Update on my WRR's ability

Hello everyone. Hope you're all safe and well.

Just an update on my WRR's performance. Other than tyres, bashplate, rad guard, tank, neoprene fork boots, throttle tube alteration and rear carrier it is completely stock, and will remain so unless something breaks.

I'm home for a short while from work in near-record heat as far as continuous days over 40degC go. My bike was ridden at <10km/h for hours on end up to about 42deg, in sandhills and also harder ground while moving stock. It was also ridden around at 70-80km/h, and at other times between 15-60km/h in temps up to about 45deg, and not once did the temp light come on. The fan ran continuously at times, but the temp seemed to be under control. I am using either Yamalube 15W-50 mineral oil, or Shell AX-5 mineral, and a blend of 91 and 95 octane fuel.

The only glitch is trying to accelerate in top gear (48T rear sprocket, stock front) produces detonation from about 60kmh gps once ambient temp gets up around 38-40deg. Going back to 5th and staying there, or shifting into top around 75km/h gps avoids the issue. There is also very loud piston slap funnelled up under the tank and into my ears at any speed, but I figure that's normal, since there's very little rubble in the dirty oil and plenty of compression so far.

There is a lot of power sucked out of the little critter by 1. my weight (don't ask), 2. corrugations, 3. loose/soft surfaces and 4. a knobby rear tyre. #4 will be fixed when I fit a Pirelli MT43 after the 120/90 D606 wears out. But overall, it has plenty of acceleration for what I need, so speed mods are pointless for me. I don't want MX power. I need docile but sufficient power and plush suspension, and that's what  I have. I hope it can sustain the punishment!

BTW, the record slow speed without stalling in 1st on the gps so far is 4.7km/h!! This is bloody amazing. I doubt it's sustainable, and I doubt it will interest the speed freaks out there (most of you apparently!), but it shows the motor's excellent flexibility. Just for interest, it will idle along in reasonable going at 6.5km/h indefinitely, but I feel it's hard on the engine and prefer 8 or more.

Finally, at times I need instant acceleration from the abovementioned idling along, up to, say, 60km/h. It's always there, no bogging, rich cutting or hesitation. I will be so pissed off and shat if this bike goes wrong. I really love it.

What's that all about?

^^^ "A ROYAL WITH CHEESE" !   LOL  

I think that you may have been f*cked up by the METRIC SYSTEM there hey mate, lol....
although in saying this the OP's thread is a little "hit & miss",   


 

Well, in return, I have absolutely no idea what you are on about. My post is simply a report on how my bike is coping under adverse, and for most of you I assume, unusual conditions.

I'm guessing that poster #2 was referring to how it was written as if it were some kind of scientific study by a guy in a white lab coat.

66T uses the bike as a work machine under extremely adverse conditions. And since it is a work machine, he is looking for it to not only function well but make sense economically.

Thanks for the update.

Gatorfan summed it up perfectly. Thanks for putting that straight for the people, mate.

66T wrote:

near-record heat as far as continuous days over 40degC go.

Most of us up here on the normal side of the world are dealing with the opposite right now...   

Good to hear it is still chugging along, even in the heat. I think today is the first day in several weeks that it is supposed to go above 0 deg C.

Thanks for the report 66t

What year is you're bike and how many miles are on it???

SLOWRIDER wrote:

Thanks for the report 66t

What year is you're bike and how many miles are on it???

In real terms the bike is nearly new. I bought it last year as a 2012 model, then gradually fitted it out and it did its first job late last year.

The point of my post is to say how it is coping in the short term. I have no idea how it will go over a period of years under the conditions it's used in. So at the moment, it's done a mere 4300 km, but has 350 hours or so on the clock already. We average about 10-15km/hour over the life of a bike. Thus my 2005 TTR250 has about 74,000km under its wheels, but it's done about 7,000 hours.

The WRR is an experiment. Liquid-cooled bikes are not popular in my trade, as the cooling systems are prone to damage from sticks etc, and cooling is almost always an issue. Very few bikes cool adequately in our job out of the crate. DRZ400s are used, but they are not known for longevity and they have to have switch-activated computer fans fitted to the radiator scoops. As does almost everything. On the other hand, air cooled bikes seem to go and go without too much fuss, even though they spend a lot of their lives in what would normally be considered an overheating situation. And boy, do they get hot!! But they seem to cope without fuss.

