Riding the R2 in serious hills and single track

Been riding with a bunch of buddies that ride KTMs, and other bikes that are dirt-purpose bikes. I just can't get the same use out of my R2. I put the D-606's on it and went to a 12-49 sprocket setup. I find myself still running out of power at times I need it most. Do I need to quit kidding myself and just get a Y250FX or WR250R? Or would a pipe and programmer get me to that level? Controlled power, on tap makes dirt riding safer and a lot more fun

IMO, serious hills can be a problem but singletrack is not an issue for a properly setup WRR. Also, it depends what you mean by serious hills though too. I've found that steep rocky hills it does fine with proper tires and pressure. Really loose stuff like PA coal hills it just doesn't have the snot for, but I'm talking some pretty steep/loose stuff.

What power mods have you made? After puking out on a few hills I rode my buddy's 250exc and was amazed how much easier it was to navigate the hill climbs. I'm a newcomer to the dirt world with little experience for comparisons. All I know is, I like the R2, but it is heavy to pickup and I'd like to do what is needed to get power to the ground.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "running out of power"?
Where and how?

I would, at least, mount some real off-road knobby tires as that will make a noticeable difference.
A fuel programmer is worth it because it gives the bike better throttle response, and an FMF Q4 muffler will remove a bit of weight and give a bit more power, too.
It will be a bit louder, but not objectionably so.

Don't neglect your air filter maintenance when riding off road.
LOTS of riders do.
Same for changing the engine oil.
The lax maintenance schedule shown in the WR250R Owner's Manual is for a bike that stays on the street.

In the end, if you have been bitten by the dirt riding bug and are really getting into it (and why not, since it's great fun), getting a bona-fide dirt bike is the thing to do.

Myself, I owned a 2008 WR250R and a 2009 WR250F at the same time, and riding the WR250F over trails felt easy compared to the WR250R.
In my opinion, the WR250R engine is just fine, but the WR250F chassis and suspension was so much better off-road, there was no comparison.
This made the WR250F feel much more secure, sure-footed, and required less energy to ride faster.
This would probably hold true for any other purpose-built dirt bike, especially if you take the time to tailor the suspension settings to yourself.

I run out of power on some extreme hills, mostly long soft climbs that my buds can just barley get up on 450s, the WRR and most 250s just doesn't have the tq to climb those well.

On hard packed or rocky hills I do fine.

Are you using second gear? With 12 49 gearing first is too slow for hills, I have 13 48 and use second anywheres I can get a small run at a hill, first gear spins too much but if theres no run at the hill at all I have to use it some times.

Edited to add I have a revalved shock which makes the bike hook up way better as the tires stays on the ground better instead of bouncing off every little bump, until you ride a stock bike back to back with a revalved bike its hard to believe how much better the bike hooks up on bumpy ground.

i agree with tyres being the first priority. give any bike dual purpose tyres in that scenario and they are doomed to fail. i bet the ktms werent on the same tyres. next is tyre pressure. air them right down to the point that you are worried and then down some more.
everyone has different experiences but the pc5 with some guys settings from this forum transformed my bike in to a real ripper.

the one thing you cant get around is the weight. a lighter bike is always gonna be easier but much more expensive to maintain.

Ya well you are never going to keep up to a 450 in the soft stuff, "same riding skills" the hp and tq of the 450 is so much more than a 250. you really have to be aware of the power band on the 250, once you loose momentum your shifting and scrambling.

For me, I like a no fuss no muss approach toward getting where I want to go. Seems like I still get there quickly. I'd be a horrible riding partner for an experienced rider who's always ripping. And Tubliss has really made a difference for this riding style. Easy traction and more tire-supplied suspension makes for less effort in picking a line or climbing. In conjunction with lower gearing it may not always keep up with pinned-throttle 450s, but I sure do like it like that!

You will never get a WR250r to be as easy to ride as a KTM.
Check out all the mods lordendo did to his WR (sweet bike), but the orange koolaid got the best of him and he now rides a 350exc after trying a 250 2smoke.

Part of the fun is to see how far you can push the bike and meet up and ride with other WR owners.

The best thing you can do to a WR to make it feel like a monster is to go ride something like a TW200 or DR200.... Both fun little bikes. Then hop back on your WR and woah! Power!!!

