Yamaha WR250R Mega Thread

i guess I was comparing to swapping the tank out for a Safari tank. From that experience i'd happily pull the tank and carefully remove the pump ... assuming the tank was less than half full I suppose.

At least trailside i'd 'normally' have a second pair of hands to help I guess.

WR250R fork service


During my last ride I had noticed some fork fluid leaking. While that was due to the icy conditions we encountered, and any water immediately freezing on the forks and the ice getting under the seals, I figured it was time to replace the seals and change the fluid anyway. At over 8k miles on the clock, it doesn't hurt to look at the internals.

The first thing that surprised me was how clean the fork fluid was. I had seen some forks (on other bikes) in the past, where the fluid was all dirty and cloudy. The WR oil was fairly clean, with no metal particles in it, and only slight discoloration.

So, this being my first time tackling USD forks, it took me longer than usual. On conventional forks, the procedure is much simpler, and takes only a few minutes. On the WR there are more parts to change, and the seals cannot be driven in with the inner/outer tubes apart.

These are the tools I used:

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Nothing special. A Torque wrench, 17mm wrench (for a nut on the damper rod), 14mm hex (for damper rod base valve), a screwdriver (to pry the old dust seal, plus retainer ring), a small brass hammer, and an electric impact driver (air gun would have been better), and a little piece of aluminum barstock I had, where I notched it to keep the damper rod from spinning.

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You will need seals of your choice and some fork oil. I went with Yamaha seals (the oem lasted fine) and Maxima 5W oil - 2 liters.

Loosen the fork caps on the bike. Once you remove the forks, remove the fork caps completely and turn the forks upside down. When all the oil drains, take out the springs and the little rod in the damper, move damper rod up and down a few times to drain rest of the oil, and set the forks on a bench.

With a screwdriver, carefully pry the dust seals out. Make sure not to scratch the forks! With the dust seals out, you can now see the retainer ring. Remove that as well. You can now hold the outer fork and carefully pull the inner fork tube out. It won't be easy, but it will work. This will also remove the oil seal. I ended up using the inner tube to drive the seal out, and it took only a few quick pulls.

Next, loosen the base valve - 14mm hex. First you have to remove the rubber plug in there (again, a screwdriver or a pick). The base valve is torqued and has Loctite. I used a wrench, then spun it fast with the impact driver. One of them came out fine, the other spun inside, hence the aluminum bar.
Once the base valve comes out, pull the damper rod, and set it aside.

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Next I pulled the old bushings and seals off. (Yamaha calls the bushing "piston metal)

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I wiped everything clean, then sprayed brake cleaner through all holes and on all internal surfaces. You do not want any sand or dirt in there. Here is a nice, clean fork.

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Here is the old bushing vs the new bushing. Look at the wear on the inside (new one is on the left):

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Next, with the forks clean, spread a little fork oil on the inner tube, and get a small plastic bag. I used the one that the parts came in. Slide the bag over the fork, lube it with some fork oil, and push your seals over it. This prevents damage to the seals during installation.

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And here is how it all stacks up. Dust seal on top, bushing on the bottom.

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Now, both my damper rods had a little bit of rust. I cleaned that off with 2000 grit sandpaper soaked in oil.

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Now, grab your clean outer tube and your clean base valve, spread some oil on the o-rings and on the damper rod where it touches the inside of the fork tube, and a bit of Loctite on the threads. Slide the damper rod all the way in, until it touches bottom. Hand thread the base valve into the damper rod, then use your impact driver (or air gun) to tighten it. If you go fast enough, it won't spin. Next, torque the base valve to 40ft/lbs (per manual).

With that done, slide your inner tube into the outer tube (lube the bushings and seals). The first bushing goes in easy, the second is a bit of a pain to seat. I used a small punch and a very gentle hand to get it started. Push it deep enough so you can start your oil seal. I don't have a seal driver, so again using a flat punch and a very gentle tapping all around, I seated my seal until I could see the retaining ring slot. Pop the ring back in, make sure it seats all the way, and compress your fork all the way.

Standing the fork vertically, fill it to the top of inner tube with your fork oil. You have to remove the spring guide and the rod inside the damper for this procedure)

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Move the damper rod in and out about ten times (slowly) and add fork oil as air is displaced. Then move your outer tube up and down (a little) about ten times, again adding oil to maintain oil level at the top.
When no more air escapes and the oil level does not drop, use your method of choice to extract enough oil to achieve oil level of 105mm from top (per manual). My method of choice is an old sprayer top with a straw cut to length. I just rest it on top of the fork tube and pump until no more comes out. It works great.

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Next, put your clean spring back in, slide the damper rod up (took me a while to figure that one - I used a screwdriver between the coils to push against the nut on top). Once fully extended, put the collar back on the spring and thread your top cap by hand. Using the 17mm wrench, hold the lower nut, and using a 19mm socket torque the cap on at 11ft/lbs (per manual).

