Hi From Ireland. I am Looking At A Yamaha Serow XT-250, I Want A Light Bike For Off Road And After Looking At Your Review I Know Now That Is The Bike For Me, I Used to Fly out Of Vero Beach Airport, Back In The Day, Thanks For The Information,Keep It Coming.
Thanks for stopping by Ireland, I can't say enough nice things about this motorcycle. I've got to believe that worldwide, this bike is a top seller for Yamaha. It's interesting to note, that outside the USA, the bike is known as the Serow. I'm sure you'll have many miles of smiles on this bike. Currently, our XT250 was given to our daughter and son-in-law. He's stripped it down and is going to put his personal touch to the bike. I can't wait to see what he comes up with. I'll try to video his vision to share with our viewers. It may be awhile, but I'll give it a go. For now, take care, Mike
Nice to hear from you Wisely Bob. I'm an old-timer and new to TH-cam. I'm still learning the ropes. If you have a specific part you are interested in, please comment or email to aegismotoadventures@gmail.com and I'll get you the information to the best of my ability. In the future, I will try to be mindful to put parts and their source in the comments section with links. Great tip. Thanks, Mike
Hey. Nice to hear from you wippdriver1. The handguards are from Acerbis and the USB is an unknown brand. If recollection serves me correctly, we purchased the items through RevZilla. They're a great company to do business with. However, experience has taught us the common handguards that attach inside the handle bar tube and then clamp around the handle bar are prone to twisting and bending in a crash or drop. As an example, Cheri dropped Mizy and the Acerbis twisted and bent enough to cause the throttle tube to stick. We made some adjustments to loosen up the throttle tube, but when we returned home I bent them back into proper shape using a persuader- 2 lb. hammer. I won't replace them until they get so worn out that I can't bend them back into shape. In the future, I will consider trying handguards like BRP and Fastaway. There was another company (unable to identify in a quick internet search) beside these two that make handlebar clamp mounts. This type of handguard mount would help prevent the twist upon impact. For our use, the greatest benefit of a handguards is to protect the levers from impact and breakage. If you lose one of your levers, especially the clutch lever, your in a situation that can't easily be fixed in the middle of nowhere. Some might argue that the twisting handguards absorb some of the impact- fair enough. But we have had clutch and brake lever perches twist as well- not good. In the end, it depends on what kind of riding you'll be doing. If it is commuter or trail riding near your home base, any handguard will do and provide satisfactory protection for your hand and levers. If you might be in a scenario where your motorcycle could take some abuse, I might consider these other options based on our experience. I hope this helps some. Take care. Mike
Any motorcycle wheel can be balanced. The proceedure is the same whether the wheel has a rim-lock or not. Most dealers don't or won't balance a rim-lock wheel because they have the believe that there is no advantage to a balanced wheel for an off-road type motorcycle. This believe is misguided though for dual-sport or adventure bikes which may have rim-locks. At highway speeds, a balanced wheel is definitly a benefit. If anyone has doubts about the advantage, check out some of the well made videos on You-Tube on balancing rim-lock wheels. The vibration and disruption can be seen in the video.
The Obsessive Gardener, Great question since so many people upgrade their bike's muffler. As of this reply, we have not replaced any of the exhaust systems on any of the motorcycles. Let me explain why. Most upgrades require big money. Exhaust upgrades can be in the hundreds or more. We have deliberately chosen not to change a perfectly functioning stock muffler because other upgrades for travel were needed. In other words, we spent money on more pressing upgrades like racks, windscreen and bags. On the Yamaha XT250, the exhaust comes with a internal spark arrestor already installed. The spark arrestor can easily be removed for cleaning. Since certain areas like national parks require a spark arrestor, it already met our criteria for strictly functional purposes. However, our KTM 790 Adventure R's didn't come with a spark arrestor. The motorcycles come with a catalytic converter. Unfortunately, cats are not recognized as a spark arrestor. That is why we purchased after-market spark arrestors and Roy made adaptors to fit the stock mufflers. Which brings me around to a solid reason to possibly upgrade exhaust systems. Many after-market mufflers for adventure or dual sport bikes, come with an internal spark arrestor. This is a huge plus if riding in remote forest areas. No one wants to accidentally start a forest fire. This would be a solid reason to upgrade if your bike didn't have a factory spark arrestor. Upgrading mufflers for sound or aesthetics is quite alright. It boils down to how one wants to spend your hard earned money. I hope this helps. Take care, Mike
