wrx adventure bike

Monday i'm heading out on a 4 day ride into n. Az & s. Ut. So i got the wr all set up.. at least for now. I went with the roto pax for extra fuel, am using my old panniers & seat cover from my drz adventure bike. bought a mirror on ebay. it said right or left.. well, it's a right only with left hand threads. It will have to do since i'm leaving in a couple of days.





later!

scotty

rydnseek wrote:

Monday i'm heading out on a 4 day ride into n. Az & s. Ut. So i got the wr all set up.. at least for now. I went with the roto pax for extra fuel, am using my old panniers & seat cover from my drz adventure bike. bought a mirror on ebay. it said right or left.. well, it's a right only with left hand threads. It will have to do since i'm leaving in a couple of days.








later!

scotty

Wow ! Im looking forvard for some pics. I Have ones been to Arizona and what a dream it would be to ride Wr in that scenery !

How did it go? Is the pannier surviving? I've got a big, soft tail bag that would drape over the heat shield. I need to take some rides with it to see if it will survive.

am i seeing things or do you have beefed up tires on your WRR?

NMBIII wrote:

am i seeing things or do you have beefed up tires on your WRR?

Nope, they are stock 17's with knobbies. Hence why this is in the WRX specific section and the thread is called WRX Adventure bike. Not to mention the black frame and forks.

ah! silly me

..and the WR250X on the side cover was pretty obvious too

Yeah, some of us are silly enough to play in the dirt on the 17's. Trick at times though.

Definitely curious about the pannier.
- what happens when you crash on the fuel side?
- isn't the bike off balance, or did you carefully weigh the stuff in the other side?

P.S. nice high bars.

I'm back from the ride, & have to say, i think the x makes a great adventure bike. Here's why:

1. big knobbies on the front made the sand & mud riding easier.

2. twisties were much more fun.. i left my riding buddies way back.. even the bigger 650 hondas couldn't keep with me in the twisties.. & that with knobbies!

3. No problem with boulders, ruts, or any kind of gnarly terrain. I was planning to change out the wheels if they were a problem, but they weren't! If you're track racing on soft dirt, with lots of jumps, whoops, etc, maybe the 21" front would make a difference. But for multi terrain, dual sport adventure riding, the 17's were fine.

4. handling wasn't a problem.. twisties, deep sand, boulders.. i tweaked my suspension before i left, & am very happy with the result. I'm very soft on both compressions, & a few clicks softer than stock on the rebounds.

5. we got in to some fierce crosswinds in Utah.. they were puffing us all over the road between boulder & escalante. I stayed tucked down & the lower profile made the wind much easier. Wind is never fun, but the wrx handled it fine.

Compared to my faithful drz adventure bike:

1. wrx is lower & corners much better. I think i would have dropped the drz a time or 2 while stopped in the sand & getting going again.

2. marginally better fuel economy. I got between 50 & 60 mpgs with the drz, & have been right at 60 with the wrx.

3. long hill climbs on pavement.. drz could accelerate, wrx bogs down. But i realized i just need to shift more. The drz only had 5 speeds, & was already winding out at 60-70. downshift to 5th on the wr, bring up some rpms, & i could climb at speed. But the power definitely goes to the modded drz.

4. the wr feels much lighter & nimble. ..probably because the weight is lower, but it makes all the other handling characteristics seem lighter & more flickable.

5. Most of the other factors in my riding are a wash with both bikes.. luggage capacity, estart, reliability, etc.

6. general suspension. I was never really that happy with the drz's suspension.. i didn't spend any money on it, so i got what i paid for. But after a few minor tweaks on the wrx, the suspension is great.. especially after adding a few more pounds for gear & luggage. It soaked up the washboarding, flew through the sandy roads, & was surprisingly stable on the paved twisties. the drz always beat me up a bit on rough roads.

I'm not dissing the drz.. i think it is still a great bike, & a near perfect dual sport. But for me, the change has been positive. I don't miss the extra power, the height, or the weight. The stock suspension fits my size & weight, & i can carry everything i need.

