Yamaha WR250R Mega Thread

If it hasn't died at 10k it probably won't.

To each his own. Mine works well enough for my 72 year old fat but! Sag at 4 1/4 & rebound all the way off, counter clockwise

http://s43.photobucket.com/user/rtb1940/media/GC2012001_zps0cf601fe.mp4.html

http://s43.photobucket.com/user/rtb1940/media/GC2012003.mp4.html

http://s43.photobucket.com/user/rtb1940/media/PICT0005.mp4.html

http://s43.photobucket.com/user/rtb1940/media/PICT0004.mp4.html

Since I am at work, I only watched a little bit of the first linked vid. That small rocky bumpy terrain would not require the shock rebound set all the way out , nor a rebuild.

The people that need the rebound set at max and/or rear shock rebuilds, are the guys that ride in a such a way, that the rear shock gets fully compressed, either with small jumps and/or whoops. When the stock shock gets fully compressed, the rebound damping needs to be increased...dramatically.

Edit: The guys that have their bikes bouncing them in different directions from the way that they are trying to get the bike to go, know if they need the rear shock redone or not. I would not advise anyone who does not know what pogo'ing is, or if their bike is doing it, to have the shock rebuilt.

So little time, so many experts

Thanks for the contribution to the discussion. More discussion and expression of opinions is better than less. As a WR newbie and one who is not particularly knowledgeable about setups or wrenching, outside of oil changes, it is much appreciated.

Yes, I don't know if Doug is an expert, but he sure knows what he's talking about here.

I have my rebound all of the way up and most of time it is fine. Actually this is like 98% of the time. It is only when I am going fast through whoop type trails and the rear of the bike starts hitting me in the butt do I get the feeling I have to slow down. I also do not like ramping the bike because I have not figured out how to keep it from nosing over so bad. I think the shock would help this also. I want to get mine done but have not had the $$ lately and I can make do for now.

Probably all this tame, easy terrain we have out here in the west tends to slant our shock setting expertise Will take more than a shock rebuild to make a motocrosser out of the WRR

Its all good gents. I am no expert...I just know what my bike does and does not do, and what steps are needed to fix the issue.

I put my experience out there, and people can do what they will with it. If people can take it it and helps them, then good. If not, so be it. My panties don't get bunched if someone doesn't take my advice or does not believe what I am saying.

Duanew1: Nosing over = pogo'ing.

FWIW, what some guys use their WRR's for, I could ride my 500 lbs street bike on.

Suspension is working great for me.

As long as we're all putting in our two cents...my suspension is bone stock and I've never had a problem with it. Playing with the clickers and setting my rear preload for 4" race sag helped. I stand up on the pegs, bump over giant ruts and roots in single-track (and no-track), toss the bike around soft-ish sand and ride over heavily rutted roads that haven't been maintained in decades. If I wanted to rip across the Eurasian landscape at 80mph safely I would probably put $1k into a "magic carpet ride" but as far as I can tell, the stock stuff works just fine if you are willing to cut your speed down a bit.

I will say this much: If your front feels too stiff on a hot day after some riding, lift your front wheel off the ground and air-bleed the forks. I use a pair of these and they work great.

4.25" sag? That sounds like way too much to me. Typically you want 1/3 of your suspension travel as race sag. On our reduced 10" of travel that gives us about 3.3". You would also be looking at having around 1" of static sag.

4+ inches would be for MX bikes and other orange bikes with 12-13 inches of suspension travel.

Just curious have you ever had any problems with the chain slider wearing out?

Noob question - I looked at the fork bleeders on Rocky Mtn and also Motion Pro sites. I get why one might release some air on a hot day, or for transport, but does this released air replenish itself? These valves release air, but where does the air come from in the first place?

My wife asks me the same question when I release air.....

It leaks in or out during operation. telescopic forks are a thing of beauty, but not 100% airtite. The goal is to keep the air in the forks at atmospheric pressure.

+1 on the motion pro ones, they are like jewels and very convenient to use.

Have almost 15,000 on my 08 WR, & no issues with swing arm running 14/48. Also have original fuel pump. Just lucky I guess. When in rough terrain you are standing & hence using almost all the travel. I think the stock shock spring is a little on the stiff side & experience no bottoming with that much sag. Also with less rebound damping the shock works through entire stroke when riding. Have bottomed out the forks on occasion.I have always felt the bike to be under sprung in the front & over sprung in the rear. Again depends on so many things. Not against shock revalve, but not cheap & no guaranteed major improvement

I have ridden 2 WRs that had suspension rebuilds. In both cases the damping was very harsh. Probably good on a MX track, but too stiff for my style of off road riding, which is mid-paced single track.


Now if I rode like a girl, I might just spend the $$ on a rebuild.....

That's biology, not mechanical engineering . And here's some news - she releases air too, but probably not as enthusiastically. Women can be so sneaky.

I wish we would get some weather warm enough to make this fork bleeding thing an issue for my new-to-me WR! If I remember my physics classes properly, air (or any gas) tends to expand greatly when heated, and the action of the forks when riding over rough country can heat up the air in fork significantly and make that semi-trapped air expand. Fork seals are better at keeping the air and oil in than they are at keeping stuff out. I'm always amazed at the amount of crap in the oil (dirt, bug parts, water) when I've changed the fork oil in any of my bikes.

I am also continuing my search for routes/trails in central-western Virginia that might tax this bike to the point of needing to bleed the overheated air from the forks. I rode a trail near here last weekend that was outstanding, but it was short and with many water crossings so the forks never really got heated up.

Motion Pro makes cool stuff - I have a set of their combo bead breaker/tire irons that are 1/3 the weight and size of any other tools like this I've ever lugged with me cross-country.



I think I'll get a set of those bleeders to boost my rough-road karma, plus they look cool!

Doug

If you have zero air pressure in your forks with the bike on a 52 degree morning, then have the ambient air temperature rise to 68 degrees and warm the air in the forks accordingly, you will now have pressurized air due to it being heated.

The opposite occurs when things cool down.

Even just riding the bike and getting to oil and parts of the fork warm can increase the air pressure inside.

The thing is, you have the suspension guy modify the internal valving and springing for YOUR weight and how and where YOU plan on riding the bike.

It can be made anywhere from stiff and harsh-feeling over the sharp bumps (fast MX riding) to absorbing that stuff as well as can be expected (for-fun trail riding at a reduced pace).
If you specify slow and cushy, that should be what you get.