However, the day of the suitable air cooled engine is passing, it seems. So I thought I'd try a WRR, bearing in mind that it's the way of the future. However, they are far from the first liquid cooled trailie. In the early eighties Kawasaki produced a properly cooled 250, but the engines were 'soft', and they suffered seriously from valve recession. So, how will the WR's titanium inlet valves go in high-hour bikes run in dust most of the time? As I said, an experiment. To be conducted long term.

Bearing in mind these bikes rarely, if ever, see a sealed road. They spend most of their lives going cross-country, or on corrugated twin-track. My oil is changed weekly if possible, which can be up to 70 hours. Others leave it for 2,000km! Usually, air filters are only cleaned when oil is changed. It's just not possible to maintain the bikes any better. Most of the time they are left out in the bush, and tired workers will often arrive back at the homestead for evening meal after working 12 hours. No-one gives a damn about air filters or anything else. Too stuffed, especially as we get older.

The bikes seem to survive this, mainly. My TTR has never had the head off, and is on its original clutch. It looks like an absolute s**t heap, though everything is there and works. It costs a lot of money to keep a bike in good order as things wear out or are broken, so most contractors let theirs gradually deteriorate. I can't stand dry cables and lever pivots etc, and try to maintain mine to a level that I can still enjoy riding it.

Oops. Rambling on like a tool here. Sorry, people. End of book.  

dmmcd wrote:

66T wrote:

near-record heat as far as continuous days over 40degC go.

Most of us up here on the normal side of the world are dealing with the opposite right now...   

Good to hear it is still chugging along, even in the heat. I think today is the first day in several weeks that it is supposed to go above 0 deg C.

Mate, I don't know how you cope with that cold. That is unbelievable! I don't think I'd be able to handle that at all. Legend.

Hello 66T,

I appreciate the information...more information the better to learn.

What type of work do you do that requires riding around all day and where do I sign up!

This is going to be great! Thanks for doing the report.

we get plenty of hot days here, but not as sustained as it seems you do. i think your on the right track with oil change intervals, but i think i would change to the yamalube 4S 20w50 now its making 5000 km. normally i would suggest a change to a Funnel Web Filter or a Unifilter O2Rush, with their pyramid/wavy patterns tend to extend filter life, but neither has a filter for the 250r. i would be chasing up some filter socks to use on it though to help with that in between a/f servicing. we've also found the yamalube coolant to be standard (quite suitable, but its not a performance coolant), in this situation i would change to a high grade performance coolant like raceline or any of the oil brands "racing" lines. you dont really want a higher boiling point, you want the better thermal efficiency they have. and change it much more regularly than the manual states... like maybe half time in these conditions.

In another of your posts you mention that you work a property. I know there are some massive "properties" down under, so in US terms, does that mean herding stock, working fences, and everything else that goes with a very large ranching operation?

millert85 wrote:

we get plenty of hot days here, but not as sustained as it seems you do. i think your on the right track with oil change intervals, but i think i would change to the yamalube 4S 20w50 now its making 5000 km. normally i would suggest a change to a Funnel Web Filter or a Unifilter O2Rush, with their pyramid/wavy patterns tend to extend filter life, but neither has a filter for the 250r. i would be chasing up some filter socks to use on it though to help with that in between a/f servicing. we've also found the yamalube coolant to be standard (quite suitable, but its not a performance coolant), in this situation i would change to a high grade performance coolant like raceline or any of the oil brands "racing" lines. you dont really want a higher boiling point, you want the better thermal efficiency they have. and change it much more regularly than the manual states... like maybe half time in these conditions.

