Need your wisdom

It's an rpm bike, as in you won't be passing someone at 75mph unless you grab 4th and run it out to near rev-limiter pushing 80mph before shifting up to 5th. A stock 2013 will do 100mph on a straight stretch with my 170lbs + gear, (this is MAX but can be done), will never fall below 85mph if you keep it twisted! If your a put-put kind of rider than you won't like it, if you can run the H3LL out of it with a savage beast smile on than you will love it, because it will run well over 80mph all day if you have the marbles to do it. The only mod this bike needs is a bigger fuel tank!
BUY ONE, YOU WONT REGRET IT!

I love my WR but it certainly isn't the ideal bike for the hwys. According to the expert reviews I read when making a decision, the WR is by far the most "race oriented" of the available DS's. Titanium valves, aluminum frame, six spd tranny, fuel injection... it's definitely going to out perform the other 250s in it class. But at 70 mph you wont have much room left, unless you like screaming engines and revving the shit out of them. The WR is at least meant to rev. But it's not going to come close to that 650 KLR.

The WR is also apparently the best of the best off road. It's the most "motocross-y" DS 250 out there hands down. But it's not going to be a freeway cruiser. It CAN do it, yes. And short jaunts at 60 mph + aren't bad at all. But 3 hrs worth of that thing screamin at 70 mph would not be pleasurable.

What about the KTM 690 Enduro? Not cheap, but seemingly a lot less clunky than the KLR. It's a shame the Japanese brands dont release a 400cc-ish bike with similar characteristics, esp fuel injection. That way your only option isn't either a strung out 250 or a bulky 650.

Here's the decision I've personally come to: a few weeks ago I took the WR long distance on the interstate through the Columbia River Gorge, one of the windiest places in the US. It wasn't enjoyable. It'll do it, but it doesn't want to. I returned home from the trip convinced that maybe I should've gotten a bike that I can more easily take a long dist. trip in. But then I'd have to give up a bike that I love (and dude, the WR is so easy to love). I think the solution is to have two motorcycles: your DS and another larger bike for the long distance hwy stuff. I for one am going to try to find a used Suzuki SV 650 for around $3000. In that scenario I would probably ride the WR 90% of the time because it is so fun to ride and so versatile. But whenever I wanted to take a long road trip somewhere I would hop on the SV.

Just a thought. I think what you are looking for in your ideal motorcycle does not really exist yet. Therefore split it up the middle and just get two :-)

PortlandWRider wrote:

And short jaunts at 60 mph + aren't bad at all. But 3 hrs worth of that thing screamin at 70 mph would not be pleasurable.

I would generally agree with pretty much everything you posted, including thinking that a Wee Strom in the barn would be a better choice for highway days.

However, I do a weekly there-and-back three hours each way slab commute. I don't think of it as "screaming" at 70 mph; in fact, the motor feels like it's right in its sweet spot. Your engine is doing about 7500 RPM at 70 mph in sixth... that's not too bad at all.

Much over 70 mph on this bike, and the wind buffeting and whatnot on a naked bike like this gets annoying.

I guess what I mainly meant was that compared to a bigger bike, say a Honda NC700, at 70 mph for 3 hours, the WR would be a far less enjoyable experience. I was crossing the Columbia River on the 8 lane 205 bridge last weekend and bigger bikes were wizzing by me effortlessly while I was in the slow lane wound up and combating the wind. Not gonna lie, that moment in time is when I came to the conclusion that I really ought to get a cheap used bigger bike for when I want to do a long trip that includes wide open hwys/interstates.

For what it's worth, I know this question is about the WR250R, but I have the X and the lower rolling resistance of the tyres (especially with decent pressure in them, like 35psi) has it rolling along on the highway a lot better than what it sounds like you guys are doing on the knobbies, from reading this thread.

I have sat on 150km/h (93mph) indicated for 45 mins where it is legal (in the Northern Territory, Australia. Kind of legal anyway...). It would do high 150's (ie nearly 100mph) but I didn't quite want to wring its neck like that that far from home.
130km/h (80mph) was a lot easier, I did that for days on end and wore out my rear tyre in the process. You'll shred tyres with the throttle at 80% for 20 hours over 2 days!

It doesn't fly from 100km/h (62mph) to 120km/h (75mph) but it's fast enough to pass if you plan it, drop it down to 5th.

The bike likes to rev, I have found that approaching some hills in 6th gear at 100km/h has me downshifting or chugging down to 80km/h by the top. Yet if I hit that hill at 120km/h it holds the speeds right to the top, no gear change.