Why buy a WRR at 56?

Rapid Dog wrote:

Looking about, and I do that alot, I'm surprised most compression suits and armor in general don't really provide much ribe cage protection.

I've got several pieces of gear, the latest is aLEATT’s ADVENTURE BODY VEST.
I'm told it's the shite...too bad I wasn't wearing it, but was wearing a Klim Traverse jacket with full armor, but not chest protection.

Not een sure the Leatt would have prevented the bruised rib, as I fell to the side on op of my arm, meaning arm compresses the ribs.
OOF!

Dang, that is exactly what I did. If I know I'm going down, I try to tuck everything in and that's when the elbow got me.

I have looked at a lot of armor and nothing looks that great for the ribs. Maybe a separate piece.??

japako wrote:

So what are you all using for rib protection. I cracked mine in September. I have been looking at compression suits, but nothing stands out.

Tekvest makes the best gear for rib protection. After bruising my ribs twice I decided it was worth the big bucks for a Rally Max vest. Very happy with it.
www.tekrider.com/rm_1.html

That vest does look like it would do the job. A little out of my range..

Old Fart on WRR wrote:

it's the ribs, always the ribs that take the beating.

Thanks rapid dog. I tend to bust up my shoulders most of all. Before I stiffened up the forks I did two beautiful slides into the ground after jumps went wrong thus preventing high sides. Sad indictment of ones riding when the crashes were the best part of the ride but the wry was very easy to drop onto its side and my feet didn't leave the pegs. However, like you, I cracked two or three ribs in a bad come off a few years ago on my daughters TT230. Too much speed, not enough suspension.

Welcome!

I'm 53 and bought my WR250X (dual sported now) 2 years ago. I previously had a super low miles well modified 2003 KLR650. Frankly find the WR to be very liberating. Owing to 2 artificial hips and my age, I doubt I use the WR anywhere near it's full capability, but it sure is a lot more fun and way less work to ride! ...or maintain, for that matter.

Unexpected to me, but I especially like the WR better on street and highway. Go figure. It felt livelier - but I couldn't believe that to be true... could I? Well, I didn't, but now I know.

This gets a bit wordy, but what follows is a maybe fun WR250X versus KLR650 multiple drag race session. Some may find the results a bit astonishing... I know I did. OTOH, if anyone doesn't like a long read, so scroll out already! jk?

Some older KLR friends really couldn't get past the fact that I replaced my KLR650 with a 250. It really offended their macho; 650 sounds ok; 250 sounds weak. Or is it? A little perspective on that part fwiw. For starters, I couldn't get the one guy to even test ride my bike; he later admitted he was afraid he would like it... same guy professed to be a much better offroad rider than me (probably true, I dunno), yet on my WR BEFORE the suspension upgrades, I left him literally a half hour behind on Blowout Pass! That really PO'd him... but back to the on road drag racing saga...

I hadn't intended to do a comparo with a KLR650; I already knew I liked the WR way better. I just figured it was what it was. But then out of the blue, all around good-guy Luke308 from this site and from ADV saw that I was a former KLR650 guy and now on a 250. He lived in Trinidad at that time and contacted me to ask if he could test ride my WRX. I gladly agreed and we met on "The Highway of Legends" in Stonewall for an Elk cheeseburger lunch and then he tried out my WR. He couldn't believe how smooth and lively it was. I have it set up lowered as much as I could due to my short legs and he didn't like that part but understood that a WRR can be set up a lot taller.

Pre-Race Setup - Bikes/Riders Variables:

I wasn't tall enough to ride his KLR as it was set up. So we proceeded to do some 0-75 "stoplight grand prix" as he was still unsure about power. For points of comparison, the KLR had some popular power mods and was geared down some both true of my WR. I weighed probably 30+ more pounds than Luke.

And The Race Is On!:

Luke on his KLR, me on the WR; up to 70 (GPS calibrated actual speed), Luke described it to others as "neck and neck". KLR FTW once; WR FTW once. From 70 up, the KLR just edged away very gradually. I note that a KLR650 is certainly no hotrod 650, but the point is, people automatically assuming the number makes these WR250R/X's "underpowered" but a KLR650 is "obviously enough" because, well, it's a 650... ...is not only WRONG, it's a bit feeble. I now know: With equal weight riders, me and my WR will out-accelerate a KLR650 every time. Damn, but I like that. ok, gloating isn't nice...

