IMPORTANT Dakar have hit me with a copyright strike so ive had to delist some of the videos just in case i guess they got pissed that mine were better because of the MOTOGP one before xmas that means im really vulnerable now and the channel could be removed at any time I have set up this backup channel so please go and follow it NOW, this could all be removed at any moment now so it is critical to stay in touch via the backup channel here kzfaq.info/love/CSl6i-tZJNC5DQ38vgCtvw sorry for this if i get another strike it wipes out all my work all my old videos will be removed I wont be posting anything much on the new channel unless this goes down but this is a just in case because it really could go down at any point the videos are still visible if you have a link so if you have problems message me for links so you can still watch them, if you follow the channel and this one gets taken down you will be able to find me there sorry if thats a bit garbled ive just woken to this but i guess i could have had the channel taken down already so i should be thankful ride free everyone

I couldn't agree more about todays 250s and 400s being made to look like donkey's when compared to the 1980s and 90s bikes like the KR1-S, RGV, NSR, RS and TZR 250s and the CBR, RVF, VFR, FZR, ZXR and GSX-R 400s. My first 250 was the Yamaha RD250E, then the TZR250, RGV250, my last 250 being the Aprilia RS (the Biaggi replica), to this day I've never had a bike that handled better than the wee Aprilia and that includes GSX-R, CBR, Yamaha R series 600s and 1000s, in fact the only bike I've owned that matches it is my 2023 Triumph Street Triple RS (29 years later), I'm in my mid sixties but I still miss the smell, sound and thrill of a 250 stroker hitting the power band, I just have to catch a whiff of burning two stroke oil and it takes me back to my youth.

The Suzuki Super Six deserves at least an honourable mention

When I turned 17, back in 1981, the first thing I did was to get myself an RD250. Crazy bike, sometimes I am amazed that I reached my 18th birthday. I only rode it in London but it was perfect for city riding as it got up to 60 really quickly! You never forget your first real bike.

The CBR250RR sounds like nothing else revving up to the moon! The bike made you ring its neck and it taught me so much about riding!

My 250s in my earlier life were all Kawasaki, S1B, S1C and KH250B1. All good fun. After that came a Z900A4 (I still have it) then a ZZR1100D2 (I still have that too). But, I was missing a Kawasaki triple in my life. So I bought a Kawasaki H1F in 2015. The 500 is so much more tractable and torquey compared to the 250s. Passion fulfilled.

As a teenager, I remember a nighttime race along the North Wales coast between a BSA Starfire B25 and a Ducati Desmo 250 single - We all waited at the cafe some 15 miles away to see who might arrive first - it was the Ducati a good couple of minutes ahead - astonishingly the front downpipe was glowing dull red - they were both gorgeous looking bikes

Remember many of the 70s bikes mentioned -my father had a 1973 RD350,my brother had RD400 and I remember the X7,RD250LC have an original 80s Honda pamphlet for the MVX250,a surprising failure as a rider in the town I lived had one,rode it hard and didn't have any issues thanks for the doc much appreciated Auckland New Zealand 2023

Thank you for doing this vid, brings back good memories of me & my best mate riding out to southport on a saturday on our 250's, i had a yam TDR250 and he had a G plate RGV250, we used to ride to west coast bikes, they always had exotic import stuff from japan, TZR 250 reverse cylinders, the NSR 250 with credit card ignition, GSXR 250's, NSR400's etc i very nearly bought a katana 250 from west coast but ended up buying a fully restored RD350LC, think i made the wise choice 😁 we were lucky to ride in a time when you could ride a bike that gave you such excitement and we did'nt have the green mafia wanting to hang you from the nearest lampost for riding something other than a pushbike. You get more excitement taking a big dump than what you get on a modern 250, 😂 and we used to think the superdream 250 was boring. I feel sorry for the young uns, there are some good nutters out there who would be great on a 250 stinkwheel but the good old stuff is well out of their price range now.

