What would you choose: Yamaha XT or Suzuki DR?

[suecanada]

Just asking....thinking of getting a dual purpose 250-ish for playing around and minimalist touring:

Suzuki DR200 like I rode in NH from Micatech owner Bob Gould...remember Nhmaf? OR an Yamaha XT225 or 250 like Lois on the Loose? Both have lower seat heights and Yamaha has bigger gas tank available while DR has a 3.4 gal. tank already. One has 6 gears and the other 5 gears. Any experiences?? Want to keep it simple mechanically.

[ray]

Suzuki

[Bengt_Phorqs]

Sue, performance is probably equal.  I think the deciding factor for me would be 1) dealer service/availability; and 2) buy in price.  I'd probably go with the Yamaha because like a Toyota car, no matter where you go in the world you can get parts.  I can still get parts very easily for my 1974 Yamaha TY250A.

[nhmaf]

I may be in error, or biased because I've owned a couple of Yamahas in my past and loved them, but I think that I'd lean to the Yamaha on this.   Partly because of my familiarty with the company and I seem to notice more Yammie dealers where I go that Suzuki dealers, and I *think* that of those (2) models, the Yamaha is the more popular one and more likely to have parts and aftermarket upgrades available.   I could be totally wrong-headed on this.  The Suzuki is a good bike too - probably more a matter of personal preferences rather than one machine being clearly superior to the other, maybe..

There are (2) books I want to get for Christmas - one of the is Lois on the Loose and the other is
American Borders: A Solo Circumnavigation of the United States on a Russian Sidecar Motorcycle that is an account of a single woman's adventure around North America on a Ural rig - both sound like they could be entertaining and enlightening about travelling on the slower roads..

[DeeG]

We've got the DR200 and a Super Sherpa and a Honda CRF230L.

I like them all.  I don't have a problem with the seat heights, maybe because they are all such light weight bikes. (Unlike the GS) And the spouse, with his 27" inseam, does just fine on all three of them.

maintenance is a piece of cake, we've done nothing other than oil changes.  I think the Suzuki is the only one that needs an oil filter. Or maybe its the Honda that is the only one that doesn't.

Sherpa seems to do a bit better job keeping up with traffic (if you need to take it on the pavement). but it is a pain getting it started on cold mornings.  

[suecanada]

Thanks Dee G and all...this is the stuff I'm looking for alright. Real experience. Maybe I'm crazy but I think these bikes would be a hoot and I am never in a big hurry by myself. Great to work on and great for confidence in places that are iffy on my other two bikes.

[DeeG]

Sue,

My first 'real' experience on dirt was the Leavenworth, WA "Dirty Face" ride two years ago.  I was terrified of dropping/crashing the bike and breaking something expensive on it.  Some parts of the course were way over my head, even though this was the beginner course.  I was going so slow that the sweep rides caught up with me and I ended up not be able to finish about 60% of the ride.  

We went back this past summer and rode part of the same course, this time I was on the CRF230.  What a difference.  I was able to go a faster (normal speed instead of granny slow!) and it just felt like I was in better control on the smaller bike.  There was one part of the course where I was almost in tears.  It was downhill and very rocky.  Trail wasn't very wide and there was a nice 300' drop on the right side.  It took me about 10 minutes to crawl down the first time.  This time? About 90 seconds.  talk about a confidence boost!  

[suecanada]

Hey Dee G thanks for that boost!! You mention tears welling up under stressful conditions. Boy I know that one...goes along with "get me outta here!" On the way to the '09 TN BMW rally on LRB after the big accident in '08, I was tearing up in the switchbacks...just overwhelmed. Left sweepers and switchbacks are still a problem but right is not so much. I bet the rear end of the bike skidded out  right or the front lost it during my accident, then found renewed traction, then highsided to land on my rightside...plop! I think I told you guys that I have found out that I landed only 15 feet away from the bike but IN FRONT of it! You may remember that the bikes wheels and front rt. fork were torn off!
So I'm always looking for that comfort level. Ya read that John from SC is back on a bike!!!!? He sounds much more confident than me. I still get anxious before a ride..like too anxious. Helps with constipation though!!

[nhmaf]

Here are some reviews, in case you hadn't already found them -
Suzuk DR200E
http://www.topspeed.com/motorcycles/motorcycle-reviews/suzuki/2010-suzuki-dr200se-ar42665.html

Yammie XT225 Serow
http://www.thumperpage.com/articles/Serow.html

The new Yamaha xt250 - this would probably be my choice for more street riding with some dirt, and it could handle short stints on 65MPH highways more easily than the DR200.
http://www.topspeed.com/motorcycles/motorcycle-reviews/yamaha/2010-yamaha-xt250-ar62873.html

[larstorders]

Out of thirty something machines I have had (including umpteen BMWs), my XT 600 yamaha was the BEST overall for riding experience. For me, anyway. Up until I got  a 1982 800Gs recently.
I did have an xt 250 which was ok but I would urge you, if you have a fancy for single cylinders to give one of the bigger bangers a try.

[Vegasrandall]

Klr 650 for me

[sixfifty]

i really like my dr200. the gas tank is huge, the suspension works fairly well for me and the seat height is perfect. i've loaded it up and done a bit of back road touring (i'm guessing you've seen the minimalist touring thread on advrider.)

no problems so far.

i did install the kientech carb kit and a manual petcock. the carb helped the bike at startup. gas mileage is normally between 70 and 80 mpg.

there are a lot of good small bikes right now (honda 230, yamaha 250xt, dr200, china bikes for instance), so you should definitely just see which one fits you best, where you can get the best price, and which dealership is closest.

they're all good, and a small bike in your stable is always a plus.

[suecanada]

Thanks for seeing and replying to the older thread, sixfifty! Found one of our Vintage club members who has and is willing to sell his XT225, 2001 with 7000 km. on it. Not used it much. So now just have to decide after looking at it, about spending $2500 he is asking or see about a bit of negotiating room and end up at 2,250.00!!
Has new rear tire, a choice of sprockets, luggage rack already and some different exhaust I have been told. I'd get the 4.1 Clarke fuel tank I figure. I did like the DR200 for its 3.4 gal. gastank as you say.

[sixfifty]

excellent! for plonking around back roads, any of those bikes are good choices. i've had a lot of fun on mine, and can't imagine not having a small bike in the garage. i don't really do any trail riding, so i can't speak for that aspect.

[nhmaf]

I guess that if I were planning to use the bike more for backroads touring than trail riding, I'd go with the larger tank, all else being equal.   If you're navigating between trees or having to walk the bike through rocks etc, a larger, top heavy tank will be a big nuisance.   But, having another 80-100 mile range on backroads while touring is a big plus!