Luke subsequently sold his KLR and bought a WR250R. I think he is living in the Denver metro area now.


How this is related to your post: A smaller lighter bike probably at first seems youth oriented - and maybe usually is for utilizing its capabilities to the fullest on singletrack or in an OHV park. However, for this older guy, the WR has allowed me to do things and go places I couldn't 10 years ago on other bikes. And it lacks NOTHING compared to my former KLR650 on the highway. For clarity, I far prefer my WR to the KLR anywhere, but especially on street and highway. It's just so darned fun!

Well, one place the KLR "shines" if you really want to call it that: The KLR650 can carry obscene amounts of weight for camping trips - as much as a pickup truck?? ROFLMAO... but OTOH, I've seen guys try to ride overloaded KLR's and it's not for me! I'm guessing it takes 4 strong people to pick up a downed/overloaded KLR, but that's for another thread!


The main point of the whole drag racing saga: It seems too often that older guys get stuck on the 250 number. And that's a shame.

I read people saying they might try a WR450R if Yami would just make one... but as for me, I fully expect that extra 200cc's would also net another 75 to 100 pounds of weight - and then I assuredly would not want it. Especially if the weight was up high like it unfortunately is on so many dual sports.


I think you picked an excellent bike for your age - for any age. In fact, I personally choose to believe that the WRR/X's forte may well be for us older guys or gals who don't want to fight a grossly topheavy any more.

For reference, I'm 6'1" tall but only have a 30" inseam. Circus freak. Very glad the bike could be lowered to where I can ride it comfortably. I have a 21" front wheel on it now and it's perfect for me.


Micke S.
S. Colo
(former screen name: BigFeet)

fwiw, IMHO best mod to date on my bike was front and rear suspension. I had mine done by Go Race but from reading in here, appears many competent suspension practitioners who do a great job.

I live on a horrific washboard dirt road - makes goat trails seem smooth. The suspension job transformed the bike on the really rough chop.

RevLoc went out of business, but my former fav mod was the RevLoc auto clutch. It is still working great and gives the bike a feeling of a lot of low end grunt. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

But an autoclutch is a further/serious affront to macho and no longer available, so I'll try not to beat that dead horse too much.

Thanks Lightfoot. Prior to stiffening the front end, which was a low cost mod with heavier oil and some playing with the rebound, I decided to see what sort of pace I could get out of my wrr and went hurtling down a sandy track at 135kmph (about 80mph) and I still had some speed to go but decided to back out as the trees around me blurred and that was just silly. Prior to collecting from the dealer I had the gearing ratio dropped, don't ask me what it is now, so standard gearing must really get some top end.

Thanks for the comparison on the 650. I decided to buy the wrr about two years ago but foolishly thought I could not afford it. Big bucks in Oz at $12k registered and insured. However, noting the only bike that gets away from me at the minute is a top quality rider on his new KTM450 (I think) I should have bought the bike two years ago as I would be a much better quality rider myself by now. And as you said and you can see by my inglorious fall on the maiden voyage that it is just so easy to pick up for us oldies.

One thing I do find disconcerting is that I lend my TT350 to a mate so that we can ride on weekends and all I have in my ears is the dulcet tone of the 350 right up my backside, except when we hit climbs and well made straights, then he is left in the dust. The wrr allows me to do lots of things better then I could on the 350 but when you are on really tough tracks all the bikes tend to bunch up anyway so I guess the moral is that all bikes are good but we can make it better of we pick the one best suited to our riding.

japako wrote:

So what are you all using for rib protection. I cracked mine in September. I have been looking at compression suits, but nothing stands out.

Hi japko. I am using a Fox enduro style armour and the tag says 'Titan Sports Jacket'. In winter I wear an unlined 'Dry Rider' coat over it. I find that anything other than the loose weave of the suit overheats me in summer and the dry rider/armour combo is warm enough in winter even in the snow. I strap a camel water bag across my back also. There is no side protection on this jacket at all and I guess that over the years I've developed a defence mechanism of riding the bike into the ground with elbow out so you end up sliding on the arm protection, rear armour and camel. The other defence mechanism is I don't do really out there things on tracks I don't know, so I've minimised my chance of injury.

That said, I slid sideways into a rock on my last outing wearing my older Fox suit and the arm protection twisted and I smacked it with my elbow. Bruised it badly but that was all. I've since bought a newer and better set of armour but ostensibly the same unit.

