Yamaha WR250R Mega Thread

Before I get to the "good stuff", I'll start with some boring words. I know most of you will scroll down to the pics anyway, so there won't be too much preamble....

So, why the WRR? Simple: well, that's it. I wanted "simple". I wanted a smallish displacement bike to go play offroad, I wanted decent performance, but I did NOT want the maintenance of a pure offroad bike. The WRR has a 26.6k mile valve adjust, and 3k mile oil change. Overall, this little beauty seemed to fit my "want" list nicely. Also, a shop in So Cal was going out of business and selling bikes near their cost, so that just sealed the deal.

So, without further preface....

My day started early. Yep, that's the sunrise.....



I saw lots of this:



Saw the cars going north get strafed by a Sopwith Camel (OK, it was a crop duster, but I was bored so I made up my own story):



I saw how they get the water from Nor Cal down to So Cal (pump it over the mountains in great huge pipes!):



Drove over this (Tejon Pass, Tehachapi Mtns):



And through this (LA traffic....lots of it!):



To get this (sorry, crappy camera phone pic since camera battery died...)!



Which now sits neatly in the garage (pardon the mess....):



And now, those "naughty" pics you've been waiting for.....

Let's lift up her seat and see what's under there. As it turns out, not much...



How about taking a look at the left side (battery, starter relay):



Oooo la la. Gettin' good. How about the right side (airbox):



Let's open that little door, shall we? Ooooo...nice oiled foam filter, just like a real dirt bike....



Woohoo! Can I put a dollar in there?

Overall, the fit/finish of the plastics was pretty good. I found the right side panel to be a bit fiddly to get back on because the bracket for the panel bolt was held in place by another bolt (why not just welded on?) that didn't seem to want to stay put. It kept moving due to the torque being applied to the side panel bolt. I'll have to either loctite the bracket bolt in place, or use a locking washer. Also, the bolt and spacer holding the left side panel seemed like there was a washer or grommet or something missing, but I was very careful when I took it apart. I'll have to look into that more later, as it makes the left side panel a little loose.

I found a few other things interesting. On the right side of the motor, there's a sight glass to check the oil level. Nice touch:



On the left side, there's this little "box":



Let's see what's in there. Oh look, it's a wee tool kit!



It's also the modern-day Rubik's Cube, because once you get those tools out of the little plastic box, it's a bugger getting them all back in!

Last, being an ADV type, and wanting to put "stuff" on the back (camping crap, luggage, BBQ grill, Beer cooler....just the essentials ), I wanted to check out the subframe, so, here are a few pics of the tail/subframe:





Nice beefy tubing under there. The owners manual says the total load is 185kg (408lbs) including rider, passenger, and gear. That's pretty darn good for a 250cc bike. I'm about 200lb w/ gear, so that leaves 200lb free for other stuff!

On to the 1st ride impression!

The first thing I wanted to check out was the power (I couldn't get a test ride anywhere, so I bought this bike based on other people's reports and magazine reviews....always a dodgy proposition ). I had heard comments like "it's a turd!", and "no low end power". I'm not sure what these folks were expecting from a 250cc engine, but I think the power is very good. 1st gear is a little short, but with a quick shift into 2nd (or even starting in 2nd), the acceleration is quite good. It's not like a 450+ cc bike, but if that's what you want, you should get the bigger bike. For a 250, the power is excellent IMO.

Handling is also quite good. Even with the Bridgestone Trail Wing tires, the grip was good on the road. I didn't get a chance to try it out offroad yet. That should come this weekend. I can see a set of 17" wheels and sticky road tires in my future for some real SuMo fun!

For a 250 "dual purpose" bike, this thing is TALL! I'm 6' with a 33" inseam, and I'll probably have to use the built-in 1" lowering mechanism to bring the seat down a bit. I'm on the balls of my feet on this thing, which was surprising. At the motorcycle show where I first sat on this model, I could flat-foot it, so I'm guessing the bike at the show was already lowered and the preload was cranked way down. For folks looking at this bike for the wife/gf/daughter etc., I highly recommend finding a place to go sit on one before you buy. Unless they're leggy, they might have a tough time off-road if they need to stop on a slope, dab with a foot, etc. I'll fiddle with the suspension some this week and set the sag, etc., and see if that helps. I noticed the back end barely moved when I plopped my 190lb carcass on the seat, so the preload might be cranked up too high for me.

And then there's a seat (aka the "wedgie machine"). The seat is firm....very firm. It's also sloped on the sides. The result is it tries to jam the undies up and out through the nostrils. With luck, it will break in and soften up before it splits me like a chicken.....:eek1

Switch gear seemed adequate, and I found things like the halogen headlight a nice plus, as well as the LED tail light. FYI, those bulbous turn signals are "soft" mounted, so they pop out of their bracket if hit. I did this already by smacking one with my boot when dismounting, and I just stuck it back into it's bracket and all was good. The mirrors give a great view of your arms and shoulders, but a crappy view of what's behind you. Not sure what to do about this, but an extender of some sort will be needed.

I found the FI a little snatchy at low throttle openings, but that might be due to newness. It may also have been more clutch related than FI related, as the engagement seemed "abrupt", almost like an on/off switch. Again, I'm assuming that's just due to newness and things will loosen up over time.

Regarding break-in, the manual says no more than 1/3 throttle for the first 600 miles, then no more than 1/2 throttle for the next 400 miles. Yeah. Right. I'm doing the motoman method as I've done with other bikes, and will do the first oil change this weekend, then just go ride.

