Put 140 miles on the wrx today...Learned a few things.

Things I learned...

1. The WR's seat is miserable over this distance.
2. 30 mph gusty headwinds are not fun. Full throttle to hold 65mph indicated will reduce your fuel mileage to that of a big block camaro.
3. My fmf powercore 4 is WAY too loud for highway use. I hate the noise but after spending $500 on a pipe and fuel programmer, it really chaps my ass to put the stock parts back on. Plus the above mentioned headwind problem would be even worse.
4. I've got to get a closed face motorcycle helmet. The motocross helmet aint cutting it after 2 hours.

Other than that, it was a blast!

FMF Q4 is much better as it can pass 98db. Unless i get out on the trails a street lid is my choice,helps to add ear plugs. Yay the 250r/x is my back and forth to work bike,long trips are for the Concourse.

Skithis wrote:

Things I learned...

1. The WR's seat is miserable over this distance.
2. 30 mph gusty headwinds are not fun. Full throttle to hold 65mph indicated will reduce your fuel mileage to that of a big block camaro.
3. My fmf powercore 4 is WAY too loud for highway use. I hate the noise but after spending $500 on a pipe and fuel programmer, it really chaps my ass to put the stock parts back on. Plus the above mentioned headwind problem would be even worse.
4. I've got to get a closed face motorcycle helmet. The motocross helmet aint cutting it after 2 hours.

Other than that, it was a blast!

1. Most certainly. I've put about 8K miles on my mine since I bought the bike last March and I still haven't broken my ass in to this seat. Sargeant makes an awesome one that maintains the same height. There are tons of options for nicer seats with a 1" height reduction if you feel you need it.

2. Going to a larger rear sprockte will resolve that. I went to 13/46 on my X and can maintain 75mph regardless of the coastal winds near the beach.

3. I closed face road helmet with either ear plugs or noise isolation ear buds will help considerably. I normally use a set of Skull Candy Titan noise isolating ear buds and listen to some music while I ride.

4. Roger. The local hooligan rides are about as long as I can stand to wear my offroad lid on the road (we use super slab between location and go "a bit" over the speed limit on a lot of surface roads). Anything over 70 mph and it wears my neck out fast trying to keep my head pointed the right way.

When buying a street lid don't cheap out. I've gone through a dozen helmets in as many years and finally bought a nice Arai... the comfort and noise difference is amazing. Wish I'd saved the $1200 I spent on 12 cheap helmets and just bought 2 Arais :)

A sheepskin cover helps with the stock seat. It helps even more with the seat concepts foam and cover. 400 comfortable miles yesterday on my X.

The pc4 is loud yeah... but its such a pretty sound. I just wear ear plugs. To the rider's ear, the q4 isn't really any quieter and a lot of the noise is from the airbox if you've opened it up too. A true full face helmet will help with noise too. I only listen to music (via ear buds) when I'm stuck slabbing it, otherwise I prefer the twisty winding interesting roads.

Crossed 32k miles yesterday and I still love this bike.

I did a little overnight trip last week, 2 300 mile days back to back, and it was a blast.

I put a Coleman ATV cover on the seat and wore a pair of padded bicycle shorts, no problem. Typically I'm sore after about 150 miles on the stock seat. I intend to try the Alaska sheep thingy, and or an air hawk when funds allow. But for $18 the Coleman made a positive difference.

Plus 1 on the good street helmet. My Arai profile with earbuds makes all the difference.

I recently put a small windshield on my bike, and was surprised at the difference in highway riding. Depending on the direction of the winds, I'm getting anywhere from 3-5 actual mph increase, slightly better gas mileage, and less lower back fatigue.

I agree on the seat. I also am good for about 150 miles before my ass is sore.

I guess I'm the odd one out then regarding the seat.

Sure it's not extremely comfortable but I'm good to go 250 miles before it starts to get uncomfortable. But after about the 500 mile a day mark even I need to stop every half hour or so to take a break


I think it's because I am very light (about 155 lbs) and my riding pants have pretty good ass padding

The stock seat is something you have to get broken in to. It will get better over time.

I would suggest though that you never buy a Spiral Step Seat if you think the stock seat is too hard.

See if you can work out a trade with somebody regarding the pipe.

If you're doing mostly highway riding....which if so I'd question why you got the X, then get a full-face helmet.

But the Moto-X helmet and goggles is a rockin combination to have as well. You'll get used to that too.

I have not worn my full-face helmet in over a year now. I just love the moto-x combination. Especially when the weather is warmer.

Most of what you've described is things you can easily get used to in a short time.

A too loud exhaust however is tough. I refuse to wear earplugs when I ride, so the Q4 was really my only option.

Arkmage wrote:

Skithis wrote:

Things I learned...

1. The WR's seat is miserable over this distance.
2. 30 mph gusty headwinds are not fun. Full throttle to hold 65mph indicated will reduce your fuel mileage to that of a big block camaro.
3. My fmf powercore 4 is WAY too loud for highway use. I hate the noise but after spending $500 on a pipe and fuel programmer, it really chaps my ass to put the stock parts back on. Plus the above mentioned headwind problem would be even worse.
4. I've got to get a closed face motorcycle helmet. The motocross helmet aint cutting it after 2 hours.

Other than that, it was a blast!

1. Most certainly. I've put about 8K miles on my mine since I bought the bike last March and I still haven't broken my ass in to this seat. Sargeant makes an awesome one that maintains the same height. There are tons of options for nicer seats with a 1" height reduction if you feel you need it.

2. Going to a larger rear sprockte will resolve that. I went to 13/46 on my X and can maintain 75mph regardless of the coastal winds near the beach.