So would i make a special point of buying an x over the r to make it an adventure bike? Probably not. But the pros & cons are really a wash, so whichever one you get will do the job. I got a good deal on my x, & thought i could swap out the wheels if it didn't perform. But with good knobbies, it performs admirably. The wrx makes a great adventure bike.

scotty

Glad you made it back safe -- now you owe us pix!

Are you just draping the right pannier over the heat shield?

1moreroad wrote:

Glad you made it back safe -- now you owe us pix!

Are you just draping the right pannier over the heat shield?

pics are here:

https://wr250rforum.forumotion.com/adventure-reports-f9/az-ut-ride-9-28-10-1-t1110.htm

I made a standoff out of 1/4" aluminum rod & clamped it to the frame. That held my right pannier off the muffler.. not elegant, but it worked. I'm thinking of something sturdier.. like some spacers holding off an aluminum or plastic pan.

i think i missed it, but which tires are you running?

17" MT 21's.

I have been thinking about a switch to something "purer" as the local track has been shut down (they rather make money out of the casino than tracks I guess )

But the 17" knobs somehow looks kinda cool....

I am just curious.... does the front brake ever put you in danger?

mtb wrote:

I have been thinking about a switch to something "purer" as the local track has been shut down (they rather make money out of the casino than tracks I guess )

But the 17" knobs somehow looks kinda cool....

I am just curious.... does the front brake ever put you in danger?

Off road, i'm very delicate when using the front.. on pavement, it's the one i use most. I don't notice an difference between mine & Tom's R.. mine doesn't suddenly grab & throw you over the bars. Perhaps if you put on the full brake in a gravel turn it would lock up, but it's been fine for me, & Tom has not said anything when he's ridden mine.

I'm still pretty happy with the big knobs on the front.. in sand & mud they work better, i think, than the narrower 21's.

scotty

How worried are you when going over big rocky sections. That rotor looks pretty close to earth and I would be afraid of banging it on a rock and damaging it.

rydnseek wrote:

Off road, i'm very delicate when using the front.. on pavement, it's the one i use most. I don't notice an difference between mine & Tom's R.. mine doesn't suddenly grab & throw you over the bars. Perhaps if you put on the full brake in a gravel turn it would lock up, but it's been fine for me, & Tom has not said anything when he's ridden mine.

I'm still pretty happy with the big knobs on the front.. in sand & mud they work better, i think, than the narrower 21's.

scotty

Right... Thank you so much for the input.... I guess "control" will be the word

Now... let me find some 17s locally......................................

3KGT_Maddness wrote:

How worried are you when going over big rocky sections. That rotor looks pretty close to earth and I would be afraid of banging it on a rock and damaging it.

I've not had a problem... yet. I don't know if it's any more vulnerable than the R's rotor.. It's a couple inches closer to the rim, but it's still pretty tight to the wheel.

I lived in Show Low, AZ for a number of years in the late 90"s. Had a DR 350 then and it was a great place to ride.
I have only put a couple hundred miles on the WR so far, and the stock gearing seems OK for adventure/back road riding. I may go to the 12 front sprocket once I load it up for a trip. How has the gearing on the X been for the ride?

Art

I changed out the front sprocket, but went back to stock. I'm pretty happy with it as is. Low is low enough, & high is high enough. I maybe could lower it a couple of teeth in the back, but that's about it. I don't want to lose the high end gearing. It's a little high for climbing long steep grades, but i can just down shift to 5th. For flat ground or downhill, i like having 6th high.

Has anyone tried the Kenda 270 ?

And if so what size has been used rear and front ?

The Kenda's are ok traction wise but wear fast. You won't be able to get the sizes either for your 17's, unless you convert to the 21/18 setup. Scotty's setup seems to be gaining in popularity.

PonchoV put them on his X I believe. I don't think he ever stated what sizes. Poncho...?

PanchoV wrote:

My experience is shy compared to most here on this form, for talking about dirt riding.
I
have used both 606 & Kenda 270s. For the street they are just
better enough that I went w/ them (Kenda 270). But in the dirt, I am
totally surprised how well they work & clock a lot of hard miles.
The 606 will not give the same milage return as my Kendas.

He's running the 21/18 setup.

