XT225 or DR200SE?

[trander]

Not that this will sway anyone either way but the kickstart assy. off of the old XT-200 will bolt on to the XT-225. We added it to ours and I think it's an excellent backup to the magic button. FYI.

There is also a kit available from Yamaha for about $100 to do this.

[pintopower8]

you should check out the older xt350's they made up until about 2000. This bike had a class leading low seat height, and lots of balls. I have one and its extremely smooth off-road and on. If you plan on riding on the road a lot (with the 200 or 225) your going to find yourself struggling to hold a decent speed. The 350 is also extremely easy to handle. It feels like a 250 with the power of a 400. Then she'll be able to keep up with that DRZ

[gstanfield]

I think she has decided on the DR200, so now I will be up to the task of finding stuff for it, at least some little stuff to make her feel better as I'm, putting a big bore kit on my DRZ400 ?

George

[Bombero]

Thanks very much for all the input. Ultimately I will let her decide, but she asked me to find out which one I thought would be better for her.

.... I do like the thought of the DR's bigger fuel tank and that may come to be the deciding factor as I mentioned above, we have many many miles of dirt roads between gas stops out here. sometimes well over 100 miles and the gas situation will have to be considered heavily.

So now that you're putting the big bore on your 400 - with your 2.5 gallon tank, she can get mad at YOU, because your bikes range is limiting the fun you guys could be having! ?

Just kidding - Good for you - Hey - I wish I could get my wife to even look at a bike for herself! ?

[BigBadOrange]

I think she has decided on the DR200, so now I will be up to the task of finding stuff for it, at least some little stuff to make her feel better as I'm, putting a big bore kit on my DRZ400 ?

George

I would SERIOUSLY reconsider a TW200. TONS better beginners bike in my opionion. Time 2 since your fiancee is only 5'3". If she gets into riding, she will out grow it quickly, however, she may be turned off by the whole thing starting off with a bike that is to tall. I can't imagine that at 5'3" she would be even CLOSE to putting her feet down on the xt or the drz.

good luck.

[Mooncruiser]

FWIW, I bought a XT225 for my girlfriend, but find I ride it a lot, including a 300mi. round trip to Phoenix and back each weekend. The seat does take some getting used to, but I can put 100mi. on it before a fanny break.

I weigh just shy of 300# and I'm 6'3. The little bike fits fine, and also fit's Kathy who's 5'8 and ah,, er, -something over 125#....

You might like this www.xt225.com

Chip

[RiverRat]

FWIW, I bought a XT225 for my girlfriend, but find I ride it a lot, including a 300mi. round trip to Phoenix and back each weekend. The seat does take some getting used to, but I can put 100mi.

The seat on the xt is like sitting in a luxury car. I'm not sure why everyone says it is not comfy. Maybe i just have a big butt.

?

[Mooncruiser]

Lol, I have the South Pacific Physique ..No Arse Atoll.

One rider's heaven is another rider's hell.. Back in the 80's, I once saw a XL250 Honda with a 2X4 duct taped to the seat and a huge gas tank with "Around the World" written on it.

He did ride RTW too.

Chip

[gstanfield]

I would SERIOUSLY reconsider a TW200. TONS better beginners bike in my opionion. Time 2 since your fiancee is only 5'3". If she gets into riding, she will out grow it quickly, however, she may be turned off by the whole thing starting off with a bike that is to tall. I can't imagine that at 5'3" she would be even CLOSE to putting her feet down on the xt or the drz.

good luck.

Maybe I'm missing something or not reading the specs right, but from what I see in my buyers guide the DR200 has the same seat hight as the XT and YW yamaha bikes? My biggest issue with the TW is the big tires, I don't want to have to order tires everytime I need them and the selection is better if I go with a bike using more "tradditional" sizes. The bike has not been bought yet, still another couple weeks or so and I'm still open to ideas, just trying to get her all the facts so she/we can make the best decision here.

ALSO: I'm still looking for places to buy cool new stuff for either the DR200 or the XT225 so keep any suggestions coming this way.

Thanks for the continued input guys.

George

[kiethco]

TW 200. I've always been a fan of this bike and magazines like Dualsport and Dirtbike have given it a big thumbs up. I got one for my wife and we all ride it and have fun on it, and that's just at home!

It has electric start will go 100 miles on a tank of gas, is very stable with wider tires. The low seat (lowest available) will give her more confidence and comfort on the trail.

[xshanex]

klx250s vote here also. Its a great bike and on advrider.com there's a review and it seems to be a better bike than any other small legal dual sport out there

[outdoorsman1911]

who here works in a bike shop?

(raises hand)

we see a LOT of the yamahas in with bent forks and valve problems.

something to consider for long term reliability.

valve is about after 2k miles

and the bent forks tend to happen, just when the rider gets comfortable and jumps it a couple of times. last forks I saw were bent in about a 30 degree angle.we always joke that they have lead front forks.

good choice on the DR200 if thats what you got, that engine has been around with minor changes for close to 20 years. solid, little reliable bike.

only thing we have been seeing a lot of with the new suzuki's, is the chroming wearing off the cam, last was a rmz400 that came in yesterday..less than a year old and chroming was almost worn off. dont know what the issue is there...but hopefully suzuki doesntuse the same plant for all their chroming of the cams...cause its been on about 4 different types so far. all under 2 years.

[Derek00]

My girlfriend started out on a DR 200 and it was a great 1st bike for her. She rode it for 2 yr and just upgraded to the drz400s. I don't know anything about the yamis except what I hear on TT. Her DR was completely maintenance free except for oil changes and the like. Pull the choke, push the button and you are off riding. She liked the low seat height as a beginner and wishes she still had the seat (instead of the brick on the 400). She dumped it several times and we never had any damage except for a bent clutch lever. The only negative I would offer on the bike is lack of power. We live @ 2000 feet. When we took the bikes to CO @ 8000 plus feet the bike wouldn't go over 40 up hills and not much over 55 @ all. If we lived there I would have probably taken a little more time to tune the carb though. When a rider is just beginning power usually isn't a huge concern but it is something else for you to think about. Good luck with your choce and happy riding.

D