Yamaha WR250R Mega Thread

[GSBS]

I've had the MT-43 DOT Trials-type tire on my WR-R for just over 1,800 miles now and thought I'd post some photos to update how it's wearing. To my eye the center lugs are about halfway gone, but the tire still grips about the same as when it was new as far as I can tell.

'Course, with all that gas a-sloshing around in my big-ass IMS tank, this could just be a byproduct of the worn, shorter knobs counteracting a jello-like effect caused by the longer knobs when they were new and gummy, but what do I know?

I'm pretty much running 12 psi all the time in this tire based on advice from inmates here that running more on-road would accelerate wear in the center.

Looks like this tire will have a longer "useable" life than the D606s I had been running. I'm thinking this one might see 3K miles before it needs replacing. The D606s were almost completely gone at 2,500 miles and were all but worthless off road long before that.

Will update again as they wear out more...



Closer view...

[bpg]

Originally Posted by GSBS

I've had the MT-43 DOT Trials-type tire on my WR-R for just over 1,800 miles now and thought I'd post some photos to update how it's wearing. To my eye the center lugs are about halfway gone, but the tire still grips about the same as when it was new as far as I can tell.

That was one of many eye-opening experiences I had with the MT43 - when a knobby is half-worn, traction suffers quite a bit; when the 43 is half-worn, only mud traction seems to suffer. They'll still crawl their way up a slick rock face with less than 1/4" of "knob" remaining..

Originally Posted by GSBS

I'm pretty much running 12 psi all the time in this tire based on advice from inmates here that running more on-road would accelerate wear in the center.

I experience the same thing with regards to wear and PSI. It's very cool to be able to run the same pressure on and off road, no need to carry a pump for the transitions.

Originally Posted by GSBS

Looks like this tire will have a longer "useable" life than the D606s I had been running. I'm thinking this one might see 3K miles before it needs replacing. The D606s were almost completely gone at 2,500 miles and were all but worthless off road long before that.

That right there nails it. I'd personally rather have great traction most the time on the MT43, rather than good traction for a bit, then mediocre and always diminishing traction the rest of the time on knobbies.

[IdahoRenegade]

Originally Posted by SkidMarx

That's backwards. White is lean, black is rich.
I'm sure that was just a test to see if anyone was reading your posts.

...and silver (aluminum) is way too lean!

[IdahoRenegade]

Originally Posted by ironbrewer

...Can you in fact put your WR into permanent CO diagnostic mode to have a tach all the time? Would you just permanently ground the wire? And if you did this would you have to go through the program every time you started up the bike??

I haven't tested leaving it grounded, but I think it just enables diag mode, you would still need to hold down S1 & rst while turing on the key to get into it. Still, it would be nice to have the option. I learned a fair amount just playing for a few minutes, as far as rpm (on the tach) vs how it sounded/felt. There's not much there below 6k...

[cug]

It will go back to normal whenever you turn off the bike. I have it permanently grounded (previous owner did that) and you have to go through the normal procedure.

Also it doesn't turn on the odo in that mode. So no mileage recorded. Which is not what I want.

[GSBS]

Originally Posted by ironbrewer

I use my GPS for a speedometer and odometer. Can you in fact put your WR into permanent CO diagnostic mode to have a tach all the time? Would you just permanently ground the wire? And if you did this would you have to go through the program every time you started up the bike??

Mine's been grounded for the past 6K miles or so with no apparent ill effects. You do have to do the holding down buttons dance each time to enter the Diag Mode to access the CO settings and see the tach. It resets to whatever your last setting was each time the key is turned off.

[coresports]

they are separate but it was just nice to make 1 call and have everything sent, very well packed, no shipping damage, everything worked, right spacers, wheels are true, ect

Originally Posted by jgino157

So, are the rotors, spacers and sprockets included in the $850 price from Wheeling?? It doesn't list them, so I was assuming it would all have to be purchased separately.......

[bpg]

Originally Posted by skierd

I have a small to medium conniption every time I see or think about that luggage setup, I think I pack lighter for a month on the road... . Looks like the beverly hillbillies got themselves a motorsickle.

LOL, too funny about the conniptions! here it is again, just in case you were experiencing withdrawal. And, I am quite proud to be a modern hillbilly, so thanks for the props!

Guess I'm more a "whatever I have that gets the job done on my budget" kind of rider, for better or worse...

Most my camping gear is car-camping style: big, bulky and heavy. Trust me, I want to whittle the load down to about 1/2 to 1/3 that size and heft, just a matter of finding good deals and making deliberate choices. And nowadays I'm just avoiding packing casual clothes and withstanding a little more stinky-ness - but you ultra-lightweight packers will have to pry my clean socks and undies from my cold dead fingers!

[skierd]

Just so you know I had a walmart tent, a chair, and 5 days of socks and undies with me lol. Even had a stove, mess kit, toiletries, extra gas and tubes, etc. Compression sacks are your friends... only expensive gear I have right now are my pad (exped synmat 7ul) and a mountain hardware synthetic bag that packs tiny. Total for both was about $300 but saved so much room...

[Reposado1800]

Nice set up.

[Pantah]

Originally Posted by Clayjars

Nice set up.

No doubt, skierd has it down for travelling wr2r's. Nobody better. Nobody has even tried!

I have my WR and am adventuring with it in the spirit of skierd. I'm even trying to get down to just socks!

I might add that my #2 son is a roadracer in AMA Pro. He NEVER takes the track in used socks or undershorts. His habit makes for quite the speculation across paddocks far and away. The reason is he leaves his shit all over the garage.

Funny how these things work.

