Just bought '09 wr250x (first bike ever), got some ??'s

THIS IS CRAZY! I found the original owner of this bike showing it off on another forum! he traded it with a dealer and I bought it from the dealer. This is great cuz now I know what it has. Here is what it has....
Michelin tires front/rear
53 tooth PMP rear sprocket
Pro-Taper Gold 520 Chain
Rear hand brake kit with nissin master cylinder
Pro Taper(Metal Mulisha edition) handlebars, I suggest these if you like comfort
Yamalink lowering link
Steel braded brake lines
50 Stunt rear stunt pegs
50 stunt rear axle sliders
50 stunt pegs for the driver
Dynojet Power Commander
Powerbomb header
FMF exhaust, relocated directly under the tail section
RCS easy-pull clutch lever
Driven light weight shifter
Idle adjustment cable

anyways...so thats all the stuff this bike has. I'd like to take it more from a stunt bike to a more well rounded street bike. IDK how to do that yet but I'm just trying to keep learning about what I got.

oh....that bike
thats been posted all over smj

oic0 wrote:

I just use it to verify and later verify that I haven't lost any oil. My logic is I dont see how you can hurt an engine putting in the exact amount it was designed to run with, at most it could have a tiny bit extra if you didnt fully drain. Meanwhile with the window you can under-fill or over-fill based on the angle of the bike.

You NEVER check the sight glass with the bike in any position other than standing straight up.

You never know how much oil is left in the engine.

Just filling per spec means you could easily over-fill. That's bad.

I drain oil. I remove oil filter. I let bike drip over pan for an hour or more on both the side stand and straight up on a swing arm stand.

I then install new filter and oil drain plug. The put in 1 full quart of oil. Then about a quarter quart more at most. Then I start bike and immediately shut it off. Check for leaks.
Then start checking level in sight glass and filling a few ounces at a time. I never truly measure the volume of oil.

Why should I? That's what the sight glass is all about.

Somebody once posted on here that they measured out the oil precisely and poured it in. The oil level in the sight glass was showing too full.
As in the window was completely covered with oil. No line.

Why take that chance?

btomp2008 wrote:

THIS IS CRAZY! I found the original owner of this bike showing it off on another forum! he traded it with a dealer and I bought it from the dealer. This is great cuz now I know what it has. Here is what it has....
Michelin tires front/rear
53 tooth PMP rear sprocket
Pro-Taper Gold 520 Chain
Rear hand brake kit with nissin master cylinder
Pro Taper(Metal Mulisha edition) handlebars, I suggest these if you like comfort
Yamalink lowering link
Steel braded brake lines
50 Stunt rear stunt pegs
50 stunt rear axle sliders
50 stunt pegs for the driver
Dynojet Power Commander
Powerbomb header
FMF exhaust, relocated directly under the tail section
RCS easy-pull clutch lever
Driven light weight shifter
Idle adjustment cable

anyways...so thats all the stuff this bike has. I'd like to take it more from a stunt bike to a more well rounded street bike. IDK how to do that yet but I'm just trying to keep learning about what I got.

Nothing in that list about a speedo corrector.
Also nothing about AIS, flapper mod, or airbox changes. I'd be shocked if they weren't done though as they're mostly free.

I wonder where your idle speed is set since you have a cable for adjusting that.

That'll hurt gas mileage.

Quote :

I wonder where your idle speed is set since you have a cable for adjusting that.

could you explain a little more about what that means?

also, will my chain, a Pro-Taper Gold 520 Chain, fit a size 42t rear sprocket. I'm thinking I might get an aluminum one.

For stunting the guys sometimes add an adjustment device that allows them to increase and decrease the idle speed.

Increased idle speed means they can roll real slow balance point wheelies without needing to mess with the throttle. (I think - or something like that)


If your idle speed is turned up you're burning more gas when just sitting still.

No - the chain you have now won't fit a smaller sprocket without needing to cut it.
At least not a sprocket that makes more sense for street riding.

Quote :

For stunting the guys sometimes add an adjustment device that allows them to increase and decrease the idle speed.

Increased idle speed means they can roll real slow balance point wheelies without needing to mess with the throttle. (I think - or something like that)


If your idle speed is turned up you're burning more gas when just sitting still.

well if it's turned up, I can use the same device that turned it up to turn it back down...correct?

Quote :

No - the chain you have now won't fit a smaller sprocket without needing to cut it.

I saw on the yamaha website chains sell for $70-115...is cutting cheaper or would you rather just buy a new chain all togehter?

motokid, what size sprockets do you ride and why did you chose to go with the size you did?

Regarding the idle knob, yes, you can turn it down. Assuming you know what it is and where it is.
Just not sure how much range of adjustment there is with that thing.

See my signature for the basic info on my bike.

I have 13 front and 48 rear for gearing.

I, like so many, felt the stock gearing was just too mundane for what I wanted. I ride about 95% on the street, and I've come from roadracing and having a 1000cc Yamaha R1 sportbike.
I wanted the 250x to get up and go a bit more and gearing the rear up helps in that department. However, I also wanted the bike to still have some top-end on her. I can hit about 80 mph pretty easily. Anything over that is difficult to achieve without longer stretches of road.


