My son had a Super Sherpa, and after back to back riding both bikes (XT225), my impression was that the XT was lighter, and had much better brakes. Although the SS had discs front and rear, they just didn't do much. The rear brake actually seemed stronger than the front. The SS had a nice digital speedo set up though. Other nice things about the SS were there were no weak rear spoke issues, and no starting issues, both of which the XT has in spades.
The XT225's cold starting problems are easily cured by the "3 turns out" of the pilot jet screw that is common knowledge on the XT225 threads. Makes the bike very easy to start cold, and only needs about 15 seconds of choke, instead of the 5 minutes from the factory. It was an emmisions thing...
I'll post a picture as soon as I find the cord for the camera. I got it at a place called The Container Store. There is one about 20 miles away, but it is a chain store, so there are a lot of them all over. It is an exact duplicate of the real thing, except it does not say "property of such and such dairy" My XT has a Reflex blue Clarke tank and side covers, and white fairing and fenders. I found a blue one that is almost an exact match. It's not fancy, but it was cheap, and you would be amazed at what you can put in and mount all over the outside of a milk crate. I put a bungee net across the top, and can tie my sleeping bag and tent down on top of that. I can also use a fairly large saddlebag on the left, but the pipe gets in the way on the right. I have never taken a trip over 1000 miles on it, and don't plan to. The XT225 is a great bike, but it has the same seat problem as all other dual sports, and I'm getting to old to spend several days in a row on it. I still plan to use it for several years for local trips of 200-300 miles back out into the desert, or the forest up north. AZ has thousands of miles of trails to ride on, and lots of good camping places.
Klay, Looking at an earlier post I see you have seen the GW250. Your the first one I heard to view the GW. Is it the same as the GZ? I 'm aware of the changes but the bike it's self ,smaller or larger? and the seating position is it a little cramped as the GZ? Old style maybe ,but I still put a lot of miles on the GZ,as you on your DR 200. I overlook the bikes limits and enjoy the ride. I value your opinion. I hope to see one at the upcoming bike show. CMS [Terry]
The GW is completely different from a GZ. The seating position of the GW is more of a standard configuration, while the GZ is feet-forward cruiser-style. The motors are completely different...GW is a fuel-injected liquid-cooled parallel twin, and the GZ is a carbureted air-cooled single. The GW has a bigger frame and doesn't feel small like a GZ does. I didn't like the seat on the GW, though...I could tell it would be cramped with my riding suit on. I'm back to looking at the TU250...I may buy one next spring.
Brett: With a Feet per minute, (NOT rpm) calculation of the TW engine,I think you may be mistaken on the not liking the high rpm thing. I could be mistaking what your saying however?. I'll try and find the FPM calc..
I've put 8500 miles on an XT250 in the past two summers. Some of that was highway cruising unfortunately. Thought I'd chime in about what it is and is not capable of on the highway. Flat ground cruising along with no head wind I put the speedo between 65-70 and go for hours. The speedo is off 10% so that's an actual speed of 60 or a little more. Fine for deserted 2-lane blacktops. If there is any traffic you'll be getting passed or pulling off and looking at your map for an alternate. I plan my trips for dirt roads and smaller highways that I know don't have traffic. On the mountain passes, or with a headwind, I downshift to 4th and put the speedo on 55, which is 50 actual. I've ridden like that for hours and the motor seems to just purr along, altho it will use some oil doing that. Not sure what the revs are in that situation but it's surely more than cruising in 5th gear at 60mph. In 4th gear I have looked down and found myself over 60 so it's not at redline yet. I would guess 7k. I can't get it over about 75 indicated on flat ground. On a downhill I can get it to about 82-83 indicated. Most of the time I'm cruising forest roads in 3rd or 4th gear so it works for me just fine. This is all with about 200 lbs of rider/gear and 50 lbs strapped on the back. Most of my riding is at high elev so I'm down on power a little. It's a fun bike but not for people who are in a hurry. -al
Excellent pictures! I'd love to see that klx250 on a trip to Prudhoe Bay. I rode to Prudhoe bay this past summer on my F800GS. If I would of had the time I would of taken my klr250. Its great seeing little bikes on long trips. How did the klx250 do at altitude? Any starting or running issues?
