Hypothetical - Hindsight - Second Chance

So some people are selling, or have sold their R/X.
Some are wishing for a 450 or bigger R/X.
Some are buying turbos and/or big bore kits spending extra thousands for more power.

Most are always in the hunt for a little extra oomph from the engine.

Adding stuff, removing stuff, and generally trying to find every last bit of power they can coax from the little engine that could.

So I was thinking to myself over the last few days, what if I had it to do all over again? Would I buy another 250x if mine got stolen?
What if I was reimbursed every penny I'd spent on the X , AND given MSRP money for a 2011 model?

Would I do it all over again? Or would I buy something else? Knowing what you know now....perfect 20/20 hindsight.

What would you do? Suppose your X or R was stolen and by some fluke of luck the insurance company gave you enough money to
buy a brand new 2011 model along with all the farkles and goodies you'd added to your stolen bike. You could do a complete replacement
of the stolen bike but with a brand new one at no extra cost to you.

Would you spend that $7000-$8000 (or more) on a new wr250r/x?

Or would you buy something else? What would you buy?

And why?

Hmmmm....good question. Honestly, if I was given everything back that I have in to it I probably would buy something else. I love my R/X and with 2 sets of wheels it does EVERYTHING I want it to do. Commuting, Single track, Supermoto track days, etc. But I've never bought the same bike twice. So I would probably buy a 690e or a TE630.

I scan classified ads quite often.

I'm totally intrigued by KTM's.

I'd still want supermoto for now - but I think I'd surely go find a different motorcycle.

I'm not in any mood at this point to sell my X, but if I had to do it again....

I'm in no mood either and I have a reliable, versatile biké that I have a ton of fun with. I can live without the extra HP and increased maintenance.

I searched and wished for almost 4 yrs.
I did not take it lightly.
I finaly talked my budddy into a wrr.
That jealousy, lead me to mine.
i feel this bike was specificaly engineered for me.
I guess that's lucky....

But that's the trick part of the question.

It's not "would you sell your wr now and buy something different?"

It's "if your wr was stolen and you were faced with starting from scratch again, would you take the wr route again?"


My X still has tons of appeal and I just love that all I have to do is put gas in her, change the oil twice a year, check the chain once or twice a month, and wash her three or four times a year.


But would I do it all over again if I had to?

Probably not.

With nearly 10,000 miles on this 250 I think I have a good idea of it's capability---and it falls short for me. 300+ pounds and 26hp just don't cut the mustard. I'm lucky and have my WR650R and my KTM 380 for that power hit that I just love and the WRR will never deliver.
This bike begs to be a 350 with mid 30's HP and the same weight--I would consider another one. I will replace the WRR in the next year--it's a stock 2010--and I doubt I will be visiting the Yamaha dealer.

I'd probably buy a used KTM 640 Adventure and use the extra cash for a 250 2-stroke (then put a plate on it).

I'd do it over again in a heartbeat. I like how easy it is to maneuver, it's slim, it's awesome on fuel. I don't need the extra hp, either. If I could have bought a DT200 like i had back in 86, I would have bought that, but they didn't make them anymore.

With what i know now it would be a Husky or KTM. Spend it all once and be done with it. Buy a brand new bike and send out the rear shock,not at that price. Why is the wheel 6mm wider than the other yamahas ? Dont get me started on the front.
Dont get me wrong it is a great bike. With that price it should have been better.

dtx wrote:

With what i know now it would be a Husky or KTM. Spend it all once and be done with it. Buy a brand new bike and send out the rear shock,not at that price. Why is the wheel 6mm wider than the other yamahas ? Dont get me started on the front.
Dont get me wrong it is a great bike. With that price it should have been better.

What's wrong with the front wheel?

The rear is 6mm wider than other Yamaha's???? Don't understand that either.

But yeah...Husky and KTM are very intriguing bikes.

motokid wrote:

Would you spend that $7000-$8000 (or more) on a new wr250r/x?

Or would you buy something else? What would you buy?

