Yamaha WR 250R

[wildernessrob]

Ive just bought one of these!

Originally I was fairly set on getting hold of a DRZ 400 S/E, but finding a clean one has proved more difficult then I expected.

I then looked fairly seriously at buying one of the new DRZ's that are now listed in the Suzuki off road range and road registering it. Unfortunately my local dealer could'nt be arsed to look the bike up and give me a quote. The weekend before, I wasted a day riding down to Newbury to look at another dodgy DRZ.

So I took a ride out to a Yamaha dealer in north east London who was advertising this on Autotrader.

Id had a 2003 Yamaha TTR 250R previously, so this bike didnt on initial appearance, seem to be so different.

This bike is a year old, and I suspect that its be used on the Yamaha off road days, as its got a few little scuffs on the plastics, but Id probably add a few more myself. Apart from that it looks & rides very nice.

Its got 0980 miles on the clock and was up for £3800, so I spontaneously traded in the FJ 600 Silverwing . (Don't ask!) Anyway its pretty clean and has a years manufacturers warranty.

Interestingly these things retail new, for around 5.5k!!! Which is fairly excessive for a 250 ( even buy a BWM owners standards!) Maybe its all to do with the exchange rates.

My initial thoughts on the bike are echoed in some of the reviews Ive already looked at. Its a fairly tall slim bike, with about a 30" seat height, and a narrow fairly firm saddle. I feels so light when moving, I think it weighs about 130Kgs. It is very, very manoeuvrable, but remarkably steady at motorway & A road speeds.

Its a watercooled dohc single, but apparently not related to the WR - F range of bikes, so its not as pokey as a full blown X-crosser or enduro, but the service intervals are 6,000 miles rather then 20 hours.

The engine seems very nice. Its got quite a short stroke, so spins up very quickly, and seems fairly 'punchy' in the first 3 gears, I believe it puts out about 30bhp. It was easily able to reach 70mph on the M-way, and would have had more left if Id wanted it. It has fuel injection which was a little bit jerky at slow speeds, but not enough to be a problem. The unexpected bonus was just how smooth the engine is, none of the major buzzing & vibes you would expect from a 4 stroke single.

The gear box was also very slick & accurate. Its got a 6 speed box, and 1 - 4 allow you to make useful progress, but 5-6 seem pretty tall, which isnt a problem at the moment, as I want to use to commute to work on through the summer.

The suspension set up allows for compression & rebound damping, and the front end is suspended on some useful looking 46mm forks (not that I could pretend to understand the dark art in suspension tuning! )

The brakes are really rather powerful!

The fuel tank is fairly small, 7.6 liters apparently good for about 105 miles, according to some reports Ive read.

So far the only thing that Im not impressed with is the pig ugly rear end number plate / lamp mount, which is one of those typical bits of engineering after thought, that seems to afflict alot of modern bikes
Overall I like it! I think its definitely quicker & sharper then my old TTR 250R, which was a really nice & useful trail bike. Hopefully I will be able to give it an off road excursion soon to see how it performs . As long as I don,t see any new DRZ 400E's on the road in the next month it will be fine!

 

[Gundog]

Luvely.....

 

[bisbee]

As it happens I was in a yammy dealers today asking about how to order one when they said five and a half grand and no 0% finance on off roaders I turned around and walked out ffs

 

[wildernessrob]

I would be interested in being a fly on the wall when the Yamaha people sit down and decide on pricing.

I believe it was the same for the TTR 250, great bike, very expensive from new compared to similar bikes. I is such a shame, because there are so few small trail bikes in any of the main manufacturers line up. I assume Yamaha are pitching it against the KTM's & similar

Out of interest Ive seen a few of the WR250X's for sale in dealerships. I think Yamaha sell off their staff/ super-moto / off road experience bikes periodically to their dealership network. It might be worth seeing if the dealer could source one these bikes for you.

 

[Robbo1200ADV]

Nice bike enjoyHad a 2 stroke Yam 250 off roader a few years ago great fun

 

[KMD]

I have a WR250F and rate it . I'll be interested to see how you get on with that, looks a fine bike. Keep us informed?

 

[Big Den]

Had 6 wrf's 2 400's and 4 250's and they were great but no good on the road, pure enduro and absolutly bullet proof. Am interested in the R as i have packed up the racing and am getting on a bit now . Gona try one on my annual Yam offroad day next month but could not pay full retail . they are discounting the sm version but not the R, don't think they brought many in.

 

[wildernessrob]

Ive not had the chance to ride a WR-F - but recently rode a Honda CRF 250X at a 'off road experience'. The CRF seemed fairly accomplished in terms of handling & performance, but Im not from a MX or enduro background.

On paper the the performance outputs are similar between the WR-R & the CRF-X, but the CR is fitted with some nice 'Showa' components. I just couldnt afford to run a bike that has a maintenance schedule as rigorous as the a full blown enduro has.

Interestingly the Honda is advertised as retailing at £5,100, I assume OTR charges would also need to be added. But then it is a competition machine, from the box. That only makes me wonder more about the Yamaha pricing, especially when the WR-F live in their off road range?

I read on some of the U.S. sites of people suggesting increasing the rear sprocket size on the WR-R by 1-2 teeth, for those who dont need 80mph top end, perhaps making it it little bit more flexible off road?

 

[KMD]

I just couldnt afford to run a bike that has a maintenance schedule as rigorous as the a full blown enduro has.

I can see where you're coming from there, my WR-F is supposed to get new rings every 1100 KM, but in truth that's very belt n braces, for when they're being used to their limit full time. Green laning doesn't put nearly as much stress on the mill so this interval can be extended accordingly.

Main thing is oil. The WR-F only holds about a litre and given that it's a high revving unit it needs changing very frequently. Full synthetic MX oil does the job. Mine has used a set of front wheel bearings and fork seals in a year, other than that it's been fine.

 

[Big Den]

CRF's also have a reputation for needing engine rebuilds I have only heard of 1 WRF having one and that was a bike on ebay. My mate ran and raced one for 6 years with no problems and i certainly didn't need one on any of mine. A place in Brum had two shelves of heads from CRF's and Kwak 4# offroaders which had blown up, he had never had a Yam in.
Looking forward to the offroad day next month to compare the WR R with the F

 

[vilguy]

ive the 400 wr and yeah its a bit pants on the road, but amazing offroad. My mate has the 426 and he managed to stretch the con rod yesterday.

I eyed up those 250s in the yammy dealer the other day. Looks a sweet little bike! I even liked the 125 version. I think they look like alot of fun. Why couldnt we have these bikes when we were 17 damnit!

Take a look at the new klx 250. Just over £3500. Quite a similar bike but a smidge heavier.

 

[aceboy]

Hey Widerness Rob, sorry to drag this old threadup, but I was wondering how you are getting on with yoyur WR250r I am just considering, I wanty it for Green lanes, do you think it will be upto it?