Here are a few more bits:
- Fuse box includes a spare for each fuse size.
- Fuse box also has a "spare" slot, I assume for new add-on electrics? It's a 7.5A fuse.
- Not sure what the total output is for the electrical system, so not sure how much can be added in the way of electrifarkles (tm)
- The left radiator shroud covers the radiator overflow container (the radiator is on the right side only), and has a convenient sight window to check the fluid level.
- Steering lock, locking gas cap, and helmet lock, all with one key. Simple. Convenient.

That's about it!

-NoVector

she's a beaut...

can't wait till you uncork her... anyone got an aftrmrkt mod for FI remapping? i hear she's choked off for epa regs.

me

Sweet bike. I wanted to get the Kawasaki 250 a year or so...but found out it wasn't being sold in Kalifornia (it is now though).

Got an X Challenge instead. Love it!

It's about time they made some nice smaller dual sports. That's what I started out riding on. Little Kawasaki 2 stroke. Then a 250 and 400 Yamaha DT. Fondly remember lots and lots of good times on those bikes.

Great write-up, novector. Thanks.

They must adjust the ride height all the way up from the factory. I thought the seat was way tall too, but it was very comfortable for me when I sat on it in the showroom.

Has that thing got an o2 sensor on it?

sweet. I bought one this past saturday. Picking up this thursday. I've been kicking tires for a long time and it looks like respectable off road is finally street legal. I don't think it will win Baja but it sure sounds like it will get through some decent single track in a timely manner.

I waited a long time to find something I can stick a license plate on without having to register in Vermont with a disguise on.

great write up. can't wait to take mine home. good luck finding one of these in July.

Thanks!

Re. the O2 sensor, I don't know. All I know is it has Yammie's EXUP valve and a cat converter in that gigantic exhaust pipe/muffler. The manual doesn't make any mention of one. When I get home tonight, I'll look along the exhaust system and see if I spy anything.

-NoVector

Cool, thanks for sharing the pics.

Looks like Yamaha has taken their entry into the 250cc class seriously.

Nice write up mate... now go get that beastie dirty!
BTW are you Australian by any chance? Sure sounds like it from your writing style and slang words?

Looks sweet


BTW you aren't supposed to be able to put your feet flat on the ground when on a dirt bike. Tall = good:)

I think you'll find that the firmer the better for skinny seats, otherwise the wedgie thing only gets worse. I did find that my YZ was much more comfortable after I made the seat flat (rather than rounded) with a belt sander. I started with an extra tall CEET seat for it then flattened the middle (but didn't reduce the height any significant amount, just took off the crown). Made it much more comfortable

Oh, my old DR's have sight glasses and little plastic tool holders, they are nifty aren't they

You should set the rear sag, its sorta like tying your shoes or something - just something that everyone needs to do. The chassis and suspension won't work properly without the correct amount of sag. 95mm would be about right for a starting point.

have fun with it, looks to be a very fine machine

'bout freaking time


congrats to all the lucky new owners. I'm liking this trend of increasing numbers of "off the showroom floor street legal trailbikes"

Well, I just looked, and the only "oddity" that I can see hanging off the exhaust is the EXUP junk (valve + 2 cables), so unless they've hidden it, I don't see an O2 sensor anywhere....

-NoVector

Thanks!

I hope to get some shots of the new girl all dirty this weekend....I promise it'll be G rated (well, maybe PG-13 ).

And no, I'm an American, which means my ancestors were kicked out of every decent country on the planet.... . I hang out with a bunch of friends who are from Australia, so I guess that's where my slang comes from. Been spending too much time in the pubs with them I guess (if that's even possible....)

-NoVector

I have to say that I wouldn't mind having one of these little beasts. The only thing that I am worried about is the weight. A dry weight of 276 seems pretty heavy for a 250, but after seeing your pics I can see why it is up there. They have that thing packed full of stuff.

Is there any chance you could weigh ready to ride and let us know what it comes in at?

mine runs great.

So, I just did the front-end-then-back-end-on-the-bathroom-scale method (which we all know is accurate to +/- 100lbs ), and got 137lb front, 154lb rear, for a grand total of 291lbs. The manual lists "wet weight" (oil + full fuel) at 298lbs for the CA model (which is what I have), so I'd say their number is pretty close, since I ran a bit of fuel out of the tank yesterday having fun.

I have to say though, pushing it around the garage, and definitely while riding, she carries her weight well, because I'd swear this bike weighs less than my KTM 520 which was listed at approx. 250lbs dry, where the WRR is listed at 278lbs dry.

-NoVector

Nice! But what's all that white stuff?

I like your hand guards. Can you tell me what make/model those are?

Thanks!

-NoVector

Thanks for taking the time to weigh it in for me. Good to hear that they are pretty accurate on the weights they are listing. Do you see any heavy hitters that could be removed/replaced to reduce the weight?


Now take it out, wring it out and report back

they are zeta armor hand gaurds with zeta xc protector. i really like them and the led turn signals work great. here is where i bought them.http://www.wheelingcyclesupply.com/shop?action=category&cat_id=76

Awesome! Thanks for the linky!

-NoVector

I've been looking at other posts on the same topic, and looking at the bike, and if you really wanted to shed pounds, the first place I'd go is the exhaust. That cat converter must be pretty heavy. Trouble is, what to do about the EXUP valve? Maybe the aftermarket will help solve that one.

Other than that, I'd say the license plate holder/rear turn signal assembly could probably go and be replaced with some lighter parts. I think the LED brake light is already pretty light, so I wouldn't look there. Maybe swap out the steel handlebars with some nice aluminum ones, and look at swapping the front turn signals for smaller ones. At that point you're down to saving ounces, not pounds.

If I had to take a WAG at it, I'd say there's at most 20 lbs of "easy" weight to lose. Any more than that will likely start costing some bigger $$ (i.e. titanium bits here and there).

-NoVector