Not really he loved it took it to moab had great time but considering our next two rides, Tuk and the continental divide he wanted something a little more comfortable for longer rides
Yeah... it can wear you down droning along on pavement. He made the right choice for such distances. Ergonomically, the 790 may be a slightly smaller bike. The seat on the 790 is definitely lower. The 640 was 37 inches. No problem on gravel but you have to plane where you put your foot down or it gets embarrassing lol
I've had a few KLR's over the years , and I would try and replace it with something with more power , better suspension , yada yada yada . Never thought the answer was a Wr 250 R , It has just enough torque to tiptoe up loose rocky decommissioned logging roads and then take you down the hi way behind my Brittania Composites fairing at 110 km/h . Mods I did were an IMS 18 litre tank Seat Concepts low seat and B.C.F. 14-49 gearing . I also lowered it . The only issue for me was prematurely wearing out the chain slider by running the chain to loose .
Had a WR250X with the Camel Tank...very very good product. Also had the Britannia fairing,extra 21/18 wheel set and top and side racks for panniers. Very nice set up but I wanted a bit more power. I had a hard time selling it (go figure ??). Anyway, they do have a 350 watt stator output which is nice if you are running lights, heated grips/vest etc. They do have the mystery chain eating through the swing arm issue. If buying used make sure you check for this.
I must add that I never had any issues with mine in the 16k km I rode it. Just changed the oil and I did replace one swing arm chain guard but only as a precaution. Also did considerable highway riding, was able to do some 600 km days with no issue (ass was a bit sore)...you can always stand up !
Seat Concepts foam/cover kit. Did those having chain wearing the swing arm issues put on a smaller front sprocket?
If I recall it is kind of a mixed bag of possible issues. Using a smaller front sprocket was one of the prime suspects while others with the stock sprockets would also have the same issue. I never had an issue with mine but I was very vigilant on checking chain slack, plus I checked slack using the method issued by Yamaha in a Technical Service bulletin: https://www.yamahawr250r.com/files/WR250X-WR250R-Chain-Slack-Adjustment-Technical-Bulletin.pdf Not sure if this helped or I was just lucky. Here is what mine looked like with all the extras(except the bash plate). Camel Tank is installed on the other side, doubled my range. I also had the 21/18 wheel set..Really a great bike.
Don't forget about the Kawasaki 250 Super Sherpa. I had one of these until just last year. reasonable seat height, light weight and good power. A little harder to find though.
Yeah, that is an incredibly under rated bike. Saw one for 1200 on kijiji this summer... almost bought it on a whim even though i didnt need it.
My WR250R was great. PO had done a few mods. Pipe and programmer and suspension redone by suspension works. Regret selling it, was seduced by sexy white KTM.
I love my WRR. Has about 14,000 miles on it. Chain ate through the swingarm around the 7,000 mile mark. I was running the chain a bit loose at one point so that may have done it, not sure. Changed my gearing and went up a tooth on the front sprocket after that and seems ok now (also changed rear sprocket to compensate and dropthe gearing a little bit lower). Is it the best bike ever? Probably not. For me the light weight, top speed compared to others in its class, and readily available aftermarket accessories for using it as an adventure bike were the selling points.