Traitors!!

[quote="Arkmage"]

WRXR wrote:

Another year or two and I'll probably get a WR450 and put a plate on it. I doubt I'll get rid of the 250 though. It's just too reliable of a machine to not keep around as a spare/loaner.

Having both a WR450 and WR250 I'll tell you right now the 450 is not going to deliver what you want. If you want to dual sport it like I did, the 5 gears really make it a pain. So your gearing will either be too tall for any kind of tight stuff, or too low for any kind of speed. For me, I have to drive on the highway for a bit to get to any trails, so I needed gearing to handle it.

Even with tall gearing, you are still buzzing at 7-8k rpm it at highway speeds. The motor can handle it fine, but it wears you out, and makes you have to change oil a lot. Not to mention, fuel consumption wasn't that great, 35-40 mpg. It's a shame, because when you are on the road with the 450, all that power you want is right there, it's just held back by the 5 speed transmission. I was hoping it would have done well and I could have a set of 17s and a set of dirt wheels to just swap when I wanted to do hardcore off road, but it wasn't going to work.

So the 250 is the runaround/light dual sport, and the 450 is relegated to off road only, where it shines.

When Yamaha finally decides the WR450R/X is a good idea, I'll be first in line to get it.

@ yamafling:

Seems like it would be similar to a DRZ but with more power and better stock suspension. The DRZs seem to make quite reasonable dual sports so I'd expect the same from the WR.

A buddy of mine has an '03. I might trade him for a weekend and see what's it's really like before I buy.

In my case it would mostly be used as a street motard and forest road dual sporting. I've got the KDX for real trails.

For some people it's just time to move on, try something different/new. I don't use my WRR for dual-sporting, it's now just commuting duty. I put a deposit on a Zero and will likely be selling my WRR when I get the Zero, if anyone is willing to buy it. If there's no buyers then I'm back to having two bikes

Arkmage wrote:

@ yamafling:

Seems like it would be similar to a DRZ but with more power and better stock suspension. The DRZs seem to make quite reasonable dual sports so I'd expect the same from the WR.

A buddy of mine has an '03. I might trade him for a weekend and see what's it's really like before I buy.

In my case it would mostly be used as a street motard and forest road dual sporting. I've got the KDX for real trails.

I won't lie, I am a little bitter in my rant, but the bike should do you fine for what you say. I was just disappointed I couldn't do a wheel swap to dance between motard and trail bike. The factor was gearing, I would always have to change sprockets (and conversely change the chain) if I wanted to switch between it being ideal for trails, and good for modest dualsporting. Right now I have my street gearing on it, which is 15/49, I would need to drop it a good bit to make me happy on trails. A 6th gear could alleviate, if not fix that problem.

Gear it for the right thing and the 450 is good, just make sure to change the oil a lot if you are racking on the street miles. If you do that, the motor will go for many many miles.

[quote="YamaFling"]

Arkmage wrote:

WRXR wrote:

Another year or two and I'll probably get a WR450 and put a plate on it. I doubt I'll get rid of the 250 though. It's just too reliable of a machine to not keep around as a spare/loaner.

Having both a WR450 and WR250 I'll tell you right now the 450 is not going to deliver what you want. If you want to dual sport it like I did, the 5 gears really make it a pain. So your gearing will either be too tall for any kind of tight stuff, or too low for any kind of speed. For me, I have to drive on the highway for a bit to get to any trails, so I needed gearing to handle it.

Even with tall gearing, you are still buzzing at 7-8k rpm it at highway speeds. The motor can handle it fine, but it wears you out, and makes you have to change oil a lot. Not to mention, fuel consumption wasn't that great, 35-40 mpg. It's a shame, because when you are on the road with the 450, all that power you want is right there, it's just held back by the 5 speed transmission. I was hoping it would have done well and I could have a set of 17s and a set of dirt wheels to just swap when I wanted to do hardcore off road, but it wasn't going to work.

So the 250 is the runaround/light dual sport, and the 450 is relegated to off road only, where it shines.

When Yamaha finally decides the WR450R/X is a good idea, I'll be first in line to get it.

Thanks for the insight. I'm gonna try steeper gears for now. My trails start right in town, one mile from my house. I dont hit the highway too often.