Honda XR250 for road use?

[mooky]

Hi,

I am thinking of buying a XR250 for getting about London. Wondering if its a particularly bad choice - and if not, what I can do to make it more road-suited.

Now, my reasoning for an XR is as follows:
1) I want small, light bike. I havent ridden much on the roads (plenty off-road) and I feel like Im less likely to get into trouble with a nimble bike thats not too fast.

2) I am probably too big for a scooter - and I dont like the seated position. I dont think its very stable.

3) I grew up with an XR250 - and am quite attached to the bike

Am I making a bad choice?

Now, if my primary usage is going to be on road, does anyone have advice in so far as mods to make it more suited to this use?

Wheels/tyres:
I imagine some road tyres are going to give much better grip than dirt nobbies.
I have seen some XR400's with smaller supermoto (motard) wheels - though not sure they exist for a 250. (by the way, why are the wheels smaller - esp the front one?)

Indicators/lights:
It doesnt seem you need indicators to be road-legal in the uk. But is it worthwhile buying a bike that has them - or is it easy to retro-fit them?
Is an XR headlight strong enough for road use at night? (I remember the light on my old XR was pants - but that was an 80's model...)

Suspension:
Is the long travel suspension dangerous on road?

Thanks
-Nick

[Dischord]

XR would be good enough for London I imagine. The suspension will be fine as will the brakes etc! Just get some road biased tyres and use them on the standard rims! If you're using the bike in London I would recommend fitting indicators, it seems to get hectic down there.

I dont think there necessarily a reason for supermoto rims being smaller. probably just for better tyre choice etc. if the light is poor fit a stronger bulb, but i doubt you'll ever get decent light out of an offroader unless you modify the wiring or something.
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2012 KTM EXC 250

Check out my vids - https://www.youtube.com/user/KTMSparky/videos

[Kickstart]

Hi

Korn has one and enjoys it.

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=60605&highlight=xr250

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[GearboxGeezer]

I know that smaller wheels means more top speed and less accelaration, Like a rear sprocket I guess.

I imagine youll hit higher speeds on a supermoto track than most motorcross tracks you see.

[Korn]

I use my XR250 to commute into London daily, as well as green laning at the weekends and general mucking about.

It's still got the enduro gearing, so a top speed of 60mph as opposed to 90mph for the proper road gearing, but on the roads I ride to work this isn't a problem. The enduro headlight is quite rubbish and not much use in the dark outside of street-lit areas, though if you find an electric start XR these have much better lights running off the battery. No mirrors or indicators, as they really aren't that helpful in heavy London traffic.

The tyres are a set of Bridgestone TW301/TW302s, which are half-n-half road/dirt tyres. I find these work quite well on the road in terms of grip and wear, but still have enough bite off road to be usable. You can get even more road-oriented tyres, though I've not tried any.

Long travel suspension isn't a problem - provided you can get your feet down at the lights. Also means you can use speed humps as handy launch ramps...
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3516 Miles, 11 Countries

[Adam_P]

[G]

Smaller rear wheel will gives better acceleration - for every turn of the wheel you will go a shorter distance, but with the same power being applied, will be going quicker.

You can get fairly decent road biased tyres in trail sizes, so personally I wouldn't bother unless you're hoping for some serious lean angles - and would need to get suspension altered to suit etc as well, ideally.

[Jebus]

yes you can get some very road bias tires for 21/18 wheels i am looking at a set of Continental Escape tires for my dtr. anybody seen used these?
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2nd time around CBT: 8/9/11
125 Varadero

[mooky]

Thanks for all the advice.

I think I will go for a fairly road-oriented tyre.

I am looking to buy an electric start - so hopefully the lights will be good.
Id prefer indicators - but you are right, in london traffic, ppl are unlikely to see them anyway...

-Nick

[lilredmachine]

Thought the only reason for the 17 inch rims was for sportsbike rubber... Any other changes in speed can be accomplished through gearing. Though in my opinion, there's nothing more visually pleasing than a supermoto with a 180 section rear.
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