Hello Mia. Great that you are showing us your project. Is the XT 250 your first bike?
Taking stock. Caught between horror and anticipation.
Is it important to you that the XT is lightweight?
Mia Flora: Yes, very much so. As a woman, I'm already aware that I have to put more training into technology than most men. I'm glad that I can easily and safely push the XT250 with its ~120kg around in the garage. Nevertheless, I will make an effort to put some time and energy into building up my muscles before I start my riding training.
Do you have opportunities to ride off-road in your town and surroundings? I'm sure the seat height won't cause you any problems.
Mia Flora: Legally, I can ride off-road on cross tracks like in Steinhagen or Wolgast, both of which also have enduro areas and children's cross tracks. On the latter, I've often been overtaken by small children on their pocket bikes during my first exercises on the YZ 426F and DT 250.
There are also other options, but it's a good thing that Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is not densely populated and you can coordinate well with foresters and farmers ... but I can't go into that in detail here 😉
Vintage or retro, reliability or authenticity?
Mia Flora: I particularly like the look of vintage machines. At first, it was café racers for me, and now the “flat Japanese” bikes of the 70s and 80s. For my own first motorcycle, it was important to me that it was a proven, reliable mass-produced bike with no major teething problems and a good parts supply.
Freddy wrenches and rides rarities like his ‘56 BSA A10 or Bultaco Alpina and Fronterra. Even if they are incredibly special and authentic and have made history ... for Bultaco parts he has to be networked worldwide, and he builds some of the BSA parts himself, as there is simply nothing more affordable.
I prefer to drive my large series and am still more than happy.
What will you do first when your project is finished?
Mia Flora: To put it bluntly, it will be my first time learning to ride the XT. I haven't got my driver's license yet for reasons, so my plan is as follows:
I practiced on the private property until I passed a practice test. Then I apply for my driver's license.
And then the world is open to me! At last!
Would a trip with the XT be conceivable?
Mia Flora: Yes, definitely! Since I've already ridden my 08/15 trekking bike through Germany and Sweden and the journey is more important to me than comfort or arriving puncture-free, anything is conceivable with the XT.
I have to go back to the arachnologist who took her XT250 to Israel to work. I would be just as pragmatic.
It drives, so you can also drive away with it.
Would you recommend other young people to embark on a motorcycle adventure with a restoration?
Mia Flora: 100%ig! If the young people have the means to borrow the tools and organize a place to screw with a contact person, a restoration should be relatively easy to implement. I mustn't forget that I'm doing this project in a very well-equipped environment. Of course, this makes the entire restoration process much easier for me.
So once again, a huge thank you to everyone who has given me advice and help so far - and will probably continue to do so in person or on Instagram.
The manual work is a good way to get your mind off things, it's a good way to let out frustration, and you simply learn an incredible amount of appreciation for technology that has been working perfectly for 40-50 years.
Here in the region (MV), almost every second young motorcyclist can tell you how their dad worked on their Simson or MZ, and even if not everything is done right from a mechatronics engineer's point of view, the treasures work and have been running for quite a long time.
All people who have restored a motorcycle themselves, or who have done more than just an oil change, for example, have an appreciation for the technology and the concept of motorcycles that you can otherwise only achieve if you take your bike on a trip around the world.
So it's well worth buying a rusty old machine in need of love and giving it a new lease of life.
Thank you Mia, big thanks for sharing your experience.
The popularity of the quarter-liter XT is constantly growing. We are constantly developing new accessories and keep all available wear parts in stock. We often hear from customers about great projects and rescued bikes. Many parts that are no longer available from Yamaha are available from us. A prominent example: the ABS side covers.
The XT250 has its own start page in the KEDO webshop: www.kedo.de
The XT250 type 3Y3 was offered alongside its big sister, the XT500, as early as 1979. Despite, or perhaps because of, the sporting success of the XT500, the quarter-liter version was unfortunately somewhat overshadowed from the outset. However, a direct comparison is not possible. The XT250 is completely independent, with its own advantages. It is a lightweight, all-terrain mountain goat - ideal for enduro hikes. Yamaha was soon beating the advertising drum with product placement. Just as „James Bond - On a Deadly Mission“ made the XT500 known to the general movie-going public in 1981, the XT250 was used in „Rambo-First Blood“ in 1981 with Sylvester Stallone.
The fact is: Yamaha introduced many details in the development of the XT250 that later became standard on the successors to the XT500 and represented real improvements over the XT500. The most important points:
At KEDO, the XT250 has its own fan base. Among employees and customers. It is close to our hearts. For reasons.
