 |
| How the poor WR looked when I brought it home in January. Clipped front and rear fenders, stock seat and graphics, racerboy decals, and stuffed into the back of a frozen garage. |
[A Post-Apocalypse Review, now that Yamaha has dropped the WR250X from their product line for 2012. MMM has no use for reviews about non-existent motorcycles.]
All Rights Reserved © 2011 Thomas W. Day
The Yamaha WR250X is one the very few motorcycles
produced in last decade that I would classify as one of my dream bikes. I have
loved the WR250X since I first saw it at the 2008 Cycle World International
Motorcycle Show. I could barely get on and off of the show sample (the lowest
seat height is 35.2"), but I loved the fuel-injected, water-cooled,
super-compact multiple purpose bike. Someone called the WR "one-fourth of an R1" and
that's a pretty good description. This is one tech'ed-out little bike.
I can't say I loved the $6600 price
tag, but the Minnesota winter used market is always an answer to that problem. In the three years since the WR250X arrived,
not much has changed (except the usual color parade from '08 blue to '09 black
to '10-11 white) to change either my opinion of the supermoto or its
performance. It's still a great bike, weighs 300 pounds wet, claims 71
EPA miles-per-gallon (55-60mpg real world), and rocks the twistiest roads. Our tanking
economy promised to deliver a fair deal on a WR in the winter of 2010 and it did.
Nothing loses value in a depression like recreational vehicles. Taking close to
half off of the original price with 18 months of warranty left and only a grand on the odometer,
one of the usual suspects came through for me that January.
 |
| Racerboy modifications that hit the trash during the winter rebuild of the WR. |
Unfortunately, I broke my rule of
avoiding motorcycles previously owned by Kids. Stupidly (on my part), that Kid
managed to hide much of the damage he'd done to the motorcycle in his 8 months
and 1200 miles of ownership. It always
amazes me how foolishly some people will hack away at superior engineering in
search of lower power, more noise, reduced comfort, and degraded handling.
Except for a butchered pipe, mangled tail light, hacked up fenders, some critical lost hardware, my WR
survived the mishandling in
reasonably good
condition and I took the rest of the winter to return it to stock condition, plus
some touring farkles. The sporty looking shortened fender spit sand and mud in
my face, so I decided that all the way back to stock was the best starting
point. Between January and April, I pulled messed up parts and replaced them
with stock Yamaha bits.
After sorting out the obvious problems on my
user-recycled
bike, I took it for its first outing in mid-March. I used a simple
troubleshooting service call as an excuse to ride my urban assault vehicle
through the most messed up dirt roads I could find between here and Forest Lake
and I have not had that much fun on a motorcycle since the 70's. While there is
no comparison in technology, horsepower, or suspension, I was reminded of my
1973 Rickman ISDT 125 that took me to work on weekdays, to the motocross track
and cross-country racing on Sunday, and to the backroads of Nebraska every free day for three years. Like
the Rickman, The WR250X can do anything. Unlike the Rickman, the WR does
everything I want to do way better than I can do it.
The three section cast-aluminum semi-double-cradle frame
(based on the famous WR250F) is the heart of this motorcycle's abilities. The
frame is so solid that the bike feels much larger than any 250 I've ridden. I
think Yamaha's 450 power plant could drop into this frame with minimal changes
and you'd just have a faster motorcycle. At speed, in tight corners, and off
pavement, the WR does everything you ask of it and goes anywhere you aim it. The
250cc, four-valve (oversized titanium intake valves), liquid-cooled 4-stroke
DOHC, pent-roof combustion chamber, high (11.8:1) compression,
electronically-controlled Mikuni 38mm fuel-injected power plant makes a mockery
of the "small bike" status. Top speed, GPS verified, in stock form is not much
over 80mph. Cruising at 60 is effortless, but keeping up with 75mph freeway traffic
feels like moderate abuse. The clutch is surprisingly stiff and has the feel of a toggle
switch. The friction zone is tiny, which means this might not be the right bike
for a beginner. The front and rear disk brakes are wonderful for the
intended purpose. I've heard complaints of fading on the race track, but under
the conditions I've used the WR I think they are more than satisfactory.
Since my first weeks with my WRX were all about
maintenance, I got a good look at what taking care of this little bike will
entail. Getting to the most frequently maintained parts (air filter, oil filter,
valves, fuel pump, radiator, electronics, lights, etc.) is dirt-bike-easy.
Yamaha only used a few sizes of Allens, Phillips, and hex bolts and a minimum of
tools will get maximum work done. Specialty tools
required for clutch, engine, suspension, and transmission work, but for the
usual field-repairable problems the tiny tool kit is sufficient.
 |
| After living with me for 7 months, this is the WR in touring form (big gun, optional). |
The big deficiency, in my mind, of the WR bikes
is the two gallon fuel capacity. At 55-60mpg the bike manages about 90 miles
before the reserve mileage reserve warning trips, but running out of gas is
sometimes the death of electric fuel pumps. I haven't had the guts to test the
max distance of my WRX, but I once made it to 130 miles before I wimped out. The WR's miles-past-reserve odometer that gives you some indication of how far
you've travelled since that fuel pressure point was past. Ideally, I'd like to
get a couple hundred miles before desperately needing civilization. So, I added
the IMS 3.1 gallon accessory tank and the Acerbis locking cap, which pushed the
bike's range to around 150 conservative miles. There are at least two aftermarket
greater-than-4.0 gallon tanks
available, but I decided to limit myself to what I'm really likely to need
between fuel stops. I can always carry accessory fuel bottles.
