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