Small lil 2stroke street legal dirtbikes. They are arent as light as I would like (want to mount it on back of Blazer) but it can be lightened. lol. Jus wondering about them, Found one on Craigslist. I know they are no power house or MXer but I think it would suit my needs.

I've got one, what do you want to know?


In general:

stone axe simple two stroke engine dating from the 1960's era.
suspension is adequate for a 165lb adult to trail ride, but it's a little short on travel for serious jumps or landing wheelies hard.
brakes are decent for drums
gets great mileage
mine came with parts missing in the speedo gear drive in the front wheel and charging system
on really cold (as in colder than florida) days it doesn't stay warm enough to run off the choke.
top end is 62mph, but it really prefers 55
kinda loud

Good bike for getting around on and light trail rides, but nothing that a more reliable, less maintenance prone air cooled honda can do. Other than for the street legal aspect, I can't see why anyone would want a KE100 over one of the better 125cc honda clones out now, and some of them are street legal...

hard to find enduros around here. The KE is priced right and the one thing Im wanting to do is put it on the back of my Blazer sideways, they hve those MX racks. So a lightweight bike would fit the bill. If I could find an XT225 cheap that would work. Ive found a KLR 250, but the price aint right. Im thinking of lowballing him and seeing if he bites. I do need it to be street legal. reason my options are limited. Otherwise the TT225 or TT125 wouldve been perfect. Oh well.

I have one that I used for teaching my wife how to ride. It worked fine for that, and it would probably work okay for what you're talking about, but I do have to say that it does not compare well to the last 2-smoke dual purpose bike I owned, which was a '79 Yamaha DT-125. I absolutely LOVED that bike. If you ever find one of those (or the 175 or 250 version - '78 or later) somewhere in decent shape get it. The main things I miss on the KE that the DT had were 1) the KE has a 5 speed suuuper wide ratio gearbox (too wide a jump from 1st to 2nd in my opinion especially), where the DT had a nice 6 speed with closer more usable ratios. 2) the DT had better suspension... an early monoshock compared to the total crap on the KE. 3) the DT had more power... more than the 25cc difference would suggest.
- At any rate, I like your XT225 idea. If you can find one of those you'll be much better off. So I guess what I'm saying is that while the KE would probably do what you need, you'd have more fun on just about anything else... YMMV. Just my .02, etc.

Good luck getting something you'll enjoy!

Buddy of mine had one in the 70's and the bikes have not changed. It was a good cheap bike then and I am sure it is now. The china clones are dodgy on longevity and warranty from what I have heard.

Quoted: hard to find enduros around here. The KE is priced right and the one thing Im wanting to do is put it on the back of my Blazer sideways, they hve those MX racks. So a lightweight bike would fit the bill. If I could find an XT225 cheap that would work. Ive found a KLR 250, but the price aint right. Im thinking of lowballing him and seeing if he bites. I do need it to be street legal. reason my options are limited. Otherwise the TT225 or TT125 wouldve been perfect. Oh well.

Well, I don't know much about the XT225, but I'd take it over the KLR just on the fact that it's air-cooled. You give up some freeway ability but not having to worry about punching out a radiator on a branch is worth it.

I can't believe that there are no XT's, XR-L's or SP's on Ebay, Cycle Trader etc. in Florida...

Dave

The main things I miss on the KE that the DT had were 1) the KE has a 5 speed suuuper wide ratio gearbox (too wide a jump from 1st to 2nd in my opinion especially), where the DT had a nice 6 speed with closer more usable ratios.

Neccesary when you have 10hp and need to get a 180lb dad and 70lb son going uphill in traffic.

2) the DT had better suspension... an early monoshock compared to the total crap on the KE.

DT was a serious bike, KE is a playbike.

3) the DT had more power... more than the 25cc difference would suggest.  

Yep, DT would have wilder porting as a barely street legal MX'er of the day. Given his survival forum bent, I'd suggest staying away from all two strokes as they are dying off and getting proper oil for them means finding a bike shop after SHTF. Bigger 2 strokes go thru a lot of oil, something you don't notice when fulling up a jerry can for a weekend of fun with a motorcross bike.

Quoted: Yep, DT would have wilder porting as a barely street legal MX'er of the day. Given his survival forum bent, I'd suggest staying away from all two strokes as they are dying off and getting proper oil for them means finding a bike shop after SHTF. Bigger 2 strokes go thru a lot of oil, something you don't notice when fulling up a jerry can for a weekend of fun with a motorcross bike.

Yep. The DT motor (if I remember correctly) was based on the old MX125 motor. That thing was bulletproof. I had that DT from '79 to about '93, and other than the usual things that wear out, I never had one single problem with it. I've had a lot of dirtbikes and streetbikes as well as several dual purpose ones and that one has the distinction of having given the most bang for the buck out of all of them so far. Anyhow, I'm with you on the 2-stroke/4-stroke thing. Although my DT125 didn't use a large amount of oil and was very forgiving on what you fed it (chainsaw oil worked fine), 2 strokes are definitely a dying breed these days and it's only gonna keep getting harder to find parts for the few old ones that are still running. Out of everything mentioned, I'd definitely have to go with the little XT225 if one can be found for a reasonable price. If he was looking for something bigger in a dual purpose bike, I'd say a Suzuki DR350 would be a good used bike. Those were nice and were still air cooled if I remember correctly, as opposed to the newer 400 versions which are water cooled. Those are all probably way too big though.

What about the little Suzuki DR200? I don't know if they have quite the reputation of the XT225, but that still might fit the bill. Might be worth taking a look at.

Suzuki had the Sp200 and SP 125. those would work IF I could fine one. It must be street legal.

You know, the older Yamaha XT350 has legendary cult status amongst DP riders, sort of like KLR650 lite. They are said to be bullet-proof and they had a good, long production run. The motors were also used in other products as well, meaning that spares and support are a long ways into the future. I'll bet you can find one for $1500 in really nice shape....

Oh, and it will get along ok on the freeway too...

Quoted: You know, the older Yamaha XT350 has legendary cult status amongst DP riders, sort of like KLR650 lite. They are said to be bullet-proof and they had a good, long production run. The motors were also used in other products as well, meaning that spares and support are a long ways into the future. I'll bet you can find one for $1500 in really nice shape.... Oh, and it will get along ok on the freeway too...

Just like the old XL-350s,somewhat hard to find now,unless your willing to pay more $$$. Have seen a few XLs in mint condition,almost wouldn't want to ride it anywhere.

BTW,I had a KE100 way long back,damned near indestructable,even ran it on diesel(sure smoked alot!)

A friend of mine used to have a late '80's XT350. He was nice enough to let me borrow it a couple of times and I really did enjoy it. I didn't take it on any high speed roads, but it definitely did very well in the dirt. Plenty of power for hills, etc. Nice bike.