Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I am currently living in the US Virgin Islands and am planning to move to the Philippines within a year. I would like to buy a new or used Japanese Dual Sport bike, probably a 250cc. I will be using it about 90% road and 10% off road. Thanks for any and all advice.

Wileyman

Well, I have no advice for you, but I just wanted to say WELCOME. No doubt there are others here who can offer some sound words of wisdom regarding a dual sport. Enjoy the forums!

Cheers,
Loonette

For something that will be used mainly for street, I'd say good options are the Yamaha XT225 Serow or XT350, and the Kawasaki KLR250, or Kawasaki Sherpa...

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/buyersgu ... Sherpa.htm

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/buyersgu ... -XT350.htm

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... -XT225.htm

http://yamaha-motor.ca/products/product ... 149540f6b4

Hi there Wileyman,

Just stumbled upon this thread. I don't have any 1st hand experience on the nice off-road models currently available but being a Honda fan, the CRF250R gets my vote. In the Philippines, there's not a very big selection of dual purpose bikes. Honda's sport model here is the XR200, a 4-stroke, pro-link steel framer that weighs in at 255lbs (vs. CRF250F's 204lbs.). MSRP is about US$1,950. Yamaha's XT225 Serrow (4-stroke) is reportedly a better buy but many frown at its $3,020 local price tag. Kawasaki's KMX125 is a 2-stroke lightweight favorite of off-roaders that retails for about $1,700. Unfortunately, Suzuki's TSR line is not very popular but these sell in the $2k - $2.5k range, I think.

Are you moving to the Philippines for good? If you want a quality ride on and off-road with drooling stares anywhere you ride, bring home a CRF250R. If you will be here on job assignment, you'd best get a local model which you can easily sell at a good price when you move on. You can use the extra cash for weekend trips and trail rides plus accessories to boot. Bike riding over here is very popular right now with gas prices hitting the roof. You won't find it hard to sell a used bike, I'm sure.

If you'd like more info, visit motorcyclephilippines.com and comb the "off-road" threads.

Hope this helps.....