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Bring the outer tube up, and temporarily crew in your cap bolt. Voila. You'll have to torque that after you have the forks back in the tripples.

What I do is to leave the dust seal on the fork leg without installing it. After I'm all done with all of the above, I compress the forks several times by hand, applying as much pressure as possible. Just push the fork leg against the floor (with a rag as a cushion) and lean against it. After I get tired of doing it, I look down at the oil seal to make sure that no oil leaked out. If satisfied, I press the dust seal in and call it a day.

Have fun!

Disclaimer. These are only my observations. Use your own judgement and your head. My writeup does not replace the use of factory service manual and all workplace safety measures. You cannot hold me responsible for doing something stupid.

Does anyone know if the Force radiator guard fits ok with the IMS 4.7G tank? (It looks like it "should" be ok)



More pics here:
http://www.wrrdualsport.com/reviews-intro/bikeparts/78-forcerad

theMISSIONARY... Having first hand experience with rad guard clearance issues, what do you think?

Thanks :)

looks like it could work.....its thinner near the rear of the radiator(the bends) thats were its going to rub.....but unless someone has done it

I have the IMS 4.7 gallon tank and the Flatland racing radiator guard too and see the same issue.

The IMS tank offers a degree of protection that is not there with the stock tank set up and I have been thinking of going back to the stock rad guard setup.

Honestly..don't know for sure.....as I have always just used the stock cage. Notoil cage will probably work fine, but I can not confirm personally.

Sent from my SCH-S738C using Tapatalk 2

The first report I saw on these, don't remember where, said it was difficult to take apart he pump without breaking anything (plastic tabs and what not). Just curious how delicate you thought it was.

My thoughts are to take this smaller pump on trips. Cheaper and smaller than a full on pump. The pump usually gives you some warning, so my thoughts would be to swap it out at night in the hotel room with a cold beer. But if its "too delicate" it might be worth bringing the full pump.

I just put one on my WR and love it... Yes, the bling factor isn't there BUT the functionality factor is way high. I also have a TW and have one on it and a use a T-Bag that I move from one to the other. I'm now looking at mounting a Rotopax on the left side, hanging down along the tire, kinda matching the exhaust on the other side. I've seen pics here and it looks like it belongs there.

Which model rack are you guys using? They don't seem to have a WR specific one...

henrymartin, Thanks for the fork rebuild tutorial! Greatly appreciated!

Well the plastic itself isn't "delicate" per se - it's actually very thick. But it becomes delicate due to the amount of force required to get the plastic bent up enough to get over the tabs. There are 3 tabs, and it's all so tight-fitted that it's a real challenge getting them all lifted over the tabs so you can slide it apart. A couple times during the process I was pretty much just hoping something wouldn't just go "snap", and my efforts all be in vain.

Again, I don't know if I could do this trailside, or even in a motel room, with just the tools I carry in my tool roll, but I suppose if I did have a spare, I would attempt it before spending the $ on a new unit, and having to wait on it to arrive. Since my original pump still did work, I suppose I'll carry it with me on trips.

+1. Great pictures and explanation of the process!

No problem guys! Anything else, let me know.

I plan to do the same for the Britannia Lynx install.

Sorry that the pics are too big. I always copy pics from my blog without issues, but the last few post here too large. I tried resizing in "edit post" and it bounces back to the large size again. Something must have changed with ADV site itself.

Anyway, if the post is too large, I can just delete it and leave a link to the blog post.

Thanks for the detailed report !

One question, once there:

If I were just going to change fork oil... could i just stop here and jump to:

My bike sees very few dust, no sand or mud, so i guess i should change oil someday but that's all...

I think that would work. Just unscrew the cap, remove the spring and the little rod inside the damper, turn it upside down, pump it a few times, and when all the fluid has drained out, move on to the filling part. Nice and easy.

Just make sure the oil reaches the top of the inner tube. Otherwise you will get false reading level. It's always better to remove excess than not have enough.

There are small holes in the inner tube that let the oil seep between the inner/outer tubes.

would this one fit the WRR?
http://notoil.shptron.com/p/wr-250-450-2003-2012-3?pp=8


I got that link from No toil when I asked them for a filter for extreme dusty condition for the WRR

That's what I did ... left them upside down overnight.

Then when filling I cut down a spray bottle to the correct length to remove oil to the correct level.

Negatory.
That's for a WR-250F or WR-450F from 2003 and on.

dazler, i am planning an outback ride for april & may, extremely dusty so i've replaced the K&N with a unifilter foam unit & plan to use filter socks. will also carry the original foam filter preoiled as a quick replacement backup.

As noted, not the right part. Like I said before, I'm using the Yamaha OEM air filter--very well made, fits perfectly--with NoToil filter oil and it is holding up very well. I have 2 that I rotate.

Here's a good buy, less than $19 (#8 on the parts list):
http://www.motosport.com/dirtbike/oem-parts/YAMAHA/2010/WR250R-(DUAL-SPORT)/INTAKE