[bpg]

Originally Posted by skierd

Just so you know I had a walmart tent, a chair, and 5 days of socks and undies with me lol. Even had aa stive, mess ki, toiletries, extra gas and tubes, etc. Compression sacks are your friends... only expensive gear I have right now are my pad (exped synmat 7ul) and a mountain hardware synthetic bag that packs tiny. Total for both was about $300 but saved so much room...

Yip - the cheapo sleeping bag is one item that really kills my packing. Currently switching over to the Big Agnes set-up, already have the super light insulated Air Core pad - much smaller and more comfy than a Thermarest...

re: bike set-up, having spent about 100K miles street touring, I much prefer the lower COG afforded by side bags rather than stacking them up high in the air - although I'd guess that the profile you have there lets you cut through the wind more efficiently. Not a matter of right or wrong by any means, just personal preference.

Ideally, I want a hybrid, low profile set-up such as the Giant Loop systems or one of the similar set-ups from Wolfman

[skierd]

I just can't buy in to the giant loop idea. Mainly because I like compartments vs one big bag o' crap on the back. I also like being able to mix and match pieces to tailor what I'm carrying and the bags I'm riding with to the load and the trip.

The battle between wind drag and keeping the weight low was how I arrived at my current setup honestly. I hated the drag from the saddle bags, hated hated hated it. I also got scared the few times I ended up nearly stuck under them in crashes.

But I also hate the feeling of having weight up high. When I started my TAT trip (first setup above), I also had a 1gal rotopax full of water on the tail rack, paranoia for the desert. It felt so awkward and top heavy that I ditched it about 15 miles into my trip at my mom's house. I've also tried the cheap "stuff everything into a duffel bag and bungee it on the back" trick, same effect hated it.

The enduro saddlebags are small enough width wise to hide behind me out of the wind, but hold nearly as much as my dirtbagz scout's did. They're simply cavernous for their size, I'm always amazed at what I can stuff in them. The enduro duffle is also small and low profile, I hated the look of having a giant tail bag or box on the back of the bike it ruins the lines visually and tempts you into stuffing too much weight up high. Only downside is I needed another bag for my clothes on longer trips, hence the eVent compression sack. Also didn't like having my tent in with my gear if/when it got packed away wet, hence it being strapped to the top (I also didn't have it when I started that trip, it's eventual replacement will likely migrate to one of the saddlebags when I find room for my fuel bottles and spare tubes elsewhere).

So my dual desires of lowish cg without drag penalties led me to a small packing, somewhat minimalistic but not really minimal setup. I have everything *I* need for a trip of unspecified duration to be comfortable, except the ability to take a computer (I had a DSLR in my tank bag fwiw). A medium sized pelican or givi box may replace my tail bags for that reason alone should I be able to make the leap to full-time-ish traveler...

I will just mention this, but the Exped Synmat UL 7 is half the packed size of the big agnes insulated air core pads. Its also twice the price, but damn HALF the size! And actually is thicker blown up! And inflates/deflates easier thanks to larger openings (that my tire pump happens to fit in to...)! It can be squished down to about the size of a beer can!

[EnderTheX]

Originally Posted by skierd

I just can't buy in to the giant loop idea. Mainly because I like compartments vs one big bag o' crap on the back. I also like being able to mix and match pieces to tailor what I'm carrying and the bags I'm riding with to the load and the trip.

The giant loop (great basin) is compartmentalized. It actually has 8 viable compartments. Two heavy duty bags at the bottom of each wing, two stuff bags for soft stuff on top of those, one zip bag in the middle top, the empty space above the zip bag (I count this as a compartment because I use it all the time for my rain gear), and two water/fuel bottle bags sewn in next to the zip bag.

Trust me, it's an awesome system. Only real downside to it is you can't lay it right on the exhaust and it isn't really quick access to all compartments.

In this picture you can see all the stuff I cram in the great basin. The two heavy duty bags are black, the stuff bags are yellow, the zip bag is open and yellow in the giant loop. The water bottles will go in the bottle compartments and the shoes go in the empty space. Disregard the Bags Connection bag, it was my extra tent bag that went on the outside.

[IdahoRenegade]

Originally Posted by EnderTheX

The giant loop (great basin) is compartmentalized. It actually has 8 viable compartments. Two heavy duty bags at the bottom of each wing, two stuff bags for soft stuff on top of those, one zip bag in the middle top, the empty space above the zip bag (I count this as a compartment because I use it all the time for my rain gear), and two water/fuel bottle bags sewn in next to the zip bag.

Trust me, it's an awesome system. Only real downside to it is you can't lay it right on the exhaust and it isn't really quick access to all compartments.

In this picture you can see all the stuff I cram in the great basin. The two heavy duty bags are black, the stuff bags are yellow, the zip bag is open and yellow in the giant loop. The water bottles will go in the bottle compartments and the shoes go in the empty space. Disregard the Bags Connection bag, it was my extra tent bag that went on the outside.

I have used my Great Basin on my DR650 for some camping trips and really like it, I need to try it on the WRR. It's so big, I hope it doesn't look like a giant slug is mating with my bike! My problem is my non-backpacking sleeping bag and tent. The bag in particular is huge, about as big around as the body of the GB, even in a compression bag. Both a new tent and a new bag are on my list to aquire over the winter. Sure would be nice to have one of those tiny sleeping bags that would actually pack into the GB center pocket! I do have a Big Agnes air matress, will be adding the bag to go with it.

I have the Wolfman Enduro tank bag...nice for a couple little items, but too small to really help store much gear. I'll be adding a set of tank panniers for tools/tube/CO2 inflator, as well as a place to hold maps.