Yamaha WR250R Mega Thread

[leftystrat62]

Originally Posted by Llamaha

Mind if I share my thoughts on this?

Personally I have never needed a rear rack I just plonk whatever on the rear fender and strap it down. If you get the wolfman racks then you will have plenty of tie-down points.

The radiator doesn't need protection any more than many other parts of the bike, you could just as easily dent a wheel on a rock and get stranded.

My old skid plate created a horrible echo from the bottom of the bike... you may want to research this. (mine wasn't flatland though worth thinking about...)

I have heard that the 4.7 doesn't get all of the fuel out of the wings, you may be getting the same amount of fuel from the safari but still have quite an agile motorcycle?

From my actual experience : you need a radiator guard as mine is actually a little bent right now-with out it I would have been screwed; I purposely ran my 4.7 gal tank dry and it get's nearly all the fuel out of the wings so yes you'll have much more gas than the Safari;lastly it's only my opinion but having the trail rack makes strapping my duffle bag on the back very easy and secure.

[avgas]

Originally Posted by leftystrat62

From my actual experience : you need a radiator guard as mine is actually a little bent right now-with out it I would have been screwed

Anyone out there not use a radiator guard and regret it? I'm considering one, but I'm cheap... err, I mean, I'm concerned about cooling.

[what broke now]

Originally Posted by avgas

A bicycle/motorcycle can be thought of as an inverted pendulum regardless of whether or not the rider is standing. Standing will increase your moment of inertia however. An increased moment of inertia can be beneficial because it slows the rate at which you tip over. Think of a metronome, you raise the weight and it ticks a slower beat. So, if it takes you longer to tip over, it's easier to correct. [snip]

Thanks man. We all stand up, nice to know what we are sensing when we do it.
_________________________________
PS: I considered a guard on mine after a fall twisted [about 15 degrees] it around the long axis. No leaks, so I straightened it with some wooden parallel jaw clamps. If you ride in tough, remote areas, a guard might save a long walk.

[SuperD!]

Originally Posted by avgas

Anyone out there not use a radiator guard and regret it? I'm considering one, but I'm cheap... err, I mean, I'm concerned about cooling.

I've got the flatland rad guard on my X and never had a problem with it. I've done some long highway runs on 100 degree days, but I've never done the wide open, trying to keep up with freeway traffic, type situation on a significantly hot day.

[pfy50]

Originally Posted by avgas

A bicycle/motorcycle can be thought of as an inverted pendulum regardless of whether or not the rider is standing. Standing will increase your moment of inertia however. An increased moment of inertia can be beneficial because it slows the rate at which you tip over. Think of a metronome, you raise the weight and it ticks a slower beat. So, if it takes you longer to tip over, it's easier to correct.

You can easily balance a broom on one finger, because you have lots of time to react. A pencil is much harder to balance though. Actually, that's not a perfect analogy to the bicycle, because the pencil is much lighter than a broom. Ok, balance a broom on your finger, then cut off the broomstick...

It isn't really as simple as that though. A rider balancing a bicycle is a complex system. The inverted pendulum is just one part of it.

Can I get in on this.
Here's my 2cents. It is 2 different problems you are talking about; COG and Momentum/inertia. The simple answer to the original problem of standing/stability is this: Every vehicle has a static center of gravity(cog) usually on a motorcycle it's just behind the engine and below the center of the seat(you feel it as how the bike balances. When you sit on the bike you move that COG higher toward the point of contact(you're butt); this called the effective COG.The higher the effective cog the tippier the bike feels; like when you fill up one of those aftermarket tanks(which is why they try to put as much as possible down low(wings). When you stand on the pegs for sand or ruff roads your mass goes up, but your point of contact with the bike is the foot pegs so your weight goes there(when you stand on the ground all of your weight is on your feet correct?) When your weight is on the pegs the effective COG is lowered hence the increase in bike stability. Which is what you want in crossing ruff and soft terrain. When you lean forward/back going up/down a hill, and weighting from side to side then you are changing the effective COG with mass(weight within gravitational field) &velocity=(Momentum), and this is where momentum and inertia (along the 3 axis of the bike) get involved as you attempt to maintain a balance between you, the bike, and the terrain you are traversing.

[skierd]

Originally Posted by avgas

Anyone out there not use a radiator guard and regret it? I'm considering one, but I'm cheap... err, I mean, I'm concerned about cooling.