For the tracks I ride and the typical weather conditions the Fox armour or similar is pretty much the uniform of the riders in this district.

Kudos to you older lads. I hope I'm still agile and riding into my 60's. My body is kinda beat-up at 37. This gives me motivation to start taking a little more care of my body and get back into shape. Good to hear your riding, now lets see some pics!!!!!!!!!!!!

mcdoudlehopper wrote:

Kudos to you older lads. I hope I'm still agile and riding into my 60's. My body is kinda beat-up at 37. This gives me motivation to start taking a little more care of my body and get back into shape. Good to hear your riding, now lets see some pics!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well and seriously, power to you. Wish I'd have taken mortality more seriously in my 30's. Back then, I was 10 foot tall and bulletproof. Obviously, not!

FWIW, a lot of us old croakers could be doing better had we started back exercises BEFORE they became required.

Just sayin'.

Happy New Year and good health to all!

p.s.: Got to ride 3 days ago and forecast says it could happen again 5 days hence. Go figure, but cold/snowy/hostile Colorado has it's moments.

Old Fart on WRR wrote:

japako wrote:

So what are you all using for rib protection. I cracked mine in September. I have been looking at compression suits, but nothing stands out.

Hi japko. I am using a Fox enduro style armour and the tag says 'Titan Sports Jacket'. In winter I wear an unlined 'Dry Rider' coat over it. I find that anything other than the loose weave of the suit overheats me in summer and the dry rider/armour combo is warm enough in winter even in the snow. I strap a camel water bag across my back also. There is no side protection on this jacket at all and I guess that over the years I've developed a defence mechanism of riding the bike into the ground with elbow out so you end up sliding on the arm protection, rear armour and camel. The other defence mechanism is I don't do really out there things on tracks I don't know, so I've minimised my chance of injury.

That said, I slid sideways into a rock on my last outing wearing my older Fox suit and the arm protection twisted and I smacked it with my elbow. Bruised it badly but that was all. I've since bought a newer and better set of armour but ostensibly the same unit.

For the tracks I ride and the typical weather conditions the Fox armour or similar is pretty much the uniform of the riders in this district.

Hey, thanks for the info on the Fox armor. I have been looking at ride reports and pics of rallies to see what everyone is using.
I saw a guy wearing crocs on single track... I could not believe that..'
Ok, on to protection, I think I'm going go with a chest and back protector with shoulder protection. Then I'll wear separate elbow and fore arm guards. Hope I can find one with rib guard. If not, maybe I can fab something.

I'm not doing any track riding, as in racing. Just trail riding.

I'm trying to find clothes to wear over the armor now. All of my jackets are for the road and really to heavy for trail riding.

Hi Japako, I wrote the Dririder incorrectly on my last post. It is a good jacket but in all honesty you don't stay dry. I bought it for the road but now prefer lightweight rain proof jackets and pants that I pull over my leathers. This means the Dririder has been delegated to trail/tracks. The coat comes with elbow protection and a warm inner liner but the liner gets heavy when wet, so I leave that out. I don't find it heavy at all without the liner and with a light jersey under the fox armour with dririder over the top is plenty warm enough in the snow, when on tracks and when you are working hard that is. For the road I wouldn't know what the best combo is but I'd suggest that it would be the same as for when on the Harley, good protective and warm gear with lightweight rain proof suit over..

One of the rules me and my friends have is that once we have agreed to a ride we go out no matter the weather. I went out two weeks ago in an unbelievable storm the most frightening part being a lightning strike not far from the track followed by a clap of thunder that scared me half out of my wits. Did I stop? No. I thought as long as I kept moving I minimised the chance of being hit by lightning or a falling tree. There must be some logic there I'm sure. Strangely, none of the others turned up and I had the forest to myself. I wonder why?

When I finally got back to the bike loading area I was like a drowned rat and had to load the bike onto the ute in torrential rain then drove to a set of camp toilets to get changed into dry clothing. Not such a bad day overall but again there has to be a downside for us oldies. The tracks were so slippery that I failed to get up one particular hill and came off on the six attempts at it, and I came off about ten times all up in the morning. This was fine as all low speed offs in the clay and the new armour worked a treat. On the way home I had a grin from ear to ear but, and this is a big but, it was such a physically demanding ride my arms were so stuffed I could not bend them off the steering wheel after 15 minutes of driving and my legs were like jelly. I walked with baby steps for three days after as my glutes, calves and upper thighs were completely shot and my bicepts and tricepts were burnt for a week. Did it slow down my riding? No way. I was back in the same forest the week following and ripping up the tracks I could not get up the week before.

