Yamaha WR250R Mega Thread | Adventure Rider

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 ™
– 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