Long time coming, but it's here at last. After 14 years of XT ownership and enjoyment, with quite a number of XT225s plus an XT250 in the mix for good measure, and going on 83 (next month) with little to no opportunity to ride where I'm located, my last XT225 (and one of the best bikes I've owned, hands down) is up for sale.

This 2002 six speed Yamaha XT225 has less than 7500 miles on it. New tires, rear is mounted, front still to be. Fresh Mobil1 15w50 oil change with new filter. New 12 volt GEL battery. Starts instantly. Runs perfectly.

Has a strong light weight removable neoprene carrying rack on the rear that comes with an enclosed cargo box if wanted. Professionally redone seat with extra padding for much improved ride comfort. Scratches on front fender, rather typical, nothing that seriously detracts.

Everything about this bike is top notch. Just start it and go wherever you desire, on road or off!

Interested? PM me for additional details!..

great looking bike! hope a xt225.comer gets it!

Me too, Jerry. Whoever ends up with it will have a great light weight dual sport bike. Haven't put it on Craigslist just yet. Figured I'd list it here for the group to consider and spread the word on. More likely to find someone who'll take part here that way than selling it on Craigslist. So let's see what turns up and who's interested..


Marci and me at the Heber-Overgaard 4th of July parade. Fun times with our home grown community parade!..

Went ahead and posted the bike for sale on Show Low, AZ Craigslist. A much wider audience, so figured I might as well take advantage of it. Still hope that whoever buys it will check in here and enjoy the site.

George - Hope all is going well. My neighbor is 93 and in perfect health. Born and raised out here farming and ranching. She doesn't dirt bike but still drives and gets around fine. Best of luck to you both moving forward. At this stage, it's all about quality of life and enjoying the time left. Getting sick and/or injured is no fun. We've discovered we don't bounce off the ground like we once did. Good luck moving your bike. I would imagine it will sell quickly and for a good price. Thanks for the post.

All is well with us, Scott. We live in High Country Pines, up on the west rim of Buckskin Canyon above where Heber-Overgaard proper starts. The only way in and out of the larger community is AZ260, the narrow two lane road that goes down off the canyon rim about a mile north of us through a steep slot into the canyon bottom where the community begins.

Up here I'm confined to riding our local neighborhood with little or no access to forested areas to the east of the community. I can ride the highway down the slot to the canyon bottom, but with all the traffic in and out of the community funneling through there, riding that twisty slot down to 'the flats' (what locals call the canyon bottom) with angry flatlanders tail gating me all the way down and back isn't something I enjoy, and better yet not something Marci wants me doing.

Going up and down that slot in a pickup is bad enough with Valley escapee tail gaters pushing you both ways. But riding it on an XT225 is taking your life in your hands while praying for the best -- not 'fun' at all. We see some crazy crashes as it is up and down that slot and elsewhere on the mountain. So limiting exposure as much as possible to the local highway is the better part of wisdom in my book!..

Hope you and Jeannie are happy and well there in your neck of the woods.

Hi George - All well on this end. We have the usual collection of idiot drivers here too. Access road and then mountain roads. Check THIS out for examples. We see chronic speeding, tailgating, illegal passing and other stupid stunts. Throw in the deer with suicidal tendencies and it's a fun time all at 60+ MPH. In the past 3 years, our quiet alpine spots have become mobbed. Sheriff office response calls are up 105% as a result. Building permits are up 300%. We were lucky to ride and explore before the crowds hit. 91 octane is $5.50/gal which hasn't slowed anyone down.

If you haven't been following Lake Mead and Lake Powell there are tons of videos on YouTube produced by citizen journalists. Lake Mead is just 90' above dead pool now. The history of those dams, Colorado River and what's going on now is very interesting. When those dams were built unusually high water flows were going on given the snow pack in the Rocky Mountains. This led to overestimating capacity. The Hoover Dam has 17 generators with only 5 working now given low water levels. You'll find THIS interesting on Los Angeles, CA. It talks about the aqueduct project. You and Marci stay safe and healthy.

