600 miles on '09 - general wrr stuff in general wrr forum

Thanks to everyone who put work into making this forum happen. I saw how it morphed from adv into this dedicated thread. I researched here for months before I bought my wr. Thank you thank you thank you.

Boy I'm glad that lady hit me on my fake, 200cc, chinese dual sport (despite the damaged thumb). I upgraded to a real dual sport and these are my first impressions after 601 miles:

First off, the 250 runs excellent and it's by far the most finely engineered anything I own! I could go on and on about what a sweet, fun bike it is but that's already common knowledge. I have a few questions/concerns, however.

Has anyone made a warranty claim about the speedo being 7 mph off? I've read alot in these forums and I know many use the speedo healer, some deal with it and do the math but has anyone challenged Yamaha on this? For 3 weeks I was thinking I was doing 60 mph on the intersatate and was really doing 52!? I feel like driving that far below the speed limit is a safety issue. Just wondering if someone has demanded they get a safe, accurate speedo reading with this $7000 bike cause I'm thinking about doing it.

Next up is the accel/decel thing. I never found a conclusive, definitive cause/fix for that one spot on the throttle where it goes from all throttle to all deceleration and vise-versa. Some said the 12t sprocket reduced it. Some said they never had the issue at all. Others said it's all throttle control. I'm getting much better throttle control lately but without feathering the heck out of the clutch I could see where that burst in a wet corner could be the difference between keeping traction and losing it. On the other hand, that instant engine braking is wonderful for performance. Maybe just another feature that makes this a great dirt machine? (have yet to get mine in the dirt:(

Wow, otherwise I love this bike. Raced it today which was silly. Souped up Chevy Caprice rared up next to me at the light. I didn't know it was on until green and his car started making alot of noise. In two blocks he was a full block behind and I'm all stock short of a fender elimination, hardwired gps and handguards. Why does everyone want to race, cause we're on little 250s? Yesterday it was a big ford bronco that must have taken 5 whole seconds to get off the line. I didn't even bother.

Anyone notice a shim on the street early on or is the suspension feeling everything on the road? Anyone notice an increase of chatter from the engine during break-in?

Probably every bike and car out there has a speedo that reads higher than actual speed.

For the on/off throttle feel, an FMF Power Programmer reduces that feel and makes the bike run better.

If you like how the bike runs stock, you should try doing the uncorking mods that most do to these bikes.
Much better afterwards. :)

My thoughts: in the UK, 10% speedometer variation is normal & (I believe), legal. So, you could be driving 77mph on a 70mph limited road, & you would NOT get penalised. In reality, most people get away with 80 - 85mph on motorways, but over 35 in a 30mph limit, & your license will get hammered! Anyway, speed deviation on motorcycle speedometers is pretty normal; I guess tyre profile makes a difference. I wouldn't bother challenging the mighty Yamaha on this - I doubt you'll get far... And, yeah, my car under-reads worse than your WR, but i would hate to rely on GPS going past a speed camera!!
As for the 'on-off' throttle: the only time I find this tricky is in really slow moving, heavy traffic, when you're in 1st gear at walking pace. FI, I guess....
Low gearing is great for 'traffic light grand prix'; I took on a Porsche Boxter the other day - the guy was totally surprised when I took off

The speedometer can read the exact speed or up to 10% higher without penalty, but can't read low (from the factory).

I've never had an issue caused by the throttle tip-in jerkiness (use the clutch), but any/all of the motor mods help and if you can manage a steady smooth hand you can still have a clean tip in.

Thanks for the replies. I guess I could see Yamaha miscalibrating the speedo 1-3 mile an hour but 7? And not even tell the buyer? Seems the safety value of oblivious lower speeds is lost by the increased chance of being rear-ended. Every vehicle we own is within 1 mile an hour accurate so I don't think that's the norm for cars, maybe bikes (Ram 3500, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota pickup, even cheesy chinese dual sport is accurate). Just having a hard time accepting my speedo is way wrong Wish it were right but I'll live I just use the gps anyhow.

