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Thank you!

There wasn't any significant flex, at least during my empty bag testing. However, I have not given it a real-world test yet with weight in the bags, either on or off road. Since this video, I mounted a tube on the left side for an extra fuel bottle, which helped even things up a bit (to match the spacing/geometry of the muffler on the right side).

Yes, it was hard enough for me to find one within my budget of $2K, so I was surprised to find mine at that price and condition. My patience paid off. I gave it a thorough check-over at the time to make sure something major wasn't hidden.

Yes, but the bike actually had only a little over 3,000 miles on it. Unfortunately the seller put the wrong digits on the title in front of me and the notary and made it 300,000+ miles. There were too many factors going on at the time (height of COVID, seller with mobility issues, distance to the seller, etc.) to demand that he fix it and re-schedule the sale. I can apply for a title fix (which is why I took a pic of the current local paper and the odometer) but I never got around to it.

Makes sense now! I thought it actually had 300,000 miles and I was thinking how! Nice video, enjoy the ride.

I just checked Lakeville, PA and Highway 590 on Google street view, and yes, I can see more hills and mountains in that area. Beautiful country.

You too! Good luck with the new one!

works for me

@@ConsumeYourSoul619 Yeah, think my clutch switch is bad.

I believe that it should start under those conditions (kickstand up, clutch in, in or out of gear). Mine had a wandering idle at one time and I thought that I was able to re-start it at stoplights without going into neutral.

@@xt250rides8 Thanks. I am going to rewire both the clutch, and the kickstand. I don't see them as being necessary. And, believe the bike will be more reliable.

I agree with you there. The XT250 is peppy enough for me, and if I take it off road, I wouldn't want something heavier anyway. If it was more interstate-friendly I'd be happier, but I'd like to stay off the highways anyway. So yes, I catch myself dreaming of other bikes, but the XT is perfectly practical for my needs.

I need to work up more courage to explore off road areas, but I am nervous about getting myself into trouble (or shot!).

@xt250rides8 Yeah. I have sketchy areas and peoples like that around me too. That plus crap off road terrain pointed me to on road only. But I'll still take it.

I understand my wife's reluctance about me riding on the road, especially in these days of distracted driving. About four years ago, an early morning biker was killed via hit-and-run just a couple hundred feet from our driveway, which didn't help my case. I've been wanting another motorcycle (maybe a road bike) but I probably won't win that fight.

@xt250rides8 At least the one you have is a great one. I get the daily motorcycle traffic crash deaths updates from mine 🫤

Hello High West. I'm still following you but not riding much myself these days. I woke up this Saturday with the intent to ride, but then just got lazy and didn't. Last May I did take my bike on a little trailer all the way to the other side of Pennsylvania and rode around with my brother in law (who also has a dual sport), and got good footage, but never finished the video yet. Maybe you'll inspire me to get going again! I feel like my videos are too boring to post, but boring is good when you ride a motorcycle (considering the alternative!). Keep riding and I'll keep watching, and hopefully I'll get another video out soon. Thank you for checking on me!

I was surprised by the apology myself. It was closer than the video shows, but a lot of people speed on this road and he probably thought I had to slam on the brakes. In reality I was going really slow at that point because i just pulled out. My biggest pet peeve about other drivers is tailgating, especially when I am on my XT250 and about to turn. I have avoided road raging on my bike to reduce the chance that the other driver is "off his rocker" and will do something stupid that will cause a crash. Gotta be careful out there!

@@xt250rides8 Yeah, tail gaiters on bikes do suck. And I'm not going to haul ass for them. Anymore I usually slow with my blinker on and wave them past me. Usually works most of the time.

We've had a very mild February here in the Cincinnati area. Lots of 50 degree plus days.

Yep, I know what you mean.

I have read that some XT250 speedos read a few mph high from the factory, but if the previous owner changed the gearing than certainly that could affect the accuracy. My speedo may have been damaged by the previous owner leaving the ignition on until the battery drained. Apparently this can really screw up the speedo, and I think this is what happened. I believe that the sprockets on mine are stock, but haven't truly checked into it. Maybe I should count the teeth in both sprockets to confirm that.

Thanks for the feedback, Hazcat. I initially wanted to crank the music louder because it is my own creation, but I resisted.🙂 I am not too worried about the compression of the front springs and interference with the fender as I do not plan on riding that aggressively, but good point nonetheless.