To the additional fuel capacity I added the ML2
YamLink rear suspension lowering link, Wheeling Cycle's step seat, the stock Yamaha luggage rack, Acerbis Rally Handguards,
a Grand Loop Diablo tank bag, a small MotoFizz tail bag (for commuting), a Grand
Loop Coyote saddlebag (for touring), a bike alarm, a RAM GPS mount, and a Flatland bashplate.
A taller-than-me rider would need to do a lot less work on the WR to make it
right. The stock Bridgestone Battleaxe BT090 rear tire had been completely
chicken-stripped by the previous owner, so I went for Avon Gripster replacements to increase the bike's off-pavement capability and add
some tire longevity for touring.
Near the end of my farkling, it appears that I have a tiny touring bike and the
hippest commuter machine I've ever touched. Based on the wild variations of
modifications I've seen from other WR owners, it's obvious that the WR250R/X is
a farkle magnet. You could fill a good sized catalog with all of the exhaust
systems, suspension parts, fuel tanks, custom seats, accessories and
modification parts, and cosmetic crap being sold for this one motorcycle.
 |
| A 2008 WR250X in full commuter form. Ready for work. |
On technical roads, the WRX is nothing but fun. The
first "short" ride I took was out to a friend's studio in Forest Lake; 20 miles
out and 20 back. Somehow, the 20 back turned into 140 miles on a 38oF
March afternoon. From then on, every time I took the WR out for a short ride, it
turned into double the distance or more. I put on more unnecessary miles on this
motorcycle than I have since I rode my V-Strom to Alaska a few years back. I brought the WR to one of the MSF instructor's events and played
around on the police training course at Dakota County. The Gripsters stuck
nicely to clean pavement and the bike/tire combination slides controllably when
the road surface gives way. Top speed wasn't anywhere near the average on that
course, but I found myself waiting for the bigger bikes to get out of the way on
the straights so I could have room to play in the corners.
The WR is most everything
I hoped it would be, except for the fuel efficiency issue. I took the little dude
around Lake Superior last summer and the WR did fine, although the bike was overkill
for those straight, oversized, boring roads. I may need to move to the mountains
or to Wisconsin's letter roads. The bad news is Yamaha dropped the WR250X from
the line in 2012. One dealer at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show
told me, "Yamaha dropped the only 250 I can sell." That may mean that used
prices on the WRX could take a jump when the general riding public realizes it
is a rare bike.
Specifications
- Displacement: 250.00 ccm (15.26 cubic inches)
- Engine type: Single cylinder, four-stroke
- Compression: 11.8:1
- Bore x stroke: 77.0 x 53.6 mm (3.0 x 2.1 inches)
- Fuel system: Injection Fuel control: DOHC
- Ignition: Direct ignition coil
- Cooling system: Liquid
- Gearbox: Constant-mesh 6-speed; multiplate wet clutch
- Final drive: Chain
- Front suspension: Fully adjustable, inverted fork, 10.6 inch suspension travel
- Rear suspension: Fully adjustable, single shock, 10.4 inch suspension travel
- Front tire dimensions: 110/70-17
- Rear tire dimensions: 140/70-17
- Front brakes: 11.7 inch single disc
- Rear brakes: 9 inch single disc
- Weight: 298 pounds wet
- Seat height: 35.2 inches at the lowest setting.
- Ground clearance: 10.2 inches
- Wheelbase: 56.1 inches
- Fuel capacity: 2.00 gallons
References:
Accessories:
-
YamaLink Lowering Link
-
ML2 Lowering Link
4 comments:
I also picked up a lightly used '08 Wr250x his spring. I found mine with 1560 miles for a steal at $3200. The original owner replaced the stock exhaust, replaced the tail light/fender with an LED light with no rear fender. I like the light, but miss the fender.
I've been tracking my mileage and it's up to 59.5 MPG. I really like the bike and think it will be with me for a long time.
We paid the same price for about the same bike. My idiot hacked up the stock pipe, rear light bracket, and front fender. I found all of those stock parts for less than $100 shipped. I have managed one >60mpg tank in 4,000 miles. Mine knocks down 55mpg like clockwork. The chewed up front fender tossed mud into my face. Your hacked rear fender has to be tough on gear and the back of your helmet. I will never understand why kids with no ability to properly tighten a bolt imagine themselves "motorcycle engineers."
I'm moving from Boston, MA where I can take public transit to work to Utah, where I'll need a commuter vehicle, so I'm on the hunt for one of these! The prices I'm seeing them advertised for are absolutely absurd though (in the $5,000 range). Hopefully I can snag one of these that hasn't been too wrung out.
It's an amazing commuter bike. You should be able to find on in excellent shape for around $3-3.5k.
Post a Comment