How do the 06-07 KLX250, 09+ KLX 250 and XT 250 compare in terms of power, road manners,and top speed/top cruising speed? I had a 06 KLX250, so I have that as a reference point. Lots not let this devolve into a matter of offroad abilities, they will ALL do what I want them to do...offroad
Taking the off road priority out of the mix, I'll still go with the KLX over the ancient technology of the air-cooled XT. Maybe doomsday preppers and cavemen like to tout the panacea of older air-cooled technology, but I think it's an unrealistic and false placebo. Now I'm not saying that an XT is junk. I am saying that it's an old, outdated, and overpriced motorcycle. I was at the shop I used to work at for about 15 years, and I noticed the price of a '12 KLX250 and '12 XT250 sitting brand new on the showroom floor. The shop is worried about how they'll even be able to sell that particular XT without giving it away. The shop sells Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha. The CRF250L and KLX250S/F are more competitively priced than the WR250R/X. The poor old XT250 doesn't have a chance against the Honda and Kawasaki in a market price and/or application competition IMO. Many have a warm spot for the XT series bikes and that's fine. Many people buy motorcycles on a preference basis rather than a logistic based checklist and that's fine. But if you're truly comparing price, performance, and function of the XT against the bulk of its competition in a new purchase, you're fooling yourself with the XT.
The XT250 is a great bike, and will do freeway speeds with ease all day long, top speed is 80+mph, i had one, great bike, i sat on both the crf250l and the klx250s and the xt250 IS BY FAR way more comfortable, its got a great low seat height, comfy seat and just rides great, i put 7k miles on mine in a year and never had a single issue, great bike imo.
I agree with Ron. I love mine. Yes, it's not fast or has all the fancy technology that the other bikes has, but that's fine with me. For me, I just wanted a bike that has little that I could break on it far out in the woods. Not many bikes had the low seat height that I wanted as I really don't get into heavy MX type riding. It's perfect for exploring and commuting. Maybe not as performance geared as the others, but it depends on what type of riding you're doing. If I was doing lots of trail riding and needed the higher horse power and better suspension, I would have gone with one of the other bikes, but I was looking for something that was easy to ride and I could put my feet down and walk the bike over the more difficult areas. What type of riding do you do?
This would be the use of the bike. Let me start with what is in my garage wifes bike-Ninja 650...jsut the ticket when i need to ride a motorcycle with no fuss or pretense. seat sucks but its very capable..at everything. my bike -TL1000R Sometimes its just too much bike to dawdle down tot he store on...so is the wife's bike. I would beusing said dual sport to: -explore local roads at a sedate pace and go down dirt road and maybe go play ona trail a little. -make short local runs to the store or wherever(tires are cheaper on dual sports) -Suffer through an occasional trip from Nashville to the area around "The Dragon" to ride trails and explore that area....might require 75-80 mph for a few hours...I know thats upper limits..but thats part of the fun. -maybe a TN TAT attempt?
It cant go that fast, or is that WOT? WOT is ok..if it can take it...without seizing...or dropping a valve.
I went WOT on that bike for almost 40 miles on the freeway, it can take it, cause it only rev's up to like 8k, but if there is any kind of incline or headwind, you wont be going faster then 65, and i weigh about 150 pounds, you are probably bigger. i tried a bigger front sprocket too, its great from 1-4th gear, but 5th gear can only pull it if its a straight road, an incline and it cant pull it, you gotta remember its a 16HP bike, not really meant to do 75-80 mph for long periods of time, maybe for a few minutes or so.
with stock gearing 65 mph is there whenever you need it, its a very underestimated bike, kinda looked down on, but mostly from people that have never ridden one, when i did my research on the bike before buying it, all the reviews were bad, old technology, heavy, no power, wife or girlfriend bike, etc, you get the point, the bike is bad ass, i did tripple black diamond trails with mine, it climbs everything, has lots of low end torque, did everything the bigger bikes did on the trails with easy, and its LIGHT, says its 291 on the specs, but its more like 280+, and the weight is all low, so even me being a small dude at only 5'9 and 145, i could man handle that bike with ease, pick it up with ease, and do a full 360 turn in place with ease, i do miss it in the dirt. they are also super easy to work on, and when i say work on, i mean oil and filter cleaning, only needs 1.2 quarts of oil, and it takes 5 minutes to do a full oil change, other then that it needs nothing, i rode the shit out of mine, and checked the valves at 6k, they were right on spec., that is why you see so many early 1980's xt's on cl and the title says that they still run great.
I'm strongly considering the XT for the reason you cite, as those reasons translate into a lower used price on craiglist However Ive never ridden one back to back with a KLX250 to know how they compare on the road.(offroad, at my off road skill level..I would likely not notice, especially as I would be riding with guys on 800cc plus adventure bikes offroad...) The thought is suffer ont he highways and byways a bit..and enjoy an easy ride int he woods while they smash their $10000 machines against trees and rocks..lol
yeah, there are such good deals for xt250's on cl right now, a lot better then when i bought mine, that is for sure, but they hold their value very good, i rode mine for a year and did pretty good on the sale. The good thing about them, is when you drop them, NOTHING breaks, ive dropped mine quite a few times, never more then a scratch on the plastics they even have the fuel injected ones for the 2012 year, if you wanted to try that, but the carb'd model works great, once its set, i never touched it.
Yeah, consistent 75-80 even on the KLX S/F, CRFL, and WR R/X bikes would be at their outer limits of reasonable cruising. None of them are really designed for this. And while you might get any of them to live for a little while doing this, it ain't what they're designed for. If I understand correctly, the XT250 is a 5-speed isn't it? That's another strike against it IMO if highway cruising is your priority. All the others I mentioned are 6-speeds, and that's going to be a big benefit for your application. If you're looking for used, then the XT and KLX are probably your best options for price and availability.
Thats just it. That use MIGHT be once or twice a year. Ive learned something about motorcycle recently, buy one for what you will use it for 99% of the time. If you dont you will hate it later...My KLX would just about go 80...that was about it..I imagine if I had played with gearing and windshields it might have been a bit better feeling. I feel like Im going to end up on another KLX....the CRF-L is singing its siren song though....the WR250R is jsut too tall for me.
The XT is a little bike. Does it fit you? Of those 2, I would much prefer the KLX250S Have you ruled out the CRF250L?
Well the XT probably fits me a little better than the KLX(Never sat on on XT...)..but the KLX is pretty easy for me to manage due to its lightweight. As for the CRF250L? No I havent ruled it out at all actually. The wife may have other plans though..lol Seriously though, the KLX and XT are obtainable for under $3000 allll the time..the CRF is still a $4500 proposition.
Price is still too high for my budget( I just bought a TL1000R..gotta keep the wife happy...and pay bills..lol) Right now Im looking for a straight trade...or MAYBE a trade plus cash... Good find ...that thread helped prompt my project when I realized I missed my KLX.
