Forum noob, WR250R noob

Hello everyone, I'm from the internet.

I've been lurking this forum for a short while before deciding on a bike. Now that I got it, I guess I will be hitting the search button here more often. I'm from Louisville, KY (pronounced Looyville, Luhvul, Loaville, etc... but never LouiSville) and this is my first DS bike. Also my first bike after 10 years of not riding bikes.

Inb4 this thread is useless without pics, here goes. It is an '08 WR250R with 1000mi that I also got from the internet.




So far I have not taken her out for a ride as I don't have proper riding gear nor license. But I did sit on it, which revealed the following inconvenience:



I'll be reading around here to see how other short users with low ground clearance get around this. BTW, it already has a YamaLink and also noticed that the front forks were dropped about 15mm, so I guess my options are: 1) man up and deal with it, 2) increase my body ground clearance, 3) ride with high heel shoes.

That's all. Have a happy New Year everyone.

Welcome!

Can't help you with the lowering problem, I have a 34" inseam.

I did want to warn you about that Harbor Freight Moto Carrier your using though. I have one and really like the convience and use it behind my Ford explorer as well. But, after just one use, the aluminum plate that bolts onto the bottom of the ramp and connects to the black hitch got cracks on both sides.

This piece should be made of steel instead of aluminum, if your having trouble understanding, let me know and I will take a picture of mine. I had a steel plate fabricated and welded on for $40. Works great now with no fear of losing by WR going down the highway.

Thanks much for the tip! I cannot believe yours broke with just one use... and I also cannot believe that the part that should be the strongest in the entire assembly is actually the thinnest and weakest... When I hauled this home, I strapped the entire assembly to the roof rack just in case.

This was the very first modification I was going to do to this POS carrier next week. I am going to a metal store and buy 2"x2" 1/4"thk aluminum angles and replace the original aluminum bracket like so:



Should I really go for steel? I was thinking 1/4" thk alu should be plenty stiff...

Edit: Steel makes more sense. At least I will do steel for the angles that bolt to the 2"x2" receiver and aluminum for the ones that attach to the ramp.

Have you adjusted the rear suspension yet?

I'm 5'4", recently acquired an '08 WR250X to be my first motorcycle (complete beginner here!), and at the test ride I couldn't get my feet to the ground. My partner, who's been riding for 8+ years, took me out on it, and when we got the blue beast home, we adjusted the rear suspension (I believe it's supposed to have 3" of sag when you're in the saddle) and added a YamaLink to lower it further. Between those two things, I got just shy of 2" closer to the ground. My boots give me another 1/2-inch, and so I have the option now of tippy-toe both feet at once, or -- because it's so light -- getting solidly on one side of the bike at stops w/ my body slightly off the saddle.

There is the option, too, of an after-market seat to lower it further, but at this point, I'm pretty comfortable. It's just so light and torque-y that I'm not worried about the extra 1/2-inch it'd take me to get both feet firmly planted at once.

I checked the suspension last night and I believe it was lowered to the max. It also feels really soft, as soon as sit on it, it sags quite a bit. I am able to tip toe with both feet, but doesn't give me much strength. If I got an inch less, I would feel much more comfortable.

I emailed Renazco and they said there is not much room to lower the seat... Last time I checked, this seat is quite high... I'll keep searching for other options. I don't want to shave the seat myself, I know I am going to screw it up...

Hmm, the bike will settle out a bit, you just want to be sure that it's not sagging more than 3" under your weight on the saddle.

And here's the lowering seat (it'll give you that extra inch you're wanting):

http://www.soloracer.com/spiralseat.html

The bf is strongly encouraging me to order one, and I may, just so that I don't have to worry about incline stops & starts so much (extra footing would be nice in those instances).

That seat is fairly cheap! I like that. It will help me $-wise. I also would appreciate the extra inch. I want to be able to get a better grip on the ground so I can push it further. Thanks for the tip!

Have you got your riding gear? It seems this is becoming my biggest problem now... It seems pretty difficult to get gear for 50/50 riding...

Sucks to be a beginner...

I have most of the gear I need except riding pants. I'm lucky that RevZilla has their headquarters & showroom in Philly, and so I've been able to try a lot of things on. I'd recommend ordering from them if you don't have a local, comprehensive cycle gear shop -- 10% back in-store credit for each purchase, free shipping, great customer support.

As for my gear, I wear Dianese jackets (have one water-proof/winter and one light-weight) & back armor, a Bell Vortex helmet (Dot & Snell certified for under $200), TCX boots and AlpineStars carbon-knuckle gloves. When I buy my armored riding pants, they'll be Dianese as well -- they're stylish and fit me best of all the brands I've tried. Plus, their business is huge for racing leathers/armor, so I feel secure in their armored clothing. I've heard great things about Rev'it too; though the clothing is not quite as slim-fit ("Euro-styled") as Dianese, it's well-made and is generally at a lower price point. I would advise staying away from Joe Rocket -- I've found it to be cheaply made, and not as snug as you need armor to be. Then again, I'm a bit of an ATGATT'er.

I plan to use the X for city commuting and some light touring/camping, so I've not been looking for anything more off-road oriented, and can't really speak to that style of riding gear. If I were you, I'd visit some area dealers and try on a bunch of stuff, then visit Revzilla.com and read customer reviews/watch their product review videos, and order what you think you'd like. Good luck, and have fun!!! :)

Welcome to the pack! Oh wow...at least you could touch on it...when I got mine I had a few inches under both feet and had to slide part way off the seat to get one foot on the ground.