For the throttle tip in, yeah, getting more and more used to it. I only noticed it today on the freeway in first at a crawl. Just had to use lots of clutch.

Bike is definitely shimming. Will put it on the stand and check spokes, wheels and chain tonight. I adjusted the chain at 400 miles, I'm hoping the increased noise and shim are just another loose chain.

After break-in I plan to start the mods rolling. Will give me more time to read all of your great information and advice too.

mash100 wrote:

Low gearing is great for 'traffic light grand prix'; I took on a Porsche Boxter the other day - the guy was totally surprised when I took off

Gotta love it when you stomp on an ego like that....then pull off the helmet and they see it's a girl riding it.

That's when they wish they had a helmet of their own to hide their face with

A girl with green hair blew by me in my Ram on a drz 400 last month in Seattle...now that was hot! Green hair and all

Was the strap of her thong sticking out the back of her pants? I see that a lot with the squid women riders out there.

No...it wasn't...dangit!

treeklimber wrote:

Thanks for the replies. I guess I could see Yamaha miscalibrating the speedo 1-3 mile an hour but 7? And not even tell the buyer? Seems the safety value of oblivious lower speeds is lost by the increased chance of being rear-ended. Every vehicle we own is within 1 mile an hour accurate so I don't think that's the norm for cars, maybe bikes (Ram 3500, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota pickup, even cheesy chinese dual sport is accurate).

Have you actually put a gps in those cars? My bmw is about 10% out at 100 according to gps.
I just ride my wr250r at the 10km above im used to in my car and seem to be fine.

Yeah, I've run gps on all of them. Also matches up with digital radar boards around town. Maybe higher speeds would show different. On the wr, it's nice that there's an instrument for indicating speed...too bad it's not my speed. It's easy enough to just use the RAM mounted gps or run 5-10 over indicated.

Just changed oil at 700 miles cause after only 100 miles since the last change it looked dirty in the window again. There were some tiny metal shavings in the oil. I guess that's normal from what I've seen in the oil threads. Amazing how black the filter gets during break in. Think I'll keep changing every 100-200 miles until it stays clean looking, I'm running Yamalube.

Hey mash100, how quick was that Boxter able to catch you? I glued pretty tight to a newer cbr last night, thankfully he kept having to stop for lights or he would have disappeared real quick!

Did the fender elimination in about 20 minutes with the leatherman and a universal plate bracket ($12). The reflective tape is a 'bandaid' until I decide what to do with that space. Guess I'll either reinstall the stock reflector or replace all the reflectors with reflective tape...would that look goofy? Oh, spent another 10 minutes and $25 on the plate light l.e.d.s which turned out to match the bright blueish hue of the headlight.

https://2img.net/h/i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/treemonkey2/Picture1931.jpg

On the ferry back to Seattle after a cruise on the twisties up around Kitsap Peninsula. The WR is still WAY too clean. Really want to get the 606s on there first.

https://2img.net/h/i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/treemonkey2/Picture1934.jpg

Did anyone notice increased engine noise during breakin? I really notice it cruising along side a concrete wall or divider, like a high speed tapping to the rpms. Only when under load and stops when unloaded with clutch pulled in. Hopefully vibration from an engine guard or something. Thanks!

Can't say mine got any louder...well it did for a couple of days until I plucked out the rocks that were floating around in the skid plate.

It's gonna be something like that, thanks.

My last trip up there we were an odd bunch! An 1100cc V65 Saber (SUPER fast), a chromed out 650cc Shadow (LOUD like a Harley) and of course the WR250R (SILENT...but deadly:) Then you got hispanic, asian and black. Our comical little gang got lots of looks!


https://2img.net/h/i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/treemonkey2/Picture1930.jpg

That's damn awesome!

The "increased engine noise" was just one of those white, plastic little engine guards vibrating!