The Tenere made me do it - WR250R

[Dirt_Dad]

I use mine when the Tenere can't make it there.

Ah, the benefits of a very light bike.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Got a plate on it today (thanks Dirt_Mom). Took it out for the first real ride. 45 miles this evening, the overwhelming majority on dirt roads.

The WR is a hoot. So light and probably more flickable than any bike I've ever ridden. It feels like a toy, but a pretty fast toy. There is nothing down low, but you don't have to spend too long getting through that to the higher RPMs. Once at the higher RPMs it becomes responsive and it never stops accelerating until you bounce off the rev limiter. I was surprised at how far I could wind it out until I hit the rev limiter. I saw one estimate that the limiter kicks in at 10,500. I could believe it.

I was happy the low power did not prevent me from lifting over the potholes/puddles I found this evening. It will not wheelie with the current setup, but with heavy throttle in the right RPM range the bike is extremely light in the front end. Takes very little effort to lift it over the holes I found today. Was not an issue.

One thing I may need to address is the speedo. According to my GPS it was off by 30%. It's reading over 70mph at 55mph. Waaay to optimistic.

It's a fun toy. The sense of speed on this bike is a lot of fun and puts a smile on your face.

First glamor shot.

 

[twinrider]

My friend geared his WR down (larger rear sprocket) and it also reads very high. Maybe the PO did that to yours??

 

[Dirt_Dad]

My friend geared his WR down (larger rear sprocket) and it also reads very high. Maybe the PO did that to yours??

No, PO was stock, but he had purchased a one tooth down for the front. I installed that on day one. I'll probably get a bigger one for the back at some point.

 

[jajpko]

You're going to really like that bike, I think. I like mine and it goes as fast as I wanna go.. ::025::
Just a hint on the sprockets and swing arm. If the PO put a twelve on the front, you may want to check the chain guard or slide on the swing arm..
Some people have had problems with the chain eating thru that and into the swing arm.

I run a 13 on the front and a 48 on the rear and it is almost right on for me. With the bike standing upright, adjust the chain using 3 fingers under it at the end of the swing arm guide. This is just a heads up if you haven't heard it before..

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Thanks for the heads-up. Had not heard that one yet. PO was stock gearing. I did the 12 conversion, so not likely to have done much damage in the first 60 miles or so, but I will keep an eye on that. May go to the 13/48 you mentioned to avoid. Did the stock chain work with that gearing?

 

[jajpko]

Thanks for the heads-up. Had not heard that one yet. PO was stock gearing. I did the 12 conversion, so not likely to have done much damage in the first 60 miles or so, but I will keep an eye on that. May go to the 13/48 you mentioned to avoid. Did the stock chain work with that gearing?

I'm not sure of the stock chain length. I bought mine used and pulled the oem chain and tossed it and put on a new, with sprockets and bearings. Count the links and if you have 110 it will work. Make sure you buy the bolt kit for the rear sprocket. They are counter sunk bolts. I got mine from Rocky Mountain and they have the bolts and price was about the same anywhere. I opted for a steel rear instead of alum. as it will last longer,
and I'm not trying to race it.. ::025::

 

[Yamaguy55]

I've had my WR250R since 2009. I use it for the rock-infested tough stuff that I really shouldn't (and don't) take the Tenere on. I have several comments to add.
- It doesn't pull like a true off road bike. But: it is emission and road compliant.
- I considered all sorts of mods to the engine, but then thought that perhaps it was the wrong direction to go. (bear with me)
- The seat is patterned after a MX bike, and it isn't a MX bike. I had Seat Concepts redo mine as part of a group buy on Thumper Talk. Better by a lot, but not a touring seat, or bike.
- They tend to run a bit warm with the stock radiator shroud; I replaced mine with one from Flatland Racing. Drastically better. Keep in mind only one radiator, so got to have airflow.
- The gearing is noise/emission compliant. (rubber sprockets!) Mine has stock front (13T small enough) with a 47 Sunstar rear. I added one roller like and two rivet masters to use the new sprocket. This still allows me to ride the roads well, but puts second gear just above where first is stock. If I were going even more off road, I'd go 13/49.
- Yamalink installed, and forks up in triples to balance. Makes a huge difference.
- Flatland skid/bash plate. The best there is, IMO. I had them put large holes in front for additional airflow. I ride mostly in rock/gravel, so mud isn't a big problem. This tied to radiator guard cooling remark above.
- Flatland/EE rear disk guard. (shark fin) almost mandatory in my riding area. If you don't live in rock garden area, but mud/sand, then perhaps not. Still cheaper than hammering a disk.
- D606 Dunlops both ends. Stock tires only good on 70 degree days in the sun on dry paved roads.
- Some other things like Zeta replacements for front sprocket cover and chain guard, rear fender extension eliminator, etc. The Zeta countershaft cover is good as the sticks and leaves can escape.
- If any of you have attended the ride in Bald Eagle state forest that happens in June, you know where I ride. Rocks for your rocks. And more rocks.

