New R owner

G'day all.

I've only had my R a few days, but have been reading the forum for some time.

My R is an addition for my very worn but (just) serviceable TTR250, which is almost 9 years old with > 72,000km and about 5,000 hours on the clock. The new bike will be used for mustering in the far north of South Australia (as is the TTR). Mustering is the same as rounding up, in this case mainly sheep. The new bike has a lot to live up to, as the TTR has worked in tough conditions all its life. It's probably done less than 1500km on sealed roads. This bike has endured some thousands of hours of very slow running and idling, interspersed with brief wide open throttle condtions. It has survived very high ambient temperatures, and (much less) sub-zero ones as well. It's been thrashed in sandhills and crashed off and on everywhere. So the WR, with proper setup, will have to be just as tough or it will be sold.

Having said that, obviously I really like the bike and hope it will do well. Surely its suspension action will be more comfortable than the very harsh TTR (bought a Wilbers for it the other day, but have yet to fit it).

There are a few worries I have about the WR - 1. Usd forks are very vulnerable to rock damage, mainly from behind off the tyre.
2. Plated bore and hours upon hours of slow running. Probable glazing.
3. The FI system will have to tolerate some fine dust. Hopefull not a lot, as I have a filter funnel (10 micron, I think it is)
4. Cooling system is exposed to damage from sticks and low scrub. This will be hard to prevent, with hoses etc
being right at the wrong height. But I'll work on it.
5. Cooling system again - will it cope with slow running and high temps up to, say, 45degC? A computer fan might help.

So while there are doubts, I think that we have to move on as the newer tech bikes will be all we can buy. For the moment there are new TTRs available, but I figure to try the next step. More power won't hurt, either!

Sorry about the book...

G'day there mate & welcome aboard......good to have another Aussie around here to join the ranks.

Anyway i'm sure that you will have some fun tinkering / modding the new WRR, hope it goes all good for your intended use / conditions.

Will look out for any future posts from you in regards to ride reports etc. I think it's a good step up from the TTR.

Cheers, Gavin.

Thanks for your good wishes, Gavin. First impressions are cool, so I'm looking forward to modding the bike for work.

A Safari tank, bark busters, rack, gearing, bashplate and speedo healer are all on the list. Takes a few coins to set the bike up, but I reckon it'll be fun to work on.