What a great presentation of these old greats. I remember being 15/16 yrs old drooling at the 250’s as they were released and the so envious of the slightly older generation. When my turn came I got the Yamaha RD250LC and would street race anything. A great trip down memory lane - thanks for putting this vid together I can see a lot of love and effort went into it.

I'm currently rebuilding a 67 cb77, not a 72 sadly, but it really is a nice platform. Sleek, simple, and reliable. Can't wait to get this old thing back on the road.

I had the KR 250 back in 1984, absolutely loved it. But then i have always been a 2 stroke fan.

Amazing work. Thank you. 42 minutes of edition and thorough information. Really appreciated

Great video. It brought back many memories of the late 70’s and early 80’s! 👏👏👏

What a fantastic video !! Brought back soooo many memories , superb 👊

I had a '91 TZR 250 R from 2000-2008 , I had a seized cylinder riding in the mountains, sold it and regret a week later, sorry about since. My colleague had the Suzuki Across. Those bikes were imported directly from Japan by Red Baron Motorcycles into Hungary. They shipped a lot of wrecked 250s in containers and assembled usable bikes from their parts. At that time there were a lot of 250 and 400 ccm bikes in Hungary. Good old days.....

Thank you for your wonderful film and comment! As a 2-stroke fan, I bought a Kawasaki Avenger 350 cc in 1968 and after several 4-stroke Hondas I bought a Kawasaki KR1-S in 1990. The KR1-S was the best two-stroke bike I've owned, it did indeed turn like a razor and nothing could have been mis-tuned. The suspension had to be precisely adjusted for my light weight and if the tires had 2 lbs too much pressure I couldn't ride it and if it was too low it steered too hard. It braked fantastically and I usually braked with 2 fingers. At 8000 rpm the KIPS system started working and the extra resonance chambers closed. Then the engine pulled excellently and really ran like a screeching turbine. When I drove away after a winter break, I came back after 3 minutes and spent 2 hours cleaning the carburetors, because there was deposits in the fuel jets, of course also adjusting the vacuum exactly and, above all, the throttle cables, otherwise the engine will vibrate. If you do not feel the contamination of the jets while driving, the engine is guaranteed to be damaged by a mixture that is too lean. Those are the disadvantages, but if you like technology, it is nice to have everything checked and adjusted very carefully. Now I ride a 250 cc Honda (CBR250R) of 26.4 HP, also an excellent motorcycle, but touring is of course more fun when you are 74 years old, haha!

WOW!!!! That was a mind-blowing video by you and I enjoyed every second of it. Thanks

Great video ! One of the most comprehensive look into 250s ive ever seen! Very well put together and full of suspense. 100/100

I modified a 250cc four stroke motorcycle and went 123 mph at the Ohio mile in 2012. Dyno horse power was 61 hp and almost 30 ftlb of torque. Great video.

Great vid. Thanks for the time you put into this.

Good video. Id like to see the same thing for the 125 two strokes. There was some really cool ones in the 80s and 90s

Your films are superb! Packed with encyclopaedic info and great footage! Bravo 👏

Wow! What a fantastic video. Thanks for making it 👏👏👏

Awesome video, thanks for making this 👍👍👍

We most certainly got the Suzuki Across here in Australia. It was my first ever bike and what I learnt to ride on. It was very fast for its size and after some tuning I clocked it at 180kph. The helmet compartment was also one of the best features for a commuter bike and would hold a decent amount of shopping if the situation called. I sincerely regret selling my Across and can definitely see myself getting another one again one day. Fantastic video by the way, well done.

I had an RDLC 250 for a few years... 84-87 I think... what a great little bike, I also acquired a beat up 350 version. One of the baffles fell out one day when a friend was wringing it out, and the piston seized. They were good to work on as well...

What a great show. I drove three RD 350 in the 80s , young, wild and fast as the Honda 750, with 74 Hp.

What a great rip down memory lane that was. Thank you barebonesmc, that was abrilliant video.

