The Tenere made me do it - WR250R

[jajpko]

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.

I like the tire and it has good manners on the road. The pressure I use is 16 and 18 and sometimes lower in the sand. I really don't have the kind of road miles on mine as you will on yours and I expect to replace mine at about 3k. For me that's about a seasons worth of riding. I don't run my tires till they are bald in the center, so I might be changing before others.

This is a 10/90 tire and I'm not sure how it will hold up riding 150 miles of pavement each time you ride? Also I ride in rocks and that is harder than dirt or sand.

 

[Yamaguy55]

I got just under 3K out of the last set, and I don't run until the center is gone. They went on a oil and chip thing a few years ago on the roads around here, and I still get that level of longevity. The D606s are cheap enough I don't cry the blues over tire wear. It is an off road toy. Grip trumps wear anyway.

I have to ride about 35 miles each way to get to my riding areas, and do about 75-100 of dirt (rock/gravel) when I get there, if that helps. So far, the D606s have lasted as long as the OEM DWs. We have similar climates, so that should be reasonably accurate for you.

With the noisy tires and the lowered gearing, I can comfortably cruise at 55-65 all day long. Not as nice as the Tenere (duh), but far better in the rough stuff (also duh).

Here's a guy that likes to do distance on a WRR:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=500618

There's a service manual available for download, PM if interested. I have a copy on my phone in case i need it.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Even though the OEM front tire looks in really good shape, it did give me a few pucker moments today when it decided to let go in a couple of the corners. Guess I'll be replacing both front and back with a D606. I was not pushing all that hard, and would not have expected a real knobby to let go. Of course all of my past "real knobbies" have not been street legal, so maybe I need to adjust my thinking some.

 

[jajpko]

Even though the OEM front tire looks in really good shape, it did give me a few pucker moments today when it decided to let go in a couple of the corners. Guess I'll be replacing both front and back with a D606. I was not pushing all that hard, and would not have expected a real knobby to let go. Of course all of my past "real knobbies" have not been street legal, so maybe I need to adjust my thinking some.

You may want to also think about an MT21 on the front with the 606 on the rear. Just throwing it out there..

 

[Yamaguy55]

You may want to also think about an MT21 on the front with the 606 on the rear. Just throwing it out there..

It is a justifiably popular combo

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I've finally put my first 200 miles on this bike. So far I have only been able to ride it around my homemade MX track in the yard, and on dirt/gravel roads. On my little track it shows potential. On the gravel roads, it's not as satisfying as the S10.

I think a huge part of the disappointment is the tires. The stock rear, with 3,200 miles, spins like a K60 and has little hookup at all. It's just about to the end of its life. The full of tread front is also very unimpressive. I was in another powerside today with both the rear and the front in a full slide. The saving grace was the bike is so light it was easy to regain control when the front stopped sliding.

I did series of mountain dirt roads today, first on the Tenere, then on the WR. A lot of washboarded, fairly steep sections. The Anakee II equipped S10 and the WR were both spinning away back there. But there was one point the WR did seem to ride above it all and just be skimming the tops. That is the feel I'm looking to experience.

So far the main thing this bike has taught me is something I already knew. I get disappointed when I move my right wrist and nothing big happens. To be fair, I intentionally bought a 250cc to see what a little bike could teach me, so I need to really give it a chance. I decided I'm going to go ahead and set it up to see if it can work for me. New tires, lower the gearing (12 tooth did nothing), and probably the FMF fuel programmer. I want to give this bike a fighting chance to impress me.

I think I probably need a new battery. Twice the bike has been impossible to start. The engine is cranking, but it will not fire. Before each of those I noticed the fuel pump did not start. My guess is the fuel pump must need a certain voltage that it's not getting. A few minutes on a charger and it starts. No surprise, the battery is the original and 5.5 years is a very long time trickle charge or not.

 

[NittanyXT]

I know what you mean about the power, Jon. I was looking at the Wr and ended up with a DRz400, still relatively light ( especially compared to the S10!) and enough snot to put a grin on my face. See the stablemate thread.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I know what you mean about the power, Jon. I was looking at the Wr and ended up with a DRz400, still relatively light ( especially compared to the S10!) and enough snot to put a grin on my face. See the stablemate thread.

I saw that earlier today. Good looking bike.

I'm going to give this one a shot. But if I can't make it work I'm not afraid to make a switch. Never been one to hold onto the wrong bike.

 

[trikepilot]

Jon... reading all this means I am gonna try to swing through town here soon and test ride one of those two used WR250R's at the local shop. I had nearly convinced myself that the WRR is what I want when the KLR sells, but you are not strengthening its case. Love to hear more about what you can tweak it into. However, I suspect that my frame of reference (far less riding experience and nothing smaller than a KLR) will see more in the WRR than you do. Still... keep the reviews coming.

 

[jajpko]

It's probably the battery, but the fuel pumps have been know to go bad. jfyi

 

[jajpko]

Jon... reading all this means I am gonna try to swing through town here soon and test ride one of those two used WR250R's at the local shop. I had nearly convinced myself that the WRR is what I want when the KLR sells, but you are not strengthening its case. Love to hear more about what you can tweak it into. However, I suspect that my frame of reference (far less riding experience and nothing smaller than a KLR) will see more in the WRR than you do. Still... keep the reviews coming.

