Am I too heavy for a WRR?

Hey all,

Like the title says, I want to know if I am too heavy for a WRR. I'm 5'10'' and weigh 210 lbs in a T-shirt and shorts. Ive been told by others that ride that a 250 will be too small for me on the street and i will have to use the clutch and throttle much more off road because of the lack of torque a small bike has. Especially after I have all of my gear on.

This will be my first bike and I would appreciate any advice.

Thanks,

Alex

Don't listen to all that bullshit. I've had lots of bikes mostly bigger than this one and this is the most fun bike I've ever owned. I weigh 234 lbs.

I'm just about your size at 6' 205-210. Current WRX has 28k+ on it, first WRR was stolen with 17k on it. I commute daily on mine and love it, don't have a car. Never had a problem taking it anywhere other than the bike is a little heavy for tight gnarly single track (think tree's narrower than the bars tight). I've ridden my current bike on single track and taken it down the Atlantic coast from Maryland to Key West to Oklahoma and back without a hiccup. Steeper gearing will help off-road, 13/46 or /47 with a taller rear tire like the D606 should be good for most people in most terrain and still not terrible on the highway at 65-70mph.

A66auto wrote:

Hey all,

Like the title says, I want to know if I am too heavy for a WRR. I'm 5'10'' and weigh 210 lbs in a T-shirt and shorts. Ive been told by others that ride that a 250 will be too small for me on the street and i will have to use the clutch and throttle much more off road because of the lack of torque a small bike has. Especially after I have all of my gear on.

I know exactly who told you that:
a) Some know-it-all moron who's never actually ridden one and is too young to remember when a 250cc was considered a "big" bike. "lack of torque"? They've probably never experienced real "lack of torque". Ride an old late 60's 125cc motocrosser if you want to know what "lack of torque" feels like. Just an on/off switch for a powerband.

or

b) Some guy who always rides like his hair is on fire, with the front tire never on the ground and just has to roost out of every corner. One of the "there's no replacement for displacement" guys.

There's lots of guys of your weight and size riding these bikes. Including me, although I'm about 15 lbs less than you. You won't find any posts here that say "The WRR just won't haul my weight around".

Quote :

This will be my first bike and I would appreciate any advice.

I'm not sure this is the ideal first big given its height and all. But with a mature sensible approach while you put the first couple of thousand miles on it, most of the drops should be pretty minor. And it is an awesome, reliable bike. A motorcycle safety course that teaches basic riding skills is a very good way to start out. Unfortunately for a lot of us, there was no such thing as a motorycle operator safety/skills course when we started. So we've been fighting our bad habits for decades now.

My girl and I, riding two-up and weighing in (~360) and still under the total rated capability of the bike, were doing fine on mountain roads. Off road on anything but a fireroad would probably be the worst I would attempt without modification.

Given I was working her pretty hard under those circumstances, but just with me on the bike at 220lbs there is no appreciable consideration for not riding anywhere.

...and IMO and decades of experience on several dozen bikes (like many others who have already responded to your question), if you are looking for a first bike, you couldn't make a better choice.

Good luck !

If this is your first bike, it will be just fine and dandy. :)

A66auto wrote:

Hey all,

Like the title says, I want to know if I am too heavy for a WRR. I'm 5'10'' and weigh 210 lbs in a T-shirt and shorts. Ive been told by others that ride that a 250 will be too small for me on the street and i will have to use the clutch and throttle much more off road because of the lack of torque a small bike has. Especially after I have all of my gear on.

This will be my first bike and I would appreciate any advice.

Thanks,

Alex

Well, the WRR is only my second bike, and my first dirt bike. And I'm 5'10" and around 170.

Like most folks I strongly disagree that a 250 is not enough bike for you.

And as a nOOb on it I don't see any lack of power. It's surely not my Vette, nor is it some 530 KTM, but it's much more than adequate both off road and on. I've geared up with a 48 tooth rear sprocket and it's a whole lotta bike for "only a 250". Does 80+ MPH gps confirmed on the highway and is oh so much fun in the mountains and the coal silt banks that I ride. And gets me 60+ mpg flyin home thru the twisties.

What I might recommend is the throttle tamer folks are talking about. For someone new to bikes like me (and this is my first ride in 20 years) or you, a smoother throttle response at slow speeds in the dirt is probably what any noob needs most while you learn balance and control.

It's got more than enough HP on road to get me in trouble and more than enough torque off road to get me out of any trouble that I can get in.

And they're so low maintenance you can spend your time riding and not doing anything other than chain lubes and the occasional oil change.

If you can find one (none in dealers around here) I say go for it.

Thank you for the quick replies.

I've sat on one at the local dealership and it seems a little tall, but manageable. I have seen a few WRXs on the road and they seem to get along fine, its just that everyone I have seen is smaller than me.

Anyone in the Sacramento area? If you are, can you send me a PM? I would like to know where you ride the WRR besides Praire City.


Thanks again!!!!


Alex

Rule292 wrote:

What I might recommend is the throttle tamer folks are talking about. For someone new to bikes like me (and this is my first ride in 20 years) or you, a smoother throttle response at slow speeds in the dirt is probably what any noob needs most while you learn balance and control.

I've probably been riding so long that I never even thought of such a modification, and as crazy as it sounds to me, the recommendation probably has some merit for a beginner.

My corollary advice to any new rider is learn to ride it slow first, then you can worry about going fast. Balance and throttle control always have to come first before you can ever have experience.

