Yamaha WR250R Mega Thread

If I ever meet the Krabil, I certainly will. Probably a cold one too! It's a good suggestion, but if you re-read my post it happened once with the clutch released (engaged) and once with it disengaged. Besides, mine has been jumpered and siliconed in place.

Fork seals aren't leaking, and AZtom, my voice is good, somehow I escaped damage in that department

Thanks for the help.

So if you would have had another one, would that have been a two-stroke?

Today, I made the ride up Pike's Peak. If you've never done it, pictures don't do it justice. Amazing views, twisty roads. The 'ole WRR ran perfectly all the way to the top at 14,110 ft. I'll post photo's in a bit, once I get them uploaded.

Thats the awesomeness of the WR, just ride out from the driveway and keep going. You could do that on a KTM but you'd be changing the oil every week commuting.

I still have my VTX1300R, but just like you I don't ride it that much anymore. Other than being cold blooded I like the bike and have been very happy with it. Again, just like you, I'm thinking of selling the vtx and buying a mid-size dual sport. What bikes are you considering for a mid-size?

Hey, I just now realized I have two "R's" VTX1300R and the WR...never thought about that before! duh

Depends on which KTM you are talking about. For example, if you are on a 690, the oil change interval is the same 3,000 miles as our WRR/X. Only the race-motor KTMs have the short oil change intervals, but then, so do all the jap motocross and enduro bikes, which we don't even have the option of buying in dual-sport form because they don't make them.

My 525 holds about the same amount of oil as the WRr. I wonder why KTM recommends more frequent changes than the Yamaha does for the WRR? The KTM has 2 oil screens and 2 oil filters- seems like it should go just as far, but I still change it ALOT more often.

Good point. Reminds me of the daily inundation I get as to why I should leave the truck/motorcycle at home and take public transport instead, or get in on one of the share-a-bike/vehicle coops. Those of us who have heard that message are surely better informed as to why many of the trips we take with our motor vehicles are completely unnecessary from both a financial and environmental aspect.

I'll bet there are lots of people in your area who have imparted all kinds of knowledge in order to allow you to make a better informed decision as to whether you actually have to take a vehicle on any given trip versus alternate, ecologically-friendlier, alternatives.

Personally, I don't give a ragged rat's ass. I am a Philistine, and I make no apologies for it.

I ride my WR because I enjoy the ride. That's it, full stop. The fact it is, relatively speaking, easy on gas is a plus, but it isn't the reason I bought it nor the reason I ride.

I also own a Dodge Ram WR250R because it is handy - and because I can't throw a dead elk or moose in the back of a Prius. And maybe because, if some drunk asshole decides to drift across the centerline and hit me, I think my chances of being around afterwards are better sitting behind that Cummins diesel than being at the wheel of a Honda or Kia or whatever.

I don't park my vehicles and take public transit even after being told how I could go green and conserve energy by taking alternate public transit - and I bet very, very few hypermilers only fire up the infernal combustion engine on their vehicles only when public transit isn't available.

I can ride all day for essentially the cost of a couple of stops at Starbucks, Second Cup, whatever. If riding with your attention to milking every single drop out of a tank of fuel is your pride and obsession, then I say go for it and I hope it is a wonderful experience for you. Myself, the attention I don't have on the next bit of road coming up is going to be devoted to the scenery provided by the mountains, streams, etc that I'm riding through.

Hypermiling your way over Going To The Sun or the similar rides around here seems... well... different.

There's the hypermilers at one end of the spectrum. And at the other end those who ride like their hair is on fire. I suspect I'm with the majority who fall between the two - and we're a lot closer to the hair on fire crowd than the hypermilers.

Besides, after riding around in LAVs as a Crew Commander for a few months and watching how much fuel a battle group of LAVs tanks, APCs, etc sucks up, worrying about less than optimal fuel economy in my bike seems a bit redonkulous.

Hi folks,

I'm running sweep for the Paris to Dacre ride in Canada--kind of a last minute fill in for a friend--and I'm in full prep mode--so I've a question.

I have 5,000 miles on my Sidewinder Smartchain II 520 with 110 links--it looks like it's dropped a link or two (kinks)...so I want to replace before undertaking this ride--it's 750 Km in one day---

Anyway, Just sanity checking that 2-3 kinked links on such a chain is actually acceptable--

Second, any other recommendations for a chain besides that? I get stupid when I'm ordering parts--520 is right, correct?

-B

FWIW....

I ordered a pair of KTM folding mirrors from Motoscience. Knowing Yamaha uses a right hand thread on the throttle side, I also ordered an adapter kit to go along them.

The mirrors are great but you DO NOT need to buy a R.H. thread adapter kit for our WR's. Our Yamaha WRR's already have one screwed into the throttle side perch that the stock mirror screws into. It changes the thread from 10 mm right hand to 10mm left hand thread.

I ordered 280 mm for my DR and 243 mm for the WR. The 243 mm's are just right for the WR in my opinion.

http://www.moto-science.com/product/ktm-oem-folding-mirror-243mm-perch-mount-10mmx125mm

The price is each, service is excellent, ships out immediately.

AK Greg

maybe the expect it to live most always in muddy, dirty places and thus ingest some dirt.

you probably can run it longer that what ktm says.
has anyone had their oil tested?

You are correct. It is a 520.

...here

Interesting. One more example that makes me glad I didn't coin up for sidewinder setup. As several have reported, the "lifetime" sprockets were wearing out on our bikes in about the same time as , or sooner than, cheapo steel sprockets. Now we have an example of the sidewinder chain giving up about the same time as, or sooner than, more common and economical chains.

I was so close to getting a sidewinder setup, but then the sprocket reports started coming in so I thought I'd start out with a economical setup and then maybe switch to sidewinder the next time. Now it seems there is no reason to switch to sidewinder unless you want an extremely high tensile strength chain (which can be hard to source from other manufacturers).

My stock chain was still fine at 7,000 miles when I changed it (only because I changed sprockets). The stock rear 43T sprocket was still pretty good. The front 13 tooth was good at 4,000 when I took it off. The 12 tooth was fine with 3,000 miles on it when I took it off.

Time will tell on the Primary Drive setup that's on there now. Some reported kinks early with that brand chain, too. We'll see what I get out of it and then decide if I try another brand (D.I.D. maybe?) the next time.

I don't change it as often as KTM says, but I get paranoid about it. I know people that will run a couple of thousand miles in Baja and not change it or adjust the valves, and their bikes seem to be lasting as long any. I think KTM is just covering thier ass, and they are mainly referring to race conditions. I guess it can't hurt.

(KTM hijack off)

Hey guys, I just got back from a short ride and noticed that there was a slight vibration in the handlebars of my WR. When I got off the bike my hands were numb, and since the whole ride was on pavement I know it has to be something mechanical. Any ideas of what this could be?

no idea , WRR is the smoothest bike i have ever ridden. I have aluminum bars and and gel grips , but even stock it was fine.

When cold, fuel injection does richen up the mixture. It does this because some of the fuel doesn't vaporize properly, so it needs the extra fuel to burn correctly. Cars will also increase the idle speed by opening up the Idle Air Bypass solenoid. However, I don't think these bikes have one? I'd be interested to know for sure.

Commonly, the ECU will only read the barometric pressure just before you start the engine. They will generate a correction factor for altitude, and use that for the rest of the trip while the engine is running. If you change altitude, too much during your drive, it will cause problems. Cars should be able to compensate normally, as they have Oxygen sensors and most are running Mass Airflow Meters now. However our bikes would have problems because we don't have those sensors.