Basic First Mods to improve WRR

Recent mods to my WRR, changed the gearing. This was a must! First I went to 13 in front 47 on back. Then decided to step up to 13 in front and 48 in back. This gear ratio has allowed me to drive back and forth to work either 9 miles on the Interstate or a secondary highway at speeds up to 80 MPH. Plenty fast enough for the flow of traffic and on weekends and short rides it is SO MUCH better on single track. I also like to pull up the front end from time to time and this gear ratio makes the bike feel stronger. If not for my commute I would consider a 50 tooth rear. I also changed the tires to Dunlop 606, the stock Bridgestones were great on the street, but did not perform well on sketchy gravel roads or rocky trails. I would like to be a (50:50) rider, but like riding the bike back and forth to work in the summer to much for this to be a true statement. I think my next mod is going to be a rear taillight and signal upgrade? Any suggestions, I often catch my leg on the stock blinker and it dangles. Very annoying, over all I really like this bike. The signal mounts are cheesy.

Gearing and tires are great initial mods, especially for off-road riding. The D606 is a bit stiff for pure dirt riding, even when aired down to 12 psi or so, but it holds up better than most other knobbies on the pavement. Like dual-sport riding in general, sprocket and tire selection is always a bit of a compromise.

Since your topic is "basic first mods", and you didn't mention that you've already done it, I'm going to chime in and recommend some basic armor bits to protect your bike as the next mods. Hand guards, radiator guards, and skid plate are all basic protection that'll help your bike survive dumps, drops, and other shenanigans on street or trail. Depending on how and where you ride off-road rear brake rotor guard and shock linkage guard may also be a good idea.

Assuming that overall performance is higher priority than bling I'd also look at suspension setup (sag and clicker settings) and possible need for suspension improvements (springs and valving) before spending money on the shiny pretty things like rear fender eliminator kits or aftermarket turn signals etc. Just my two cents based on my own experience.

The gearing change is a good first step in my opinion - probably one of the better ones out there if you are doing both dirt and street.

I have been playing around with tires on my WRR for the last 6 or so years and for where I live and the riding I am doing I find the front tire selection to be the most critical. Seems like I can get the bike to work with just about any rear tire but if that front tire starts to push out on me in sand or mud then off it goes.

So far I have two front tires that seem to work the best for me and both are Pirelli's. The XCMS and MT16 are both DOT rated and seem to work pretty decent on and off pavement. However, don't expect to get the mileage out of them that you would see with the stock tires.

I have been thinking about going back to the stock rear tire to see how it would handle my day to day riding and what sort of mileage I could get out of it now that I have the suspension and front sorted out. May order one for my next tire change and see how it does.

For me, all the cheap/free stuff. Ais, Set the CO and adjust tps, open the airbox ect.

Makes it way more driveable, and removes some crap. Adjust gearing and add tires to suit your needs, and add a bashguard and handprotectors.