San Fran Bay Area WR250R riders?

I'm looking around to buy a WR250R, found one near by. What are things to look for that would disqualify the bike? It looks like little to NO off road use, low miles, doesn't look crashed, but I've not seen it in person yet, just going from fairly good pics.

Anyone up for coming to take a look and listen to this bike? Nothing beats and experienced ear. I don't know how the WR is supposed to sound ... and I know some
make some bad sounds before having problems. Just don't want to get the RARE Lemon.

Any help or ideas appreciated.

Thanks,
Patrick

quite the opposite actually the wr250r and most yamahas/modern 4 strokes for that matter sound more or less like a box of rocks.. a quiet motor could indicate higher mileage/hours and wear.
these bikes are incredibly reliable, you could get away with buying it sight unseen. i mean ideally something low miles and all stock would be ideal. I personally wouldn't go for something that was taken to the sand ever. mods are welcome but don't mean much except the owner will demand more $.

Thanks for the feedback!
I've heard discussion on worn/failing CCT's. I guess that's one of the possible "bad" sounds one may hear?
Also heard of quite a few main bearing failures.

100% agree about sand riding. Very hard on any engine. I grew up in Mojave dessert and Baja, so seen what riding super deep sand at full throttle
in 95F heat can do. Not good!

Thing is ... with a 250 and with it's limited power/torque, getting though deep dunes could be a challenge and put a big load on the WR's engine. Can it handle it?
I'll never ride Dunes like we see in the Dakar but from time to time we can get some brutal sand tracks in the heat.

The wr handles deep sand just fine, techincal enduro brings the engine temp up more than in sand, if you keep the pace up.

Sand is so much fun on a little agile bike like our beloved WR's

That's good news to me Jens! I've ridden friends' Husky and KTM 450's in deep sand, delighted, what fun it was vs. other bikes.
I think it's as much about geometry (rake/trail/COG/mass centralization) as simply weight.

Also, load plays a big role too ... and where that load resides on the bike. On my XR250 I was overloaded.

Really good to hear you've enjoyed riding the deep sand. Where have you ridden deep sand? Was your WR loaded up with luggage?

My former XR250R did well in sand until I crashed it into a HUGE boulder, slightly bending in the forks ...did not notice it until months later. Meanwhile, did a long
Baja ride, suffered and could not figure out why the XR no longer was good in sand.
Worse than a 650! Once fixed, it was OK again ... but never as good as my buddies Husky TE450 through deep sand.


Coastal Dunes in Baja (rare) Friend riding his WR450F. (no street legal issues in Baja)


Typical Baja sand track. Fine on a 250 (if not overloaded!) ... horrific on a Vstrom or GS! (just barely OK on my DR650!)

Light is Right! (and torque helps with keeping the front end from Plowing In!)

I haven't ridden any dunes but I find my WR250R to be a pig compared to real enduro bikes in sand washes similar to your Baja sand track photo above.  Compared to real enduro bikes like your friend's WR450F the WR250R is heavy, underpowered, and poorly suspended for this kind of riding.  Thus compared to those bikes you'll find that the WRR wallows in sand and saps your energy fairly quickly.  If you're riding alone or with other WRR riders it'll just be an adventure.  But if you're riding behind your buddy on his WR450F you'll probably find yourself getting tired more quickly and/or getting left behind on the trail.

I've added a Scotts steering damper and Race Tech suspension to mine, which helps considerably.  But it's nothing like riding a 450cc 4 stroke enduro bike, or even my Beta 300 2-stroke, either of which feel like a magic carpet ride in comparison.

For example, check out my video below where I'm riding with a couple of KTM 2-strokes.  The video is a bit long so feel free to skip around.  We start down a sand wash at about 9:50, at which point I start to suck wind and my buddies repeatedly leave me in their dust and then wait for me to catch up.  Basically I lose ground on them every time we hit a stretch of loose sand.  That pattern repeats itself for most of the ride.  This same area is no problem on my 220 lb. Beta 300cc 2-stroke.

I love my little WR250R for a variety of reasons, but riding in sand isn't one of them.

All duly noted! Nice job on the video ... No question a 450F, KTM or Husky will smoke the WR-R, with about double the HP and lighter weight.

In your Vid I thought your pace was quite good, I doubt I could keep up even riding my old YZ250 2 stroke race bike from the 90's.
I'm slower now. That sand did not look too deep but I'm sure the 2 strokes would glide through in any case.

I've heard a steering damper helps the WR, big money but certainly worth it if it calms things down in deep sand. Thanks for the tips!

I thought you did very well in the slower more technical stuff in your Vid, your buddy was not that far ahead. If dusty, that's about the distance I would leave anyway.
When I raced AMA Enduro (8 years, Senior B) I got good at riding blind in dust, in a pack with 50 guys in my class. This from 1987 to '94. I worked my way UP from
C rider ... took 3 years to make B. Not easy with 400 riders in an event ... and 250 of them C riders!

A wr250r will fall short everytime you compare the performance to a real endurobike, no surprises.. I just stated that the bike can take it.

I live by the coast, and have found some small spots where I can ride without disturbing the public.

Were also fortunate enough to be able to ride in some of the areas where the military trains with their 4x4s, tansk ect. Were actualle able to rent thoose places, and use it for both casual fun, and enduroraces.

Still jealous of you guys and yur dunes, but I guess I'll have to settle