Cutting the chain can be free. FREE. I was able to borrow a dremel tool so the cutting was easy.

I'm sure a motorcycle shop could remove a designated number of links for cheaper than buying a new chain if you don't feel like messing with that.

If you can find a motorcycle buddy who knows how to do some basic maintenance you'll have found a great friend.
Do you have any mechanical inclination at all? Ever taken something apart and put it back together just for fun?

Learning how to wrench your own bike will pay off in the long run. Mega bucks can be saved DIY on a lot of things on this bike, because it is easy to work on. I have an R, but unless it's something that requires a special tool/equipment, I do all the work on the bike myself. No better way to get intimate with a machine that you intend on keeping for any period of time.

Quote :

If you can find a motorcycle buddy who knows how to do some basic maintenance you'll have found a great friend.

yea, I'm keeping my eyes peeled for this person

Quote :

Do you have any mechanical inclination at all? Ever taken something apart and put it back together just for fun?

no, not really. one of my goals is to start learning some mechanical skills since I currently have none.

And I agree shewolf, if I can learn how to do some of the maintenance myself I'd save alot of money. One of the reasons to even get a bike was to save some money, so I hope to be able to get comfortable doing the maintence myself.

I think my first change on this bike is going to be getting a rear sprocket taht will maximize this bikes MPG. Anyone have a thought on what size rear sprocket would be best for this objective?

To change the rear sprocket you'll have to completely remove rear wheel from bike.

To remove chain you'll have to find master link and remove clip, unless it's a rivet style connection in which case you'll have to cut chain just to get it off bike.

You'll need some kind of stand to support bike with rear tire off ground. Or some other kind of jury-rigged system for this purpose.


You'll also need to have the proper sized wrenches or sockets.

If you have none of this stuff the initial expense of becoming a do-it-yourself mechanic are going to appear pretty high.
Do you have any tools at all? Metric sockets and metric allen wrenches? I would not suggest using an adjustable crescent wrench.




Stock gearing for an X is 13/42.

If you're looking for gas mileage alone that's a good place to be. The bike will have a HUGELY different feel than it has right now with the 53 tooth thing currently on your bike.
Be prepared to think you've lost lots of response down low.

There are probably different maps for your PC3 that would help with the mpg's too. I have no idea what they might be, but somebody here might. The previous owner most likely didn't give a fudge about gas mileage.

First, let me say that gas mileage is related to what the bike thinks it has covered compaired to what it has really covered. Changing gearing (down) may even improve gas mileage on the surface. But in realality the bike just thinks it went that far but did not. By going to standard gearing one is more likely to be going closer to the real distance. I only live about fifty or so miles from Mckenny, as I live in Southlake. I have had my wr250r for a couple years and have done all the mods myself (lots) plus am doing lots to two other friends bikes in area. I am willing to help get your bike sorted out if you want. You have a great bike but not set up for your use. It can be so much better for mostly transportation use. I do hope to hear from you. Berwyn

I did notice one thing missing. The lower chain guide is missing from your swingarm. It was probably removed to facilitate the use of the larger sprocket. I am not sure how important it is to have this on there. I believe that it there to keep the chain on track throughout the swingarm motion.

duanew wrote:

I did notice one thing missing. The lower chain guide is missing from your swingarm. It was probably removed to facilitate the use of the larger sprocket. I am not sure how important it is to have this on there. I believe that it there to keep the chain on track throughout the swingarm motion.

Yea, it is missing. Anyone know if it's important to have a lower chain guide? Or is it something that I can do without? If I get a more reasonable size rear sprocket and the lower chain guide will actually fit should I get one?

My chain guide fits with a 48 on the rear. If you go to stock size then obviously there won't be any problems at all. I think anything under 50 teeth on rear will allow clearance for chain guide.

That being said - if 99.9999999999% of your riding will be on the street i doubt you'll run any risks by not having a chain guide.

There's a safety aspect to the guide too.

In the event of a fall - the guide will keep your foot from getting pulled into sprocket and chain.

In the long run, might be worth piece-of-mind to have one. In the short run I'd think you'll be fine.

If you needed to raise some cash I'm sure there are a few items on there you could sell. The "Rear hand brake kit with nissin master cylinder" is something you probably don't really need for basic street use, it's more for advanced riding. Pretty sure I saw someone on here looking for one of those kits.

Chain should have a clip link to allow removal, and all you need to shorten it is a grinder. Take the head off the pin where it needs to be shortened and punch the pin through. Then use the cliplink to put it back together.

As for MPG, don't focus on it too much. These things are pretty cheap to run and you're best off making it as rideable as possible, that way you'll be riding it smoothly and your MPG should reflect that. The sprocket you have on the back is going to have you shifting gears constantly and always revving it to get to the next gear. The standard ratio is pretty good for round town riding. A good map on the power commander should make the bike run nice and smooth as well. Keep your chain lubricated to ensure it lasts a long time and don't forget to budget for tyres. You can let an oil change go a little bit longer if you're short on cash but once tyres wear out you can't go anywhere until you get new ones.

