YAMAHA YBR250 (2009 - on) Review

Brakes just enough to stop, not much power. With two persons even worst.

It is war horse. I know this engine from the Yamaha Serow 225 and it is a great engine, but It needs a bit more power going up.

Because i live near the ocean it has some superficial corrosion.

Only oil and filter every 3000 miles, i make my own maintenance.

One thing that made me choose this motorcycle was the analog style gauges. I switch the Pirelli OEM tires with a brand new pair of Michelin Pilot Street, much safer in wet weather. The central stand would be welcome. It has the brackets but it is almost impossible to find a central stand. In general it is very hard to find accessories to the YBR250 unless you go to the south american motorcycle part stores.

The riding position is extremely comfortable, it being upright with a slight lean forward. When at speed, around 50 or 60 mph, there is no weight on your arms, so no fatigue. A 200 miles trip at around 58 mph saw me arrive quite fresh. In my seventies, that's saying something. This bike is an armchair, and deceptively so. The brakes are quite hot. I did one emergency stop from 50 mph and was amazed at how quickly it stopped, it being well short of where I thought it would end up ... glad nothing was behind me! The back brake is unusually effective, but I don't use the brakes very much and they have never been re-lined in 12 yrs.

The engine is with a 'brain', in that it takes into account so many factors, exhaust backpressure, temperature, mixture ratio, alpha knock, rpm, road speed, feedback from tacho and it varies the ignition advance and retard. It will pull away from a very low rpm ... not nice to do this to an engine, but it is best to change down and open up at 5000 rpm, when it will pull a house down. I've often been surprised at how it pulls up hills, but you must give it chance and keep the rpm above 5000. I normally get a return of about 56 mpg, using small throttle openings and little or no brakes, coasting into situations and accelerating slowly with just a touch of throttle. I enjoy riding, not record breaking. It has never missed a beat, save on one occasion, when the spark plug gave up the ghost and it started missfiring.

The quality of build is fair. My machine is garage kept and when I come back from a wet run, I clean it down and dry it off - after the exhaust has cooled! All the bright parts have remained good. The downpipe of the exhaust has now blown a tiny hole. The exhaust gasses on this machine are extremely hot, as they are recycled and the 'cat cracker' requires those temperatures for efficiency of fuel burn.

At 7000 miles it required a new rear suspension pin. At 10,000 miles it blew a hole in the exhaust's downpipe, which is very thin and becomes incandescent i.e. just a little less than dull red. I lubricate the chain quite a lot ... every time I go for a ride, but they only last a few thousand miles. The teeth never wear, but they change the sprockets as a matter of course.

The equipment is sparse, as this bike is built down to a price. I've had three sets of tyres fitted, but liked Bridgestone best. Due to the low speeds that this machine is driven at, there is little to tell between one make and another. The under-seat tools have never been used, as the machine is so reliable, but suffice to say, it space available for them is large enough to get you out of trouble, as it will carry a number of tools.

Great, as said I'm a heavy rider, I've not bottomed out the suspension and the pre load on the rear mono is on 3 so its pretty good, that's on bumby roads the front forks have about a miles worth of travel I've banged it down some pot holes to test it and soaks it up with ease, the seat is nice and comfy about 80-100 miles before you take a break is about right but by that time you will be stopping for fuel or for some other reason anyway, (i take a break every 100 miles regardless rest my mind for a moment), brakes are ample, don't expect to have the rear wheel off the ground, but they stop a lump like me at an okay rate, the bike isn't a sports bike so you don't have to stop quickly from great speed so you won't be in any bother and I've not managed to lock up the rear yet.

Bomb proof, automatic cam chain tentioner too, 21 horses push you a long nice and smoothly up to a nice cruising speed of 60 at 6,250 revs even in face wind and uphill it'll pull from 60 to overtake lorries or other slow moving vehicles, I wouldn't want to hold it there but 70 or more is attainable, the gear box can be a bit hit and miss going from neutral to first and first to second however I add I have little feet so it could be me not pushing the lever far enough other than that the gear box engine clutch switches are all fine.

Built nicely, doesn't feel or look cheap in the slightest, really solid little bike, only corrosion is on the down pipe (not stainless) so keep it clean, I'm stripping it down to bare metal to spot any rust marks and deal with it immediately, look also on the drum brake linkage and gear lever link, something to watch out for is the cut off circuits, it has a throttle sensor which cuts out the bike if it thinks you're trying to rev it while or just after starting, a lean sensor, a sensor in the fuel cap, a clutch sensor and something in the gearbox as well i think, its never let me down and runs a dream.

I've no idea what a full service will be as I've only had it a short while all I've done is oil change so far chain tightened which is a doddle due to the marks on the swing arm, as is adjusting the rear brake lever play, everything is easy to do. I've not worked out properly the mpg but I'd say with gentle running you'd get around 65mpg possibly more and I'm a heavy rider.

Well i can't really rate this as its designed to be a basic commuter bike so it doesn't come with heated grips and seat, or sat nav built in or anything, but as a work horse little bike that's as reliable as a brick then its excellent.

Rear brake is useless.

If it was a little bit stronger...

Lcd display with lot of information... everything that you need from this kind of bike, center stand would be nice to have