Small displacement motorcycles

Oliver

Active member

Equipment
L2501, JD 3520
Feb 2, 2011
540
129
43
Preston County, WV
Any of you have, or are interested, in small displacement motorcycles?


I have other bikes but a year ago I decided to pick up a small street legal motorcycle. It would be for riding everything from local trails and dirt roads up to primary (55 mph) roads. My friend had been hinting that she'd like to learn to ride so that would be another use for it. In my search for a simple, light weight. motorcycle I ended up buying a Yamaha XT250. While there are other dual sport 250's out there with better specs this little bike just hit the sweet spot for me with its combination of light weight, low seat height, ample ground clearance, air cooled, FI, adequate fuel capacity, wide ratio gearing, and Japanese quality.

I had forgotten just how easy and fun it is riding a small bike like this. It's so light to push out of the garage or around a stump, the gearing is low enough to ride trails at a crawl but high enough to motor down the road comfortably at 60 mph. There's no turbulence or added noise from a fairing or windshield just clean air moving past the helmet. I find myself seeking out interesting little dirt and gravel roads to explore which is how I learned to ride many years ago on my first motorcycle, which was also a dual sport 250, so riding this thing tends to bring back good memories.

For anyone looking for a first motorcycle a 250 such as this would be what I recommend. What's great though is just how fun they are for experienced riders as well.







A friend I met, who happens to also ride an XT250, has traveled all around the U.S. on his, and he's 6'-8" tall!
 

SidecarFlip

Banned

Equipment
M9000HDCC3, M9000HD, Kubota GS850 Sidekick
Oct 28, 2018
7,197
555
83
USA
I have a KLR 650 myself (one of 4 bikes actually). Nice bike for fire roading and running errands. Call it my 2 wheeled lawnmower.

Witnessed a motorcycle fatality yesterday. 4 crotch rockets at high speed on the paved road north of the farm. Must have been well into triple digits and one had a front tire pop. No helmets and I presume liquid courage involved.

They took the tire popper away in a meat wagon (no siren) and one other went life flight and the two remaining took a ride to the hospital for substance tests.

We watched it unfold with the bino's. Nothing left of the one bile, could have swept it up in a dustpan. The rest were heavily damaged

No lids, booze and speed on a bike spells disaster.

Kind of like Covid. Stupid people doing stupid things equals death and hurt.
 

Oliver

Active member

Equipment
L2501, JD 3520
Feb 2, 2011
540
129
43
Preston County, WV
KLR 650 is a good old bike I had a couple of them over the years, wonder where Kaw is going to bring out its replacement?

Interesting a tubeless tire would blow out suddenly like that. How come they took a second rider to the hospital? Did two bikes go down?
 

SidecarFlip

Banned

Equipment
M9000HDCC3, M9000HD, Kubota GS850 Sidekick
Oct 28, 2018
7,197
555
83
USA
KLR 650 is a good old bike I had a couple of them over the years, wonder where Kaw is going to bring out its replacement?

Interesting a tubeless tire would blow out suddenly like that. How come they took a second rider to the hospital? Did two bikes go down?
All 4 went down but the one who died, his bike went through the ditch and into a field with him along.

They towed all 4 bikes, no one rode away.

I suspect he hit something in the roadway and it punctured the tire as there are no skid marks on the pavement. At over a hundred, death is waiting.
 

Lil Foot

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
May 19, 2011
7,522
2,556
113
Peoria, AZ
I'm a small bike guy myself. Currently the ride is a Yamaha TW200. Decent in town & offroad.
In the past I've owned 90, 100, 150, 160, 175, 200, 250, 350, 450, 500, & 650cc bikes, and multiples of most of those. The KLR was one of my favorites, but just too much to wrassle around on anything rougher than a fire road- fun on the street though.
My TW200, KLR650, and what I have always considered to be the best looking bike ever conceived, the SL350 in blue.
 

Attachments

Oliver

Active member

Equipment
L2501, JD 3520
Feb 2, 2011
540
129
43
Preston County, WV
Good Lord one bike has a problem and it takes out three others..... why in the world would they be that close together when riding? Crazy!

I notice a lot of TW200's on RV's. I agree about Honda's SL350 being a nice looking old bike.
 

SidecarFlip

Banned

Equipment
M9000HDCC3, M9000HD, Kubota GS850 Sidekick
Oct 28, 2018
7,197
555
83
USA
Good Lord one bike has a problem and it takes out three others..... why in the world would they be that close together when riding? Crazy!

I notice a lot of TW200's on RV's. I agree about Honda's SL350 being a nice looking old bike.
Speed and booze and being idiots on a public highway equals death. Over a hundred (probably 150) the first guy buys it, the rest tangle up too.

At 100, the distance covered before any reaction is a couple hundred feet at least.
 

SidecarFlip

Banned

Equipment
M9000HDCC3, M9000HD, Kubota GS850 Sidekick
Oct 28, 2018
7,197
555
83
USA
I'm a small bike guy myself. Currently the ride is a Yamaha TW200. Decent in town & offroad.
In the past I've owned 90, 100, 150, 160, 175, 200, 250, 350, 450, 500, & 650cc bikes, and multiples of most of those. The KLR was one of my favorites, but just too much to wrassle around on anything rougher than a fire road- fun on the street though.
My TW200, KLR650, and what I have always considered to be the best looking bike ever conceived, the SL350 in blue.
The KLR is heavy and high up too. I put lowering links on mine. it was a tippy toe bike and I'm 6'2. Mine is all 'farkled' up. Has soft luggage, rack bag, halogen lights, LED tail and turn signal bulbs and a Schnitz performance cylinder and camshaft and a Doo Hickey too. Done a couple 1000 mile trips on it. Other than numb butt it did fine. Don't like the freeway, prefers secondary roads and so do I actually.