Not sure why, but the TU with the same power, or less, will do 85 mph (actual) on the interstate in traffic. I have done 50 miles at a time at that speed quite a few times. The cars set up a big draft which pulls me along, and maybe tires come into play, you have to loose some speed with dual sport tires. No traffic, no wind, 80 mph is likely tops, but the motor and the bike is very happy there, no oil use, no noise, low oil temps. So the XT and TU sound close, with the TU having street tires, being lower (less wind drag?). As far as the TW200 goes, it made noises at higher rpm's letting me know it was not happy. It does not hold much oil, runs hot (not a plated bore), and an aftermarket oil cooler is a popular mod for people that run them hard. Short bursts were fine, say in the dirt, but on the street I would get what sounded like ignition knock, and I had increased the main jet a step and shimmed the needle.
Thanks guys, it was a dream trip. I switched the main from 120 to 115 and dropped the needle a notch. Even so, it got breathless/powerless at 12,500', but so did I. Always started easily though. .
I think less drag is an important consideration. And I think it explains why my CBR250R that has 5 less rear-wheel hp and 67 lbs more weight - has about a 3 mph higher top speed than my WR250R. 93 mph vs. 90 mph. Mike
Maybe it's tires. Or like I said I ride at higher elevs, mostly over 5k, so that might slow me down more than I realize. I was as low as 1000ft one time last summer and it didn't really feel much different, but I'm jetted down a little so I was a little lean then. Yamaha lists the top speed as 73mph though. I always have full saddlebags too which create a lot of drag. When you are at the limit of the bike that makes a difference. Last summer I started experimenting with opening the air box a little. It made a big difference while riding around in the woods. But I never got out on the highway. It wouldn't surprise me if I can get another 5mph. That air box is extremely restrictive. Al
I live and ride at 5000+ft myself......you take a BIG hp loss at our elevations. The less hp you have to begin with tho, the less you notice the loss from my experience. You lose aproximately 3% of your hp for every 1000ft up you go.....15% of 20hp would be a 3hp loss.....not as noticeable as losing 15% of 170hp, which is 26hp or so. Believe me that you FEEL! And as far as opening the airbox....if you open it enough it'll make a big difference in throttle response and power, I highly recommend it. You WILL need to jet up accordingly tho. And if you combine opening up the airbox with some well placed cut-outs, and adding a freer flowing exhaust, you'll really feel a difference Best mods I've done to my dirt bikes/dualsports
Back in the mid 80's I bagged a bunch of passes....very slowly, on my 100% stock Honda XR185. When I went back the next year, I had the same XR, but bored to 205cc, with a big fin Honda ATV cylinder, with 12.5:1 compression ratio and a super trapp exhaust system. It was much nicer, more power, and was very happy with 1/2 and 1/2 regular + premium. At altitude, you need to bump up compression, and lean out the carb. Other great thing about this bike that they ruined the next year, was that from first gear to 6th was a huge spread in ratios. It would creep along at super slow trials speeds over basketball size boulders, but would tolerate 55 mph when necessary....and it weighed 202 pounds
I actually think it's the other way around. If you lose 20% off of 16hp you barely have enough to get out of your own way. If you lose 20% from 100hp you still have 80 which is plenty. The problem I have is that I am up and down so much in a single ride. In a single trip I can be in 10k ft mtns and down to the desert at 4k. What I was doing end of last season was running a #30 main jet (2 sizes down from the stock 35) which feels about right at southern desert elevations with the airbox closed up, then opening the airbox when in the mountains. It's relatively easy to open/close, giving me two different intake settings. If I wanted to open the airbox and tune for highway performance, I would have to jet up and then I'd have a dog in the mountains. So I just avoid highways where 60mph isn't fast enough. That's half the fun of touring on a little bike anyway, going out of your way to stay off the beaten path. I didn't buy this bike for the highway. -al