KLX250 vs. WR250R vs. DRZ400

I know this has been discussed but I want to try and request responses on a particular aspect of this bike choice.

I'm about 5'10 / 200lbs. I've been reading through the DRZ400 threads ritually, and had my heart set on this bike. I'm just looking for one used now. My intention is NOT to ride on the highway, nor is it to do a lot of road riding. I'll be trailering this bike and driving it to wherever I'm riding (I live in Staten Island, NYC).

The riding I'm looking for is as much trail and dirt and I can get to, but since that is lessening every year in availability I know there will be some roads to and twisties to hit. That's fine, but I want to void road with multiple lanes and large trucks.

Partly this is because I'm a dad and I want to be sure I don't offer myself up to circumstances that could be overly dangerous for me, and in addition to this (and you may know him or know of this story) but my cousin was recently killed in California in a highway accident. He clipped his footpeg while lane splitting and was thrown under the wheels of a large auto carrier.

My wife is concerned about my highway, main road riding and this is making me possibly second guess my DRZ decision.

So here's my question, would a KLX250 or a WR250R be a better overall trail dirt ride over the DRZ? I'm just in love with the reliability and simplicity of the DRZ, but if I'm not going to be needing it for a lot of ropad riding, would the KLX250 or WR250R be a better bike for me? They're lighter, easier to pick up and not necessarily as road worthy...

Or, is my weight going to make that KLX250 a little boring and sluggish in hills and mud?

The WR sounds like an amazing ride but I'm concerned with trail-maintaining a fuel injected bike. Is this an issue I shouldn't be concerned with?

Help me with some insight on a bike that will be safe to ride and not required for highway and freeway use. I know the DRZ doesn't have a 6th gear but it's still a bike people choose because of it's road worthiness. I'm starting to wonder whether my sights need to be pulled back and possibly opened up to reconsider the KLX or WR.

Opinions? People who've made the same decisions before?

I just bought a '05 DRZ and love it. I was lucky enough to ride a KLX the week before, it was wimpy and I wouldn't have been satisfied with it. It WAS jetted and piped. I'm roughly your size minus 25lbs.

On the other hand the WRF is interesting, I wouldn't worry about the FI. Oh boy if the DRZ had FI and 6th gear .

Good luck, happy hunting

Just being curious here. If you want to do as little pavement as possible, why are you considering bikes that offer considerably less off-roadiness (and more on-roadiness) than some others?


Sean

The WR250R is just as fast as the DRZ as long as you wind it out, and it will also be more road worthy, more trail worthy, and require less maintenance than the DRZ.

The KLX is down quite a bit on power compared to either of the other two bikes.

Of those three, if price isn't a big issue I would go with the WR250R. And I owned a DR-Z400S for 5 years and currently have a KLX250S.

However, as VBS said - why aren't you looking at a Husky TE250/310/450/510 or a KTM 450 or 530? All factory street legal and will blow away your mentioned choices off road.

Last I looked the DRZ would rev to 10,500 RPMs. I think it will out run the WR250. The Yamaha has a better tranny though - wide range six speed.

More dependent on the gearing then anything else. The way my DRZ is currently geared no way would it out run a WR 250 with stock gearing.

First off, I didn't say it would run away from the DRZ. I said it was just as fast. I will, however, say that the WR is certainly smoother at 75 mph on the highway than the DRZ is . . . and a better trail bike.

I just checked the specs on the Yamaha - 295 lbs!!!

For a 250 thats pretty heavy - The DRZ may be lighter.

First, as others have said, if you're trailering, you could tilt the balance even more towards off-road performance and get a Husky or KTM. But it sounds like you're new to this, so I'd suggest you stick to the Japanese bikes - cheaper, simpler, more friendly.

Of these three, the KLX is the bargain choice, the DRZ is the tried and true workhorse, and the WRR is the newest and most technically advanced. Any will work fine for your use. Maintenance requirements and weight will all be similar enough, I doubt you'll notice the difference. The DRZ has the displacement edge obviously and makes more power, but I really don't think for your use, power is that important. It also has the widest support in the aftermarket - you can get virtually anything for this bike.