Mine gets at least 60 per. Cheap date to ride.
 

Lil Foot

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
May 19, 2011
7,522
2,556
113
Peoria, AZ
Mine got a low profile, wider, more comfy seat, and all of my bikes get bar risers or bar backs, or both. I did some trials riding back in the day, and I like tall bars closer to me for easier maneuvering when standing on the pegs. Most of mine get "platform" pegs for the same reason. A lot of them had "heel pegs" also.
 

Attachments

dlsmith

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX2230, LA211
Nov 15, 2018
1,235
789
113
Goshen, IN
A close friend bought a long neglected '75 Honda CB400 4 cylinder from his cousin six or eight years ago. Tore it completely apart, everything was painted, powder coated, polished or chromed. The engine was torn down and rebuilt. The crankcase was completely polished. (He loves tedious tacks like that.) All new wire harness with LED lights and electronic flasher. He finally has it about ready to fire up, after about 20 years of setting idle.
It's a nice, light bike, with plenty of power, should be a lot of fun.

I need to put the battery in my CB750 Night Hawk and start riding it his summer.
 

Attachments

twomany

Active member

Equipment
B7200
Jul 10, 2017
793
138
43
Vermont
YES!

I ran a Vespa P200 for MANY YEARS.

Rode it from Miami to western Montana and back in three weeks, one summer when I was younger ;-)

this thread makes me want to put the Moto Morini back in service as a back road burner.
I've been using the electric bicycle for that since building one this past winter. That really opens up the options. Just no 60mph roadways. ;-)

The VFR fills in when the pavement calls.
 

Lil Foot

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
May 19, 2011
7,522
2,556
113
Peoria, AZ
That CB400 is a piece of art! Just gorgeous!
 

skeets

Well-known member

Equipment
BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
14,568
3,329
113
SW Pa
Last little bike I has was a 250 Osia, a nice bike but Im just not into dirt any more andyes my geezer glide is my choice now,, but a nice side by side might be nice too,,like a slingshot
 

Oliver

Active member

Equipment
L2501, JD 3520
Feb 2, 2011
540
129
43
Preston County, WV
... At 100, the distance covered before any reaction is a couple hundred feet at least.
True, then again when his tire blew out at 100 and he went down he slid to a stop. A following motorcycle traveling the same speed, if paying attention, could have slowed down faster by braking than the motorcycle sliding on its side. At this point I just feel sorry for the family and friends he left behind.

.... Doo Hickey too. Done a couple 1000 mile trips on it. Other than numb butt it did fine. Don't like the freeway, prefers secondary roads and so do I actually.
Mine got a low profile, wider, more comfy seat....


Yeah hard to believe Kawasaki made that motorcycle for so many years with a fragile cam chain tensioner, I replaced it in both of mine too. Other than a Corbin flat seat that's all I did to my KLR's.





I went a different way.

A little dual sport would compliment that Road Glide nicely! :D



A close friend bought a long neglected '75 Honda CB400 4 cylinder from his cousin six or eight years ago.....
It's a nice, light bike, with plenty of power, should be a lot of fun.

I need to put the battery in my CB750 Night Hawk and start riding it his summer.
Yes it should be a fun bike. I had Honda's later version a 1990 CB1 but was a little cramped on it so sold it after a couple years.


YES!

I ran a Vespa P200 for MANY YEARS.

Rode it from Miami to western Montana and back in three weeks, one summer when I was younger ;-)

this thread makes me want to put the Moto Morini back in service as a back road burner.
I've been using the electric bicycle for that since building one this past winter. That really opens up the options. Just no 60mph roadways. ;-)

The VFR fills in when the pavement calls.
NICE on the Vespa! What's the Moto Morini a 350? VFR is a nice road bike.
 

SidecarFlip

Banned

Equipment
M9000HDCC3, M9000HD, Kubota GS850 Sidekick
Oct 28, 2018
7,197
555
83
USA
I have a collection of bikes actually. The KLR, a Triumph Centennial Bonneville with a sidecar, a 1968 Norton 750 P11A Scrambler in pristine condition and a Triumph 2300 cc Rocket 3 Classic bagger.

No potato bikes though. Never felt the need to own one.
 

SidecarFlip

Banned

Equipment
M9000HDCC3, M9000HD, Kubota GS850 Sidekick
Oct 28, 2018
7,197
555
83
USA
Last little bike I has was a 250 Osia, a nice bike but Im just not into dirt any more andyes my geezer glide is my choice now,, but a nice side by side might be nice too,,like a slingshot
Skeets... It's an Ossa. Ossa and Bultaco were stablemates. I'd love to have a Bultaco 250 scrambler.
 

Workerbee

Active member

Equipment
Zd21
Mar 1, 2020
205
96
28
MN
That little CB400 sure is nice and brings back memories. I bought one new back then for $600. I always considered that to be the funnest ride of all the bikes Ive had, some bigger, some smaller. It could give most of the bigger bikes a run for their money for short distances anyway. I wish I still had that one.
 

skeets

Well-known member

Equipment
BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
14,568
3,329
113
SW Pa
Yep Ossa thats wht happens when you try to type as fast as you thunk
 

dlsmith

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX2230, LA211
Nov 15, 2018
1,235
789
113
Goshen, IN
That CB400 is a piece of art! Just gorgeous!
The few of us that have seen it so far all have said the same thing. He was a painter by trade for 30 years, and to say he's a perfectionist doesn't do him justice.

I had a CB500 four banger back in the '70s, and it was a really fun bike, sorry I ever sold it.