The official XT225 thread!

You Sir are correct on all accounts.
I decided to not spent any extra time or money on this venture. So as to keep it fun...
I did start with the badass dirt bikes, however, I was racing myself and the course.
Didn't see any other dual sports, but there was a kid on some sort of vintage honda, wearing overalls and a fanny pack. Finished the whole thing, it was pretty awesome.
I will for sure be trying it again. Not sure If I will go with full nobbies, or DOT nobbies. Depends on if i pick up an extra set of wheels.
The main failure in all of this however was my fatigue after struggling up some obstacles and many falls. The little XT could have done great with the right rider.

Maybe next time the course will be dryer and tires won't be an issue. IMO, if you don't get hurt you're a winner!

For whomever cares I've decided to go with the Michelins

I bet the XT is fun with street tires. I'll probably never mount them since there's so many trails here, but if I lived in a city they'd be great. I'm sure the bike will handle a lot better on the streets with street tires. They probably will last a long time, and I'd expect you gas mileage will improve a bit too.

I have two sets of XT rims, one has Kenda 244's and the other full knobbies. When the kenda's wear out I will probably put full street tires on it. I just need to which ones at some point.

Injured spine and hands (to say the least) has taken me out of the off-road stuff (excluding going in my 1993 Toyota Pickup ) so since I'm going to be commuting with it anyways I figured I may as well do this thing right haha it's fun in the process as well.

Might I suggest considering the few I was deciding between above :

This is my off roader now

Topper is off for the first time since I've owned the Pickup:



Bike is loaded up:







Took it to the shop for more room to work:





Man, Truck, Bike:



Cleaned off my dusty gear:



Finally broke 88,000



And one for the road:

I can definitely understand the injuries keeping you away from the trails. When I get there I'll mount street tires too, to make sure I stay out of the mud & rocks.

Btw, I also have an ATV. It is much easier on the body (assuming you don't roll it!). I can go almost anywhere a bike can go, actually it can go some places that the bike can't. It crawls over bolders & through mud, and extremely steep hills that the bike can't. The bike's more agile of course, and can fit through tighter spots. I have fun on both.

Okay, I'm getting a little frustrated with a cutting out problem. When the bike is cold it runs GREAT! But once warmed up it runs very rough in the low throttle position. Around 1/4 throttle it keeps cutting out. Thinking it was a jetting issue I got the jet kit from Pro Cycle. Tried both the jets provided and adjusted the a/f mixture in every suggested setting as well as burning the hell out of my hand looking for that point where it speeds up as I adjust it. On the plus side I can get the carb in and out of the bike in about 2min now. The carb has been cleaned about a dozen times and nothing I do seams to make any difference.

Last night I noticed that when I set the idle high in an attempt to adjust the A/F again that the bike would not settle down into a steady idle. It races up a little bit then cuts out, then races up a bit. At no point in the adjustment did this go away.

The question I have is what else BESIDES the carb could cause this? Bad stater, pulse generator, CDI? Not sure where to start.

Bike mods:
Z-mod and modified the snorkel.

Thanks for the help.

Have you removed the intake between the carb and the head to make sure it is not cracked or separated? A vacuum leak could cause the symptoms you are having.
Hope it helps,
Captain Caution

Good point. I'll pick up some starting spray on the way home and try spraying it around the boot area while it's running. That should revile any leaks.

You could try that, but it isn't always conclusive. I think it's probably better to remove it and examine it and it's gasket. You'll find pictures of the boots on my XT350, which caused me some grief:
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16770910#post16770910
Also check the plastic cover on the side of the carb for breaks. Check the slide valve diaphragm for holes/tears as well.
Cheers!

Does anyone know if there is an XT 250 thread on ADV? Wife has a 225 but is looking at the 250
thanks

Thanks for that link. I sure hope that is the problem. It would explain why the problem as been getting progressively worse the more I ride the bike.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=403156

Clarke 4 gal tank for xt225. 1 month old. $150 obo plus shipping. According to UPS shipping will be about $20-30.

Post it in the "flea market" and tell what color it is too. Btw, why don't you want it? Seems like ever'body wants a bigger tank, especially out West.

I tried searching but no dice.

I've got an 03 with 7300 known miles on it. Tonight while heading into work and I started hearing a ticking noise and the bike shut down, upon investigation I found the cam chain tensioner bolt backed way out.

Any help would be appreciated.

I'm no expert, but....It sounds like your timing chain may have jumped a tooth and possibly (likely I think) a valve hit the piston. When a valve hits the piston it bends the valve at the least, it can also crack the piston and/or crack the valve guide, and in extreme cases even ruin the head.

As I said "I'm no expert". You might be lucky and the engine is not damaged, but just "out of time" because the timing chain jumped a tooth (or a few teeth). Some pistons don't hit the valves. I think that depends on the valve/piston clearance (it's tighter in hi-compression engines) and also it depends on the location of the piston & valve during the cycle of the stroke. (One valve is more prone to contact with the piston, because of the direction of the cycle. Half the time the piston is moving towards the valves, and half the time it's moving away from them.)

Hopefully, nothing got damaged.

If I remember correctly the large cam tensioner bolt only covers the hole where you stick a flat head to hold the tensioner. You may have to look further for the answer to your problems.

I once had the engine apart and forgot to torque the cam sprocket bolt. It made it about 10 miles before it loosened, bent a valve, and needed more work. A new valve solved my problems.