Thank you, I'll try those ideas especially Gaia and Backroads Discovery Routes. Years ago we had a small cabin on five acres just north of Oneida Lake, but my job in the Northeast relocated to Cincinnati so we had to sell the property. There were some nice places to ride up there, but I didn't have a motorcycle then. At one time, we considered moving to the 'burbs of Syracuse to be closer to the cabin.

Thanks! The outer diameter of the tubing is about 13/16", and the walls are fairly thin so the inner diameter is close to the same (maybe 25/32"). The pole I cut up was from a broken portable gazebo frame. The grab handles themselves are much smaller in diameter, but the extender pipe needed to be a lot larger to allow for bending the cut ends and to use the screws/clamp function.

Yep, my face shield always fogs up just as I'm getting ready to pull out of the driveway. I always forget to leave it up until I get going.

@@xt250rides8 I'm kind of digging goggles vs full face. The kind I wear have anti-fog vents everywhere. Only downside is sweat around your contact points. So I try my best to stay moving and only stop in the shade. Its another reason I wear different colored gear throughout the year. Dark colored stuff is a no go in the summer.

As a general rule I don't plan to ride unless it's above 50 degrees with no threat of rain. Not sure why I have that rule when I could simply bundle up and be fine. It's going to be below zero here in a couple of days! Bummer about the shoulder -- I hope it heals fast.

@@xt250rides8 Thats funny, I don't ride in the wet either. Actually get pissed if I get caught in it so I routinely check the doppler radar. Part of that is as a teen I had borrowed a street bike from a buddy one day. Started raining on my return and I got completely cutt off by some ass* in a 💩wagon of a truck. I locked brakes hydroplaned and did a pirouette in traffic, thus crashing the friends bike. Its nuts how slick roads get even with the lightest rains. Florida's roads just seem oily and hot so makes it even worse. I do love cold weather riding though (no sweat rolling down anywhere). But I'd have a limit temp wise otherwise it'd be no fun.

Another horrible place to speed is when leaving Milford on 28 going east. Often there is a cop running radar right at the transition between the 25 mph and 35 mph zone on a blind curve😬. All the locals go exactly 25 mph there. Yes, Indian Hill has some nice curvy wooded routes with very little traffic. The biggest danger there are lots of deer.

I looked into a replacement, but they are hard to find and quite expensive. I believe that a rebuild kit (gaskets and a couple of jets) is around $50, but I don't think that would necessarily solve the issue. I'll probably keep fiddling with it for now until I find the best setting -- maybe I'll get a new carb down the road if unsuccessful.

@@xt250rides8 I'd be clueless. I wish I knew how to work on that stuff. Best of luck with it.

I'm further north between Milford and Loveland. I haven't made it down to 32 or the Batavia area yet, but have considered it. It's funny how close these areas are by car, but seem to be far away by motorcycle!

Thanks for the comment. Even if I can get out in front of a car easily, I usually wait for them to drive by. I'd rather be behind them on a two-lane road. I worry about dogs and other large animals alot, especially in heavily wooded areas. Recentlly I set out with my camera turned off to save disk space and three baby foxes ran across the road way in front of me, and stared back at me as I slowly drove by. I wish the camera was turned on.

@@xt250rides8 Same here. I like lots of space in all directions. I think with all the land clearing going on everywhere animals will always be a danger. Cool you saw some 🦊🦊🦊

Yes, the deer are a big fear of mine too, especially on these wooded roadways in the morning where I can't see far off to the sides. As far as knobbies go, I heard that the tires I put on this spring (Kenda K270s) are squirrelly on sharp curves, but I haven't noticed anything. Probably because I still take the turns slowly.

@@xt250rides8 I've tried the Avon Distanzias (rear had an out of round defect) Then tried Pirelli MT90's. They were okay on road but had a bit of bounce. I even tried having the Avons and MT90 balanced, but that didn't help. And seeing like a boat anchors worth of tire weights to counter balanced the rear tire rim lock was interesting. That was all on my 2020 I stupidly traded in towards my CB500X. So now I'm just going to stick with the stock tires until they completely wear out. Yours are probably much better off road though.

Thank you!

Thank you for the feedback. I've lurked on your channel for about a year or so and I even stole one of your ideas (Yamaha lettering on the seat, but with 3D printed soft plastic letters and adhesive instead of paint). The letters eventually came off when the weather warmed up, but I thought it looked great on yours so I will try again.

@@xt250rides8 Coolness and thanks XT250 Rides 🙂! I really liked your camera work and the commentary. Looking forward to your future content. I was nervous doing that paint job. Too bad Yamaha don't still stencil the seats factory.

Thanks, I like going through the videos afterward to pick the most interesting angles.