Do 250cc (or so, e.g. Enduro style) engines survive long highways?
 

Hi all :thumbup1:

As you may know from my previous posts, I've been looking into getting a small 250cc bike for a RTW. Something like a TTR250 or a DRZ250.... As it turns out there are loads of 250cc out there and even light 350cc or 400cc ones... My main aim was LIGHT bikes.

One thing that keeps cropping up, is whether these bikes are ok for highway travel. And I don't mean seat comfort or top speeds. I mean, can the engine survive repeated long days of sitting on the highway at closer to its top speed? We like going on smaller roads, off the beaten track and gravel off road fun. But experience has shown, that sometimes you just end up doing a day or three of just highways. So the little bike has to survive these (and many of them over the years).

So... are there street legal enduros that fulfill the above requirement? If so, which?

When comparing possible options, what (technologically) must I look for?

I know Lois Pryce and Steph Jeavons have taken such small bikes round the world... did they simply never exceed 50mph (even if the bike could) or ride more than 100 miles a day?

As you can tell, I know next to nothing about this, so any input would be helpful... :helpsmilie:

Thanks :)

In a word, Yes.

I sold my '93 TTR250 with over 75,000kms on it, with no issues whatsoever - other than a rusted through exhaust.

Yamaha 250's are renowned for being able to withstand constant thrashing and Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki 250's are not bad either. I did ride from Perpignon to Calais (1100 kms) in a day on the TTR250 - it was not much fun though!, it would sit at 100 kmh all day.....no problem.

Ive been out of the UK for 9 years now, but just looking on Yamaha UK's website I cannot see a 250cc bike, can you not get the WR250R/X or XT250 in Blighty ? if not then Yamaha have seriously missed the boat :(

The weak link on a lot of modern bikes are the Fuel Injection (FI) pumps, bad fuel (dirt or water) or if they run dry (they are immersed in the fuel, which acts as a coolant) and overheat. Older Carb bikes have less to go wrong, but the TTR is getting old and finding a good one is not so easy these days. The DR250 or a Honda CRF250L would do the job too, the Suzuki is an old bike now, the Honda a modern FI bike - I would not have a problem taking the Honda on a long trip personally.

That covers it - I would just add that it is a good idea to keep a close eye on the oil level, especially when running at high speeds (relatively speaking) for hours on end.
My XT225 holds just 0.9 litres of the stuff in the wet sump with a sight glass for such checks, so it is not hard to follow the oil check procedure.

There are not many WR Yams in the UK and none new; they were over-priced by Yamaha, as were all of their products for some time - now they are making a come back with their new twins and 3 cyls with much more sensible pricing for the UK market.
The XT 225/250s have always been grey imports and such imports are still done by some small dealers.

They should last if looked after and not abused too much but as for daily mileage that comes down to steady riding and not going near to top speed. I did a tour and would do another on a Honda XR125 and cruising at 45-50 mph and often covered 300 miles in a day comfortably, usually on smaller, more scenic roads. A 250 should be fine.

well, at highway speed with my nc750x and 220kg weight I don't feel sometime too stable especially in windy days... Trying this with 250cc at 130 kg is IMHO risky and definitely not comfortable for more then few kilometers..

No problem with my WR-R. But then again it's only done 25000 kms, and not many of those were highway kms. The build quality of the WR-R may explain its rather stiff price. But then again it takes a beating quite well, so I suspect it's a good platform to rig a world tourer from.

indeed, I don't understand where that difference in price come from between e.g. crf250l, klx250 and wr250r...especially as I prefer steel frame over aluminium.

I think there are a couple of facts that might - at least partially - explain the price difference:
1) 31 HPs in the WR-R as opposed to 20-something in the CRF-L and KL-X
2) A 350W alternator - it takes whatever you throw at it
3) An alu frame which allows a maximum load of 185 kg (RTW worthy!)
4) Very revving-friendly 1/4th of a Yamaha R1 engine
5) Long service intervals (not sure of the Honda and Kawa though) with valve clearance adjustments every 48000 km
And it looks better ;-)

The CRF250L Owners thread - ADVrider
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=329337
Long term KLX250S review - ADVrider
The Amazing KLX351 - ADVrider

You can research several bikes on ADV Rider Thumpers forum. The links above cover some of the most popular bikes, but if you can't buy them in the UK then you may be limited?? ... or just go to France and buy a bike there!

While perhaps not ideal on FAST highways ... most of the 250's can do it.
The Yamaha WR250R has the most power and is a step up over the others in several areas. It's also A LOT MORE MONEY!

As Gipper says, don't over rev the bike, keep speeds moderate on highway.
Change oil more frequently if doing long highway runs. Keep it at 45 mph to 55 mph and you should be fine, even riding 10 hours a day.

I've scanned the threads above but not read any cover to cover. I suggest you do the same. After a month or so you'll have a good back ground on the bikes listed. There are threads on just about ALL small bikes on ADV Rider, so pick anyone you like and READ READ READ!

One bike that intrigues me is the bored out KLX250S (bored out to 351cc). With the bore job it's HP is about equal to the WR250R for nearly half the price.

Riders have made travel bikes out of ALL the above bikes. There is a ride report here on HUBB with a couple on two CRF250L :
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...anywhere-77588

A great report!

Test Rides! Ride any bikes you can, get a feel for them! Now load them up with 30 kgs. of gear!

bier

Oh, and you can buy the WR-R 2nd hand. I did. It's a lot cheaper.

I don't have any input on which bike you should go for other than to say that if you anticipate having to flog it flat out for days on end you might want to consider a bigger engine.

If you're dead set on a 250 for weight reasons you'll have to accept its limitations. 50-55mph is probably a reasonable open road speed for a loaded 250 if you want it to last RTW. Unless you're against the clock an extra 10-20mph hardly matters over the timescale you'll be away.

Thanks for all the info guys!

Yeah, I have more reading to do. But the general opinion seems to be 250 is fine. That's what I was hoping for. I really do want a light bike for all the fun off road stuff :) Most of the time our highway cruising speed is round the 50 mph mark anyways.

One thing though, was hoping to find an older bike (1990s maybe) just so its simple, carbs, no complicated electronics and sensors. Had an oil cooled simple Indian bike recently and it was a dream to fix :) Just swallowed oil, but you can get more and top up any time...

Was hoping for air cooled..... or is that a really bad idea? And does anyone have any experience with Suzuki's SACS air+oil cooling system that uses two oil pumps? Are they complicated to fix or do they just simply never break?

the Suzuki SACS works well, on the DR its super reliable - I haven't heard of any issues with this system, the DR runs pretty cool until you start doing low speed riding in hot ambient temperatures, even then it doesn't overheat like a KTM ;) (but it doesn't have the hp of a KTM either :( )

As the guys have mentioned, more frequent oil changes, clean air filter and good plugs (I use Iridium plugs) are required when you are working a small engine hard.


@ Hans, its good to see people travelling on the WR-R, well done! - what is the range from the larger tank? I have been looking out for a used one in Canada, but they get snapped up quickly!

Ran a few 250's and they have never missed a beat.

TTR,XR etc great bikes and will run all day everyday without fail.

In all honesty these bikes are not really Enduro bikes at all just simply brilliant Trail bikes:scooter:

You don't need to over pack them and they will happily keep up with traffic anywhere other than the autobahn

@Gipper: Some 400 kms with the kind of riding I usually do.