I've done a lot of nasty shit to my bike, but overheating has never ever been a problem. Not even loaded up on the TAT in 100+ degree heat on sandy trails, not in 100+ heat and nearly as high humidity running 1st and 2nd gear through the woods on tight single track back home in Maryland. I have dropped it a LOT however, and often on the right side. The radiator guard is good to have.

[Joe Watson]

Hey, Check out my vid of my WR250R before I sold it:

[rsteiger]

Originally Posted by z@ch

You don't need a stabilizer.

When you ride in the sand:

1. Stand up. It lowers the center of gravity and stabilizes the bike.
2. Stay on the gas. It shifts the weight to the rear and allows the front to "float" across the sand.
3. Steer with the pegs. In deep sand, shifting weight to the right peg with help you steer to the right and vice versa.

Comfort comes with experience. True knobbies don't hurt either.

Z@ch is right, you don't NEED a steering stabilizer.

I to went through aquainting myself with riding in sand even on my DL650 V-Strom in street tires. Everything he said is true. Except standing up does NOT lower the center of gravity it INCREASES the moment of intertia which makes the bike less likely to change direction from a given input - think of a figure skater with her arms out and then she pulls them in. Nonetheless it is a good technique to use while riding in sand since it works!

All that being said, the steering stabilizer is the best thing I added to the bike to improve handling in sand. After spending hours (if not a day or two) playing in the sand I would usually be pretty tired. Now it is a completely different story and I just enjoy riding that much better.

If you are new to riding then practice the techniques above and get a feel for riding in the stuff. The only other thing I would add is once the speed is up I get my weight as far back on the seat as I can and stand when I am entering turns. But if you are old and are at the point in life where you like to head out for a one or two week adventure a steering stabilizer will make that ride so much more enjoyable.

[ggemelos]

Originally Posted by Llamaha

Mind if I share my thoughts on this?

Personally I have never needed a rear rack I just plonk whatever on the rear fender and strap it down. If you get the wolfman racks then you will have plenty of tie-down points.

The radiator doesn't need protection any more than many other parts of the bike, you could just as easily dent a wheel on a rock and get stranded.

My old skid plate created a horrible echo from the bottom of the bike... you may want to research this. (mine wasn't flatland though worth thinking about...)

I have heard that the 4.7 doesn't get all of the fuel out of the wings, you may be getting the same amount of fuel from the safari but still have quite an agile motorcycle?

Thanks for all the feedback, I definitely eager to get people's opinion on how to best setup the bike. When traveling, I generally just strap down a waterproof duffel to the rear rack using rok straps. For normal every day use, I have a tail bag mounted on the rack. I guess you could to all of that without the rack, but it seemed easier.

As for the radiator guard, I have read that the larger tanks, Safari and IMS 4.7, are sufficient protection from a side impact and that an additional radiator guard is not needed. Is this a fair assessment, do a lot of people skip the radiator guard when running the larger tanks?

[avgas]

Thanks for sharing that video Joe, that's probably the coolest wr250r I've seen.

[30Bones]

Originally Posted by avgas

Anyone out there not use a radiator guard and regret it? I'm considering one, but I'm cheap... err, I mean, I'm concerned about cooling.

BigDog doesn't, but he has the Safari tank to help protect it.

[Krabill]

Originally Posted by avgas

Anyone out there not use a radiator guard and regret it? I'm considering one, but I'm cheap... err, I mean, I'm concerned about cooling.

I don't use one and it's never been a problem, but then again, I don't fall down very often.

[simmons1]

Originally Posted by Krabill

I don't use one and it's never been a problem, but then again, I don't fall down very often.

Same here, plus my big tank gives some protection for minor tip overs.

If I was using the stock tank, or an IMS 3.1 I would have a radiator guard.

[UtahFox]

Originally Posted by Joe Watson

Hey, Check out my vid of my WR250R before I sold it:

Love your build. I'd really like to setup the fairing like you have, but I have zero fabricating experience. I don't suppose you're going to sell the fairing and tower?

[jon_l]

Originally Posted by jerrybiker

Nice bike. I'm looking to get a new 2013. I rode a friend's 04 & it was sweet ride. I want to make a RR to AK.

There was no '04. You must have ridden the off-road WR250F. Not much similarity between WRF and WRR.