Searching a WR250/X for wheeling, stunting. Am i right?

Hi everyone,

just registered here because actually i got a little infected with supermotos. 2 or 3 weeks ago I rented a KTM 690 SMC for 1 1/2 day and needless to say - it was fun as hell. It felt like a mountainbike with an engine, but as some of you might know - KTMs are not the cheapest bikes out there . In austria you can get a 2009+ SMC with less than 10000 km for about 6,5-8k€. The supermoto should become a second bike to my R6 ( ) and will be used for wheeling, little offroad (but nothing heavy) and i also wanna try a little stunting. And since I am really amazed with my actually yamaha with just doing casuall maintainence and have a shitload of fun, I wanna check out yamahas supermotos. In some videos on youtube i saw riders having a lot of fun @ the parking lot so i guess stunting and all that stuff i wanna do with it should be possible. Never the less i have some questions left and I hope you could help me out.


The market for used bikes and especially for the wr250x in austria is very limited. Actually there are two used ones out there with about 6000km on it, one is a 2008 the other one a 2009. Prices are about 4k€ for those - a brand new 2008 modell from the dealer is @ about 5000€, actual model @ about 6400€). Were there any significant changes between 2008, 2009 and the actual models? Do the have special weaknesses which should be checked if I buy a used one? Maintainence I will do my self.. are the fairings expensive if they break? Are the wheels tubeless? Anything else important to know from the wr250x? Do you recommend it for what i wanna use it?



Hope you can help me out a little bit :) thanks a lot and greetz from austria!


twowheelriot

If I were you, I'd see about getting a test ride on one because the WR-250X won't have the power of the 690 you rode, and I get the impression that's what you are looking for.

It has adequate power, a good amount of rev ability, decent low-end, is very smooth-running, has manoverability and ease of handling, and a great reliability record as long as you don't do something you shouldn't do like let dirt into the engine through the air intake, run it low on oil, never service the air filter or change the oil, etc.

No changes other than cosmetics from year to year.

Agreed. If you rode a 690, (and normally ride an R6), the WR will feel like it has very little power. but really it has enough to have fun

in terms of reliability it is rock solid, runs great no matter how hard you pound it. Plus if you are looking to stunt it, I think the less weight of the wr will make a big difference (after all I think the 690 weighs 160 kg compared to the 135 of the wr).

in terms of maintenance cost/work the wr for sure has a lot less then 690. Again the biggest draw back of the wr is that it is a 250 so if you come from a big bike you might not like what you get. If you can, take a test ride on it.

also, 5k euro seems ok for a brand new bike even if it is a few years old. If you can, try to find a model from 2009 onwards to avoid possible problems with the fuel pump (only affects some 08 models). I bought my 2010 new in 2011 after it has been sitting on the dealer's floor for 1 a year

What are these fuel pump problems you mentioned?

Adam. wrote:

What are these fuel pump problems you mentioned?

2008's....bad pumps...not all, but enough.

read around the forum...plenty here about it.

Ok, thanks just had a read up on it. Mine is an 08 with 600 miles on, obviously out of Yamaha warranty but 3 months shop warranty. I will have to try and get some miles on it to make sure pump doesn't start playing up! Is there any cheaper aftermarket pumps available? Sorry to hijack thread!

thanks for the advices!

@bigg: haha, ja münchen ist fast ums eck ;) greetz

bigg wrote:

in terms of reliability it is rock solid, runs great no matter how hard you pound it. Plus if you are looking to stunt it, I think the less weight of the wr will make a big difference (after all I think the 690 weighs 160 kg compared to the 135 of the wr).

thats the reason i think about getting a 250. and also taxes and insurence for a small bike like this is nothing compared to a 600cc+ bike. and in case of "power-hornyness" i still have my r6
i guess for just fooling around its the perfect bike, alltough it will not be as powerfull as an 690smc. yesterday i looked at a used one with '08 7000km on it, in good original conditions.. probably never been riden how it should be. if i can lower the price to about 3500€ i guess ill take it.

twowheelriot wrote:

thanks for the advices!

@bigg: haha, ja münchen ist fast ums eck ;) greetz

bigg wrote:

in terms of reliability it is rock solid, runs great no matter how hard you pound it. Plus if you are looking to stunt it, I think the less weight of the wr will make a big difference (after all I think the 690 weighs 160 kg compared to the 135 of the wr).

thats the reason i think about getting a 250. and also taxes and insurence for a small bike like this is nothing compared to a 600cc+ bike. and in case of "power-hornyness" i still have my r6
i guess for just fooling around its the perfect bike, alltough it will not be as powerfull as an 690smc. yesterday i looked at a used one with '08 7000km on it, in good original conditions.. probably never been riden how it should be. if i can lower the price to about 3500€ i guess ill take it.

In the US where I am that would fetch about $3000 - $3500, which is about 1931€ - 2253€

oic0 wrote:

In the US where I am that would fetch about $3000 - $3500, which is about 1931€ - 2253€

You can't compare bike prices between states, let alone countries .

Coop wrote:

oic0 wrote:

In the US where I am that would fetch about $3000 - $3500, which is about 1931€ - 2253€

You can't compare bike prices between states, let alone countries .

Remind me to take my bike to europe to sell it if I ever do , I would definetly take 3500 pounds for mine (equivilent to $5500, $500 shy of what I paid for it new OTD)

I have heard bike prices are a lot more compared to ours. One guy from Sweden posted once and I thought the price sounded astronomical and he said it was normal for over there.

oic0 wrote:

Coop wrote:

oic0 wrote:

In the US where I am that would fetch about $3000 - $3500, which is about 1931€ - 2253€

You can't compare bike prices between states, let alone countries .

Remind me to take my bike to europe to sell it if I ever do , I would definetly take 3500 pounds for mine (equivilent to $5500, $500 shy of what I paid for it new OTD)

now you are even mixing in the UK where they don't even list the WR anymore! probably would get a completely different price there for a wr than in austria.

bigg wrote:

oic0 wrote:

Coop wrote:

oic0 wrote:

In the US where I am that would fetch about $3000 - $3500, which is about 1931€ - 2253€

You can't compare bike prices between states, let alone countries .

Remind me to take my bike to europe to sell it if I ever do , I would definetly take 3500 pounds for mine (equivilent to $5500, $500 shy of what I paid for it new OTD)

now you are even mixing in the UK where they don't even list the WR anymore! probably would get a completely different price there for a wr than in austria.

You're right, im mixing my euros and pounds :/

The R2 is a really good platform for stunting. I have a few other bikes (R1, CBR929, DRZ, DR650, F650GS and a KTM 450EXC. The WR's power is more usable for stunting.

oic0 wrote:

bigg wrote:

oic0 wrote:

Coop wrote:

oic0 wrote:

In the US where I am that would fetch about $3000 - $3500, which is about 1931€ - 2253€

You can't compare bike prices between states, let alone countries .

Remind me to take my bike to europe to sell it if I ever do , I would definetly take 3500 pounds for mine (equivilent to $5500, $500 shy of what I paid for it new OTD)

now you are even mixing in the UK where they don't even list the WR anymore! probably would get a completely different price there for a wr than in austria.

You're right, im mixing my euros and pounds :/

Guys, forget Euros and Pounds go for NIS (New Israeli Shekel). In Israel a used 09 WR250X goes for $8175