My first big bike after my test was a red and grey Kr1s. Loved it to pieces no matter how often it tried to kill me.😊

Great video, brought back some great memories of my early biking days. Had a KH250(B2) back in ‘78 , bought on the back of a ‘Motorcycle Weekly ‘ road test where it was tested at 93.4 mph (one way ) , making it the fastest 250 of the day . Truth be told, there was little to choose between the KH , RD or the GT but it didn’t stop my mates and me arguing, constantly. Happy days.

GREAT VIDEO BONES ,IM 85 NOW ,I RODE MANY OF THESE BIKES WHEN I WAS YOUNGER .STILL RIDE EVERYDAY ,ON A HUSKY 2T ..LOVE THOSE 2 STROKES...GREETINGS FROM THE PHILIPPINES

Great video and presentation, loved it.

Thank you for a trip down memory lane. Back in the day I owned the RD, X7 and a KRIS before moving on to bigger four strokes. My older brother had a Suzuki Hustler and later GT, overlooked in your review (that’s not a criticism). I appreciate the time taken by you to research all this 👍 most enjoyable.

This was a Great Video - Thanks for this !

Wonderful content mate, brings back memories of chasing my mates across the North York moors on my rd250 and many years later racing a kr1-s.

Back in the early 90’s I was the proud owner of a ZZR1100, my young cousin had a KR1S. I can well remember riding at over 130 mph with him sat directly behind me on the little 250.. I was genuinely shocked at how quick his bike was..🤓

The Suzuki X7 was an afterthought to the T20 Super Six that blew away any other 250 at the time. It's a shame it wasn't mentioned.

when I got my learner licence in 1989 I went out and bought a KR-1 250cc loved the look sound and it was just a blast to ride. 55hp 123kg from memory. went over 200km/h few times. great memories. cant beat 2- strokes

Brought a smile to my face as I remembered my CB77 & an RDS5 :)

On a 5km stretch of motorway heading north my 250cc Hyosung Comet V twin held 160km and 148km on the return south .60kg rider.Not bad for a Korean 4 stroke.

2 stroke engines are very sensitive to humidity as well as ambient temperature, I remember how much better they pulled on a cool and humid autumn or spring day, and how a hot and dry day used to affect them... Maybe that explains some of the speed variation in different tests..

Great trip down memory lane. Those were the days my friend

Rode a newly purchased MVX250 in the 80's it was very cool . Never seen one since. Cheers from New Zealand.

When selling motorcycles in Japan, from around 1980 there were many traffic accidents, and under pressure from the government, four manufacturers began to voluntarily regulate horsepower according to engine displacement. Specifically, 50cc was set to have 7.2 horsepower, 125cc to 22 horsepower, 250cc to 45 horsepower, 400cc to 59 horsepower, 750cc to 77 horsepower, and over 1000cc to 100 horsepower. These numbers were lowered in 1992 to 40 horsepower for the 250cc and 53 horsepower for the 400cc. This voluntary regulation was abolished in 2007, but exhaust gas regulations had already stopped the production of two-stroke engines.The Aprilia RS-250 might not have taken the top spot if it hadn't been for self-imposed restrictions that only annoyed its users.

I owned 3 of the list, the RGV ,NSR and KR1 , my favorite being the Suzuki😊 ,god I wish I still owned it or any one of them , great video ,took me back to some great times ,thanks😊

What a great video, really enjoyed that. 👍

So many Beautiful bikes, great video.

Great video, I loved the trip down memory lane, I think you are dead right about modern 250s not hitting the mark, I feel very lucky that I passed my bike test in 1986 . My first bike after passing the test was a mark 2 rg250, I see nothing that would make me excited about a 250 now. What a shame.

I was 17 when I bought my 1985 KR250. Straight from an XS250 this thing was FAST. It would do awesome wheelies too.

Just absolutely brilliant, thank you!