Prime wrote:

The best thing you can do to a WR to make it feel like a monster is to go ride something like a TW200 or DR200.... Both fun little bikes. Then hop back on your WR and woah! Power!!!

The WR has way more power, but a TW200 will crawl its way through the nastiest of trails that you would think twice about riding the WR.
And when you need to put your foot down, the ground is nice and close.

My Daughter in law has the TW 200 she does single track following my son on his Husky 310, she just got her license this year and its like a little tractor in 1st and 2nd, they are both down hill mountain bikers so no fear of crashing hahaha

I bought the TW200 for my daughter to ride on and get her licence , but I find it a fun bike to ride. When I ride with by son he rides the WR and I ride the TW. The TW may be slow, but it does tractor its way up hills. I use the TW to scout black diamond trails to see if I want to try the WR on them.

I didn't say that to make fun of the TW. I had a TW200 and absolutely loved it. But I think that's why I feel like the WR is a powerhouse... I was used to riding my trusty Tdub! I'm a huge TW fan. Mine never let me down, I just wanted something more modern.

I didn't think you were putting the TW down, it was actually a good example.
The WR is a monster compared to the TW in power and size and I enjoy the 2 different types of riding styles.

I totally agree. I'll own another TW soon. Just have to find another neglected example I can grab cheap and fix up.

Imagine if Yamaha made a modernized TW with WR components... Unstoppable!

Love live the TW!

My daughter has the XT250 and its a nice bike, def not a WRR, but she will jump on my WRR and take off, she is about 5ft 10in in height so no problem touching the ground, she is just learning the dual sport riding. she says she notices the power differance.

gman994 wrote:

Been riding with a bunch of buddies that ride KTMs, and other bikes that are dirt-purpose bikes. I just can't get the same use out of my R2. I put the D-606's on it and went to a 12-49 sprocket setup. I find myself still running out of power at times I need it most. Do I need to quit kidding myself and just get a Y250FX or WR250R? Or would a pipe and programmer get me to that level? Controlled power, on tap makes dirt riding safer and a lot more fun

I took my stock WR250R out to Gorman and it was terrible - I almost cried! ... Then I did these mods:
- 13-52T sprokets
- Full FMF exhaust + programmer
- Airbox mod
- and most important a set of Dunlop GEOMAX AT81 tires with rim lock on rear running them both at 10psi

Now it's a totally different bike. Amazing difference in the dirt. The low down power is much more with the FMF setup. The big thing to remember is that the engine makes it's power in the higher rev's so you need to gas it up those hills or through that sand - picking a gear like 3rd so you don't run out of revs half way up!

Did my first enduro a couple weekends ago on the WR and finished in front of a lot of orange bikes. Lots of single track. Going to do a dual sport this weekend with lots of single track and the wife will be on the back for the second 50 miles. Do that on your orange bike. The WR ain't great at any one thing, but its good at everything.

andy3d wrote:

gman994 wrote:

Been riding with a bunch of buddies that ride KTMs, and other bikes that are dirt-purpose bikes. I just can't get the same use out of my R2. I put the D-606's on it and went to a 12-49 sprocket setup. I find myself still running out of power at times I need it most. Do I need to quit kidding myself and just get a Y250FX or WR250R? Or would a pipe and programmer get me to that level? Controlled power, on tap makes dirt riding safer and a lot more fun

I took my stock WR250R out to Gorman and it was terrible - I almost cried! ...  Then I did these mods:
- 13-52T sprokets
- Full FMF exhaust + programmer
- Airbox mod
- and most important a set of Dunlop GEOMAX AT81 tires with rim lock on rear running them both at 10psi

Now it's a totally different bike. Amazing difference in the dirt. The low down power is much more with the FMF setup. The big thing to remember is that the engine makes it's power in the higher rev's so you need to gas it up those hills or through that sand - picking a gear like 3rd so you don't run out of revs half way up!

Nailed it

N8 my wife is like your bike, she aint great at any one thing but she does most things pretty good hahaha the thing I like about my WRR is thats its a great little all around bike, I use it in the bush, going to the liquor store takes me to the golf course and gets 65mpg average, save ware and tare on my diesel pickup and way better mileage, cheer`s