Advice? Stock bike is great, but could be better! (PIC)

I have been riding my '08 WR250R for a while now, taking it easy and getting used to the handling. I ride on the street more than the dirt, probably 70% - 30% respectively. I am currently setup as it came from the factory. A few things I've noticed that I would like to make changes to, maybe I can get some advice.

1) First off, when at very low speeds, such as in a parking lot or very slow turns, the bike has an 'On or Off' feel to the throttle. It's kind of jerky, definitely not smooth. I'd like to make some adjustments or modifications to improve this.

2) This past weekend my brother-in-law and I were deep in a wooded trail and we came to a STEEP uphill and my bike was just not geared low enough for me to pull out of it. I went back later on my B-I-L's KTM and was able to ride it out fine, he said his was modded for lower gearing.

3) And of course, as everyone else, if I could maybe fix a few of these with an FMF Q series pipe as well as increase power throughout the power band, I'd be thrilled. Thanks for any information.

I think you"re on the right track. Play with the gearing......Open the breathing and you will address the issues.

Hi Rem308:

Throttle tip-in on the WR is harsh but it is something you will get used to. I "suspect" it has to do with the on/off nature of FI with a low inertia 250 single but I may be wrong as I have never ridden any other 250 with FI before?

Regarding climbing, 1st gear and you needed more oomhh? The engine mod WR owners will be here to help you with that one... Too bad the 6-speed spread was not just a bit broader given your street riding. Drop a front tooth and the Rev's will get to you even at 55 mph while on the slab.

And by the way, I absolutely love the pic of the WR, KLX and KTM side by side. The colors and content are outstanding!

Wayne

Thanks for the quick responses, I should add a little detail about that steep climb. The way the trail was, you had to make a steep switchback in a creek bed, then you were immediately climbing out. There was no way to get any momentum or 'run' leading into it. And as it'd start climbing it would bog and then I'd be working the clutch and gas to try to get those revs up.


Yeah, we had a heck of a good weekend, got to ride 3 completely different bikes and enjoy the good and bad of each. The KTM's power (which it is a 525 EXC) was crazy. Could easily power wheelie in 1-4. Great fun, playing on the farms and trails, as well as some good long rides thrown in.

I suspect that the KLX had some of the same issues? The WR250R def gets better as the mods come. I have all the usual power stuff(exhaust,programmer,flapper mod, etc) done and tires and gearing help greatly off-road as well. I am currently running 12/48 gearing and the thing pulls like a tractor but it's pretty extreme if your looking to do alot of street riding (although their are a couple of X riders using this gearing). I do ride on-road but the WR is my primary dirt bike right now and I did everything I could for it to fit that bill with the compromise being its street skills.

The KLX had it's front sprocket changed, and it was setup great. It climbed great and that makes me want to add the 12 tooth sprocket. I guess I'll just have to test it out on my own. From what I see, the 12 tooth sprocket will not require me to change my chain.

Rem308 wrote:

The KLX had it's front sprocket changed, and it was setup great. It climbed great and that makes me want to add the 12 tooth sprocket. I guess I'll just have to test it out on my own. From what I see, the 12 tooth sprocket will not require me to change my chain.

You can change to a 12 tooth front without changing your chain.

It is certainly the starting point I'd recommend. Stock, these bikes can't redline 5th, let alone 6th gear.

Taking the slack out of the throttle cables will help with that choppy feeling. The adjuster is there near the grip.

Sarah

Practice using the clutch lever when putting around in 1st gear like that, and you'll no longer have that jerkiness.
Practically any bike I've had will do the same thing.

The stock gearing is rediculously tall, and the bike comes with it only to pass drive-by sound tests during pre-production.
The stock gearing is only good if you are the guy who wants the bike to idle down the freeway at 75mph.

These days, a dual-purpose bike from Japan is so EPA-regulated and choked-up because of it, you're gona' have to spend the money on the mods everyone does to these bikes to make it run as intended.
You'll never see that in the sales brochure, though.

*Fuel injection programmer.
*Airbox flapper eliminated.
*Lower gearing. If you ride 70/30 in favor of street, I'd go with 12/45 sprockets. My own Wr-250R is lower, still, at 12/47.
*Air Injection Sysyem (AIS) removed.
*FMF Q4 muffler and FMF Powerbomb head pipe.

If you want to get more into off-road riding:

*Real knobby tires, and there are some that even have DOT approval.
*Set rear suspension sag for 3.5 inches with your butt on the seat.
*Buy a skid plate, or know exactly where all the obstacles are along your trail route.

13/48 with a 112 link chain went up every trail we encountered last weekend with 25# of gear, pure stock en gine... no programmer, all stock exhaust, air box, etc. traction is the key IMHO and air pressure is the key to traction, again IMHO.

I'm also looking for a solution to the jerky throttle, I've ridden a lot of bikes and it is anything but normal. Yamaha didn't do a very good job with the fuel injection on this bike. Personally I think lower gearing would only make things worse. Maybe a power commander could fix the issue?

twowheeled wrote:

I'm also looking for a solution to the jerky throttle, I've ridden a lot of bikes and it is anything but normal. Yamaha didn't do a very good job with the fuel injection on this bike. Personally I think lower gearing would only make things worse. Maybe a power commander could fix the issue?

No issues with mine and most of my riding is offroad, no and single and dual track. I can do full lock turns with the clutch fully engaged using only the throttle--not nary a jerk. I would suggest you figure out where it does it the most and then demo that to your dealer--at least that is a start. I would first give SF suggestion a try. Good luck

I haven't had any troubles with the throttle either. I also geared mine down on the front because i found it too long legged for tight stuff, and this way the gears are much more usable. Love that threesome pic...a rose amongst the thorns.

I really like the 12/47 offroad, but for my everyday on road commuting I run the 13/47.

*Set rear suspension sag for 3.5 inches with your butt on the seat.




I am getting ready to set up suspension for a race, how did you come up with your sag setting of 3.5?

adamcarp wrote:

*Set rear suspension sag for 3.5 inches with your butt on the seat.




I am getting ready to set up suspension for a race, how did you come up with your sag setting of 3.5?

Setting rear sag for 1/3 of the suspention travel has been the rule of thumb since the early 1980s, when single-shock rear suspensions using a progressive linkage became the standard.
You can fine-tune the sag to suit, but, that's the starting point.

Thanks going to set it today and test it out. What do you know about setting the front end height. I was watching a video from a european cross country expert and he mentioned lowering the front end to improve cornering

There are only 2 ways that I know of, 1 is to slide the forks up thru the triples. 2 is to get a shorter set of fork springs. The only time I've seen anyone go either route on this bike was to lower the whole bike, which meant lowering the rear as well. Otherwise you could run into handling problems because the geometry is off.