wr250r all round?

I'm 18 and I'm looking for my first proper motorcycle (have gone through scooters and 125s).

Anyway I will be using the wrr generally as a commuter to go to university, shop and whatnot. It'll pretty much act as my car since I won't have one

I will be needing it all year round (summer, winter, rain, snow) and in the summers I intend to do some fairly long european trips. (always using backroads of course, I hate motorways). Of course I would need to chenge seat and equip it with luggage.

My other option other than the wr250r is the xt660r which I would have to drive restricted to 25 kw for the first 2 years. Personally it sounds like a jib. A bike that will weigh over 50 kg with pretty much the same power. the xt660r would probably do the job better (daily commuting, summer trips) but it looks less fun during the weekends especially for a beginner (mostly due to its high weight).

I don't yet know how much off roading I will be doing. I will spend most of my time in germany and italy where it'll be hard to do proper off roading, but i'll be close to switzerland where its fully legal. Even if I do off roading it'll be for fun. I'm not trying to race anybody. I like to stop and look around, find new paths and so on.

Anyway I would like some suggestions of what you guys think. I think the xt660r will be better for commuting and traveling, but the wrr is much lighter, more fun, better off road and so hopefully more beginner friendly both in the city and in country roads.

what do you guys think? is the wr250r the wrong bike since it'll spend a lot of time on pavement?

The WRR is pretty comfortable on the slab until you start getting around 110 kph or so. Depends if you put a windshield or not I suppose, but once I get over 110, the bike is pretty much maxed out and not as much fun.

I really like my WRR for around here, but remembering my time in Europe - Germany and Switzerland mostly - if it was my one and only mode of transport all year round for all roads, I think I'd have to go with it's big brother as my bike of choice.

I dunno, I can ride over 110 without any problems and there's still a whack of throttle left to lay on. Mind you I'm, not Jager's size so that does make a bit of a difference. I can keep up with traffic and pass without making it flatline, bu what's nice is the fact that i can ride the slab, see a trail off the road and rape it. You can do that with the bigger bikes, but no way will those things perform on the tight stuff like this little one will. No comparison.

I'm with Wolfie on this one. I'm 240 lbs and ride 70 75 on the interstate everyday and I don't feel maxed out. I had an xt550 for years and I know it's a totaly different bike then the xt660, but it sucked off road and was not as good on road as my wr250x.

If you're going to spend most of your time on pavement why not get the X?

As far as highway, I'm 220 and it pulled me just fine at 75-80mph (120-128kph) and I did not get tired. The wind blast was perfectly fine since it was 'clean air'. No fatigue resulting from constant buffeting.

Wenn mann denkt was sprit kostet, dann ist die kleine 250r viel besser! :)

I love my WR, but you cannot compare it to a 600cc machine. It is so much lighter and better off road, but not nearly as comfortable or powerful on road.

This question is like what oil or tires or GPS.
My best guess is that if you go with the WRR in two years you will be wishing you had bought the 600--if you buy the 600 in two weeks you will be wishing you had bought a smaller bike to learn on in the first two years.
Keep in mind that folks post based on what they are seeing--I live at 6300 feet and ride to 11000 frequently. The WRR will do it but it sucks trying to cruise as you pull thru 8000 and it only gets worse from there.
Anyone saying this bike--stock-- will run a headwind at 75+mph above 6000 feet needs to go do it--just will not happen--especially if you toss in any climb.
Be glad to demonstrate on I25 just south of Santa Fe where you climb 1000 feet to about 7200 in a couple of miles.
It is a 250--a good 250 but it is a 250. Good luck on your selection and ride alert and ATGATT.

I consistently do 85mph+ and have no real issues with wind buffeting or drag. 5'9" 140lbs.

trav72 wrote:

If you're going to spend most of your time on pavement why not get the X?

The X is a great little commuter bike if you can stay off the high speed stuff most of the time. Yes, it can blast down a highway too, but is admittedly less fun there.

It isn't like you can't do some off road on street tires, check out:
Motards in Moab
or
Motards in Hell's Canyon

I'm still in the process of wearing out the stock tires, Zed is running the Continental SM tires (I will run those tires when I need new ones). They're great

I prefer the R because I know i'll regret getting the X. I don't want to be bound to only pavement, even if this is where I spend most of my time. maybe I can consider putting on some less knobby tires on the R, but still enough to do light off roading.



If I could ride the 660 full power, I would probably go for that. But restricted to 25 kw it'll only have 2kw more than the wr and 50 kg more. And i'll have an engine that's running at half capacity and red lining halfway through the rev range.


The thing that bothers me is that they are pretty much the same price. But still I think I get much higher quality components on the WR than on the XT. (right?)

Overall it looks like a more fun package.

Problem is, most forums and places I look, the wr250 is peoples second or third bike that they use for fun. Would it be adequate as only bike? (and form of transportation for that matter?)

I see plenty of aftermarket seat and luggage racks so that those european trips look plausible as well?


Thanks for your comments so far :)

We have a few who use this bike as their only mode of transportation. As for the X... I can see Ed coming on and saying what he thinks about it being for only pavement.

My x is the first bike I've owned in over 30 years that hasn't had 21" x 17" or 18" tires. I am amazed at what these 17" tires will do for a bike on the road..AWESOME! More fun then I've ever had on a bike. If off-road is your thing then the R is the way to go, but an awful lot of people run knobs on the X off road and have a ball.

bigg wrote:

I'm 18 and I'm looking for my first proper motorcycle (have gone through scooters and 125s).

Anyway I will be using the wrr generally as a commuter to go to university, shop and whatnot. It'll pretty much act as my car since I won't have one

I will be needing it all year round (summer, winter, rain, snow) and in the summers I intend to do some fairly long european trips. (always using backroads of course, I hate motorways). Of course I would need to chenge seat and equip it with luggage.

