Dr650 to Wr250r...........what will I miss?

Howdy,

I am thinking of replacing my dr650 with a wr250r. I like the simplicity of the Dr and it's road ability, but feel like it is too piggy in the dirt. I have street experence but no real dirt experence. I'm looking for a bike that can let me develop some off road skills, but still commmute 50 miles to work each day. I don't do more than 40 miles California frwy at a time, travel mostly back roads and around town. Also, some weekend "Adventures" packed light. What will I loose/miss if I switch from the DR?

Let's see...the weight for sure...the gas station (the R² is incredible on fuel), the sore back from picking it up if you drop it, the higher insurance rates...and depending on how you ride, a bit of power. However, you can make up for some of that if you mod it up a bit. It's amazing what this little bike puts out with a bit of tweaking. It's a great commuter (I ride about the same as you do to and from home on pavement) and can keep up with traffic quite nicely and offroad it's a treat. It's a fun little play bike.

the ability to travel across the country in relative comfort (400-600 mile days) and carry a good amount of a luggage, then ride off-road. In my opinion this is where the 650 thumper shines; I'm not saying you can't do it on the WR, its quite comfortable on the road, I wouldn't hesitate to ride it 200 miles or so with mininal gear.

I found out this past weekend that the WR is a blast in the twisties

Good luck!

Happen to have both and, as you can see below, sometimes ride 'em the same places.

Power:
DR has a lot more grunt (15% more wt, but ~50% more power).
WRR will go, but you have to keep it spinning.
The power of the DR is a big advantage at higher speeds in traffic.
EDIT (July, 2009): with the WRR airbox opened and the Attitude Industries Fuel Tuner the WRR comes to life!
The big DR still has more grunt, but the difference is not as great. The WRR now seems more fun than the heavier bike!

Suspension:
DR is fine for most terrain at moderate speeds. Stock suspension can be upgraded.
WRR is mucho better for more aggressive riding (weight is also a factor here).

Comfort:
Seated, the DR is better. Standing, the WRR is better (narrower too).

Fuel:
WRR gets better mileage, but requires premium and the 2 gal tank has limited range.
DR uses regular and the OEM 3 gal tank provides more range (5+ gal aftermarket also available).

Recommendation:
Try your DR on easy stuff for a while before switching. You already have it, and it's quite capable.
Your dirt skills and experience, not the bike, is the main thing that will limit you off-road.
Tires, of course, are also a big factor - you'll need some knobbies for the dirt, rocks, and mud.

I got a headache riding a buddy's DR for 15 minutes one day due to vibration. I'd have another KLR before a DR. The WR is WAY down on power to the DR, but infinitely smoother. My longest is 650 miles in 36 hours on the WR.

Oh yeah, my buddy sold his DR and will be getting a WR...

Better bring him here for a proper initiation.

Levity put it out there pretty well. I switched from a KLR650 to the WRR and I'm glad I did. My problem with the KLR (pretty similar to a DR650 generally) was that it weighed so much that I would get myself into some pretty scary situations riding alone out on farm roads, trails, and any dirt road that made me curious to see where it went. It was just all I could do to pick it up and turn it around on many dirt roads. Eventually I stopped taking it down the roads that I really wanted to explore. So the fun ended. Now I have the WRR and I am really glad I took the chance on this new-to-the-world bike. Now when I see an interesting dirt road, trail, whatever, I follow it without much (if any) worry that I'm by myself and have no idea how nasty the road might get. I love the way the front end is so light that it stays up on top of the loose/muddy stuff instead of plowing into it like the heavier 650 did. I didn't realize how hard I was having to work to get a 650 to some of the places I had taken it until I bought the WRR. I did learn a LOT about dual sport riding techniques riding my KLR and it did make me a better rider. A good, experienced rider (not me) can get those 650s into (and back out of) some amazing places. The only thing keeping the little 250 from doing really long treks like people do on 650s is the uncomfortable seat, small gas tank, and where to put all the stuff you need to carry. All of these issues can be addressed with after-market products and your own creative solutions.

Since you already have a nice 650, I'd keep it and learn to ride it and only give it up for a smaller bike if you find that it's too big to take you where you want to go. One caveat -- farkles are expensive no matter what bike they are for. If your 650 needs a lot of money thrown at it in order to make it right AND you are pretty sure you will end up with a different bike (WRR, for instance), then it may be best to just get rid of the 650 and save the money you would have spent farkling it for farkles on a WRR. When you sell a used bike, you never get your farkle money back.