And why?

Not really answering your direct questions:

I wasn't really looking when I bought my 09 WR250X new. Dealer had it at 35% off MSRP.
But I really like the light supermoto, except for passing when I'd like more HP.

If my local Husqvarna had a new smr 510 at 35% off, or KTM had an smc 690 at 35 % off,
I'd buy one and get a set of Wheeling dirt wheels with X hubs for my WR250X.

I could buy an older used Husky or KTM supermoto, but I want fuel injection.

It's a good question
the WRR does everything I need but I would like a 200 or 300 2T for off road, I just like the sound and weight of them & they would make me feel like an endure champ rather than a weekend warrior
I'm mostly just commuting 5ks and riding 8-30ks to trails with the WRR, I could do that on a 300 they are stock road worthy in Australia
so in answer to your question I would get a KTM or Husaberg 300 if my WRR was stolen and I got some insurance money back but Id rather have 2 bikes, my WRR has been so good to me, got many fond memories

Yeah - I am by no means bashing the wr250 at all.

Like I said - this isn't about would you sell it.

There's no doubt it's a great bike. Still makes me chuckle almost every time I ride it.
And I ride it as often as possible.

Isn't the new Husky 630 fuel injected?

I 'upgraded' from a DRZ. It was & still is a great bike. If it had a wider gear box, i'd probably still have it. I considered the te610.. also a great bike, & a pretty good dual sport platform. But it is a bit bigger than i need or want. I considered other 250's, once i settled on a smaller bore. The husky is a good one, but has a small range gear box, & the KTM is still pretty much a race bike. I wanted something less finicky.. something i could neglect & just jump on & ride.. like i did the DRZ. I was looking for one do-it-all bike.. something i could ride for a few hundred miles on mixed terrain.. day rides, multi day rides, or even week or month long adventure rides.


The long legged super models look great, & certainly have a lot of appeal.. very sexy, powerful, high end suspension, light weight.. but when a guy is looking for a long term relationship.. someone who will be there through thick & thin.. richer or poorer, better or worse.. the steady Yamaha looks like a keeper. Pouting, sultry sirens try to lure us into dumping our faithful steady, & some poor souls my succumb to their allure. And many guys may like the high maintenance requirements of these super models. They like spending lots of money keeping them happy, & fawning over them all the time. Its all about the super model.. the guys lose themselves putting the bikes first. The Yamaha is still a good looking gal. She's fit, chipper, lean without being skinny, & makes few demands. Oh, she likes attention.. she'll glow for you if you want to spend money on her. But if you're a little poor, or cheap, she'll still be there for you, making you the center of attention.. you're the man, the rider, the one this riding hobby is about.

But of course, this is a changing world, & guys are fickle. New technology gleams before us, promising us more excitement & delight than we currently have, or at least more than we think we have. I'm deliriously happy with the wr's engine & drive train. The suspension? Not so much. The weight? Lighter would be nice, too, but really only in rougher terrain.. on pavement, a little weight is nice, especially if you're in wind or getting passed by semi's. So it's pretty much just the suspension. That can be fixed, but it would have been nice to have a little better come with it stock. It's not bad, just not great.

The things that attracted me to the wr are the things i still like & want in a bike. FI, compact & nimble, reliable, reasonable cost. Most of the temptresses i see only have some of those qualities. So for now, i'm sticking with the WR.

I think it's more about change for the sake of change. Searching for that "holly grail", that absolutely perfect bike. We all think we found it when we first get a new bike, it's the "honeymoon period", bet then it becomes, gee I wish it had another 2mm wider rear tire, and 3.5hp more, and another 2.6mm in handlebar height, etc....

We're never happy, us motorcycle psychos, and the supermoto strain of the disease is the worst, cause we're all trying to make something from something else.

I've had a bunch of bikes at this point, including my '09 X. When I got the "I want a little more" bug, I bought a new Duke 690, which is a remarkable bike in ALL aspects, and if I had to have just one, that'd be it, BUT, thankfully I've got a few, and the X is the one that I reach for the most for all the reasons mentioned here by everyone. The thing just works and works, which is more than you can say for the Euro versions currently available.

