How fast are the 250s?

[young1]

I am thinking of ways to avoid having to take my subaru to work and thought I might go back to commuting (6km each way) on a motorbike again. I used to do this in Wellington on a VTR250. I don't really want to commute on the KTM.

Trying to kill 3 birds with one stone I thought I might trade my DR400 (not able to be registered for the road) that gets little use now and get a XR, TTR, KLX etc etc 250 trail bike.

The other thought for one of these bikes is maybe going away with my son at xmas on an adventure ride (some of you might remember I was looking for a bike for him last year, in the end we had a great trip up North in the car). Now the question;

How fast can these bikes cruise at on the open road. If I am on my KTM I dont want to be waiting for him to catch up. Can they sit on 110 or 120km okay?

[merv]

My XR250L will cruise happily at 120 all day (on closed roads under controlled conditions of course - its against the law to go over 100) and it tops out between 130 and 140.

My WR250F is much faster but not a commuting engine.

[daytona 2]

my dads 27HP old honda magna 250 toped out at about 130km/h...:laugh: ive been 100km/h on my polini 40cc race bike...so the magna wasnt to quick..

[cooneyr]

The new WR250R? Seem to be getting good write ups.

Cheers R

[kickingzebra]

Dunno, I'm too scared to tap mine out.

[merv]

The new WR250R? Seem to be getting good write ups.

Cheers R

Yeah and that one they claim does have an engine more suited to commuting than my WR250F.

[young1]

Interesting that both the Honda and Kawasaki web sites have prices of their bikes but Yamaha does not. I also found it interesting that Yamaha have three different 4 stroke 250s; TTR, XT and the WR250R.

For those interested I found tests of both the KLX and WR250R at these sites;
http://www.motorcycledaily.com/20may08_2009kawasaki_klx250s.htm
http://www.motorcycledaily.com/11march08_2008yamaha_wr250r.htm

The Yamaha does look the more "modern" of the two.

[merv]

Yamaha has the F model too in addition to the others (I suspect the TTR will be discontinued now) and I told you more about the R vs F on this post http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showpost.php?p=1621394&postcount=11

[young1]

Thanks Merv, I know about the F models (would love a WR450F) but wouldnt want to ride them a long long way on the road!

[merv]

Thanks Merv, I know about the F models (would love a WR450F) but wouldnt want to ride them a long long way on the road!

That's the thing I was saying F not really a commuting engine. I'd say that new R would be great. My earlier comments about my XR were just giving you an idea how useful the old style aircooled bikes are and I've never worried about running the Hondas hard on the throttle stop on the road for long periods and I've never broken one.

I've been happy to take the Honda on rides like this http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=48435 and this http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=45786

[young1]

That's the thing I was saying F not really a commuting engine. I'd say that new R would be great. My earlier comments about my XR were just giving you an idea how useful the old style aircooled bikes are and I've never worried about running the Hondas hard on the throttle stop on the road for long periods and I've never broken one.

It would be strange getting an XR250, I had one of the first twin shock, 23" front wheel XR250s in New Plymouth back in (when did they come out) 1979 or 1980? And that went very well (and went even further when someone stole it!)

[merv]

Only problem with these latest XRs is the price - over $9,000, but being a Honda man from way back I just had to have one. Compared to Mrs mervs DR650 not exactly a bargain when we bought that for $7,995.

DR650 would be another good option at a lower price of course and they are faster than the lower power 250s. Cruise more like 130 - 140 all day on them. We've run the DR on day rides two up as well and you couldn't do that with the XR the pegs and back seat only suit a child passenger.

[young1]

Only problem with these latest XRs is the price - over $9,000, but being a Honda man from way back I just had to have one. Compared to Mrs mervs DR650 not exactly a bargain when we bought that for $7,995.

DR650 would be another good option at a lower price of course and they are faster than the lower power 250s. Cruise more like 130 - 140 all day on them.

I had thought of that but would like my son to be able to ride it to (he has raced RM85, and we sold his KDX200 at begin of year) and he does not have a motorbike licence yet.

[NordieBoy]

It would be strange getting an XR250, I had one of the first twin shock, 23" front wheel XR250s in New Plymouth back in (when did they come out) 1979 or 1980? And that went very well (and went even further when someone stole it!)

