250cc bikes
 

went from the uk to New zealand on a dommie now I'm planning south America my new girlfriends honda sl230 and her mates yamaha xt250 does everything my dommie does and more!!! Why do we see so few people doing trips on these smaller bikes? They can carry a pillion easy enough so they can carry luggage. Any views (I'm almost tempted to take one 107kg as opposed to 180kgs!!! amazing fuel economy chains last forever so do tires what more do we need

Freinds just used xt225 serows from Mexico to Moscow, only gripe was they were very slow at altitude above 2000m and a bit tiresome on long highway sections. Heaps better than a big bike across the Zilow Gap in Siberia and on National Park trails.

These mates of yours wouldn't have an e mail would they I might like to get in touch or a web site thing as seems to be all the rage theses days

You just need to realize you're on a small bike. It didn't bother me, but I'm weird like that.

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Random attempts have
been made at RTW on
a '65 Ducati 250cc

Hi There,

I wonder if I'm the only person in the World that replaced my trusty R1200GS with a new XT250 Serow?

Sure feels slow compaired with the Beemer but my God, is it light! One of my mates at work was giving the bike the once over and actually picked it up!

It can get to places that I'd have thought impossible.

They chose the name well!

Check out the XR250 Tornado, I believe it`s made in Brazil and sold around S.Am.

Richard

this is a link to a Hubb thread Scott posted on the Hubb you should be able to grab his email from the profile.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000448.html

cheers
alec

Hi Richard,
You've tapped into one of my favourite subjects - small bikes doing long distances!
I rode my Yamaha XT225 Serow from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego (about 19,000 miles) and it was great, except at altitude in the Andes. Have a look at my site www.loisontheloose.com Cheers,
Lois

I'm looking at the Yamaha TTR250 Raid and the Suzuki DR250 Djebel.

My wife has a Serow but it is just too small (frame and seat height) for me.

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Africa Trip web journal

On long trips, whatever you ride, take two identical bikes. Makes life easier.

Hey buddy we looked at the ttr raid and the xt and the dejbel but have a look and a ride of a honda sl230 wow not much info on them but what a bike to ride I was really impressed smooth motor and a lovely 6 speed box make long jorneys not too bad for a little bike

We are following the wise advice of the message above and will be taking the same bike. So my wife will be getting rid of her Serow.
I have to keep seat height in mind for her though. How would you compare seat height of TTR250 Raid and DR250 Djebel and the SL230 you mentioned?

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Africa Trip web journal

The hieght is about the same as the ttr but you seem to sit more upright at the back of the seat rather than sliding forwards all the time if you wind the pre load on the spring up they sit up about another 2 inches. But you never know how a bike really is until you sit on one your self!!!!

Nigel, moderator from New Zealand, showed me some small bikes that he was thinking of. 185cc I think.

Some sort of NZ farm bike that had lots of great features. My favorite parts were: side stands on both sides, brake & clutch locks so you can hop off when you open a gate (although I still don't understand why you'd leave it in gear with the clutch lock), and good steel protectors around the hand grips. Very nice bike that if I wasn't doing this on an old bike, I might've changed. Which would've helped since I seized my engine a few hundred Kms after Nigel's place.

A side stand on both sides was a little bit of heaven for me. If I can ever find someone who wants to go with me, I'll tell them about that bike. Kawasaki, I think it was.

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Random attempts have
been made at RTW on
a '65 Ducati 250cc

Hey there Humpy! How's the eighth dwarf going? So you are leaving our fair shores? You lucky bugger, don't let Tom know you're going or you will have a R100PD to have to carry spares for!! But seriously, think lots about taking the same bike as our friend. Remember the hassles Chris and Erin
Rattay had, and in the end Chris sent his PD back to the States and bought a F650 here in NZ so he had the same bike as Erin.
And to Dave the Arch-Bishop, the bikes we looked at were DF200 Suzuki's and AG200 Yamahas. The reason for the clutch lever lock was that you didn't have to find neutral if you are in a hurry to get off the bike. The front brake lever lock is great too, for parking on slopes and in ferries etc. The factory made front and rear carriers are a great idea too.
Regards from NZ

Nigel

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"The world is a book and those who do not travel read but a page"- St Augustine

Not to forget the chain case, which is what I miss most on my bike, where there is nothing between the chain and the rear tyre.

However, see the thread on farm bikes elsewhere. I met a couple on Honda CT200's at last years HUBB meet and it made me think: reduced compression = higher fuel consumption, top speed 90km/h, centrifugal clutch, pull starter (and electric). Don't know about the handling on the road. If the fuel economy is no better than that of an F650FI then I'd rather have that and have some fun when the roads are good.

My 2 cents worth.

Scott and Laura took the same bikes..both XT225's. One reason they took small bikes was Laura had just learnt to ride. The smaller bike was better for this.

Went to look at XR250 Baja, DR250 Djebel and TTR250 Raid this weekend. All look like great bikes. All can be lowered for my wife using Koubalink. I would say the main thing separating them is the availabilty and the TTR seems to be the most common in UK so will prob go with that (they are all grey imports here).

Was also looking at the Agricultural bikes but they are not available here at all.

If the XT225 Serow frame/seat height was not so small for me I would have gone with that purely on it's fantastic reputation for being so tough and reliable.

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Africa Trip web journal

Paul,

Not sure where you're from in the UK, but there used to be a woman who was a regular at the Ace Cafe (London). She had an old Africa Twin which she'd adjusted to suit her height. This might not be too useful, but she was about up to my shoulder and I'm about 5' 10''. Anyway, she'd dropped the Africa Twin down it's fork legs and adjusted the rear ride height. The whole thing was down a couple of inches, which was good enough for her to control.

I'm not suggesting an AT. But it's a big bike and can be made smaller. So if you're restricting your bikes because of height, there is an alternative (adjust the bikes). You'd need to find someone who knows what they are talking about (ie, not me) to work out if it's possible on various bikes.

Maybe someone on here knows her. Or if you loiter at the Ace for long enough you might see the bike.

cheers,
Doug

Thanks for the suggestion Doug. I am choosing a smaller bike based on my wifes experience on our last Africa trip which we did on Transalps. The bike was fine for me but for her I think the height and the weight meant that when the going got tough, it got tougher than it needed to be. So I am figuring with lower, lighter bikes we can both have fun...and she can pick her own bloody bike up haha http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/wink.gif