Hey Ken, Nice to hear from you. Currently, we are on another adventure in Canada. Unfortunately, I don't recall the brand, and I'm away from the computer and unable to look up the manufacturer. I have nothing negative to say about the racks. They're good, but if I had a do over, I would get different racks. The choice isn't about the racks' quality. It has to do with their shape. I would get a rack that is shaped like a square or rectangle that can except different brands of panniers. We are finding the pannier set up is more versatile. When we return to Florida, I will update this thread with the correct information. Take care, Mike
Ken, happy-trail.com has a rack system that I prefer. The price is very reasonable as well. I've purchased other items through them before with good results. As a disclaimer, I do not work for or have any business relationship with them or any company for that matter. This allows me to call it as I see it. I hope this helps in the mean time. Mike
Hi there mottorcle5052, You are absolutely correct that loading a motorcycle differently can effect handling. To expand the thought on loading, I would like to add a few things that might help explain this phenomenon. The weight exerted on the bike is any weight between the contact points of the wheels on the ground. You can think of an imaginary line from the axles straight down to the ground. A bike can have more weight forward or more weight rearward. Each affects the bike differently. I will give one an example that is easy to visualize. If a motorcycle is loaded with a bunch of gear on the rear of the bike on an uphill climb, this could shift the weight behind the rear imaginary line causing the bike to become lighter on the front. This occurs because the weight is further back of the fulcrum (imaginary line) exerting leverage which in a sense lifts the front of the bike. As I have commented before, one wants the weight on your motorcycle to be as low and as far forward you can get it. Other factors that affect handling are steering angle, rake, tires and steering head construction. I'm sure there are a hundreds of videos explaining steering angle and rake.If you're interested, please check those out. In the case of the Yamaha XT 250, which is a great bike, the wobble existed from the very beginning with no loading but the rider when nearing maximum speed. Despite efforts to mitigate this wobble, we were able to reduce it, but not eliminate it. This indicates to me that the bike was never designed to exceed the speeds we were looking to obtain. The bike is advertised as a trail and commuter motorcycle, not a Motto GP bike. The XT 250 excels within this design parameter. Thanks again for your insightful comment. Take care, Mike
Hi From Ireland.
I am Looking At A Yamaha Serow XT-250, I Want A Light Bike For Off Road And After Looking At Your Review I Know Now That Is The Bike For Me, I Used to Fly out Of Vero Beach Airport, Back In The Day, Thanks For The Information,Keep It Coming.
Thanks for stopping by Ireland,
I can't say enough nice things about this motorcycle. I've got to believe that worldwide, this bike is a top seller for Yamaha. It's interesting to note, that outside the USA, the bike is known as the Serow. I'm sure you'll have many miles of smiles on this bike.
Currently, our XT250 was given to our daughter and son-in-law. He's stripped it down and is going to put his personal touch to the bike. I can't wait to see what he comes up with. I'll try to video his vision to share with our viewers. It may be awhile, but I'll give it a go.
For now, take care, Mike
It would be nice to have references to the parts that you buy.
Nice to hear from you Wisely Bob. I'm an old-timer and new to TH-cam. I'm still learning the ropes. If you have a specific part you are interested in, please comment or email to aegismotoadventures@gmail.com and I'll get you the information to the best of my ability. In the future, I will try to be mindful to put parts and their source in the comments section with links. Great tip. Thanks, Mike
Nice
Great to hear a positive comment. Thanks so much Eduardo Atillo.
Take care,
Mike
Great video, what brand of hand guards and usb products did you buy
Hey. Nice to hear from you wippdriver1.
The handguards are from Acerbis and the USB is an unknown brand. If recollection serves me correctly, we purchased the items through RevZilla. They're a great company to do business with.
However, experience has taught us the common handguards that attach inside the handle bar tube and then clamp around the handle bar are prone to twisting and bending in a crash or drop. As an example, Cheri dropped Mizy and the Acerbis twisted and bent enough to cause the throttle tube to stick. We made some adjustments to loosen up the throttle tube, but when we returned home I bent them back into proper shape using a persuader- 2 lb. hammer.
I won't replace them until they get so worn out that I can't bend them back into shape.
In the future, I will consider trying handguards like BRP and Fastaway. There was another company (unable to identify in a quick internet search) beside these two that make handlebar clamp mounts. This type of handguard mount would help prevent the twist upon impact.
For our use, the greatest benefit of a handguards is to protect the levers from impact and breakage. If you lose one of your levers, especially the clutch lever, your in a situation that can't easily be fixed in the middle of nowhere.
Some might argue that the twisting handguards absorb some of the impact- fair enough. But we have had clutch and brake lever perches twist as well- not good.
