Greetings XT fans!

I've been riding 250 cc bikes since the early 1970's.

For the past few decades, the only bike I've had is a Schwinn.
Nice bike. But I miss the magic carpet on and off road.

The dealer will probably be prepping my bike today. I'll pick it up tomorrow; weather forecast, excellent!

Here's an old joke you 225 / 250 guys might enjoy:

Q: What's the difference between a Harley, and a Hoover?
A: The position of the dirt bag.

No offense Harley fans (or Hoover fans for that matter). IT'S A JOKE!

2 major Questions:
#b) Any of you guys solved the luggage rack problem yet?
My Honda XL 250 S (an '80's vintage 4 stroker!) had a "universal" luggage rack on it that could easily handle a few cases of beer.

The most serious luggage rack I've found for the XT is:

http://blog.yamahagenuineparts.com/2008/09/xt250-rear-luggage-rack.html

It's not particularly confidence inspiring; and is horribly over-priced.

#a)
What about a fork brace?
I see the XT has threaded bolt holes for it (that hold on the fender). Is there a fork brace I can add, to stiffen the fork?
I've got permanent scarring from road rash I caught from my Kawasaki 250 (1970's 2 stroker) when the fork went wobbly on me while I was trying a very modest curb jump. Hideous piece of @#%$!

Ride them bikes!!
I'll be with you guys by the weekend!! vroom vroom

Hi Sear,

welcome along for the ride.

You're going to love the XT250, it's a fabulous machine.

As for the rear rack, the best by miles is one supplied by YSGear in Japan. It sure ain't cheap but it's beautifully made, heavy duty, has built in grab handles and can be fitted with side mounts to allow the use of soft luggage.

I haven't found the need for a fork brace myself but I do ride like an old woman!

Thanks for the tip Reggie.

I found this: www.ysgear.co.jp/mc/special/vmax/index.html

But I couldn't get any rack info. from it.

I hope Yamaha isn't giving up on this model.

Mine's an '09. I don't know if there are any 2010's.

Happy trails!

Does she have like, a sister? (just kiddin'!)

Hi Sears,

I'm only interested in their Grand daughters!

Welcome to the site sear. If you look to the right of the page you are on, you will see a pic of a rack. You can click on that. Those racks are made by Bryanswens, and he does make some for the XT250. We love pics here, so post up a couple of what/where you ride....

Thanks MP.
I saw the ad.



Not bad!

This unit looks a little beefier to me:



Even that one's lame, compared to the "universal" one I had on my 1981 Honda XL 250 S.

We'll see.

My XT's got about 4 miles on it so far (just getting it home on a cold, rainy day).
It's an '09, brand new.



It seems Yamaha went retro, giving the newer bikes the round headlight again.
I can live with that.

I hope to get it out on the road today.
The dealer's mechanic that gave me the low-down on it said the bike has no tool kit. The manual says it does. I'll try to find it today (nice treasure hunt for April Fool's day).

Perhaps I can come up with a better pic, once I get some mud & some miles on it.

Hi Sears,

that's a lovely looking machine.

Now if you stand where you took the photograph and walk towards the front of the bike you'll find a black plastic cover above the engine, at the front. That's where you'll find the tool kit!

It's the piece that's hiding behind the orange reflector. Can you see it now? It has a single screw cover.

Here is the one I have and I like it...

https://www.yamahagenuineparts.com/Motor...&Class=Dual

Thank you twice Reggie.
I put ~40 easy miles on it today. The owners manual says to baby it for the first 1,000 miles.

And thanks for helping me pin-point the tool kit.

FOUND IT!

Ironically, that screw you mentioned sort of needs a screw driver.
I need a tool to get my tool kit?!
Dumb!

So I stopped off at the hardware store today and bought a metric screw and wing-nut. The screw is longer than the stock one, by the thickness of the wing-nut.
So, 3 years from now, when I'm 18 miles from Bupfup, Nowhere, and I need tools, I should be able to get the cover off without having to use a rock as a hammer.

Medic,
Thanks for the link.
When I clicked it, it says I have to enable cookies.
Later for that ...
I'm eager to see it; just not enough time now.

Try this link...

Oops that one is the same. I will get it for you.