Yamaha WR250R Mega Thread

[GSBS]

...Link here.

Will pay for itself in band-aids for knuckles after a couple of rigid sidewall knobbies:

[Crawdaddy]

Snapped it the first time I went to use it.......P.O.S. tool in my opinion........put the tube in the tire first

My new single track weapon (300 XC-W) has the Tubliss system.......so now I'm just carrying plugs when riding that bike, but still using Bridgestone Ultra Heavy Duty tubes in the WR250R.....2 flats in 12K miles at low pressures (~10 PSI)....

Originally Posted by GSBS

...Link here.

Will pay for itself in band-aids for knuckles after a couple of rigid sidewall knobbies:

[GSBS]

Originally Posted by Crawdaddy

Snapped it the first time I went to use it.......P.O.S. tool in my opinion........put the tube in the tire first

Hmmm... How hard are you pulling on that steel cable? Been using mine for over three years - couple times a month on my bikes and on others' tires we change here - never a problem.

[rydnseek]

I just changed out 2 rear tires on my x.. both knobbies. I saw those videos a few years back & have incorporated several of the techniques in my own. I don't have the nice stand, so i end up doing it on the ground or floor. But here are important details in changing. I got both of mine on at Tom's a couple of weeks back in less than an hour total.

1. Warm the tires. It was a sunny day, so i set both of the tires in the back of my truck in the sun to prewarm them. I've also put them in front of a radiant heater to warm them up. ..makes it a lot easier to handle.

2. Some air in the tubes. Like Doug's video, a little air in the tube makes getting the valve stem in a lot easier.

3. Powder in the tire & tube. I just sprinkle baby powder inside the tire, then rotate it around a bit to spread it out. I usually do it after one bead is on the rim.

4. Get the bead down in the wheel. If the bead hangs up on the rim, it will be impossible to spoon it on. You have to be sure the bead is down inside the wheel well. ..both sides.

5. I don't soap the whole rim, but only the last foot or so as i spoon it on. It lets the tire hold on the rim without the bead buddy. I got a bead buddy a couple of years ago & used it, but i don't have one on the trail, & I also like alternate solutions.. I push the tire on & spoon a couple of sections until it starts to get hard. Then i spray on the window cleaner, spoon the rest, done. It's probably better to lube the whole rim.. it seats a little better that way.

6. Doug did not break the bead on my shinkos. They are a very stiff bead & sidewall & took me a lot of time to break, with my full body weight & some hammering on the tire. I took the tire spoons & pushed the bead down, & hit the sidewalls with a 2# hammer while applying pressure. Some time it takes 2 spoons & moving it around. Breaking the bead is the toughest part on some of the stiff rear tires. I'd like to see him break a bead on a teraflex with his fingers!

7. Pay attention to the details. When learning a new skill, it is the details we often miss when doing it. Those techniques make a difference in easy or hard.

8. On the trail, a bit of water will do for rim lube. Few of us carry windex. A small can of wd40 is a good idea.. i have one when travelling, for cleaning the chain. That would also work for lubing the rim.

[cug]

Okay, listing my mistakes:

Originally Posted by rydnseek

1. Warm the tires. It was a sunny day, so i set both of the tires in the back of my truck in the sun to prewarm them. I've also put them in front of a radiant heater to warm them up. ..makes it a lot easier to handle.

It was a cool day, no sun available anymore, no heater available. Tire was really stiff (D606).

Originally Posted by rydnseek

3. Powder in the tire & tube. I just sprinkle baby powder inside the tire, then rotate it around a bit to spread it out. I usually do it after one bead is on the rim.

Didn't even know that one.

Originally Posted by rydnseek

4. Get the bead down in the wheel. If the bead hangs up on the rim, it will be impossible to spoon it on. You have to be sure the bead is down inside the wheel well. ..both sides.

I guess that was the main problem. The tire was so stiff, I couldn't get it in there, so it was probably sitting at the side of the rim (also why it didn't pop on).

Originally Posted by rydnseek

7. Pay attention to the details. When learning a new skill, it is the details we often miss when doing it. Those techniques make a difference in easy or hard.

Of course.

Maybe I give the rear a try on Saturday or Sunday if it is sunny and I can warm it up outside. Will also try to get all the other things right then.

It also seems to me that the front might be real hard because it the rim is so narrow and the tire so stiff that it's hard to push the bead into the middle of the rim.

Thanks for all the hints.