When the new Duke 350 comes out, I'll probably get one, at which point my X may become an R, but I don't see her going away.

To answer the question, would I replace her, at this point, as of today, YES!

Are you talking X or R issues in terms of being able to "swap" with other Yamahas?


How many other Yamaha parts can be swapped onto an R1?

rydnseek wrote:

I So for now, i'm sticking with the WR.

If your WR250x was stolen - would you replace it with another WR250x?

If I could do it all again, I would have kept my '05 KTM 625 SMC, as I'm not riding dirt nearly as much as I thought I would. If my X was stolen tomorrow the day after I would have my order in on a '12 Harley Night Rod Special....actually order is going in shortly anyways and X is going up for sale. i think my expectations were too high for the little 250, and I miss the passing power my 625 had.

motokid wrote:

If your WR250x was stolen - would you replace it with another WR250x?

Only if it were stolen on the second day of ownership and I hadn't yet gotten my fill of it. :)
With me, once I've owned a model of motorcycle to have my fill with it, I'll just get something else and start the process over again.

The reason I bought a WR-250R and then a WR-250X is because when I bought the WR-250R in June of 2009, the meathead who showed me the bike claimed it was a WR-250X when it was really a WR-250R.
But, I bought it since the price was right (and in hindsight, I'm glad it worked out that way because it got me back into dirt bike riding after a 15 year break, and I continue to do this every weekend to this day).
I really was after a WR-250X, though, and I bought one of those the following year, in December of 2010.
I rode the WR-250X from March to the end of June this year, had a lot of fun, got my fill, and recently sold it.

My 2008 WR-250X (and the 2008 WR-250R I had before that one) were good motorcycles.
All-in-all, they felt and performed like I could have guessed they would have.
That is to say, pretty darn well.
Like any other Yamaha dual-purpose bikes I've had in the past, they were well-built, well-engineered, and had no fatal flaws from just plain stupid features.

If I could have changed one area of both the WR-250R and WR-250X in the way they came stock, it wouldn't be more power or less weight or some GPS mount built into the handlebar or a rear rack as standard equipment.
It would be that the suspension were of better quality, especially the rear shock.
If the suspension valving were actually good by 2011 standards, the bikes would feel twice as good to the rider.
As they come, especially with the rear shock, they are just passable and no more.
Luckilly, with money, they can be made right.

In the bikes' defense, it's always been the case with dual-purpose bikes.

Of course, your opinion may vary. ;)

Boy, I'm always looking at bikes. If stolen would I buy again? I'm really exhausted from buying and modifying bikes my way. Every bike, same thing. Assuming they made it with my mods....sure I'd buy again. There not another small displacement dualsport out there like it. And, for what I use it for, almost perfect is perfect enough for me......for now

I'm not really sure that if you surveyed all WR owners you'd find that most are indeed always modding here and there looking for a little bit of extra. I suspect you'd find that the silent majority (all them guys too busy riding to be posting here asking how to set their programmer or whatever) are riding it pretty much the way it came off the dealer floor, except for protective bits here and there. And even less of that with the X's.

That supposition aside, if my WRR were stolen tomorrow, another just like it would be in the truck tomorrow, and orders for the same bits and pieces for protection already on their way. Oh... and a replacement seat. But I suppose that's protective equipment for one's ass, because long hours on that stock seat if you're not up and down riding aggressively sure gets painful after four or five hours.

"... I suspect you'd find that the silent majority... are riding it pretty much the way it came off the dealer floor..."

+1

This bike is a blast just the way it is. Street, dirt, 85MPH or 70+ MPG, it can do it all. That HAS to be worth something!

I'd probably buy a KLR. NOT because I don't like the WR.
I want to do some longer adventure trips with lots of highway driving and I feel a KLR is made for this. Once done with that, I'd probably buy a WR again, as a second fun/trail bike!