Practical Bike for the Money

When shopping for a Dualsport bike, you look at several things.

How good is it in the dirt? On the street?

Is the handling good?

How is the performance?

Fuel economy?

Ride height?

Features?

I can sum this bike up as an excellent machine for the money.

It starts of being well built with quali...ty and looks to match.
This bike leans toward street use somewhat.
Id say 60% street, 40% dirt.
The suspension while decent, could use some rebound/compression adjustment capability should you want to ride dirt, but that also keeps the price down.
The handling is decent, and ride might be aliitle firm in the seat department, but its also not excessively soft as with some bikes.
Overall decent on the street, too soft for agressive dirt riding, and ok if you do only trail rides.
Performance is fine for a 4 stroke, SOHC 2 valve 250, and the bike makes great torque and works into a tidy powerband that leaves you satisfied.
Dual disk brakes are strong once the bike has broken in.
The bike also nets fantastic fuel economy.
Personally, Ive been netting anywhere from 75 to 80 Mpg in mixed riding.
One of the cool features on the bike is a nice LCD trip computer with very legible numbers both day and night, although it could use a Tach and I dont understand why Yamaha ommited it?
One Quibble about the LCD.
I found the Speedometer to be off around 4 Mph.
If the display says you are doing 50, you are really doing 46.
Not sure why this is.
Maintenance is a snap on this bike.
Aircooled, snail chain adjusters, long lasting O-ring chain, excellent halogen headlight, semi double cradle frame, easy oil changes, 2 valves with conventional rocker design make living with the bike easy.
I can honestly say without a doubt, if you are looking for a nice looking, quality japanese dual sport bike for reasonable money, nimble around town handling and jack of all trades attitude give this bike a look.



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a good bang for the buck

I have not owned a bike for more than 30 years when I owned a yamaha dealership in Plainville,CT. Then we were riding the 250 and 360 enduros. These bikes have come a long long way since then. The power of a 4 stroker is wonderful and quite unexpected. There is not a dual sport on the market at a...ny price that compares. Yes, the tires are junk, but that is it. It could also use a tach, but you cannot have everything all rolled into 285 pounds fo bike. Great job YAMAHA and I look forward to, maybe down the road a 360... Read Full Review

A New Zealand Experiance

I live in a rural area of New Zealand and ride 90 kilometers each day to and from work - travelling over unsealed gravel roads as well as small stretches of sealed high way.. The XT 250 is very light and manouverable ...fun to ride on the gravel and feels very safe (the front wheel does tend to sle...dge a little in the gravel but nothing dangerous). The bikes got plenty of torque for this kind of riding where the speed is mainly around 40 to 80kph with lots of hills and tight corners. I note in the hand book they recommend maximum weight of 90 kilos for this bike; however I weigh 100kilos and the bike has no problems. Out on the highway the bike feels a little small; mainly due to it's light weight. I really enjoy my 2008 XT250 - the best thing about it? Manouverability and handling plus fuel economy! NB I'll try and take come pics of the roads I travel on the XT 250 and post them here in a week or so! :) cheers Andy Read Full Review

Worth every penny.

I bought the '08 almost a year ago, and love it. It is suprisingly quick, and will cruise comfortably at 55mph. It gets between 65-71mpg if I ride it at highway speeds, or closer to 90mpg when I average 35mph or less. So it really sips gas while trail riding.

I have about 2500 miles on the bike(m...ostly highway) and haven't had a single problem with it.
For those of you interested, since there isn't a tachometer on the bike and when riding at higher speeds like 65mph, it starts to sound a little high revving. I added a tach, and it turns out that while in 5th gear, the rpms are almost exactly the same as what the speedometer indicates(x1000). I also did further research and am very certain that the bike redlines at 10,000rpms.
This bike is less expensive to purchase than any other major brand in this class, and will probably have a much longer lifespan due to the oldschool, ceramic lined, lower compression engine.
I wouldn't recommend this bike for freeway commuting, but for highways, backroads, city, and trail, there isn't anything more practical.
My only complaint would be that the tires it comes with wear out too fast on pavement. I might get 5000 miles out of them if I'm lucky. They are Cheng Shins. Read Full Review

Amazing bike for its purpose and price!

The new XT250 is like a motorized mountain bike with its turn angle and weight, which specs at around 250 lbs. The displacement is small, but it performs much better than any 250 4-stroke I've ever ridden, including other Yamahas. I was hesitant to buy it because of it's engine size, but I was pleas...anyly suprised by its performance due to its great power/weight ratio. I'm in a very hilly area of the Appalachians and this little bugar flies!

It easily makes its way up to freeway speeds and I've had it on interstate highways with no problems keeping up with traffic, even in the fast lane! I wouldn't recommend it for this kind of riding all the time, so as the other reviews have also stated, it's great for everything else.

Does well against headwinds and flies right up steep banks with plenty of power left over. My Chen Shin tires only lasted about 5,000 miles, so now I've got Pirelli Scorpions on it. I even currently have an oversized rear tire on it (140/80-18 I think), which changes the final drive ratio to more of a street ratio and it has handled the extra strain very well! Almost no power loss if any at all! Seems to have evened out the over-reading speedometer a little too.

It would be very difficult to beat the price/quality ratio or even the price/placement on this list on this website! Might not be done at all!

Oh, not only does the bike go well, it stops very well with its large front and rear discs!

About 6,000 miles and 1 1/2 years experience on the bike and I love it! No reliability issues at all and the build quality is very good in a world full of compromise! Love the display with the trip odometer and clock - easy to read with/without sunglasses, even if polarized, in day or night! I get an average of 72 mpg! I also set up a tach and found the rpm to coincide with your speed-in-5th + 100rpm, so 75 mph = roughly 7,500 rpm, etc.

Can't say it enough...excellent bike for the money! Even if it cost a little more, it would still be well worth it! Read Full Review