Thanks heaps for your input, mate. I've been told forcefully that Yamaha Australia will not honour any warranty claim re burning oil if I use anything but mineral oil under 10,000km. The hours and hours of slow running is the issue for us. Even semi-synthetics can be death to plated bores under these conditions. Bloody annoying to have to do a top end job just to scratch up the bore, and waste money on new (largely unnecessary) rings. And gaskets etc. If I was using the bike for bore running or just about anything else, I would upgrade. Though it's probably not needed. A friend of mine uses XR400s on his property (their plated bores were glazing badly using semi) on ordinary oil, and the bottom ends are well over 100,000 km old as we speak. Unbelievable, but true. A pat on the back for mineral oil, no? Mind you, he is careful with oil changes. Like me, he believes that clean oil prevents a lot of issues, one being stator damage due to to acid accumulation. While we've replaced plenty of pickup coils, neither of us has ever had to replace a stator (fingers crossed...).  

Point taken about coolant. I do tend to use the Yamaha stuff, but I should take your advice re 'performance' coolant. I do change it very often, though. Usually yearly. I've tried one very well-known brand's raceline in my Tenere 660, and found it would crystallise quite quickly under the radiator cap seal, thus preventing proper coolant system pressure. I'm concerned that racing coolants, like a lot of racing oils, seem to be designed for short-term efficiency, then dumped much more frequently than is useful for us. So I'm not sure which one to buy.   

Yes, we do use filter socks. We find them excellent, and they do spare the main filter from 'area buildup', where most dirt builds up on a filter in one place. Both the TTR and WRR can be bad here (same filter and cage, different, obviously, airbox design). Chux wipes soaked in filter oil are very good for preventing this, too. We just wash 'em out in the paddock with petrol, dry and re-oil. Takes about 10 min in summer. I do think that the Chux are more restrictive than the proper socks, but they are almost free while a pair of socks is > $30. I have socks on mine, though 

And I'd definitely use a better filter element if I could find a proven one. There are some dual-density ones on ebay, but I don't know how good they are. Maybe the devil I know etc?

Checkswrecks wrote:

In another of your posts you mention that you work a property. I know there are some massive "properties" down under, so in US terms, does that mean herding stock, working fences, and everything else that goes with a very large ranching operation?

Yes, that's pretty much it, though most of our work involves stock. Hence the hours of slow running. There is a certain amount of riding around the place normally, but the big hours are, for us, accumulated while mustering (getting the critters together), and droving (walking them from one place to another). As an example, last year we moved a mob of 5,000 sheep of all ages 26km in a day. We started at 7am, and finished at 8:30 that night (dark. Scared). My TTR covered nearly 150km in that time, just keeping my part of the mob under control. I had a flat front tyre for the last 5 hours or so. No time to fix it. Very unpleasant! Then we drove 25km back for a shower and evening meal. It's no big deal, that's just the way it is. Sometimes I think we're bloody idiots. It's dangerous at times, uncomfortable mostly and tiring, but we go back for more. It must be fun, right?  

I wish I had been better at schoolwork!!   

you wont have any warranty issues because of the engine hours. even though its only done 5000km its well and truely 'bedded in'. the reason i suggested the 4S is the semi's do tend to have higher heat tolerances, but in saying that the yamalube 4 mineral is a fantastic oil that will treat that motor well.

we've been using engine ice in our race bikes for a few years (dirt track, so 6-7mins at a time screaming and valve bouncing doing 150-160kph) with no issues, but i have recently got on to an aussie made coolant made by a company called 'Raceline', they own the aussie factory suzuki race team. very high glycol content, tests very well. comes in concentrate and ready to use. and being glycol based, if you get stuck out on the property you can mix it with something in the shed for the ute (engine ice has a different base and can't be mixed with standard glycol). if your local shop doesnt know it... its distributed by Lusty Industries http://www.lustyindustries.com/products/raceline/raceline-concentrated-coolant/

which area of this wide brown, half drought, half flooded, all bushfired land are you working?

I work mainly around Tarcoola in NW SA. That is, leave Adelaide, go about 600km north, turn left, and go about 100km.

Thanks for the link. I've done some ringing around Lusty dealers here, but none have heard of Raceline so far. I'll keep trying.

Sounds like an honest life outdoors with friends. Pretty fulfilling, too, to see what you've accomplished at the end of a day.
Thumbs up to you!