SheWolf wrote:

PanchoV wrote:

My experience is shy compared to most here on this form, for talking about dirt riding.
I
have used both 606 & Kenda 270s. For the street they are just
better enough that I went w/ them (Kenda 270). But in the dirt, I am
totally surprised how well they work & clock a lot of hard miles.
The 606 will not give the same milage return as my Kendas.

He's running the 21/18 setup.

Actually he did run the Kenda's on his X. I try to stay on top of the 17" dirt tire info and here are some useful posts from Poncho on this very subject:

PonchoV wrote:

Just finished a week riding Big Bend Nat Pk, TX.
First I would suggest everyone hook up w/ a trusted riding bud & go to this National Park.
It is bigger that some states.
There is nearly no traffic (on the unkept roads/trails).

But
this post is about how my X behaved in the sand/thin gravel &
climbing up & down grapefruit to basket ball size rocks. First you
have to understand that the hand out maps at the ranger's check in
office are actually very good. When they say the road is never
maintained, that means high clearance & 4x4 for 4 wheel travel is a
must. Bikes can pick & zig zag through much of the really rough
stuff but at times you just have to rider up & ride it through
& learn along the way.

My X had the orginal 17" wheels,
w/ Kenda 270 mounted. Tire psi was what I run on the pavement, 28/32 w/
HD tubes inside & 8oz of Ride-On inside each tube.

I like
the fat knobby tire up front & the stiff side walls which were my
first level of cushion when hitting flat upright river banks after a
washout had cut off the slopping bank. Some were a foot & a half
deep. There were times each day where I wondered if the 21 " front
wheel might be better here or there; but never having ridden a wr250r,
I had to go back to my KLR650 ridding days.

I found the much
lighter wr easier to lift using the clutch/throttle on the extreme
cases than the KLR w/ its 21". So maybe the 21" on the wr/r would have
its merit. At the same time there had been on the same trail just
around the bend about 1/8 a mile of twisty, pea size gravel road w/
thorney bushes guarding any possible exit other than the end of the
road.
Here the front Kenda 270 just tap danced the bike over this
soft stuff. & if I got to close to a rider who was all over the
road & no safe chance to pass, then stopping & starting was
never an issue.

Have ridden a bit of these old washout
trails/roads & like nothing better. Speed will be gained at a cost
of using your brakes suddenly as your surfaces change faster that you
can see what is comming up. Here the X has great brakes. But that over
powerful front X brake could get you in trouble quickly. But that huge
rear tire will lock up when you want it to & let you drift to a
controlled turn or stop. It's like a plow!

I can only compare
my X to the KLR650 (lowered) & the DR650 (lowered). The X had the
power & could use a touch more but the wr just didn't tire me out
as the others did.

During a little friendly racing w/ a
nicely mod KLX250. I took off about 2 minutes later & caught up
& passed it in a few miles. It was a good surface dirt/gravel road
which enabled the power of the wr to better what ever the KLX was able
to do. The Kendas helped big time in the controlled drift on the turns
& bit in great on the straightening out. There were a few times the
front brake was locked up on the crest of a fast climb of a hill &
I was very glad they did. These are not fat ballon tires which we've
seen on another yamaha. But they are a lot wider that the wr/r is
mounted w/.

I don't know which weighs more the 17" X wheel w/
the Kenda 270 front or the 21" R w/ a MT-21 front, I'm only talking the
front wheel/tire. Would be interesting for a compare.

I bought this X to ride the back road/trails, not for open road touring.
Have
ridden w/ KLR, DR 400 & 650, no ones waits on me at the next turn.
If anything it is the other way around. These fuel injected 250s, at
less than 300 lb wet are about the finest DS that I have ridden.....not
the fastest, but the most fun. & you never have to rejet to keep
your motor running at its peek when at high elevations, just change to
a clean air filter.
Something else which may not be important to
some of you, I can pick up this bike alone & I bet most of the
women riders can too.

The X is about an inch shorter stock than the R stock. I measured them both before I bought the X.

Sorry if I slightly jacked the thread.

PonchoV wrote:

The Kenda 270 are 4.60 FT & 5.10 RT. Will try the lower PSI just for a change.
I don't recall where I bought the Kenda, but it was online & less than 95 USD shipped.

Those posts are from the "Calling all X owners that ride some trails thread". Good info in that one.