My other option other than the wr250r is the xt660r which I would have to drive restricted to 25 kw for the first 2 years. Personally it sounds like a jib. A bike that will weigh over 50 kg with pretty much the same power. the xt660r would probably do the job better (daily commuting, summer trips) but it looks less fun during the weekends especially for a beginner (mostly due to its high weight).

I don't yet know how much off roading I will be doing. I will spend most of my time in germany and italy where it'll be hard to do proper off roading, but i'll be close to switzerland where its fully legal. Even if I do off roading it'll be for fun. I'm not trying to race anybody. I like to stop and look around, find new paths and so on.

Anyway I would like some suggestions of what you guys think. I think the xt660r will be better for commuting and traveling, but the wrr is much lighter, more fun, better off road and so hopefully more beginner friendly both in the city and in country roads.

what do you guys think? is the wr250r the wrong bike since it'll spend a lot of time on pavement?

Hello!

Here's the answer to all of your questions!

https://wr250rforum.forumotion.com/t966-how-i-spent-my-summer-vacation-or-6000-miles-on-a-wr250r

Search all posts by Skierd and you'll see someone who uses their bike exactly as you have planned to use yours.

bigg wrote:

I prefer the R because I know i'll regret getting the X. I don't want to be bound to only pavement, even if this is where I spend most of my time. maybe I can consider putting on some less knobby tires on the R, but still enough to do light off roading.

Did you read the ride reports I linked above?

"Light off road" does not require knobbies, by any stretch of the imagination. So long as you don't get into mud, street tires can handle an awful lot. Every bike we have has seen *at least* a few gravel roads - that includes two Ducatis & a Z1000....

What street tires are you running on your WRX?

-Skip

KLRchickie wrote:

bigg wrote:

I prefer the R because I know i'll regret getting the X. I don't want to be bound to only pavement, even if this is where I spend most of my time. maybe I can consider putting on some less knobby tires on the R, but still enough to do light off roading.

Did you read the ride reports I linked above?

"Light off road" does not require knobbies, by any stretch of the imagination. So long as you don't get into mud, street tires can handle an awful lot. Every bike we have has seen *at least* a few gravel roads - that includes two Ducatis & a Z1000....

skipm wrote:

What street tires are you running on your WRX?

-Skip

As noted, I'm still wearing out the stock tires, but will switch to the Continental SM tires that Zed is running right now when I wear these out. He's on his second set & very happy with them.

KLRchickie wrote:

skipm wrote:

What street tires are you running on your WRX?

-Skip

As noted, I'm still wearing out the stock tires, but will switch to the Continental SM tires that Zed is running right now when I wear these out. He's on his second set & very happy with them.

Thanx, sorry I checked your posts and website and must have missed the reference.

-Skip

skipm wrote:

Thanx, sorry I checked your posts and website and must have missed the reference.

-Skip

I'm not trying to be snarky, just pointing out that it was mentioned just a few posts up in this thread

I'd be tempted into the XT660R if only because we don't get that bike here in the USA. It is very similar on paper to the Suzuki DR650 which we do get here, and was the bike I was mainly debating between when I bought my WR. I mainly picked the WR for its lighter weight, fuel injection, big stator to run accessories, and long maintenance intervals.

My 2 cents...


The XT will be easier to tour with. Over twice the fuel means longer distances between stops, 50kg+ heavier as well as being longer and wider should make it more stable on the highway. Even restricted, it will still have more torque than the WR250R which should help pushing around on pavement as well.

I think the WR would be the better urban bike. Lighter weight to throw around, smaller to fit better between cars and such in traffic, and the smaller factory gas tank won't matter much in town. Probably won't be much slower or maybe even a bit faster since its not restricted. It won't be quite as comfortable to tour on, but I found it enough for two 10k km trips so far, including some extended highway stints at 100-130 kph for several days on end. No problems, just boring... Mine's sitting right around 40,000km and has had 0 issues to date save a broken non-stock denso iridium spark plug.

skierd wrote:

I'd be tempted into the XT660R if only because we don't get that bike here in the USA. It is very similar on paper to the Suzuki DR650 which we do get here,

The Suzuki doesn't compare to the XT660 at all (except engine capacity). The XT is so much more refined in almost every area, mind you it's also a good 50% more expensive than the DR.


As for the original question of the WR250R being a capable all rounder, sure it can. As long as you plan on spending as little time as possible on the motorway then I can't really think of a better bike. After spending 3 years working in a dealership that supplied all japanese makes I always wanted a WR250R. I've finally gotten to the point where not only do I have the R I always wanted, but my wife has an X that she rides to work which I can pinch for road rides.
The standard tyres that come on a new R (in Australia at least, not sure if they are the same for the rest of the world) are actually pretty good on the road. They steer nice, have minimal road noise and grip well on wet tarmac. They're reasonable off road as well, although lots of mud or real knarly rocky trails might really show their flaws.

I have an X and I have taken it's stock tires through some gravel paths, steep rocky hills and even mud....I did fall over in the mud though .

I'm really happy with having an X because most of my time is street and highway, and yeah the highway isnt always the most comfortable, but I can still EASILY weave through traffic

I'm also looking forward to getting theses Distanzia thred
If my stock street tires did good on my little off roadin, these are going to be perfect....I believe.

WR250R will do the trick, with D606 tyres you'll be able to take it everywhere, they are fine on tar and remember tyres make or break a bike when things get difficult off road where I would have no patience for slick 17"ers, I think I would break speed limits if I had X wheels on tar, would like to get a set someday for something different they are not something needed for road use