Where are your XT250's...let's see them.

Has anyone removed the Charcoal Canister from their XT250? I live in CA and can't find a Skid Plate that fits. If so, could you please let me know what's involved in the removal please? Thanks

A KLR and an XT we have those two in our garage as well. Both great bikes.
Mikey

Here's all one guy did:
https://advrider.com/f/threads/where-are-your-xt250s-lets-see-them.403156/page-162#post-28587508

Thanks! I wasn't certain the skid plate would fit.

Version with cutting down the canister plate.

Daughter and I out for a Christmas ride. Unusually beautiful day for Christmas in Iowa

Does anyone have a spare rear blinker they'd be willing to free themselves of?

I went on a two-day ride this week in cool Texas weather (50-60 degrees F) and came home to find this:




It seems the hot exhaust slowly melted the blinker starting from the bottom, the inside tab of the lens came loose (the lens only has one screw and it's at the outside end), and the lens slowly bent backward. The screw was still fully attached and I easily un-screwed it to release the lens.

My turn signals are relocated rearward with Happy Trails brackets to accommodate their side bags. I had no trouble with this rack on my '08 XT with FMF exhaust, but since installing the rack onto my 2013 XT, it looks like the exhaust heat is just a little too close to the light.

randy, some new LED blinkers are so inexpensive, it's hardly worth worrying about it. I'm happy with these, at $10:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LXFF31Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And if you only replace the rear ones, you don't need a special control unit, since the blink speed is still acceptable. Anyway, this set doesn't include a three-wire design for the front, to allow them to be on dim whenever the headlight is on.

Good suggestion, CloudSplitter, thank you. I'm not a fan of small blinkers but a replacement with a smaller profile may be just enough to dodge the majority of heat coming at it from the exhaust. And if it does melt again, it will not be a lot of money lost.

I am a bit OCD about flash rate so I may also invest in load resistors or LED-compatible flasher.

Get the flasher relay, rather than resistors. One advantage of LED turn signals is that they use less power, and load resistors just increase the power back to the original. Of course, turn signals aren't used that much, except if you forget to turn them off, as I sometimes do.

You might also consider mounting the turn signals in a different place, to keep them out of the exhaust stream. I understand that some laws require the turn signals to be at least 15 inches apart, and those lights, when mounted on the original supports, just barely reach out to 15 inches. Of course, a lot of inmates use signals that are much closer together, including in the same assembly as the brake light, and I doubt anybody will get ticketed for that, unless they have an accident where a driver didn't see their signal.

By the way, those LED signals have smaller threaded mounting tubes than the originals, but you can use the nuts from the extra two units to act as washers to increase the diameter of the mounting location. Also, consider connecting them using "wire nuts". The first replacement rear turn signals. I installed, didn't turn out to be LEDs, and didn't last long, so I was glad to have an easy way to replace them, by unscrewing the wire nuts.
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I could use the extra power. On my ride this week, I ran down the battery for the first time. The engine light came on but the motor was still running, seemingly fine. I pulled over, stopped the motor, and realized what happened after a minute or two of roadside diagnosis. I just installed a couple of auxiliary LED lights, which added just enough load to exceed stator output. I was also running a Hotwired heated vest and a single USB outlet powering my phone. My battery is a Shorai, so when it dies, it dies pretty suddenly. I only had dim dash lights when I turned the key on, but I was able to pushstart the bike without issue.

Here in Texas, motorcycles are not required to have turn signals. Still, I prefer highly visible ones, which seem to be difficult to find. In any case, I ordered some cheap ones from ebay (similar to what you referenced), which cost me $2 after my $6 of ebay bucks credit.

I think I'll go with bullet butt connectors. I never trust wire nuts in situations like this under the seat where they can easily rattle loose.

Since there hasn’t been a post on here for awhile, here is my 2019 with all the accessories off of my 2008.

Very awesome. Question, exactly how are you keeping the (what appears to be) Mad Dog seat cover attached to your seat. I get that you can run the straps under the seat, but the buckles are very much in the way in the front and the bottom back of the seat is exposed to the rear tire and everything it can kick up.

I left one of the original straps with the buckle ( not sure if it was the middle or rear one ) and used some small stretchy cord to tie the other two where the buckle wouldn’t fit under the seat.

Is that a Parabellum windscreen?

On mine it is. It is the only one I have found that is made specifically for the XT250. Fits and looks gooBroke the one in the photo in a tumble (must have been nap time and I didn't get the memo). Just got another one a couple of weeks ago.

If your asking about mine it is an older National Cycle windscreen, not sure of the model.

Yes, I was, thanks

Jolly Roger 250, how do you like the Parabellum? I am looking to take a little of the cold air off the chest without getting any dirty air on the helmet.