I owned a DR-650 before I got my WR and have never regretted getting the blue bike. I agree with others that the WR is down on power compared to the DR, but more than makes up for it off-road. The WR will scream along at 75 mph if you need it too, but it's not very comfortable doing it. However, the WR is much more capable in the tight stuff (single track) and much lighter too. The suspension on the WR is far superior to the spongy DR. I honestly think the little WR is almost as capable in the mountains as my WR-450. Even though the DR is full of "old school" technology, I had no trouble selling it and there seems to be a healthy demand for the big thumpers.

the medievel design,forks,and build

i'm at the same place with my xr400 (& my dr650).
i'm tired of kicking the xr and want better suspension & FI.
i'm looking at the wrr to replace my xr but need more $ then the xr alone will fetch.
now i'm thinking what if i also sell the dr and make the wrr my all in one woods/ds/adv touring bike.
i have my dr setup like this plus it has upgraded f&r suspension. it's comfy, powerfull and can carry some luggage. ultimately i'd like to keep the dr but won't be able to afford a wrr so i ponder what to do?

what about wrr seats? is the corbin comfy?

this is the ride where i decided to get something smaller:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=500817

i have since sold my dr, which i loved. it was a really great bike, but was too heavy for what i'm starting to do with it. i had it
for 3 years and about 10k miles.

i haven't modded my 250r yet, so i can't compare apples to apples but the dr was superior on the highway. big surprise!

if my riding wasn't progressing towards gnarlier and harder stuff, i would've kept the dr.

keep in mind, the powerbands are completely opposite. the dr just torques through, where you have to rev the wr out. but you knew that!

after so extended thought about my bikes, i've decided to keep my dr & sell my xr. i take alot of longer adv trips and i have my dr setup how i like it. i've spend alot of time getting it right to give it up at this point. it's confomy and has a huge range w/ 5 gallon. i'll use it for more extended/weeklong adv trips & day rides that mostly involve forest & paved roads but not the tighter stuff. when the us finally sees the tenere, i'll revisit owning it. as for the xr, it's time to move on. i'll sell that bank the $ and save up for a deal on a used wrr. with the dr still in my collection i can focus/gear the wrr more as an off-road bike vrs 1 bike that has to do it all and thus the gearing in comprimised. i'll use the wrr for day rides in the woods and get a giant loop bag for trips that involve more tougher woods riding vrs say easier forest roads/greater distances with the dr. i do many types of trips and the more i thought about it the wrr could not cover all my uses, such as remote riding in mexico & only finding regular gas, plus i'm gonna mount some secure pelican side cases to the dr. for bigger road rides i also have a 650 strom all setup. in the end i'd love to go down to 2 bikes, but there is such a wide range of riding/traveling to be done that imo 3 bikes are needed.

thanks for all the suggestions. i'll will be back at some point with a wrr. it's a great design from yami! it's a dirtbike with some street legs. sure it maybe heavier than pure off-road machines but it's versatility more than makes up for that shortcomming. if yami did produce a wr450r (and kept the weight decent) wow that would be amazing. it would have that 1 missing piece of the 250, low-down torque. i don't see yami doing it however with the financial problems they are in. people can wish but i don't see it happening. infact even if they had the $, i can see the 660 tenere as being their next bike in the DS slot. the thinking is the 450 is too close to the 250 to spend $ on another model, whereas the tenere is logical step up for a buyer.

levity,
what laminarlip windshield is that on your dr? wrr?
how's the buffeting?

levity wrote:

Happen to have both and, as you can see below, sometimes ride 'em the same places.

Power:
DR has a lot more grunt (15% more wt, but ~50% more power).
WRR will go, but you have to keep it spinning.
The power of the DR is a big advantage at higher speeds in traffic.
EDIT (July, 2009): with the WRR airbox opened and the Attitude Industries Fuel Tuner the WRR comes to life!
The big DR still has more grunt, but the difference is not as great. The WRR now seems more fun than the heavier bike!

Suspension:
DR is fine for most terrain at moderate speeds. Stock suspension can be upgraded.
WRR is mucho better for more aggressive riding (weight is also a factor here).

Comfort:
Seated, the DR is better. Standing, the WRR is better (narrower too).

Fuel:
WRR gets better mileage, but requires premium and the 2 gal tank has limited range.
DR uses regular and the OEM 3 gal tank provides more range (5+ gal aftermarket also available).

Recommendation:
Try your DR on easy stuff for a while before switching. You already have it, and it's quite capable.
Your dirt skills and experience, not the bike, is the main thing that will limit you off-road.
Tires, of course, are also a big factor - you'll need some knobbies for the dirt, rocks, and mud.