California's explosive growth since WW2, fueled by climate, location and water availability, can no more be sustained than explosive water dependent growth anywhere can continue unabated.

The Central Arizona Project, pumping ever more scarce water from the Colorado River to central Arizona to supply the rapidly growing demand for the precious liquid with farms and cities alike, now finds itself in much the same boat that California is in. Demand for water is far outstripping supply given the shrinking cycle of rainfal and high country snowpacks no longer recharging the rivers and lakes these population centers depend on.

The drought cycle we're in here in the West and Southwest has replaced the decades of water surplus we once enjoyed, and for untold decades ahead of us, until this cycle runs its course, unless huge desalination projects can turn sea water into a usable commodoty at an affordible cost (don't hold your breath), life as we've known it in our dry desert cities is on its way out - whether people realize it or not.

Basically, those of us old enough to have experienced the decades of water surplus we grew accustomed to, if we're wise will recognize the facts we're dealing with and find more sustainable ways to live. Most won't change though, oblivious as they are to facts, and the majority of these will find the reasons they moved to the West-Southwest crumbling under their feet as water supplies rapidly shrink.

Little wonder that the Hohokam people, who extensively irrigated Arizona's Salt River Valley and survived there for hundreds of years before European immigrants made their way to the Americas, were nowhere to be found when immigrant settlers began to stake claim to these same lands. These extended cycles of water abundance and lack thereof have seen large populations come and go over the centuries, and it'll be much the same for centuries to come whether we like it or not.

Hi George - I wish I could offer a more positive vision but I can't. There is an amazing amount of citizen journalism out on YouTube covering Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Vegas DTech is one fellow that's reaching out to people to increase awareness and conservation about water. You can do a YouTube search on Lake Powell Water Level and get tons of videos. Las Vegas is a prime example of waste for commercial purposes. There are so many ways that people and businesses could conserve, save money and not impact their business. Solutions need to work economically and can.

The Phoenix Valley is another example of a city that will need to change. Things like the 600' fountain in Fountain Hills would always make we wonder what people are thinking about. Who would build such a display in the desert? Is it imaging to passers by that water is plentiful?? Then the abundance of backyard pools with no covers, thirsty landscaping plans and golf courses. To include out of control building. Don't worry as Uncle Sham has our backs with 1.2 gal flush toilets. People should get back in touch with the area being a desert and try to work with the land. I'd imagine this won't happen until it's a crisis. There is a lot of economic pressure to solve water problems by increasing supplies (somehow). There's a lot of pressure on the conservation and environmental sides. I would imagine solutions will fall somewhere in between. It's called compromise which is a lost art these days.

We have good water supplies here but the water mains that feed the demand go back to the early 80s. The city water main that feeds our house is close to capacity. We run 40 PSI in the house and our landscaping requires NO water. We fill the birdbath (1 gal) as needed. The point being we try to not waste water. I saw a sod truck pass by the other day and it makes me wonder WTF are people thinking about. Take care.

We watched a YouTube 'Heavy D' video about rescuing a stranded houseboat from a sand bar on Lake Mead and learned that the water level is dropping close to 8" a day, on course to making Mead a 'dead pool' with water levels so low the generators no longer create electricity and faucets run dry in Vegas and other cities. Then the stampede out of the west and southwest will begin in earnest - if people can even afford to move millions will. Gonna be a rough ride in the months and years ahead, no two ways about it..

Hi George - There's a lot of good information out there. Boots on the ground normal people that are concerned about their homes. Not in it for the money either. This Video is interesting about what's going on in AZ business wise. I had no idea the tech companies relocated to that state. The first part is AZ followed by TX and NYC. As for water, there's plenty of incentives to find a solution. People need to realize it's a desert not a great lake. Maybe to conserve a resource that's life sustaining would be a good idea. All these cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles have been growing since their inception. Where the crisis points are is hard to say. I think with a little effort driven by awareness we could all do much better. It's going to take some compromising which seems to be a lost art these days. Take care.