Talk to me about WR250R's

Interested in these little go anywheres but never seen one in the flesh.

What are they like on the trails, road etc?

Power fully loaded?

Reliability? (It's a given I s'pose)

Farkles.

Problems?

Any suitable alternatives? WR250F, XT250, New CRF250L..........

Cheers.
NFHU

There is a lot of info about them in the thumper section of ADV. A lot of Yanks like them.
If only Yamaha put that gearbox in my WRF290 I would only have one bike. The 6 speed wide ratio gearbox makes it very versatile bike. I assume that the suspension is probably not up to WRF standards (i.e. very good on big hits and supple ove rsmall bumps) but better than trail bike standards ( mushy soft). I know that it is an EFI machine and you can get 15L Safari tanks for them.

I want a 400-450 version pleaseYamaha san.

i'm hearing you on the WR450R.

Waiting, waiting............................

The best thing to do is get a decent ride on one.

My 2011 WR250R just clicked over 21000kms today. Never had a problem with it and am very happy with it. Most of those kilometres were on a long trip last year and was done fully loaded (Giant Loop Great Basin, 35L dry bag and Wolfman Enduro tank bag). With food and water all my gear weighed nearly 40 kilos and I am nearly 100kgs myself. I normally cruised at 95kph but in NT I was regularly sitting on 120kph+ when I had to reach Darwin (from Timber Creek) in a day.

I have a Safari 14L tank on mine along with a Force Radiator Guard and Bashplate, Seat Concepts Custom Seat, Barkbusters, SpeedDRD (speedohealer), 12v outlet and Yamalink (lowered it 2" total - including the stock lowering). The engine, suspension (Yamalink aside) and gearing on mine is stock although most people go down a tooth on the front to compensate for the lack of low end torque ...

I "upgraded" to the WR from an XT250 2009 model. Apart from the XTs better low down torque (well - for a 250 that is), the WR is a better bike in every way. rpo83 may be down on the suspension on the WR but it leaves the XT for dead. But then again at $10K for a WR new it would want to be.

I don't break any records on the WR but at least I can keep up a bit better on the road with my maniac friend on a KLR650. When I told him I was thinking of trading in the XT on a WR, he was adamant that I should go up to a DRZ400S (minimum) but he changed his tune a bit after he took a WR for a test ride. He was surprised with the feel/balance of the bike and its power (for a 250 - he was not about to give up his KLR on this count).

I think it really depends on which bike you are coming from. I came from 650s so the 250 is really underpowered and REALLY lacks the torque in comparison. I have done a HEAP to mine and the farkles never stop really. Check out my build thread.

To answer your questions:

What are they like on the trails, road etc: Trails - heavy and lacks torque. Road - Light and lacks torque. It is one of those bikes that does the dual thing well, but neither brilliantly.

Power fully loaded? - Never really a problem, you just gotta rev them high and sort out the ratios a bit. Opening up the breathing and exhaust helps a lot.

Reliability? (It's a given I s'pose) - Yup, never a problem, not even a concern in my mind.

Farkles. - HEAPS. Exhausts, big tanks (I run the 20L IMS), all the bling you could ever want.

Problems? - Suspension (I got my totally redone), power -again, exhaust etc helps with that.

So overall, there is not really any other bike out there that I know of that can really perform like it, it is light enough in the tight stuff, hell, I even motocrossed mine! Yet it can comfortably be loaded up and ride day after day on massive adventure rides.

Motocrosser:



Fully loaded adventure rider:

I did APC rally on wrr last year , commute, and trail on weekends. We can talk about more of this or less of that over a beer at night but every time i ride off it doesn't take long for a smile to appear. the little one that can do it all

Hey mate,

Are you the guy I met up at Mt Tamborine a year or so ago?

There are four bikes listed on the 'bay right now - two are 5-speed and two or six-speed. Is this correct :eek1 - or can only 50% of Yamaha riders count?

... and one of those is a "Side Car" apparently too ... :huh

Item specifics - Motorcycles
Condition:
Used: An item that has been used previously. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of ... Read more
Manufacturer: Yamaha
Model: WR250R
Type: Side Car
Kilometres: 1,667
For sale by: Private seller
Engine Capacity (cc): 0.25 litre
Power: --
Factory, Aftermarket Warranty (Months Remaining): --
Gears: Five-speed manual
Start Type: Electric start
Extra Features: --

There's also a Harley chopper and a Ducati 1098 listed under "Trail bikes"...
You realise they vote, don't you?

I do 500km's of highway to work and back every week and in very windy conditions it is under powered(standard engine) i some times would like a 450 version
However "most" of my road trail work a 650 is to heavy hell sometimes even the WRr is to heavy for some of it


I currently have done 18200km's in 9 months on a "new"(yes it was brand new in shop and they still have a new WRx) 2008 model No problems with it as yet













oh and DR650's suck

had one, was too gutless, back to dr650 now

Hi Joe yes that was me could not work out how to post photo yet. good response to original question. cheers let me know of trail rides your neck of the woods

Really?

I thought you went to a 525...

I can't keep up...

As for the WR250, I rode a standard one for about 5 mins once (The Missionarys Awesome WR250R), in my short ride I thought it was pretty good for a standard 250 trail bike, But I honestly think there price should be about three quarters of what it is.

But I supose that is Yamaha for you...

I picked up a new 2008 about a month ago. I've heard they came from dealerships that went out of business with the market crash. I moved from a KLR because I wanted to do more technical riding. Everything about the bike so far is awesome. Dropped one tooth on the front to get a little more low end torque. Lovin' it.

Watch the wear on the swingarm protectors if you are going smaller at the front.
A few have suffered severe wear at the swingarm pivot from the chain.

I have one (check flea market..hint hint)..

I think with the right mods they aren't as gutless as everyone claims..I've ridden a DR650 and it was a right pig...
I also changed the gearing from 13/43 to 13/49 and added the pipes and efi controller, modded the airbox etc..

Its a good little jigger, and I have no problem keeping up with any of the 450's in the bush when I go riding, In straight line drags mine cleans up drz400's (my brothers anyway) and will wind out to 140km/h in 6th even with that gearing..I find I tend to ride it like a 2-stroke - keeping the rev's up in the sweet spot...you only run out of torque when you let the revs drop because your too much of a pussy to keep it pinned.

I tend to use the clutch all the time, keeping the throttle nailed everywhere and just blipping the clutch when I want rev's - not letting go of the throttle..it'll rev its tits out all day in the bush, across firetrails, to snotty stuff...then take it home, wash it (or not) and ride it to work monday.

The forks are identical to wrf250's, but the rear shock as previously mentioned is a bit ordinary..pogo stick ordinary..although nothing that can't be fixed.

Heaps of farkles, cheap to rego & insure, great on fuel.....

Looking to buy a well sorted wr250r for a specific trip.happy to buy from any state of Australia but need one with all te fruit , specially a safari tank
Thanks
Jb