New to Dual Sport

Just purchased my first dual sport bike - the wonderful WR250R. It's a 2008, but practically brand new with barely over 1K miles on it and no mods done other than beefed up springs. Purchased it on Saturday, went out on Sunday and wouldn't you know I had to lay it down in some loose gravel. The bike was fine, but I'm glad I spent the money on the hand guards.

Now to save up a little money and get the bigger fuel tank - I'm thinking that's the first mod that I need to go for. Any comments would be appreciated. I suppose after that, I need to see about upgrading that 2 x 4 they refer to as the seat!

Welcome

Hello, I think a skid plate is important if your riding off road,,that was one of my first mods, I also put on a corbin seat,,it's a little hard but way more comfortable than stock. I'm thinking of going with a bigger tank when I get the $,,,the more I ride this bike the more I wish I had a bigger tank...I ran out of gas once ,,it wasn;t fun pushing my bike down the road,,,I even had a guy on a goldwing give me the "hello" biker wave... that was great,,,....................good luck,,,Jason

Thanks for the welcome. Turns out that I separated my shoulder! I am ordering the skid plate this weekend (I haven't done that because I haven't been riding) and I've decided to bite the bullet and go with the larger 4.5 gallon IMS tank. I may just squeeze that into the order. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, I say, although I know I'll be in trouble for it.

I am loving how light this bike is, though!

I am new to dual sports also so I am far from the expert that a lot of people on here are, but this is my mod priority list (don't know about your budget but I have to be careful... I am asking a lot of the wife getting into this as it is).

1. Skid plate (didnt even take mine off-road w/o it).
2. Handguards/bark busters. After a very minor fall and bending my brake lever (lucky it didn't break) this probably should have been mod 1. Not to mention, actually guarding your hands.
3. tools, spare tubes/parts for trail side repairs and bags to carry them. maybe not a mod, but it does take $$$$ from the mod budget.
4. gearing changes. I have a 12t which costs next to nothing but I am reluctant to put it on based on some things i have read so may be in for a new chain and rear sprocket
5. bigger tank. no point in having a bigger tank if you don't have #3.
6. new rear taillights, turn signal assembly. mainly cosmetic so....
7. everything else including all the power mods. At my skill level I don't need any additional power.

You should ask yourself several questions about how hardcore offroad you want this bike to be. If you're doing tighter and technical stuff, I would get the 3.1 gallon instead of the 4.7 tank. I did that exploration and found the smaller tank a better compromise.

For gearing, if you're interested in technical singletrack (think hero sections), go with a 13/50 (+/2 teeth in the rear) depending on how highway friendly you still need the bike to be. 12/43 is an improvement over stock, but until you go for a full front and rear sprocket change, the technical stuff will be painful to ride through. Again, this is through experience.

Suspension revalve and spring is a must if you're an aggressive rider. I've been bucked off majorly jumping some railroad tracks. If you don't try and go fast on the rough stuff, maybe save your money, depends on how you much you want to put into the bike.

If I hadn't done the hand guards first, I would've already snapped the clutch lever. Money well spent there. I ordered the skid plate from ThumperTalk, and while there was some compression in the shape of the plate that I felt would keep it quiet, it was actually talking a little bit and I plan to go back and put something between it and the frame. No big deal there.

I plan to have this bike on the TAT within 2-3 years, so I'm set on getting the larger fuel tank. With the miles I've put on the bike, I do feel that with the added weight of the fuel along with my gear, it will be a little sluggish. I have a Triumph cruiser for highway miles, so it's not like I need this bike for highway riding. I am prepared to lose a little top end for a bit more power. Heeding your advice, I plan to wait on the gear change for now. That's the great thing about a forum like this - I appreciate the tip.

My mod list is close to yours, RattTongue. Look forward to sharing pictures when the time comes!