KIWI RIDER 12 2019 VOL2 | Page 43

range. I found the power to be mellow off the bottom, then it would really take off in the mid to top end. I think this was due to it being jetted a little bit rich, but for a bike with less than an hour on the clock I didn’t think it was anything worth stressing about. As this is the biggest capacity off road two- stroke Yamaha produces I was eager to test its capabilities in more of an extreme setting, rather than the cross country scene it fits into quite well. This form of riding involves a lot of time on the clutch and they need to withstand plenty of punishment. This is the biggest stumbling block I found for this bike; I found the cable clutch couldn’t really cope with it. As the clutch heated up the engagement point kept changing, making it difficult to get the control I wanted – and I’d end up needing to adjust it. However, for normal riding I found the clutch to be fine and the pull (for a cable clutch) was surprisingly light. I felt that the 250X did everything asked of it with no real flaws. I did feel it was a bit of an after-thought from Yamaha. The plastic design looks a bit dated compared to the new design on the four-strokes. I guess it’s understandable, as the days of carburetted two-strokes are numbered with emission laws getting stricter, shrinking the market for this bike. But it’s hard beat the sound of a raspy two-stroke engine and if that’s what you desire in your life, then look no further. KIWI RIDER 43