Hi, I'm looking to get a 250cc motorcycle for daily use and commuting to work. Priority is comfort for the rider (myself) and whoever is riding pillion. Being able to weave through traffic is also important. I don't want to be struck in a jam with a motorcycle, kind of makes riding one pointless. Right now I'm considering the Yamaha MT-25, but the pillion seat seems quite small and I've read that it's not very comfortable. Same with the Kawasaki Z250. Can't go above 250cc cause I've only got a B2 license. Recommendations appreciated, thanks.

If you are going to take a pillion , check the load ratings of the bike.

For comfort, A smaller 250 mini adventure or a street scrambler type bike (edit. Maybe a 250 maxi scoot) might suit you better than a naked sports like MT25 or z250.

The caveat is, whatever is comfortable, and has higher load rating, may quite easily run into tradeoff in terms of city maneuverability...

This post has been edited by jaycee1: Mar 26 2023, 08:55 PM

if need comfortable pillion I think scooter is your best choice
maybe can also consider moped like y16zr for its smaller body

Got any recs for adventure and street scrambler-esque bikes?

I have thought of maybe getting the Kawasaki Versys-X 250. But that's the only 250cc adventure bike I know of. The Suzuki V-Strom 250 hasn't arrived at Malaysia yet afaik.

Consider the KTM Adventure 250 if pillion comfort is a concwrn or a Bajaj Pulsar NS200. You can also try the Honda CB250 but that's hella expensive for a 250cc naked single cyl bike. Very comfy though if I weren't limited by budget and the fact that its stupidly expensive for what it offers I would probably have bought it.

Or you can always get a 250 scooter but the price will be significantly higher both to buy and to maintain. Fuel consumption is also significantly worse than a bike with hand clutch/centrifugal clutch.

This post has been edited by iambryan1234: Mar 27 2023, 05:25 AM

a scooter hands down. underseat helmet storage. large pillion seat. wide body to carry two persons.
I have ridden kapcais and naked bikes all my life and carrying pillion especially heavy ones are just so leceh

if budget is not an issue, go for maxiscooters like modenas elagan 250 or elegan 250 EX.
if you are tight on money, consider WMOTO ES250i. the plus side being a 250cc but not as big and bulky like most 250cc scooters in the market.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMnWgLRwTvQ have a look!

small, nimble and 250cc... ES250

Royal Enfield 300

Anyway, 250cc is a bit limited.

Comfort is a basket case of attributes like sitting position, frame size (ie. means longer more spacious seat), wheelbase, vibration etc. As you can see some of which means it may result in a bigger and heavier bike, which may impact on maneuverability.

For bikes, as was mentioned, the KTM 250 Adventure. However, this bike has a relatively tall seat height. but if you have the legs for it, its a good candidate. The Versys 250 is a bit easy to manage...and probably the best of the bunch owning to the same 250 twin out of the ninja and z250. Other bikes in the class is the TRK 251. You may see the Vstrom 250 sometime in the future.

for 250 street scrambler type bikes, you are basically limited to a host of chinese bikes, which may or may not be your cup of tea.

What you can do is try out the new CFMOTO 250 CL-X, Leoncino 250 and the TNT250 sports naked. They tend to have a better or more generously proportioned pillion seat compared to a MT25.


Modenas may launch a 250 Pulsar or Dominar sometime in the future as well.


Best for comfort will be a 250 maxi scoot. But bear in mind, they can be bulky, heavy and long. But for comfort, they are unmatched.


But if you are on any of these, dont expect to cilok like a kapchai.

This post has been edited by jaycee1: Mar 27 2023, 10:01 AM

yes, the ES250. I had a test ride during the last open test day. Very compact, lightweight and nimble. But not my cup of tea. Ride quality of small wheels and a CVT not my thing. But it does get up to 100kmh quite eagerly and stops quite well (i think it has linked brakes). Whether you trust MForce build quality or not is another thing.

This post has been edited by jaycee1: Mar 27 2023, 10:02 AM

the one that notorious with problem is wmoto 150...but I agree that cvt is not everyone cup of tea...
other option that I can think of:

i. Duke 250
ii. Husqvarna Svartpilen 250 (same engine as duke)
iii. Benelli Leoncino 250 (+- same concept design as svartpilen- hence small)
iv. Honda CB250

The Bajaj Pulsar is Indian right? Idk la I'm a bit hesitant to get a bike that isn't Japanese because I'm afraid spare parts will be expensive or take a long time to arrive, or not as reliable.