Fantastic. Thoroughly enjoyed it 👌

The RD250F was an extremely exciting bike to own after my FS1E moped, it was crazy to be allowed to go from 45 mph to 95 mph without any instruction though.

I had one of the first RD250's at 17 years old, people always forget the predecessor YDS7 which was just as good even though it didn't have reed valves also the Suzuki Hustler which was good. Enjoyed the video very much.

Best video I have watched this year. Absolutely brilliant.

In 1965 I bought a brand new Honda Dream SS 250 I was 19 and just returned from 19 months serving with the RN in Singapore and the far east. I was caught speeding on the A1 by a police Austin Westminster at doing 98 to 103 for over 1.5 miles I made the main news as the first person to be caught doing over 100mph after the silly 70mph limit was introduced supposedly to save fuel.

Greeves Silverstone is another racer capable of 100mph+ on right gearing. Started off with RAS model with 36a villiers engine, but all following models were Greeves own engine.

Great video (as always), I hankered after the KR1-S when I passed my test, but my Dad who signed for the finance said no, GPX250R lol. Re the ZX-25R, I LOVE the fact that Kawasaki bucked the recent trend of singles and twins and remade a mighty screaming 250-4! SHAME though it wasn't released in the UK(Worldwide) 😒. But yeah, I regularly saw 120 on the clock with my GPX (ok giving 5 MPH with speedo accuracy etc 115), but, LOVED it! 14,000 rpm red line, the looks (STILL wished I had the KR though hahaha). My biking life had many a 'Strange'/unusual bikes with a few Imports, black and red GPZ400R (I even once saw a GPZ500R in a dealers window), GSX400F/R, Bros400 and a coupla others... Ride safe, ride free my friend(s)! 😎🇬🇧

Video very well explained with great ownership of details. CONGRATULATIONS!

Very interesting summary. You made some excellent points about old vs new. Thanks for posting.

Having had two RD250’s in the early 1980’s then two RD350LC’s that still look amazing today. I would have loved an RG250 gamma. But looking at the 250 Katana and the other 250 fours, they sounded absolutely amazing!!!

The Suzuki Across was very popular here in Australia. It was comfortable and powerful enough to tour on and the storage compartment (fuel tank) being able to carry a helmet was a bonus! PS Australia also got the KR250. Cheers.

Thanks for that. Your view of 250 cc bikes is the best I’ve watched thanks again

excellent footage and sounds, loving the cadwell footage

Sad thing about the KR-1 is the fact that it's crank-halfs were made in one unit which meant that you couldn't do a con rod replacement as like on any other regular two stroke. A friend of mine still takes one of these to the circuit and I'm the one to rebuild his cranks... 🙂

Extra honourable mention to Yamaha SRX250 of 1984. 32hp and 123kg dry. Oh how I miss her.

...I really enjoyed this incredible dissection on motorcycle size I never really considered as sporty... but now I do, at least the vintage models and thank you for sharing!!!

Very enjoyable KZfaq upload with great footage in order of some awesome bikes over the years, thank you for that. Best Wishes, QQ.

