Yamaha XT250 Dual Sport Reviews on Cycle Insider (2)
Avg. Rating

If you read a few reviews about this bike on the web, you'll keep reading the word "underrated." What does this mean? It means that no one who owns and rides this bike underrates it, only those who have not experienced the bike are underrating it. Furthermore, most of those people are unable to look much further than a bike's displacement when they "rate" one. I've been riding for 19 years, many of them off-road, but when I wanted a primarily-commuter bike for the big city, I did not want to be confined to the pavement. The turn angle caught my attention, the weight, the aluminum wheels, at the time the large disc brakes (front and rear), which now can be found on all the bikes in this bracket, a lightened crank...all of these point to a nimble bike that requires less power rather than providing more. The seat height is friendly to most riders (perfect for difficult, rocky trails and traffic lights)...and the riding position couldn't be more comfortable since it's really a "standard made to look like a dual-sport." A motorized mountain bike. The XT's air-cooled simplicity is another plus, since it doesn't require the extra power that you can get from a heavier water-cooled design. I've ridden the KLX250S alongside the XT and it's tall and clunky in comparison. The KLX provides more power, but it requires more as well so it doesn't have the spirited acceleration that the XT has. The grab handles on the back allow me to easily pick up the back end and swing it around to park it in a tight spot or spin it around on a trail. I should just write an entire article about this bike in order to give it a "proper" rating.

I bought this bike to be an in-town commuter. Even though this may not have been Yamaha's primary intention for this bike, I have been very impressed with how well it performs on-road. The bike's strengths: light weight/compact design, maneuverability, and fuel economy are what made me choose it initially. However, I did not count on how fun this bike is to ride! There is plenty of power for in-town and even highway traffic. The fantastic ground clearance and dirt bike design mean you can find parking spaces literally anywhere. If I have one complaint it is the stock tires are truly terrible, which is why I took away a star for performance and comfort. I recently upgraded to more street-oriented enduro tires, so hopefully will be giving those stars back soon enough!