A little sweetie!

I've had and ridden motorcycles for about 40 yrs. I recently bought a new 2009 Yamaha XT250, what a sweetie to ride! easy, fun, economical. I ride almost exclusively on pavement so i changed out the wobbly OEM tires for some Avon Distanzas and now i have an even better bike! 1st gear is about us...eless for street work, so i am considering going up one tooth on the drive sprocket to see if that helps without robbing torque. I love this bike! One of the best, and often overlooked aspects of this dual sport is that with a 31 inch inseam, i can still sit flatfooted at the stoplight. Read Full Review

09 XT250 Yamaha

I'm a 5'10" 155lb 60 y.o. who wanted something easy to explore the endless New England backroads and easy to moderate trails with and think I made the right choice. I've only got a few hundred miles on it so far, but it is a blast on back roads because it is light and nimble and rolls right thr...ough nasty pavement way better than my long distance 800 bmw sport touring rig. I love the great economy and also you can ride it like you meant it without suddenly flying 100mph like on the 800. Fun and easy to ride, I love it. I'll upgrade tires when these wear out, and sometimes wish it came with an Al bashplate though I haven't needed it yet. It also has a pretty good headlight for a small dualsport. It seems like it should be easy to maintain when the time comes too. Read Full Review

Great Entry Level Bike

I have had the 2009 XT-250 for nearly a year with about 1200 miles (1000 street miles). This bike is well balanced and very easy to ride. I keep saying it's like a mountain bike with an engine. The stock tires are ok, but I agree with previous posts and will probably swap out the tires soon. I c...limbed a steep loose gravel hill recently and the grip wasn't very good. I wish Yamaha would have thrown in a skid plate. This bike is great on trails and I feel comfortably pushing it to 55 mph on the highway. The bike is light enough for a rider to push up a ramp or off the trail. I think the gearing is just fine when combining on/off road riding. I am 5-11 tall and 180lbs and this bike (I feel) is borderline too small. Next bike will be a 400CC dual sport. Read Full Review

XT250 or XT 225

I have owned both and there isn't much between them. 250=30 lbs heaver Top speed seems to be about 10mph more. They can be lowered for the shorter people about tyhe same. My wife wants another 225 and I want her to get a 250 so we would have two of them. Quess what- we will get another XT225. If yo...u are a heaver person I would get the 250 mainly for the added speed. Some of the 225's were hard starting and I don't know if the 250's are having the same problem. I don't think they are. Good Luck Read Full Review

Nice bike with BAD tires.

I purchased this bike with only 4 miles on it and I enjoy riding it on and off road. As others have stated the wheel wobble on the front tire is terrible!! I tried to get it replaced by Yamaha under warranty but they flat out said NO...not part of the warranty. I have about 450 miles on the bike now... and am planning to get new tires very soon and hope this will make a huge difference. Read Full Review