My thought is that you will probably be leaving the bike mostly stock and your requirements could be met just fine on any of the three, so why not save $1100 and get the KLX? My 2nd choice would be the WRR because it is a new generation of bike and for the same price as the DRZ, you get FI and more advanced technology.

BTW, I own a DRZ. It's a great bike, but its strength is its swiss-army knife versatility with all the accessories you can get for it, and with the extra displacement and accessories, its ability to be pressed into the light adventure touring role - properly equipped, you can use it a lot like you'd use a KLR. It's also much more widely available used. But for a new pure trail bike, I'd get one of the 250s. And that price of the KLX would have me first looking at the Kawi.

- Mark

Simply not true. The hp figures are something like 25 RWHP vs. 35 RWHP (or 37 once you do the simple 3x3 mod) and while the WR-R is slightly lighter, its not that significant. I like the WR-R a lot (I jut recommended it over the DRZ in my last post), but let's keep it fair.

- Mark

You jump on a DRZ and I'll get on my WRR and we'll go for a ride in the woods. If you can leave me in the dust, I'll revoke my answer.

While Krabill and MarkJenn suit up for their death match, let's look at some numbers from the October issue of Motorcyclist. They had a Suzuki DRZ400-SM (the supermoto version) and a WRR in the same issue. Not a perfect comparison, but at least they had both engines on the same dyno and both bikes on the same scale.

bike --- hp --- torque ---weight ----- qtr-mile
DR --- 32.5 --- 23.9 --- 335 lbs --- 14.30 @ 87.81
WR --- 23.5 ---14.4 --- 301 lbs --- 15.51 @ 80.88

So, the Suzuki is more powerful than the Yamaha, and the Suzuki is heavier than the Yamaha. Now let me make some popcorn while I watch how this plays out.

I think any advantage the 250's offer on the trails would be thin...while the 400 will be tons more comfortable on the roads. If you are going to be doing much of the latter, an important point. DRZ is also a tough, dependable motor and easy to maintain.

All good bikes ultimately...just a matter of the best fit I expect.

Hmmm . . . I've been at the drag strip with some friends on DRZ's. Nobody got close to 14.3.

I've also seen a video of a stock WRR running a 15.2 in the 1/4.

Can we agree they're pretty darn close? You guys are making the 250 out to be some kind of moped. Go ride one, they aren't slow.

Even after all of that, do 1/4 mile times really matter in the woods? The DRZ will have an advantage on a long, straight uphill section, but run into anything twisty, tight, or technical and the WRR will have an advantage. I'd rather have the better bike for the tight stuff with a 26k mile valve adjustment schedule, but that's just me.

400 more comfortable on the road? Really? Go ride them both on the road, then get back to me. The WRR has a much better seat and fewer vibrations by far than the 400. No vibrations and a comfy seat = more comfortable on the road . . . but again . . . that's just me.

The advantage of the 2 250's on the trails compared to the DRZ is they both have much better suspension. The DRZ wouldn't be any more comfortable the teh 250's either. That's pure nonsense. As for tough and dependable, the WR motor has a lot less maintenance and it 's a tried and proven mill. Yamaha's don't tend to eat their cam chains like Zuks do.

Speaking of which . . . we just finished our winter dual sport a few weeks ago. 11 bikes started. 10 finished. One of the DRZ's in the pack blew his motor. The WRR finished with flying colors . . . and was the only one capable of powering full heated gear with its 350watt alternator

One difference nobody has mentioned (now I see Albie beat me to it while I was typing) is that the WR250R has a whole generation (or two) newer suspension than the DRZ400. I strongly suspect the 250 would flat kill the 400 on a motocross track.

I ran a DRZ for close to 13,000 miles - no issues. Check the valves every 6000 miles - less than an hour job - really not a big deal.

Cam chain problems are dealt with by a cheap manual tensioner.

25 hp on the Yamaha is really marginal for road work.