Yamaha XT250

Light. nimble, fuel miser. Great if you're a short butt. Easy to handle. Forgiving, well behaved, well balanced. Doesn't have the low end torque of a Honda but more power in the top end. Smooth and quiet. Doesn't vibrate. Like all singles regular oil and filter changes are a must. More feedback at the front wheel than you'd expect. Not an enduro - more of a trail/recreational commuter. They should make a 400 version. EFI and six gears. Great brakes and all day saddle comfort. One of the best motorcycles I've owned in the 250cc displacement. Good resale value, starts first time anytime.

I got this bike for going to and from work. It's a good bike for a smaller person. Easy on fuel too. Nice and light. Good off road but wouldn't take her on anything too rough. Not too good on the highway due to size and engine size, but that's to be expected. Perfect commuting bike

My first offroad bike. Road it from cairns to kuranda then along extreme 4wd black mountain road to daintree and cape york via national parks and the original old telegraph track and back.
Submerged the whole bike under water three times and yet it still ran perfect.
Was great for deep sand and mud and obstacles as i could get my legs down easy to prevent falling over.
The fuel efficiency was brilliant. I only took a 10 litre extra supply and it was sufficient. This is the carby version and i doubt that i would like the fuel injection.
I sold this bike couple years later and got a DRZ 250 Suzuki. Totally regret it because was nothing but trouble. But it not surprising since Yamaha give two year warranty with the XT250 and Suzuki only 12 months with the DRZ250.
Yes the Suzuki is more offroad preformer. But if you just into getting offroad without doing jumps and racing. Get the Yamaha.
If you are learning. Definitely get the Yamaha .
However. I wouldn't get such a bike if you got to go highway riding daily over 200km. It's a 250 and whilst it will do 130km/h. Keeping it at such high speed will shorten it's life.
Most get 30 to 40 thousand km or more!!

This is the second XT250 I've owned. As it's a very simple, air cooled four stroke, it's very low maintenance and extremely reliable. It is a great learner bike, but it's also suitable for more experienced riders who don't necessarily want a full on Enduro bike.

I love this bike as it's a great L's bike that my whole family will be learning on. It's got a great setup and esay access for when you want to do a service yourself. Overall it's a great bike to learn on and have fun off road as well.
Great Learner Bike, rides very smooth, Easy to maintain at home
A bit light for riding on the highway as it gets thrown around a bit