BIG QUESTION

Hey Everyone. I'm new to the forum. Im not a WRr owner yet, but have been eyeballing them for a few months.

I have a big question...and I literally mean BIG.

I'm 6'4 340lbs...should I even be looking at this bike? My usage would be 30% commuter 70% off road.

I'm an experienced street rider with very limited off road miles.

I would Appreciate any insight into this. Thanks in advance

The 6'4" part isn't the issue.

The 340 pounds might be.

If I were you, I'd do everything in my power to test drive a wr250r before buying it.

You may be pushing the limits of what a 25 horsepower, 300 pound motorcycle can handle.

I agree. 340 pounds is quite a lot for a bike like this. When I ride (150 lbs), even a difference of 10 lbs can be felt. Even with passenger, I don't reach 340 pounds, and the difference is like night and day (of course a passenger is a dead weight)

You would have to redo the suspension and definitely gear it down it give it more pep. But honestly for a guy of your weight category I'd recommend something like a husky or ktm (I think you would need around 50hp) to feel comfortable off and on road.

However both husky and ktm require more maintenance and are more expensive to buy. So, since you say you have little off road experience, the wrr might not be bad for you to learn how to drive in the dirt. And once you feel comfortable you can upgrade to something with more power. On the road however, im not sure how the wrr will cope....

Not as bad as you think. Test drive it. I weigh ~275-280 and its still got plenty of power.

Lets see, bike weighs about 300lbs, you weigh 340.
Lets assume you pipe it and open the air box like basically every owner does.

640 / 28 =
22.8lbs per hp.

Which in car terms would be equivalent to a 3000lb car (3340 with you in it) car with 146rwhp (About ~172bhp which is the rating car manufacturers use). That puts you in average car accleration range. If that is acceptable to you, go for it. Lets say you got the KTM690 though (lot more expensive and more maintenance, great bike though, id give my left testicle for one).

~640 / ~65 uncorked hp = 9.8lbs per hp. Or rougly a 3000lb (again, 3340 with you in it ) with about 341rwhp or 400bhp. I'm kind of wishing I had gone that route. Then again, I would have already have had to do a valve check by now and I would be out about 60 more bucks per month on payment + extra insurance.


Just for fun, even with my big ass on my KX500, it would take a 3000lb 425rwhp or 500bhp car to approximate it. No wonder its scary lol.

Thanks for the imput. I have a test ride lined up with a local dealer for next weekend.

I'm curious oic0...are you riding with the stock suspension or did you upgrade.

ffingoof wrote:

Thanks for the imput. I have a test ride lined up with a local dealer for next weekend.

I'm curious oic0...are you riding with the stock suspension or did you upgrade.

Stock with rear preload stiffened up a good bit, but I do about 90% commute, 10% off-road. Feels good to me but I have nothing to compare too. Never ridden a bike suspended for my weight. Also I'm on the X not the R. Most bikes come from the factory set up for someone under 200lbs.

I'm 190, my daughter is 140, so two up we are 330. There is a big difference in power availability after she gets off. I'd test ride one if possible. I think it'll do it, but only you can decide if you're happy with the power.

The WR250R can handle it, but you'll need to have the suspension resprung and revalved for your weight... just like any other motorcycle. It'll accelerate slowly but should still reach highway speed well enough. I'm 200-220, my ex was around 130, and the WR handled riding 2up reasonably well. You might want or need a different seat too, a tall seat concepts or the wider sargent seat might fit.

I'll be mean... If you weigh 340 pounds and aren't an NFL lineman, put the WR money towards getting yourself lighter. I'm only 6' tall and got close to 280 pounds once, I can't begin to tell you how much better I feel now that I've dropped the weight.

The bike may be like a suppository when your sat on it

A buddy of mine is about your size, may be a bit heavier, he just picked up a brand new KLR 650, fits him like a glove. He is putting a heaver rear spring on the rear and made the front a bit stiffer. I would not suggest a 300 pound 250 for a big guy, you will have to beat the shit out of that bike just to keep from getting run over by cages. He threw a leg over my bike just to sit on it and the thing just about bottomed out, I was nervous just watching him sit on it.

If you expect a lot of pop out of the engine with your 340 lbs you might be disappointed.

I think any bike with off-road capability that you look at will need a heavier spring on the rear. Likely on the front as well. If you're looking at doing 70% offroad, you're going to need a suspension that is up to dealing with the extra pounding, and poundage.

Personally, if I were your size, I'd be looking at a bigger bike. Have you looked at the Kawasaki KLR 650? I have one and love it.

Just got back from my test ride and it's official, this isn't the bike for a guy my size.
Thanks again for the imput...and fat jokes. I can't get enough of those.

Try a street legal WR450F. I know a guy with one and he loves it. The maintenance isn't that bad unless you're racing or giving'er hard all the time. If you're just commuting and exploring the back country, it's fine. Just don't redline it all the time. The other bike to check out is a Husaberg 450. They are $$ but an awesome bike. Plus I'm pretty sure you can get them factory street legal so there's a lot less hassle insuring it depending where you live. I know for sure they have a street legal 570.

KTM690 is reliable and low maintenance but more than wrr. Its similar to the wr you just rode but with almost 3x the power.

XR650R made street legal is very close to that. Similar maintenance, lil less power, but also lil less weight. Only available as a used conversion though. Probably the best manners off road though.

XR650L is low maintenance and cheap. Only around 35hp but a very torquey bike so it would still haul you around ok. Prob is its heavy so you wont be able to easily do everything dirt bikes do. If youve got a lot of muscle on you or dont plan on doing technical stuff you probably wont mind. It is more off road worthy than the KLR650 and the DR650.

If you dont mind maintenance there a bunch of other options based on off road bikes as mentioned above. If you stay mostly off road and dont rack up the miles they arent that bad. Definitely the most off road worthy as they were built for it.