KTM Adventure 250 and Kawasaki Versys X-250 got significant difference ke?

after so many different suggestions and can see you are still fond of slightly upright seating position 250cc bike ( e.g: KTM Adventure 250 and Vesys X-250 ). Perhaps you can follow your heart. Knowing your buying patents ( eg: car you own ) if you will change / upgrade motorcycle quite often then I would suggest you to go for 2nd hand bike first. Japanese 2nd hand bike won't have much of issue, just need to check whether the chassis / frame, wiring, engine, gearbox, & etc in good running condition.

It will safe you a lots of money and also understand what you want is what you need.

me 2 cents.

CFMoto is Chinese brand right? Maybe I'm being a bit picky but I'd rather avoid a Chinese bike...I don't think I trust their build quality & reliability.

I've looked at Benelli bikes but I'm concerned about the availability of spare parts & how much they'll cost. I'll certainly keep the TRK251 in mind, though. Do you know any more about that one specifically?

I think I'll pass when it comes to maxiscooters. They never interested me tbh.

I probably won't be changing motorcycles if I don't need to. Main reason why I'm looking for a new one now is because I want to improve on my second-hand 2004 Yamaha Legenda. It's served me well so far after four years of daily use, but I think it's been showing its age recently.

But I'll definitely keep your thoughts in mind. Thanks!

Bajaj Pulsar is Indian being sold in here as a rebadged Modenas bike.

Yes, you will run into some QC issues (typical of India manufacturing, made worse by Modenas) but spare parts and maintenance in general is dirt cheap. In my experience, I have had the rear brake go kaput right out of factory, rear pillion seat not being able to lock up tight, and minor fork leaking, all of which can be covered by warranty or you can fix on the cheap for less than 300 if you wish to avoid DRB-HICOM's warranty shenanigans. If you are careful you can get to Penang mainland on a single tank from Petronas at Sg Buloh Overhead Bridge.

If you don't want a Yamaha FZ150 or just want the cheapest ABS bike you can buy, this is pretty much the most economical alternative. As long as you are staying in Klang Valley there are several specialists covering key areas, the ones I know are in Kota Damansara, Selayang, and Puchong Prima. There are other normal service centers that service other bikes like Eang Chun in Wangsa Maju that will keep spare parts for the bike as well.

KTM ADV 250 is heavy, you are approaching 180kg with that thing and is tall, but is plenty comfortable. Price however will make your wallet cry and costs just 1-2k below the Honda CBR250RR.

Personally have never tried Versys 250 so can't say anything about it other than it shouldn't give you any major issues, considering its based on a very old reliable Kawa design.

Another alternative you can consider is to buy a used Kawasaki Z250 and modify the rear seat to have better padding.

This post has been edited by iambryan1234: Mar 27 2023, 11:18 PM

If you got the budget , go for Z250 ABS
If on tight budget , pulsar NS200 is a good choice

I have ES250I & CB250R and ride it alternate days to work, if at heavy traffic town area with alot traffic light then definitely the ES is much more comfort & relax with extra storage, CB is more fun and better handling but in heavy trafiic is not fun you need to keep shifting the gear.

I would say scooter is the better option for commuting to work due no need keep change gear and extra storage for rain coat or other stuff like lunch box. But dont get maxiscooter

Price of a 2nd hand Versys-X is currently crazy due to scarcity as these are all stocks from KMSB. If you can, wait until Modenas bringing in new Versys-X so that the 2nd hand price would stabilised.

And so is Benelli.

If you are not looking at Chinese bikes and scooters ...you have definitely pigeon holed yourself.

You can't buy a new versys 250. Because there are none....until modenas decides to bring them in again.

So that leaves the KTM. But if you are worried about parts and reliability, you are pretty much left with no candidates. Small displacement KTM are coming out if India, while the bigger 790 is coming out if china.

There are no problems with parts for modenas/Bajaj bikes. Basically they are the poor man's KTM. (Yes you read that right. Bajaj makes KTMs). But judging from your preferences, the Bajaj based bikes probably aren't for you either.


If based on your initial preferences of a city bike with comfy seat, only a scoot fits the bill. Even a small adventure bike is big if your previous experience is a 100kg kapchai, any of the 250 ADVs and maxi 250s will be close to double that.

The closest 250 scoot that fits your bill would be the ES250 scoot..but that being a Chinese bikes and a scooter...no dice.





This post has been edited by jaycee1: Mar 28 2023, 09:12 AM