!st ride & review 2008 WRR

I've wanted one of these since they came out & always talked myself into something else.
I picked up a 2008 Thursday with 2500 mi on it completely stock, spent a few hrs yesterday opening up the air box, & removing some other non essential pieces.
I've read every review I could find & the jest of them was it was geared ridiculously tall, it was heavy, underpowered, too tall. the tires sucked but the motor was smooth.

I rode just over two hundred miles today, more than half was hwy running 75-80 indicated,, some in town, & around 60 miles of rock, decomposed granite & some sand washes. My other bike is a heavily tweaked KTM & it's an animal. I had so much fun today I'm not sure if I need it anymore.

The stock tires I was planning to remove after today's ride, but they work surprisingly well & we got into a few nasty rocky technical hill climbs. Are these the tires they call "death wings?" maybe in mud? The rear is worn enough I will go ahead & mount an MT43 with tubliss, the front I may actually remount with tubliss.

The stock gearing felt pretty good, there was nothing I couldn't climb, on the road I did have to downshift to maintain an indicated 75 on some grades but so what? I'm thinking 14/49 or 50 gearing.

I have trouble believing this thing weighs 290 lbs, my KTM weighs the same but feels & rides 30lbs heavier.

Under powered, yeah a little but I had a ball today & there is something about riding a slower bike fast.

Tall? not for a dirtbike & where I ride I need the ground clearance.

Fun little bike..

Congrats on the bike.
The trailwings have no traction in the mud.
Which ktm do you have as I am considering a 350 exc or free ride if they ever make it to Canada.

450XC, the. 350' are awesome singletrack machines and it's on my lottery list.

2nd and third ride cause me to decide to sell the KTM. The bike feels so much livlier uncorked. I went with a MT43 rear tire and 14/49 gearing and it does nazty singletrack just fine

Nice review, I feel the same way about the bike and have no need for a better/higher maintence bike.

The stock tires are nick named death wings because they feel like they have tons of grip off road then slip n slide uncontrolably without warning.

4play wrote:

2nd and third ride cause me to decide to sell the KTM. The bike feels so much livlier uncorked.

Am I understanding you correctly. You sold the XC450 which you called a "monster" in favor of the "livlier" R2?

I use tireballs in my tires, but I do 99% off road riding. Tubliss looked interesting, but still had a single point of failure which I didn't like.

gatorfan wrote:

4play wrote:

2nd and third ride cause me to decide to sell the KTM. The bike feels so much livlier uncorked.

Am I understanding you correctly. You sold the XC450 which you called a "monster"  in favor of the "livlier" R2?

The 450 I had bored & stroked etc, etc, etc to 600cc's, it's brother dyno'd at 74rwhp.
That was the MONSTER I was referring to.

My comment was about how much livelier the 250 was uncorked compared to when it was dead stock, not that it was livelier than the KTM.
I did not buy the R2 to replace the KTM, but after a few rides & over 1500 miles now I did sell the KTM.

4play wrote:

gatorfan wrote:

4play wrote:

2nd and third ride cause me to decide to sell the KTM. The bike feels so much livlier uncorked.

Am I understanding you correctly. You sold the XC450 which you called a "monster"  in favor of the "livlier" R2?

The 450 I had bored & stroked etc, etc, etc to 600cc's, it's brother dyno'd at 74rwhp.
That was the MONSTER I was referring to.

My comment was about how much livelier the 250 was uncorked compared to when it was dead stock, not that it was livelier than the KTM.
I did not buy the R2 to replace the KTM, but after a few rides & over 1500 miles now I did sell the KTM.

I am going the have a set of front forks for sale, they have been revealed and gone over at go-race suspension . I did an upgrade and the won't fit anymore.

I've put just over 2,000 miles mostly off road on the bike & after today's really gnarly single track I am convinced this is the best single track capable dual sport on the planet. 14/49 gearing will climb anything, going any lower just waste the overdrive that makes the hwy capability so amazing. I'm on my second MT43 rear tire, keep in mind I ride really rocky off road stuff so 1700 miles on a rear tire here is AWESOME.