New member, 2013 WRR

Hi Folks. Eric from Mooresville NC here. Just picked up a new '13 on Wednesday, and today was the first chance I had to put a few miles on it. 84 miles today and loving it. I'm 6'4" tall and about 200 pounds. The bike feels great on me. Here's a pic.



I had a DRZ400s which I sold about 3 years ago, and I've regretted selling it ever since. So ready to get back on the trails with my 9 year old son. He got the Yammy TTR90 for Christmas!   

I also currently have an '09 Kawasaki Versys which I'm hanging onto for longer slab duty.

I'm going to cut a vinyl swingarm decal for it tomorrow. Let me know if you have any ideas or inspiration.

thanks!
Eric

Hey Eric, nice bike! I just got the same one! It's about 15-20* here in mass lately, so I'm super jealous you have yours out.
-bryan

I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on WRR vs. DRZ vs. Versys.

After you get some mud and miles on your R2 of course.

gatorfan wrote:

I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on WRR vs. DRZ vs. Versys.

After you get some mud and miles on your R2 of course.

Hi Gatorfan,
I'm only at about 200 miles on the WRR, but I have wrung it out a bit and I'm enjoying it immensely!

DRZ - more torquey for sure. The first thing I notice when comparing the WRR to the DRZ is low-end grunt. The WRR starts to put its power down higher up in the rev range than the DRZ, while the DRZ provides more torque from idle on up to about 80% redline, where it seems to plateau. The DRZ had adequate suspension for trail riding, but felt heavy and clumsy at times in the tight stuff. The WRR is actually not much lighter by weight overall, but it does have a lighter and more nimble feel. Perhaps it is the suspension, perhaps it is the location of the weight. I really did love the DRZ and regretted selling it, which is why I went back to a dual-sport. Thought I'd try the WRR this time due to good reviews, long maintenance intervals, and fuel injection. The DRZ was carbureted, so there's that.

Versys - different bike. I'm 6'4" so i wanted a tall-ish road bike with adequate suspension, upright posture and good fuel economy for commuting and light touring. The Versys is all of that. What it is not is a trail bike. Sure you can ride the occasional gravel or hard dirt road, and the suspension travel is good for a road bike, but I wouldn't want to slug it around in any wet, muddy or technical stuff. Not at all. It shines in the twisties, is very comfortable on longer hauls, and is capable on the interstate, even with the small-ish 650cc engine. It has decent power throughout the rev range, and will get over 50MPG in aggressive riding. Probably more like 60-65MPG if you go easy on the throttle a little. I love it for what it is, but I have the WRR for what it is not.

Here is the "DRZ" that I sold (Notice my Natural Light rear suspension resorvoir   )


And here is my current stablemate, the Versys:


Thanks,
Eric

Aside from the comfort of the Versys on the street, how does the motor compare to the other 2 bikes?

How much more powerful?

gatorfan wrote:

Aside from the comfort of the Versys on the street, how does the motor compare to the other 2 bikes?

How much more powerful?

It is significantly more powerful. I don't have the HP and torque specs handy, but it shares the same power plant as the Ninja 650. It is a parallel twin, I'm guessing it is nearly 3x the HP of the WRR and probably at least 2 to 2.5x the HP of the DRZ.

Eric