1979.

They go even better with a 21" front.

[Badjelly]

Trying to kill 3 birds with one stone I thought I might trade my DR400 (not able to be registered for the road) that gets little use now and get a XR, TTR, KLX etc etc 250 trail bike.

There were some very good prices on new DRZ400SMs a short while ago. A guy at work commutes on one from Paraparaumu to Wellington and is very pleased with it (but is a bit unpleased he bought a second-hand one for the same price as he could have got a new one a month or 2 later).

[young1]

All good replies thank you, I might go for a walk around the bike shops at lunchtime and see what they have.

[warewolf]

How fast can these bikes cruise at on the open road. If I am on my KTM I dont want to be waiting for him to catch up. Can they sit on 110 or 120km okay?I'd expect all but the WRs to be in the same league as my DR-Z250. Regularly tops out at nigh-on 140km/h, cruises on the flat at 115km/h quite okay.

BUT headwinds and big hills kill the speed. At times I've had it tapped out at <100km/h in 4th/5th/6th didn't matter, into a headwind on the flat or up a big hill (usually in foul weather). And that's with a light rider and no luggage to speak of.

They are great fun because you have to work on your corner speed to make good progress. But on the big bike you will be waiting for it sometimes... not saying that is a bad thing. For an annual trip versus daily use, optimise for the daily use. Or you could work on your drafting, on the flat I could get an extra 10km/h that way.

Oh, and don't get on the picks hard coming in to or mid-corner with the trailie maxxing out corner speed behind you... those things don't have the brakes of a street bike... DAMHIK!

[avgas]

you should have kept the KDX200 - i used to frequent 120+ on one.

[young1]

you should have kept the KDX200 - i used to frequent 120+ on one.

Unfort that was not registerable and also had to be sold due to marriage split :-(

He was fast on that, I had trouble keeping up with him on my 400 (or maybe he knew that I paid for any damage to the bike so he could take the risks!!)

[MXNUT]

I had thought of that but would like my son to be able to ride it to (he has raced RM85, and we sold his KDX200 at begin of year) and he does not have a motorbike licence yet.

Did you know that learner license laws are in the process of being changed and that bikes like the DR650 and DRZ400 etc ...will be able to be riden on learners license by the end of this year.

[glice]

my mighty klr250 has pretty long legs and I've been to about 150 without much trouble. and I'm sure would keep up with the speeds your talking about.

[young1]

Did you know that learner license laws are in the process of being changed and that bikes like the DR650 and DRZ400 etc ...will be able to be riden on learners license by the end of this year.

Really now that is interesting. Sure it will be by the end of this year?

[MXNUT]

Really now that is interesting. Sure it will be by the end of this year?

The drafts are before parliment at the moment so 6 months would be the normal time frame, but who knows anything for sure where polititans are concerned ??

[muzzle]

my mighty klr250 has pretty long legs and I've been to about 150 without much trouble. and I'm sure would keep up with the speeds your talking about.Had my XR250 up to that. Only problem was the speedo was out by about 25kmph at that speed. I've got a Husky TE610 now and at 100kmph the speedo is out buy about 10kmph the other way. Don't trust trail bike speedo's

[glice]

Had my XR250 up to that. Only problem was the speedo was out by about 25kmph at that speed. I've got a Husky TE610 now and at 100kmph the speedo is out buy about 10kmph the other way. Don't trust trail bike speedo's

yea its a bit wonky. 50k is 45k.

[GB500nz]

I had a Yam XT225, which was great but a little weak on the motorway. Now I've got a Kawa KL250 Sherpa, and it's perfect. It's relaxed at 110 and I could sit on it for hours without getting sore. It's good on the dirt, too.
A hint when riding with someone on a slower bike, though: The rider straining to catch up is always the one who ends up in the ambulance. If you're riding in front, slow down. It isn't a race. And there's a cop around the next bend anyway.

[NordieBoy]

And there's a cop around the next bend anyway.

You're doing your adventure riding in the wrong places.

[Skinny_Birdman]

With stock gearing my TT-R will do around 130km/h indicated, but at anything over about 100km/h the vibration is just horrid (can't see properly, teeth fall out, bike falls apart etc), so I tend to plod along on the road at about 95km/h. That new WR250 sounds better and better, eh?