The competition

HONDA XL250

Honda’s XL250 is a bit chunkier than the DT and, like the Yamaha, was more highly regarded as a 350 than a 250. Powered by Honda’s four-valve 250 single engine road bike, the XL was an excellent trail bike for the road and a great road bike on the dirt. It was fast, light and responsive. It was reliable too, until the top end went west, which was usually down to insufficient oil changes. The XL has a lot of fans. At the time it was popular with many, apart from those who felt only a two-stroke would do on the dirt. The later XL250S is a far more modern offering.

BSA 250 GOLD STAR

If you are looking for a 250cc trail bike from the early Seventies, one to consider is the BSA Gold Star 250. Based on the long-lived BSA 250cc pushrod engine and also available with Triumph badging, the trail bike trim was radical, and it had some decent-quality bits. It could handle well and was usable up until you got it to 70mph, at which point it would start to shake itself to bits. It could be hard to start, which was problematic if you stalled it in the mud. Increasingly popular, good restored ones are starting to appear, and they are holding their value well.

SUZUKI TS250

Suzuki’s TS250 went through a range of looks in a long production run. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the mid-1970s TS with its tiny petrol tank and big chrome shield on the upswept silencer was arguably the best looking of the bunch and was very much Yamaha’s rival. Like Yamaha, as the years went on, Suzuki went for straight lines and sharp angles. The TS250 used a frame that was close to identical to the earlier models and had an engine with origins in the 1960s until 1979. A bit of a hooligan’s bike and none the worse for that.