I have not owned mine as long as others, but the only mod I did was sprocket and flapper door. Everything else is stock. This is not a light trail bike that you can flick your wrist and loft the front. It is however a great bike that has held up well and has got me into trouble. ::025::

I did not want to give up the reliability for a few HP. I think with the right tires and sprocket, it will put a smile on your face and will last a long time. Oh, it is also easy to work on..

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Jon... reading all this means I am gonna try to swing through town here soon and test ride one of those two used WR250R's at the local shop. I had nearly convinced myself that the WRR is what I want when the KLR sells, but you are not strengthening its case. Love to hear more about what you can tweak it into. However, I suspect that my frame of reference (far less riding experience and nothing smaller than a KLR) will see more in the WRR than you do. Still... keep the reviews coming.

Harrison, don't worry about the WR being too much for you. So far it's pretty gentle until you keep your right wrist twisted. If you don't push it, there's nothing to worry about. The nice thing is as you gain confidence you can stay on the throttle more and it will respond. I'm just hoping that better rubber will let me feel all the response that is happening. Go take a test ride.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

It's probably the battery, but the fuel pumps have been know to go bad. jfyi

Geeze, I hope it's not a bad fuel pump with just 3K miles on it. That's way too soon for a Yamaha pump to fail.

I'm thinking I'll get a 16oz Antigravity battery. Seems like a good way to make a dent in weight.

 

[viroid]

I bought a wrr three years ago as my first bike, just hit 22400 miles. It's a great bike.

I'm in the northern VA / DC area as well, we should setup a ride sometime.


Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I bought a wrr three years ago as my first bike, just hit 22400 miles. It's a great bike.

I'm in the northern VA / DC area as well, we should setup a ride sometime.

That's pretty serious mileage for a dirt bike. ::008::

A ride sounds good. Where do you normally take it to get dirty? Closest place I know is Edinburgh, but I'm not all that fond of rock crawling.

 

[trikepilot]

Jon - my concern after reading your reviews so far is not that the wrr will be "too much" for me but rather that it won't be enough for me. Sounds like for now... you have been a bit underwhelmed.

My comment was aimed more at the fact that unlike you, I have no experience on ANY bike smaller than an anemic KLR or a heavy beast like the S10. You have lots of dirtbike in your background. So you have something to compare the wrr to as a baseline. I will more than likely hop on the wrr and be like... "holy shit! this thing is an awesome lightweight rocket!" Of course I want this impression to last a long while - not wither away to disappointment with time.

My local Kawi dealer has two WRR's in their used inventory and a DR400. I am gonna carve out some time to ride down there today and see about a test ride. After getting some seat time, I am sure I will have a better idea of what all of you are talking about.

When are you next gonna be down here in WV? Lemme know if you ever want to arrange a trip to the Potomac Highlands. I am still buzzing from my trip up there last week and there are at least two adventures that I need a partner to complete. I have access to a 3 bedroom cabin right at Seneca Rocks so camping (not your fave, eh?) will not be required.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I still have hopes the WR can be what I want it to be. I've been working on my parts list this morning to make it more to my liking. Because of my background I have certain expectations, and I'll admit I'm pretty hard to please. Don't take my current view of the bike as a reason to rule it out.

The WR would be a fine bike for learning dirt skills. But honestly, any 400cc or smaller dirt oriented bike, that is not top heavy will be a good training bike. If it's your first light weight dirt bike (i.e. not a KLR) you could almost go on price. It's more important you be able to manhandle the bike and slam it where you want it, than to worry about nuances that bug me.

I can hit the Seneca Rocks area in about 2.5 hours from home. Can do most any time. I'm thinking of joining spklbuk in August up at that lake he's been talking about (August 16). Not to camp, but just show up in the morning and ride. My hopes of making the southern gathering are diminishing due to work schedule.

 

[wfopete]

Dirt Dad,

Consider a trials tire (TT) for the rear. If nothing else it will outlast your knobbies 5 to 1. Get a DOT approved TT, it will cost a little more but depending on your terrain it can out perform a knobby. If your riding is in dry, hard, loam, rocky/rooted/technical stuff a TT works great. If you see a lot of mud, grass or sand not so great but no as bad as you might think. Don't be afraid to run under 10 lbs in them either, my KTM 300 works best with between 6-8 lbs in a tire.

 

[scott123007]

Dirt Dad,

Consider a trials tire (TT) for the rear. If nothing else it will outlast your knobbies 5 to 1. Get a DOT approved TT, it will cost a little more but depending on your terrain it can out perform a knobby. If your riding is in dry, hard, loam, rocky/rooted/technical stuff a TT works great. If you see a lot of mud, grass or sand not so great but no as bad as you might think. Don't be afraid to run under 10 lbs in them either, my KTM 300 works best with between 6-8 lbs in a tire.

+1

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Dirt Dad,

Consider a trials tire (TT) for the rear. If nothing else it will outlast your knobbies 5 to 1. Get a DOT approved TT, it will cost a little more but depending on your terrain it can out perform a knobby. If your riding is in dry, hard, loam, rocky/rooted/technical stuff a TT works great. If you see a lot of mud, grass or sand not so great but no as bad as you might think. Don't be afraid to run under 10 lbs in them either, my KTM 300 works best with between 6-8 lbs in a tire.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to start with seeing if a knobby can help me appreciate this bike. After I see how it performs, and how long it lasts I might just consider a TT in the future. Part of what I'm testing is on my little home MX track, and I think a knobby will serve me best on that. But we'll see how I actually end up using the bike and decided what to do after I kill the first knobby.