3. I closed face road helmet with either ear plugs or noise isolation ear buds will help considerably. I normally use a set of Skull Candy Titan noise isolating ear buds and listen to some music while I ride.

4. Roger. The local hooligan rides are about as long as I can stand to wear my offroad lid on the road (we use super slab between location and go "a bit" over the speed limit on a lot of surface roads). Anything over 70 mph and it wears my neck out fast trying to keep my head pointed the right way.

When buying a street lid don't cheap out. I've gone through a dozen helmets in as many years and finally bought a nice Arai... the comfort and noise difference is amazing. Wish I'd saved the $1200 I spent on 12 cheap helmets and just bought 2 Arais :)

Have to go to a 110 link chain for that?





As for helmets, a snug fitting one quiets things down a lot. Mine is pretty snug so the sound levels are comfortable bellow 60 even with no ear plugs. My motocross helmet with goggles is near unbearable without ear plugs.

Arkmage wrote:

Skithis wrote:

Things I learned...

1. The WR's seat is miserable over this distance.
2. 30 mph gusty headwinds are not fun. Full throttle to hold 65mph indicated will reduce your fuel mileage to that of a big block camaro.
3. My fmf powercore 4 is WAY too loud for highway use. I hate the noise but after spending $500 on a pipe and fuel programmer, it really chaps my ass to put the stock parts back on. Plus the above mentioned headwind problem would be even worse.
4. I've got to get a closed face motorcycle helmet. The motocross helmet aint cutting it after 2 hours.

Other than that, it was a blast!

1. Most certainly. I've put about 8K miles on my mine since I bought the bike last March and I still haven't broken my ass in to this seat. Sargeant makes an awesome one that maintains the same height. There are tons of options for nicer seats with a 1" height reduction if you feel you need it.

2. Going to a larger rear sprockte will resolve that. I went to 13/46 on my X and can maintain 75mph regardless of the coastal winds near the beach.

3. I closed face road helmet with either ear plugs or noise isolation ear buds will help considerably. I normally use a set of Skull Candy Titan noise isolating ear buds and listen to some music while I ride.

4. Roger. The local hooligan rides are about as long as I can stand to wear my offroad lid on the road (we use super slab between location and go "a bit" over the speed limit on a lot of surface roads). Anything over 70 mph and it wears my neck out fast trying to keep my head pointed the right way.

When buying a street lid don't cheap out. I've gone through a dozen helmets in as many years and finally bought a nice Arai... the comfort and noise difference is amazing. Wish I'd saved the $1200 I spent on 12 cheap helmets and just bought 2 Arais :)

Does the 13/46 combo shorten your gears quite a bit? I don't really wanna be reving any higher than i already am. I am thinking about ordering the "q4" tip from fmf to silence mine down a bit. Kind of wishing I would have went with the gtyr pipe now. I also saw a guy who put a small welding mask on the front of his headlight plastic with some zipties and said it reduced the wind on him quite a bit.

oic0 wrote:

Have to go to a 110 link chain for that?

Not sure what length my chain is, but yes it's longer than stock.

Skithis wrote:

Does the 13/46 combo shorten your gears quite a bit? I don't really wanna be reving any higher than i already am.

I don't have the spreadsheet here in Brazil, it's on my home machine. I want to say that it increased my revs at a particular speed by 500-800 RPM depending on gear. With no tach, that's only calculated value of course. To be honest, with the exception of some increased handlebar vibration over 75 mph, there isn't any perceivable increase in revs and it doesn't feel like I'm shifting any more frequently. If anything I shift less because now I can use 3rd and 4th without having to downshift where I used to.

For an X I think more than 46 teeth wouldn't work for me on the highway, but I certainly won't go back to stock from where it is now.

There are 2 inserts for the powercore 4.
The standard Q insert is 1 3/8ths, then there is a little known option of the 1 1/8th version.

The 1 1/8th is actually a better mover as well as the S/A screen is less constrictive and it is way quieter.

trailpimp33 wrote:

There are 2 inserts for the powercore 4.
The standard Q insert is 1 3/8ths, then there is a little known option of the 1 1/8th version.

The 1 1/8th is actually a better mover as well as the S/A screen is less constrictive and it is way quieter.

i added the insert and it made it much more tolerable leaving my neighborhood

As far as the seat i would recommend seat concepts for a comfortable seat. New foam and cover for 175 or so. I can ride much longer distances with out my ass falling off

Silly goose ... you are not supposed to ride a 250 against the wind!!! Turn around and have fun!!!

texascycle wrote:

Silly goose ... you are not supposed to ride a 250 against the wind!!! Turn around and have fun!!!

haha I got a kick out of that one.

My butt gets sore after only about 1.5 hours of riding.
I don't like this bike for extended 65+ mph riding. A real street bike is so much better.... still, it's cool that the WRR can do it and not be stressed.

zone47 wrote:

My butt gets sore after only about 1.5 hours of riding.
I don't like this bike for extended 65+ mph riding. A real street bike is so much better.... still, it's cool that the WRR can do it and not be stressed.

After getting a new seat from seat concepts I can ride a lot longer then i could with the stock seat

The effort required to regulate the speed is what wears me out. The same throttle position might be 55mph with a head wind, 80mph with a tail wind. Constant looking down at the speed and adjusting adjusting adjusting. Ugggg. Gimmie some torque for the highway lol.

Stock muffler, punch a hole in the inside baffle...helps a bit.
+1 Seat Concepts saddle, cheap and easy.
Stock counter and 47T rear sprockets, grab a gear when the going gets boggy.
Arai XD3 (or XD, XD4) makes life alot easier.
Oh, and +1 on earplugs, always earplugs.

I did a 300 mile day a while back in this config and I was impressed with the capability of the WR.