Couple of things of note. Although in awe of Yamaha's TZR-1, I was lusting after an RGV250K back in 1988 when they first released. I already then currently owned a 1985 RG500 Gamma which I had bought new in early 1986. Still do. Pretty sure the Kawasaki KR-1 released a few months ahead of the RGV250K here in Australia. A younger friend still on his 250 licence limitation bought the Kawasaki KR-1 (new) shortly after its initial release, and I the opportunity to ride it hard. My recall is that it was a very appealing bike with no immediately apparent vices, and a drop dead gorgeous looker. I particularly loved its radial rims which had only just started becoming de rigeur in mainstream road motorcycling which Suzuki had deliberately avoided on their RG500G hampering it with bias ply rims and undersized front rotors in order to promote their marketing shift to 4 stroke with their new flagship the GSXR-750. Such a shame. A bit over a decade later I bought one of the last new Suzuki RGV250Ts available from the RGV's final year export production run. That model was still black box unrestricted, but had had by then a rev limiter imposed at 11500rpm. By the end of the suffix T model produciton, all but one of the mechanical issues and undesirable idiosyncracies of the original and subsequent stock models had been eliminated, that being namely it's neutral stability and heavy front end tendency to head shake horrendiously requiring skilled corrective input if its straightline stability was upset by some external road condition/object. This could be all but eliminated by fitting a steering damper for which the frame was set up with a damper lug ex-factory, but of course at the cost of front end feedback & finessed feel. I never fitted one to mine, although I've experienced some 'you really need to be experienced and capable' scale tank slappers over the years attributable to this. The Aprilia RS250, owned by friends, which I've ridden shared that same characteristic. Stock, I put my RGV through the test radar at 212kph true flat nil wind. My overall assessment without detailed elaboration. It's a much more difficult and challenging bike to ride very fast capably than the RG500, and very VERY easy to get yourself pear shaped fast without experience and exceptional skill level. Definitely a bike for experienced skilled riders. Much as the wife persists in nagging me to sell them, I still own my RGV250T too.

Lot of research in this video, and well presented. My favourite 250 was the honda cb250rs which I owned for a couple of years. My only transport for work. Most certainly not a contender for this list. I agree about the lack of progress in this capacity, rather disappointing.

Nicely made upload, thanks for your dedication to the subject, you brought back a few nice memories of less complicated times.👍More exciting times. 😏

What an absolutely excellent video. Really enjoyed watching this and I owned both a 250LC and TZR250 as a young man. Made me smile!

I'm surprised that you didn't mention the Suzuki X-6 Hustler. In 1967 it produced 29 hp and although I never saw figures that put it over 100mph, my 1967 X-6 Scrambler will easily go over 90mph. This was a great video! I loved all the info and saw many bikes that I never heard of. Thank you!

I owned a Suzuki Across for a few years so I'm very glad to see it get an honourable mention here. They were a great little bike, surprisingly reliable and quite popular here in Australia through the 90's. One feature of the bike was the storage area where the fuel tank would be in a more traditional design, large enough for a full face helmet. The actual tank was under the seat, but only held approximately 12l of fuel.

What a fanrastic video, thank you! The most exhilarating and exciting class of bikes there ever was, in my humble opinion. I own a 1991 KR1-S, which I bought new. It wears the black & green racing livery like the example shown in your video, and aside from a couple of minor but unsightly fairing scratches which were professionally filled & painted in the early 2000's, and a 5mm hole repair & repaint on the exhaust, it is all factory and mint. A low mileage example it's whole life, sadly it just doesn't get the miles these days which it once did. I keep it run and maintained though, and the soundtrack alone isn ike a time machine, transporting me back 30 years to the twisty country roads of Sussex & Hampshire, and rhe pure adrenaline rush. Happy days indeed ❤ Thanks again for this great video.Would love to see the full KR250 deep dive please!

Thank you for the thorough, detailed research.

Great video! I have a 1963 CB72, which I'm getting ready for the road at the moment.

Great video! As a Suzuki fan, I would have liked to seen the X6 mentioned in there, but I know you can't always get everything! Great job!

In the 90s my friend built an RG250 project with his dad. They sent the motor to Kevin Cameron to have it built. It put out 52WHP on a stingy local dyno. In hindsight it was one of the most special bikes I've ridden.

Great Video Thanks. I had a few of those bikes if only I still had them, miss those two stroke days. Also not in the video was a Stan Stevens tuned Yamaha TDR-250 which was bloody brilliant fun 🙂

Fantastic video thank you so much it brought back so many great memories.

I wonder how much difference a fairing made to the top speeds. All of the earlier stuff up to about 1980 were naked bikes but after that not only were you getting a jump in engine output with water cooling but the bikes were all faired. Together they must have been worth a good few mph.