After all of the is, done over time, I find that other than the airbox flap mod and the speedo recalibrator (tall D606 and different gearing) I'm probably going to leave the engine alone. I tend to get about 60-65 MPG off road, so I can get away with the stock tank. I'd rather not go plastic, and I want to avoid putting more weight up high. I like that it is quiet, and sooner or later, emission checks will be done on bikes as well. ( it isn't now, nor has it ever been legal to mess with emissions, but nobody enforces it) Once the suspension and such are set up, it can carry me much faster than any rational person should go in the places I ride. I don't aggravate others with a loud obnoxious bike while I'm there. Just sayin'

I'll probably have the suspension rebuilt/revalved by Race Tech or similar. It is quite good for a street legal bike, but the high speed damping could use some help. I won't do it until rebuild time, it is good enough for now. Spending for the sake of spending isn't me.

Fabulous bike. Not a touring machine or a race bike, but if you really want to explore some bad stuff, it is fine. Tough, too. I was hoping the Tenere could eliminate it, but that hasn't been the case; perfect compliment.

Ask Venture, he's ridden it.

Anyone wants details, PM me.

 

[Yamaguy55]

Here's the area that the bike has been tailored for:

http://www.riderplanet-usa.com/atv/trails/info/pennsylvania_14311/ride_ca33.htm

Click on "rocky section" near the top.

 

[jajpko]

That looks like some great riding for those that are experts.. ::025:: My level is about 3 steps below that..

 

[Yamaguy55]

That looks like some great riding for those that are experts.. ::025:: My level is about 3 steps below that..

Not really. There are a variety of areas, of all levels of difficulty. Some are best served by a trials bike, which I have actually considered. But the rocks are a real and constant hazard. I whacked my S10 right side cylinder header by an apple sized rock tossed up by the front tire on one of these trails when I first got it, and decided that rock bashing a $14K bike was probably not a real good idea, and have kept to more sane routes since then. Plus, the WRR is so better suited for this stuff (and it is a bit too heavy, at that) that there's seldom a valid reason to beat up the beast just because I can. So the WRR is the ride of choice when the going gets really gnarly.

I'm personally of the belief that everyone should master some level of off road, best done on a light bike with good suspension, and that will make them a better rider everywhere. But that's just me. For off road, handling and suspension trump power (and additional weight) every time. There's no such thing as too light of a dirt bike.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I'm personally of the belief that everyone should master some level of off road, best done on a light bike with good suspension, and that will make them a better rider everywhere.

::026:: Always been my philosophy.


That said, apparently I need to master the transition from grass to driveway. I was just messing around in the yard, in the grass paralleling the driveway. Apparently the grass was hiding just how much taller the pavement is than the ground. As I tried to transition from one surface to the other the front wheel started to slide. Eventually I lost balance, dropped the bike, took two large steps as falling across the driveway to hitting on my shoulder in the grass on the other side. It's one of those, "I'm gonna feel that one tomorrow."

I have contributed my first scratches to the bike. After hammering the footpeg back into position all seems good. I bought this little thing to teach me some new tricks. Never expected it to start teaching them at 3 MPH in the driveway. But good reminder that even a small bike is capable of inflicting pain if ridden too carelessly.

I believe it has been 5 years and more than 75K miles since I've hit the ground from a get off. That last one was in the silt down in Baja. Guess I was due for another.

 

[Yamaguy55]

If you still have the DeathWings fitted, get used to sliding. It will be quite frequent. They were, for me at least, some of the worst tires I've even been subjected to. CS crap is a step up.

I started out on dirt in the 60s, never really left. Given my druthers, I'd rather ride dirt. Hence the Tenere, which needs to lose 150 pounds to be a serious dirt contender. But it is a fabulous rough back road bike.

You're not that far away, bring it up here and I'll show you some trails suitable for your WRR. At least be sure the bash plate is fitted.

Maybe I can entice Venture to show up with his Kawasaki.

If it helps, I managed a slo-mo tip-over with the Tenere, that thing is tough to lift when the tank is downhill from the tires.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

If you still have the DeathWings fitted, get used to sliding. It will be quite frequent. They were, for me at least, some of the worst tires I've even been subjected to. CS crap is a step up.

You're not that far away, bring it up here and I'll show you some trails suitable for your WRR. At least be sure the bash plate is fitted.

Maybe I can entice Venture to show up with his Kawasaki.

If it helps, I managed a slo-mo tip-over with the Tenere, that thing is tough to lift when the tank is downhill from the tires.