[Pantah]

Originally Posted by cug

Okay, listing my mistakes:



It was a cool day, no sun available anymore, no heater available. Tire was really stiff (D606).



Didn't even know that one.



I guess that was the main problem. The tire was so stiff, I couldn't get it in there, so it was probably sitting at the side of the rim (also why it didn't pop on).



Of course.

Maybe I give the rear a try on Saturday or Sunday if it is sunny and I can warm it up outside. Will also try to get all the other things right then.

It also seems to me that the front might be real hard because it the rim is so narrow and the tire so stiff that it's hard to push the bead into the middle of the rim.

Thanks for all the hints.

Yeah I struggle with the stem on the front because so narrow.

[eakins]

well honda did not out do yamaha...no surprise
well maybe a lower seat height.
http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-...50l/19469.html

[duanew1]

Originally Posted by eakins

well honda did not out do yamaha...no surprise
well maybe a lower seat height.
http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-...50l/19469.html

Oops! I kind of like it, but not for me. My girlfriend has an XT225 and I have been wondering what a suitable replacement for it would be besides a newer Super Sherpa. I wonder if it is coming to the states because it doesn't look like it will to me at this time.

[skierd]

Well, I won't say Honda didn't outdo Yamaha until I see the price, weight, and fuel capacity. Its conceivable that it ends up costing somewhere around the current CRF230L's $4999 (which is beyond absurd for that bike) and the CBR250R's $3999 there's a good chance of it selling really really well. Also, very interesting to see both KTM and Honda playing in the small dual sport market along with Yamaha and Kawasaki. Maybe this means a new DRZ400S or DR sub 650 is coming soon too?

[scottmac]

This pic of it dressed up in full offroad mode looks interesting...

[Crawdaddy]

Originally Posted by eakins

well honda did not out do yamaha...no surprise
well maybe a lower seat height.
http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-...50l/19469.html

22hp?

[OSU]

Originally Posted by scottmac

This pic of it dressed up in full offroad mode looks interesting...

and about $4,500 later, I would rather have my blue bike

[joenuclear]

Competition IS good!

[jon_l]

Originally Posted by Crawdaddy

22hp?

depends on:

1) how much it costs
2) how much it weighs
3) maintenance intervals - hard to match the WR250, but the CRF250R/X with race-bike maintenance schedules has no appeal.

At $5,000 max MSRP and 250lbs with CRF230 maintenance requirements, it would get my attention.

[GSBS]

Today I replaced my first Pirelli MT43 DOT trials rear tire on the WR-R with another just like it. The mileage was almost exactly 2,800 miles and it could've probably gone a couple hundred more.

But before mounting up the fresh meat I thought I'd finish her off with one last off-road test. McCoy Mountain Road is an old roadbed about 25 miles from here that without being worked since the 1930s has become a fairly rocky and steep piece of roadbed, usually with a few downed trees thrown in to make things more interesting.

The MT43 has been a great tire and the most amazing part is that as its worn the handling characteristics haven't changed enough so I can tell much difference between when it was new almost 2,800 miles ago and today. The previous four rear tires on the bike were all D606s and I averaged changing them at 2,500 miles (high of 2,800 and low of 2,156). However, each of these 606s was pretty much useless for anything but street or easy gravel duty after around 1,500 miles.

The entire time running the Pirelli I've run a cushy and tacky 12 psi (with rim locks). The Dunlops' pressures varied from 18 to 32 depending on which tire it was and where I was riding.

Yesterday I did about 30 miles of fast (50-60 mph) gravel FS roads on the Pirelli which had around 2,600-2,700 miles on it and had none of the skating or wandering I always seemed to experience with the Dunlops with a thousand less miles on them.

This morning I measured the center knobs on the MT43 and they had about 1/16th inch remaining of the original 3/8ths inch tread depth. I figured if I really wanted to push it I could eek another couple of hundred from the tire to reach the 3K plateau, but at the risk of getting a flat from a large thorn or some such. Already the tires have outlived the average for the 606s by 300 miles.

This video tells the story...



The only problem spot I came to - the downed tree at a diagonal to the roadbed - a new and sharp knobby wouldn't have done any better.

Below are some other pix of the two tires...

The old MT43 just before riding in the above video (about 2,770 miles on it):


Old and new tires side-by-side:


Fresh rubber:


I'm thinking this will be my DS tire for the WR unless I know I'll be riding in deep mud all day. For that a knobby would be superior I believe. But for nearly all the riding I do this tire is just about perfect.