Great video, I really enjoyed it, but where are the Spanish 250's of the late 60's and early 70's? The Bultaco Metralla and Montesa Impala were both 100mph bikes on a good day with a tailwind. They were widely used in production racing and can still be seen in action at Spanish events.

Brilliant video by the way as all of yours are.

The first Hondas brought into the UK were the 250 Dream with the full mudguards and 125. Then the 125 Benly arrived, what a sharp looking 125 that was. A shame the 250 sports version wasn't styled the same.

It seems that the Suzuki T20 of 1965 is missing in your otherwise very complete listing. As far as I remember, it was the go-to 250 cc bike when it appeared, with its 6 speeds gearbox, at keast in France where Kawasakis were not imported at that time. It was also easy to tune for racing/

Small correction: it's pronounced Aermacki. As you predicted, here's a correction regarding the Honda MVX250F being Honda's first two-stroke street bike. It wasn't. If we discount the fact that Honda's very first production model, the A-Type, was equipped with a small two-stroke motor, the title goes to the MB5 launched in 1979. If we include all street-legal models as opposed to street-only, then we must include the MT125 and MT250 dual sport (or dual purpose as we used to say and not to be confused with the MT250 road racer) both launched in 1974. And now the biggie: no one has to thank MZ for rotary disc-valves on two-strokes. They did use them on their GP bikes, but they did not invent them. What Walter Kaaden, MZ's race engineer, did do was to develop formulae for calculating exhaust resonance in two-strokes in order to improve gas flow and in particular he improved on the work previously done at DKW (MZ's pre-WW2 predecessor before the partition of Germany) on expansion chambers. These formulae are the secret that pilot/engineer Ernst Degner took with him when he defected out of communist East Germany and it is the reason why every performance two-stroke is fitted with expansion chambers. And now an anecdote: when I was a motorcycle-mad teenager in Montréal, I would often walk or cycle over to Plaza Cycles which was one of Yvon DuHamel's early sponsors. Besides all the shiny new two-strokes and magnificent Z1, they would sometimes expose one of Yvon's bikes. Even then, it was surprising to me how small these race bikes were. And, of course, always with number 17.

Great video, thank you.

Excellent .. I had the RGV and 250/350LC …. Loved them.

I think the lack of exciting 250cc bikes has to do with the nanny states we all seem to live in. Having said that, my son has a Ninja 300. It is a fun, quick bike. I've had it to 3/4 ton without giving it the whip. My son won't tell me how fast he's riding it. I'm sure he is a ton up boy.

Great trip down memory lane. Interesting to see what the Lambretta and Vespa guys can get out of their Two stroke scoots, 30 to 50bhp quite easy , then up to 70+ bhp! Eric Cope got 127mph on a Lambretta RB250 @ Elvington!

That was a fantastic video…thank you 😃👍

A very informative dive into what is (in N America anyway) an often overlooked class of bike. Much respect!

The 1986 ex250 Ninja was the best looking 😀 I loved that bike. It was right around 100 mph top speed. Not bad for a four stroke twin of the time!

We got hosed over here in the States, of the Japanese bikes the 88-90 Honda VTR250 was about the closest thing to any of these bikes that we ever had (at least to my memory). I think the market has gone price driven and less care about performance, today's newer riders want electronics and B.S. not power.

Great video 👍

Brilliant video, Thanks.

Where is the suzuki supersix ???

As an early 60's child my growing up bikes were the RD's, GT's, CB's and KH's. All these bikes did over 100 mph. Or they did when we rode them. Modern smaller capacity bikes seem to be a bit weak compared to the ones when I was a teenager. In the early 90's I had a CB125TB2. I toured Scotland and Wales on it and it would cruise at 70 and topped out at about around 80 mph. And that was with luggage, food and camping gear. We didnt have Karens and political correctness in those days, having said that, or speed cameras etc. Oh for the good old days...........

Great video! I loved my KR1 and 250LC when I was a novice racer.