Still has the stock tires. Guess I need to change that pretty quickly.

I've had the pleasure of lifting a Tenere 3 times now. 2 for my wife, 1 for me. Slow motion falls seem to be what happens on the S10. Heavy but liftable.

If I can make it up there I'll let you know.

 

[Yamaguy55]

To give Bridgestone whatever credit I can: the WRR is covered with things to reduce noise, and that is part of what I like about it: I actually sneak up on wildlife sometimes in the woods. But for whatever reason, the DWs made stone roads feel like loose ball bearings on marble floors, and in anything resembling moisture, they were all over the place. I figured I'd give up some roadworthiness when I went to the D606s, but while noisier, they actually seem to have more traction than the DWs on pavement. I was caught a good distance from home last fall in a substantial downpour. I thought I could wait it out, but finally decided just to ride home in the rain. I figured that the D606s would be squirrelly in the rain, but were surprisingly good. I was really rolling along to try and get home, thought how if I still had the DWs fitted, I would have been all over the place, if not off the road.

Since the primary area that Yamaha and Bridgestone design for is California, I'm not too surprised the slant is towards dry, warm weather traction. The rest of us can lump it.

Be advised that the D606s are pretty loud, and have a somewhat short life on pavement. I don't care, because I use pavement just to get to the dirt, and replace when I need to. But for the ride-my-WRR-to-work crowd, it is probably not an excellent choice. Also: the WRR is geared pretty high stock, adding a taller tire (and hopefully with rimlocks) will effectively make it geared even higher. I have a chain rivet/break tool, got two more rivet masterlinks, plus one roller link, and switched to the 47T rear (Sunstar, and Speedo-DRD recalibration) Wholenuther animal after that. Other tires work well for some, I wanted traction on damp rocks and hardpack; we don't have a lot of mud, very little sand.

IMO, the order of importance of mods:
#!: bashplate. Most serious WRR types go with the Flatland. I had extra cooling holes built into the front of mine when I ordered it.
- lowering link and suspension setup. The chassis is designed to be both the R and the X versions, and the stock geometry favors the X. Lowering the too high rear and resetting sag plus fiddling with the suspension settings helps a lot. Still has a high speed damping problem. Race Tech can fix it at suspension service time.
- Radiator guard from Flatland. Reason for this is very superior cooling abilities. Look at the rear of the stock part: it ducts everything onto the engine and under the tank, and really chokes the flow. I think this was more noise reduction stuff. My fan used to come on a lot, now very seldom. Early bikes had FI pump failures, I'm thinking some bad pumps, some overheated good ones due to radiator flow and low fuel levels.
- Tires. I bought my bike used, so lived with the DWs while I sorted the rest out. It took getting stuck on a rocky trail to send me over the brink and replacing them/modifying gearing.
- The "make 'em talk" torture seat. Great if you never sit down, or are a twentysomething that can live with this sort of thing. I'm neither. Even the wife remarked it was nasty, and she has much nicer upholstery than I. >
- The rest is area/rider specific: if you don't ride rocks, you don't need the shark fin nuclear blast proof disc guard I installed on the rear. I do.

If you want to discuss, PM me. If not, have fun.

 

[jajpko]

I have to second the D606 on the bike. I have a 606 on the rear and a MT21 on the front. The bike does real well in sand and rocks. Have not tried it in mud yet, but should be ok. Too dry in TX. lol

I really like mine as it is lighter than the Tenere and, I just use it in dirt, or a road getting to dirt.

 

[Yamaguy55]

I have to second the D606 on the bike. I have a 606 on the rear and a MT21 on the front. The bike does real well in sand and rocks. Have not tried it in mud yet, but should be ok. Too dry in TX. lol

I really like mine as it is lighter than the Tenere and, I just use it in dirt, or a road getting to dirt.

Exactly

 

[Dirt_Dad]

My main goal for this bike is dirt, but sometimes it could take me more than 75 miles of pavement to get to the dirt. I'll be riding this bike very gently on the pavement. Just how much does pavement chew up the D606 tries? I'd love to limit the bike to only dirt, but that's just not possible around here.

 

[Combo]

Dirt Dad, have you checked out Big Dog Adventures. This guy has done it all on the Yami 250. The bike will hold up fine on long runs if you can. He is a good information source on this bike and I love his ride reports.

http://www.bigdogadventures.com/WR250R.htm

http://www.bigdogadventures.com

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Dirt Dad, have you checked out Big Dog Adventures. This guy has done it all on the Yami 250. The bike will hold up fine on long runs if you can. He is a good information source on this bike and I love his ride reports.

http://www.bigdogadventures.com/WR250R.htm

Thanks, had not found him yet. I'll take a look. ::008::