Having said that, I'd go back to a normal response throttle response barrel as soon as possible where the fine adjustments can be learned and practiced.

P.S. Auto: Pack the truck and ice chest, beach chair and an arm-full of firewood and come down to the So Cal desert and hang out a few days. We're more fun than any barrel of monkeys !

X-Racer wrote:

Rule292 wrote:

What I might recommend is the throttle tamer folks are talking about. For someone new to bikes like me (and this is my first ride in 20 years) or you, a smoother throttle response at slow speeds in the dirt is probably what any noob needs most while you learn balance and control.

I've probably been riding so long that I never even thought of such a modification, and as crazy as it sounds to me, the recommendation probably has some merit for a beginner.

My corollary advice to any new rider is learn to ride it slow first, then you can worry about going fast. Balance and throttle control always have to come first before you can ever have experience.

Having said that, I'd go back to a normal response throttle response barrel as soon as possible where the fine adjustments can be learned and practiced.

P.S. Auto: Pack the truck and ice chest, beach chair and an arm-full of firewood and come down to the So Cal desert and hang out a few days. We're more fun than any barrel of monkeys !

Yeah, never any problems with throttle control with my 600hp big blocks or my Vette with 435hp. Get me behind that 28 hp of the WR and I can't handle it...

I took the DBS with my WR a few weeks ago and I'm not too proud to admit that I had lots of problems with the slow speed stuff. The on/off throttle response gave me problems with all of the low speed drills. The instructor had me ride a lot of the slow speed stuff in 2nd slipping the clutch as to keep me in the throttle and smooth. Strangely I don't remember any throttle problems with my slowzuki years ago so I'm gonna do that throttle tamer till I get a lot better with the slow stuff (so I can keep in one piece).

And Alex, the bike height can easily be lowered without any adverse qualities. There's much factory adjustment and a lowering like for like a hundred bucks that can take care of the rest.

A66auto wrote:

I've sat on one at the local dealership and it seems a little tall, but manageable.

I have a 29" inseam, so stock the bike was kind of ugly in the slow stuff picky stuff when I wanted to deploy the outriggers a lot. Lots of paddling in thin air, followed by a slow speed drop. Most annoying.

The shock adjustment dropped it an inch, the Yamalink dropped it another inch, and the Seat Concepts low seat both made my ass happy and dropped it one last inch. Now I can almost completely flatfoot it on both sides, and I'm a much happier cowboy. Not a lot of my riding needs the height I lost, so no tears there.

It's going to feel tall if you're new to dirt bikes, so you might give it a while. But you can drop the seat height three inches pretty easily.

Jäger wrote:

The shock adjustment dropped it an inch, the Yamalink dropped it another inch, and the Seat Concepts low seat both made my ass happy and dropped it one last inch. Now I can almost completely flatfoot it on both sides, and I'm a much happier cowboy.

...and we dropped the OEM with the Yamalink (2") to include the jam nut (less another 5/8 in.). Afterwards, the suspension and chain all required re-adjustments.

There is a significant difference (both positive and negative) WRT the utilization factor of the bike with the center-of-gravity change.

"Flat-footed" is nice. Getting low-centered sucks ! (Usually the reason I end up on the ground more-often than not).

How about Hollister, Carnegie, Stonyford, Cow Mtn, and dual sports like the Sheetiron, Lost Coast and Ruts ride from Jackson, Ca. to Lake Topaz in Nevada. The WR250R is one heck of a Bike.

I'm 5' 9", and currently weighing in at 210 in a t-shirt. Geared up, I"m sure I'm around 225, maybe 230.
This bike can easily handle that weight.

What I really love about this bike is the e-start and the Fuel Injection. On the last run out, I dropped the bike. Instead of hurrying over to pick it up for fear of flooding the carb, i just left it there while I regained my strength. When I did pick it up, it started right up, MAN I Love this Fuel injection!

This is old but I'm still going to add my two cents. I am 6'2 and about 275 with gear on. The bike pulls me fine.

Have you ever ridden an XR400 or 400ex? Z400? etc...? The motor reminds me of those, both in sound and power, although it has less low end torque. The only off road problem is fuel injection jerkiness. Plenty of torque and power though. Heck, just keeping pace with traffic and the normal acceleration of the cars in front of me, I am using about 1/4 throttle and granny shifting. The only time it feels out of place is on the freeway where everyone buzzes along at 80. It will keep up but its really straining. Feels like I am torturing the engine.

I got a used 08 WRR around 3 weeks ago and it is a BLAST! This is my first motorcycle and it has plenty of power for me. I live in a suburb or Sacramento and ride around 20 street miles to our local OHV park. I can cruze there at 70 MPH, ride anywhere in the park I want to, then drive home.

Its so much fun. This little 250 moves me just fine, on and off road!

If anyone in the Sacramento wants to ride, let me know.

Alex

5'11'' 210lb. My first dirt bike. I can honestly say that while riding off road I have never thought that I needed more power. Additionally, I have yet to change from stock gears which I am sure will help out a lot and make it "feel" like it has more grunt. I also have not made ANY power mods yet. If I need more power I will do some mods and maybe even some day the big bore kit, but it has all the power I need right now.

I also commute to work quite a bit on it and its fine. After having ridden street bikes for years I some time wish I had a little extra power on the highway or on a two lane road when I go to pass someone and I am all ready doing 60, but it will still break any speed limit in the land. But I didn't buy it for its street capabilities, I bought it because I wanted a good dual sport and I have been very happy with it.