In the end, it depends on what kind of riding you'll be doing. If it is commuter or trail riding near your home base, any handguard will do and provide satisfactory protection for your hand and levers. If you might be in a scenario where your motorcycle could take some abuse, I might consider these other options based on our experience.
I hope this helps some. Take care.
Mike
get some bark busters, jet VPS and storm all fit the xt
How did you get a rim lock wheel balanced?
Any motorcycle wheel can be balanced. The proceedure is the same whether the wheel has a rim-lock or not. Most dealers don't or won't balance a rim-lock wheel because they have the believe that there is no advantage to a balanced wheel for an off-road type motorcycle.
This believe is misguided though for dual-sport or adventure bikes which may have rim-locks. At highway speeds, a balanced wheel is definitly a benefit.
If anyone has doubts about the advantage, check out some of the well made videos on You-Tube on balancing rim-lock wheels. The vibration and disruption can be seen in the video.
Did you do an exhaust upgrade?
The Obsessive Gardener,
Great question since so many people upgrade their bike's muffler.
As of this reply, we have not replaced any of the exhaust systems on any of the motorcycles. Let me explain why.
Most upgrades require big money. Exhaust upgrades can be in the hundreds or more. We have deliberately chosen not to change a perfectly functioning stock muffler because other upgrades for travel were needed. In other words, we spent money on more pressing upgrades like racks, windscreen and bags.
On the Yamaha XT250, the exhaust comes with a internal spark arrestor already installed. The spark arrestor can easily be removed for cleaning. Since certain areas like national parks require a spark arrestor, it already met our criteria for strictly functional purposes.
However, our KTM 790 Adventure R's didn't come with a spark arrestor. The motorcycles come with a catalytic converter. Unfortunately, cats are not recognized as a spark arrestor. That is why we purchased after-market spark arrestors and Roy made adaptors to fit the stock mufflers. Which brings me around to a solid reason to possibly upgrade exhaust systems.
Many after-market mufflers for adventure or dual sport bikes, come with an internal spark arrestor. This is a huge plus if riding in remote forest areas. No one wants to accidentally start a forest fire. This would be a solid reason to upgrade if your bike didn't have a factory spark arrestor.
Upgrading mufflers for sound or aesthetics is quite alright. It boils down to how one wants to spend your hard earned money.
I hope this helps. Take care,
Mike
What type of side rack and top rack did u use?
Hey Ken,
Nice to hear from you. Currently, we are on another adventure in Canada. Unfortunately, I don't recall the brand, and I'm away from the computer and unable to look up the manufacturer.
I have nothing negative to say about the racks. They're good, but if I had a do over, I would get different racks. The choice isn't about the racks' quality. It has to do with their shape.
I would get a rack that is shaped like a square or rectangle that can except different brands of panniers. We are finding the pannier set up is more versatile.
When we return to Florida, I will update this thread with the correct information.
Take care, Mike
Ken,
happy-trail.com has a rack system that I prefer. The price is very reasonable as well. I've purchased other items through them before with good results.
As a disclaimer, I do not work for or have any business relationship with them or any company for that matter. This allows me to call it as I see it.
I hope this helps in the mean time.
Mike
that's a pm rack system, side and top
The wobble is probably because she is sitting too far back on the bike .
Hi there mottorcle5052,
You are absolutely correct that loading a motorcycle differently can effect handling.
To expand the thought on loading, I would like to add a few things that might help explain this phenomenon. The weight exerted on the bike is any weight between the contact points of the wheels on the ground. You can think of an imaginary line from the axles straight down to the ground. A bike can have more weight forward or more weight rearward. Each affects the bike differently. I will give one an example that is easy to visualize. If a motorcycle is loaded with a bunch of gear on the rear of the bike on an uphill climb, this could shift the weight behind the rear imaginary line causing the bike to become lighter on the front. This occurs because the weight is further back of the fulcrum (imaginary line) exerting leverage which in a sense lifts the front of the bike.
As I have commented before, one wants the weight on your motorcycle to be as low and as far forward you can get it.
Other factors that affect handling are steering angle, rake, tires and steering head construction. I'm sure there are a hundreds of videos explaining steering angle and rake.If you're interested, please check those out.
In the case of the Yamaha XT 250, which is a great bike, the wobble existed from the very beginning with no loading but the rider when nearing maximum speed. Despite efforts to mitigate this wobble, we were able to reduce it, but not eliminate it. This indicates to me that the bike was never designed to exceed the speeds we were looking to obtain. The bike is advertised as a trail and commuter motorcycle, not a Motto GP bike. The XT 250 excels within this design parameter.
Thanks again for your insightful comment. Take care, Mike