Why don’t more of us ride “smaller” bikes?

 

For the first time in a while, the local motorcycle market has an excellent range of offerings in what us tough guys would call “smaller bikes”.

Suzuki recently launched the V-Strom DL250 (73250) and the GSX-250R (69600). Both are twin-cylinders and, although I haven’t ridden them yet, I haven’t heard a negative word about either yet.

Kawasaki has the dual-purpose Versys-X 300 (75500) and naked Z300 (61995), both parallel twins. I have ridden the baby Versys and it astounded me. It is comfortable and once it reaches cruising speed, has no problem maintaining it.

Honda, for years the winner in this category with its iconic CBX250 Twister, has the very attractive CRF250 Rally (84999). This little thumper has everything you need in a duallie or commuter and although more expensive than the others listed here, still offers great value.

Yamaha’s XT250 (59950) thumper is getting long in the tooth styling-wise and the engine is still air-cooled. But at the price you simply cannot the value it offers.

BMW’s new G310 R (69300) roadster and G310 GS (80400) were quite a surprise when we first got to ride them. The bikes share the same single-cylinder engine slanted backwards that sits “the wrong way round” with the intake at the front of the bikes and the exhaust at the back. The bikes have typical BMW build quality and surprise with their power delivery.

So why would we not consider these bikes? Why would we rather buy bikes with more than 100hp and cost closer to, or more than, R200 000?

Are we snobbish, or are we just spoilt?

We are planning a group test of some of the bikes listed here and look forward to sharing the comparisons.

BMW G310 GS – R80 400

BMW G310 R – R69 300

Honda CRF250 Rally – R84 999

Kawasaki Versys-X 300 – R75 500

Kawasaki Z300 – R61 995

Suzuki DL250 V-Strom – R73 250

Suzuki GSX-250R – R69 600

Yamaha XT250 – R59 950