Above all, the best way to ensure efficient motoring is to plan your trips well. Don't use the bike for lots of little short trips. If you're doing a trip that's only a couple of miles then you're better off using a cheap pushbike, and if you have to go somewhere make sure you do as many errands as you can while there to save having to go back. I was working close to home for the last few weeks and because they were all very short trips with lots of warmup time and traffic lights, my work van only got 300km out of the last tank of fuel instead of the normal 450km.

playwme,
ive been down that selling the hand brake road already
looks like he wants to keep it

So today I did the first day (only 2 days total) of the rider safety class. They said besides the light being on, you can tell if your bike is in nuetral b/c it you can walk it back and forth. This was true. On the class bikes (250 kawasaki elimator) I would put it in 1st or 2nd and I could not walk the bike back and forth, so I knew I wasn't in nuetral. So after the class I came home to ride on my WR250X and at first my engine nuetral light did come on. I walked it back and forth and I moved, and then when I shifted to first I didn't move when I tried to walk it back and forth and the light went off. But after riding for 30 minutes or so I noticed I couldn't get my nuetral light to come on. I was just playing around shifting gears and I just couldn't get that light to come on. But I did find nuetral (I could tell b/c when I revved the engine w/the clutch released I didn't move and the bike didn't die), but the light wasn't on when I was clearly in nuetral. Also, I could walk my bike back and forth in 1st and 2nd gear. It doesn't lock up or do w/e the bikes we learned on in the class do when their in 1st or 2nd. Could someone explain to me whats going on?

edit:

Quote :

Don't use the bike for lots of little short trips. If you're doing a trip that's only a couple of miles then you're better off using a cheap pushbike,

could you explain why it's not good to ride the bike on short trips?

Some pics of your bike from it's previous life :)

http://www.stuntride.com/vbstunt/showthread.php?p=1112026

That low speed stunting stuff isn't too hard on a bike so I'd view it as a novelty more than a negative. You got a good deal at that price with all the extra bits.

btomp2008 wrote:

edit:

Quote :

Don't use the bike for lots of little short trips. If you're doing a trip that's only a couple of miles then you're better off using a cheap pushbike,

could you explain why it's not good to ride the bike on short trips?

Engines work best once they get up to the correct operating temperature. That's the point where the petrol is burning the best, the lubrication system is working to it's full potential and everything is performing the way it's designed to. Doing short trips doesn't let the bike reach it's optimum temperature, and if you wait for it to warm up properly you're using fuel for the first couple of minutes but not going anywhere. Lot's of warm up/cool down cycles aren't great for the engine either. Everything expands slightly once it gets hot and then contracts once it cools down. If you're doing a lot of short trips then everything is expanding and contracting so many more times than if you were doing longer trips. This is the reason Taxi's and interstate trucks last for so many miles. They're almost constantly running and the engine is always at a good temperature. A lot of the wear caused on an engine happens in the first minute or so of the engine being started.

btomp2008 wrote:

could you explain why it's not good to ride the bike on short trips?

I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, that's only regarding your multiple comments about getting higher gas mileage from your X.

Lot's of short trips = lower mpg's.

Like the highway verses city ratings on gas mileage charts for vehicles.

Lots of starting and stopping hurts mpg.


I don't think he was saying short trips hurt the Yamaha.

its funny talking about mpg
i still think even 60mpg is great!! my truck only get 11mpg haha

motokid wrote:

btomp2008 wrote:

could you explain why it's not good to ride the bike on short trips?

I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, that's only regarding your multiple comments about getting higher gas mileage from your X.

Lot's of short trips = lower mpg's.

Like the highway verses city ratings on gas mileage charts for vehicles.

Lots of starting and stopping hurts mpg.


I don't think he was saying short trips hurt the Yamaha.

Yep, pretty much. OP was also concerned about longevity of the bike and running costs. Short trips may not "hurt" the little yammi too much (they're tough little bastards) but it will cause the wear rate to be increased. You can minimise the wear by using high end oils and changing it more often but paying twice as much for the oil and using twice as much doesn't really fit in with keeping the running costs down.

Keep your chain well lubricated too. That's a fairly big cost to replace and I've seen a poorly maintained chain on a 250 only last around 10,000miles and seen a well maintained chain do well over 30,000 on an R1.

Longevity is not an issue with these bikes regardless of whether you make 10,000 five mile trips, or 1000 fifty mile trips.

The wr250x is the Honda Accord of the SUMO world.

Yes, they're tough, but those little trips will make a difference in the long term. I spent 5 years as a Service Manager and after being questioned by customers a fair few times about how their old oil looked I made a point of having a peek at all oil drained from the bikes so that I could give them an honest answer. The difference in the oil between the customers who commuted and the weekend warriors was pretty astounding.