Yamaha, for Sure
My wife only gave me the ok on this bike because my best friend of over thirty years has been fighting cancer for two years snd now has cancer in his one lung he has left , and another guy that ive been riding cycles with for 15 years has bladder and prostate cancer and has stopped chemo oh and his wife has brain cancer !! so since there are alot of yammi and just plain MC nuts what are your opinions on this bike ? I wanted something that wAs light enough to go up some verts but not too fast !! My only other choice that i can afford would be a suzy 400 and i dont think i am mentally strong enough togo slow enough not to hurt myself ,
Your opinions are wecomed and are there any major things to address with this bike im about 240 pounds gearered up . I havent been dirt riding in over ten years how about the Honda 250 enduro ? Thanks
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Well firstly, I'm sorry to hear about all the misery and heartbreak. Cancer Sucks!
As far as the bikes go, My buddy Ian, the one that went on the trip with me has had both. He could not stand the vibes on the Suzuki and had numb hands when he rode for more than a couple of hours. He also had to do some air-box modification to deal with the altitude changes when we went to Colorado last year.
He sold it and bought the Yamaha, which was along on the trip this year. Elevation wasn't really a problem anyway, but being fuel injected it wouldn't anyway. The Yamaha has almost no vibration issues for him and could handle the big load, all packed for camping. It is not a feather-weight either (for it's displacement) but light enough that it is easy to handle off road. It is very reliable and fuel efficent with Titainium valves and LONG valve intervals. This is a good thing since they are a bugger to get to when they do need doing.
Both bikes have decent suspension, but if it was my money I would go with the Yamaha.
As far as "needed" modifications, the list is short; Skid Plate!, proper hand-guards, and a slightly larger fuel tank (there are lots of options).
Oh and ANY bike that you are going to take off-road or onto gravel roads; I would
strongly recomend "Doubletake Mirrors" https://www.doubletakemirror.com/build
They will bend out of the way, or can be folded out of the way and Won't snap off and trash your handlebar brackets when you
inevitably fall over. Mine have taken a beating, and still look new. My stock ones safely tucked away for when I restore the bike to new to sit in my living room as a monument to my youth.
