This was my bored at work attempt at a review :cookoo:
tell me what you think!
Ah, the adventure bike segment. When we think of adventure bikes, our minds automatically float off to images of BMW F650 Dakars launching off of sand dunes; Or Ewan McGregor falling off of his 1200GS over and over and over again in Long Way Round. The marines in Iraq use Kawasaki KLR's for recon as well. When my girlfriend expressed an interest in getting her own bike, and wanted it to be able to do trail riding as well as the street, I was worried. As anyone that has ridden or even seen these bikes in person, we all know that they have towering seat heights. When paruzing through the local dealers we found two choices, the Yamaha XT225 and a similar Kawasaki 250. The Kawasaki, though much more impressive in front forkage, shared this malady with it's bigger brethren.
Let's get some facts down about the girl who ultimately bought this bike. She's 5'7", has almost zero experience, and isn't exactly the most gung ho of personalities. That's why it was very important to her to be able to flat foot her motorcycle. The XT 225 has a seat hight of 32 inches, very respectable. She was just able to keep those heels down. The second thing to notice about this pretty diminutive bike is it's astounding lightness. It's only about 235 lbs dry. This bike, loaded with it's headlight, turn signals, and street ability weighs only a bit more than my pure bred motocross machine. I found the front forks to be a bit squishy, but no big deal for a first bike. It has a relatively plush seat for an off roader, and a seriously good MPG rating (about 90), so after some deliberation, she purchased it.
I was responsible for riding this new beast home, so let's get over what everyone wants to know. "Tell us about the power!"
This bike boasts 20 bhp spark arrested, and bout 25 without. It's a 225cc four valve four stroke mated to a simple 6 speed gear box. Around town, it's a dream. All the torque you'll need available right from the start. The powerband is perfectly linear till the bike screams, then you up shift smoothly to find enough power to hop the front wheel. Out on the open roads however, the displacement becomes apparent. In 6th gear about 1/8th turn of throttle will keep me at 55 mph. Sorry guys, no Tach here. It's not winning any roadraces for sure. Let's not forget about that weight though. The amazing lightness and low seat hight combine together to make THE MOST nimble motorcycle I have ever had the experience of riding. This bike is truly perfect for the beginner with a flavor for off road riding.
Street Riding B-
The next day we decided to put it to the ultimate test of rider and bike. We were going to take it on my local murderous trails. Before we go ahead, let's take a look at the build quality of this bike. When looking at an off road bike, you always wonder what's going to break when you fall. I'm very impressed with the materials on this bike. The passenger footpegs are mounted on tube steel (not stamped) brackets, which do a fantastic job of preventing you from using the shield over the exhaust, and saving those new shiny side panels. The brake lever and shift lever are also as rugged as the ones on my CR250, no stamped crap here. The mirrors and signals come out with a turn of the wrench, the signal wires unplug and are wrapped around an inner bar. The handlebars itself do not have a bar pad, however. We have a small front disk brake and a rear drum. This is pretty typical for small dirt bikes, and perfectly adequate for the application here. They do a great job of stopping you on pavement, so they'll be fine on the trails. The forks have gators and brake protection plastic. This bike is truly ready for the trail.
Build: A-
More substantial plastic guarding the brakes would bump this to an A, after market kits exist.
Approaching the trail, there's a hill with a 50 degree grade about 10 feet up, to a short turn around a gate, then straight into the woods. My girlfriend tried and failed, keeping it upright, she backed up and I had my turn. Again, due to the weight this bike managed to skip up the hill with perfect grace, I was able to go between rocks with more agility than my CR. Despite the front suspension, the bike handled mud, eroded pit and rocks with stellar performance. The engine loved the trails, always having the proper amount of power in 2nd to go through most anything. Mud however defeated the bike. The tires that came with the bike are not made for deep mud. We will certainly have to investigate tires with wider spaces between knobs. Mud got in the cracks and effectively stole all the traction we had.
Trail Riding: A-
Comments: All this bike needs is stronger front forks, she never bottomed out, but with my riding habits and need to jump any gap I see, I certainly could. Progressive spring kit maybe?
All in all, this bike is a fantastic trail rider in it's own right, but no speed demon. On my trails you rarely see speeds over 35 anyways, so in my location it's no big deal. Again, higher spring rates would be nice up front. As a bike in total it gets a solid marks, I like highway use, but for a beginner, again, no big deal. The weight really makes this bike shine, and it's a blast to ride, even for me with my big angry fast CR250.
Total Rating: B+
Excellent review! Thank you! I've been kicking around the idea of getting a KLR250, but at 18hp, I'd much rather have the Yamaha, especially since I'm more partial to Yami's, and more familiar with their singles. I had borrowed a TTR125 once and while it was great, it was small, and I would wind out the motor going uphill; it just needed a little more oomf.