The simplest motorcycle you can buy is back for another go-round, and so is its slightly-updated third cousin. For 2025, Yamaha’s fat-tire dual sport TW200 returns, and so does the XT250.
2025 Yamaha TW200
The Tee-Dub is unchanged for 2025 except for Bold New Graphics. That’s no surprise; the TW200 is practically unchanged since its debut back in 1987, and that’s partly why people like it so much. It’s one of very few dual sports available with a carburetor, and it’s the only one currently sold in the US with chunky, oversized tires front and rear.
The world’s most fun bike at slow speeds? Quite possibly. Photo: Yamaha
The 18-inch front wheel and 14-inch rear wheel mean low ground clearance compared to most dual sports, but this bike can handle sloppy terrain that would suck up other bikes. It’s an easy dual sport for beginners to ride, especially since the seat height is so low, and while it’s not very fun to ride fast off-road, the TW200 might be the machine that’s the most fun to ride slow.
That front tire doesn’t always bite into gravel roads as hard as you’d like, but it’s useful if you ride a lot of boggy terrain. Photo: Yamaha
If you want to fix the low fuel capacity (1.8 gallons), there are aftermarket solutions. You can find luggage racks and skid plates and handguards and all the other basic parts as well. But if you want more muscle? Just learn to be contented with the 13-ish horsepower. Yeah, you can put on a new carb and big-bore this bike, but that’s missing the whole point. It’s a light (278-pound wet weight) machine that is made to enjoy at a sensible pace.
MSRP for the ’25 model is $4,999. More deets here.
2025 Yamaha XT250
The XT250 is the indirect descendent of the XT225, which was closely related to the TW200. It has an air-cooled 249cc single-cylinder engine, vs. the Tee-Dub’s 199cc single. The XT is also fuel-injected. But don’t expect a lot more power from the XT; it’s still a slow-ish bike. However, with a low seat height (32.7 inches, about an inch more than the TW200), it’s easy to ride for beginners or shorter-statured exerienced riders—or anyone who just wants or needs a small bike. The tire on that 21-inch front wheel is much more skinny than the TW’s front tire, but the XT is a better bike for gravel road riding than the TW.
The easy-to-ride XT is a small machine, but if you wanted an affordable bike to explore South America, you can find parts easily once you’re down there. Photo: Yamaha
The aftermarket will give you the basic parts you need to improve your XT: A skid plate, handguards, luggage rack, and so on. You could do much worse if you wanted an affordable bike to explore developing countries—these bikes are actually built in South America, so parts supply shouldn’t be a problem down there!
Like the TW200, the XT only gets a paint job for 2025. Asking price in the US is $5,499, making it one of the cheapest dual sports you can buy this year; more info and photos here.