So I guess the moral is if you do the trails and tracks in all weather you are going to get soaked. This is part of the thrill of being in pristine forests full of the wonders of nature at one with the plants, animals and earth itself...... and ripping the crap out of it.

Ride like ya stole it:)

Old Fart on WRR wrote:

Hi Japako, I wrote the Dririder incorrectly on my last post. It is a good jacket but in all honesty you don't stay dry. I bought it for the road but now prefer lightweight rain proof jackets and pants that I pull over my leathers. This means the Dririder has been delegated to trail/tracks. The coat comes with elbow protection and a warm inner liner but the liner gets heavy when wet, so I leave that out. I don't find it heavy at all without the liner and with a light jersey under the fox armour with dririder over the top is plenty warm enough in the snow, when on tracks and when you are working hard that is. For the road I wouldn't know what the best combo is but I'd suggest that it would be the same as for when on the Harley, good protective and warm gear with lightweight rain proof suit over..

One of the rules me and my friends have is that once we have agreed to a ride we go out no matter the weather. I went out two weeks ago in an unbelievable storm the most frightening part being a lightning strike not far from the track followed by a clap of thunder that scared me half out of my wits. Did I stop? No. I thought as long as I kept moving I minimised the chance of being hit by lightning or a falling tree. There must be some logic there I'm sure. Strangely, none of the others turned up and I had the forest to myself. I wonder why?

When I finally got back to the bike loading area I was like a drowned rat and had to load the bike onto the ute in torrential rain then drove to a set of camp toilets to get changed into dry clothing. Not such a bad day overall but again there has to be a downside for us oldies. The tracks were so slippery that I failed to get up one particular hill and came off on the six attempts at it, and I came off about ten times all up in the morning. This was fine as all low speed offs in the clay and the new armour worked a treat. On the way home I had a grin from ear to ear but, and this is a big but, it was such a physically demanding ride my arms were so stuffed I could not bend them off the steering wheel after 15 minutes of driving and my legs were like jelly. I walked with baby steps for three days after as my glutes, calves and upper thighs were completely shot and my bicepts and tricepts were burnt for a week. Did it slow down my riding? No way. I was back in the same forest the week following and ripping up the tracks I could not get up the week before.

So I guess the moral is if you do the trails and tracks in all weather you are going to get soaked. This is part of the thrill of being in pristine forests full of the wonders of nature at one with the plants, animals and earth itself...... and ripping the crap out of it.

Ride like ya stole it:)

I have a great Gore-Tex rain jacket that I used when I was bass fishing. It is really a good jacket and I will probably use this for riding in bad weather. Using an Amor All shirt under and then armor and maybe a fleece sweat shirt over.
I'll have a jersey and then the rain jacket. I think this will work??? At least I can loose some layers.

I'm still looking for another jacket, maybe a pac jacket, or something like that..

Spending money on new gear is great.. NOT.. lol

The gore tex should be fine and it is a good idea to wear many layers. Just a note for the Oz riders though, I went out a few years ago in wet, snowy conditions and wore a lightweight rain suit over my gear, which impressed al the other riders until the first thicket of blackberry bushes. The suit was ripped to shreds and useless after about fifteen minutes. The best things for the blackberrys are the normal MX pants and boots, armour and jersey and say a dri rider.

A quick question for any of the readers, has anyone run a blackberry stalk across their throat while riding through them and if so what have you come up with for neck protection against this horrid bush? I also had one come into me helmet/goggles gap and tore the end of my nose.

Old Fart on WRR wrote:

The gore tex should be fine and it is a good idea to wear many layers. Just a note for the Oz riders though, I went out a few years ago in wet, snowy conditions and wore a lightweight rain suit over my gear, which impressed al the other riders until the first thicket of blackberry bushes. The suit was ripped to shreds and useless after about fifteen minutes. The best things for the blackberrys are the normal MX pants and boots, armour and jersey and say a dri rider.

A quick question for any of the readers, has anyone run a blackberry stalk across their throat while riding through them and if so what have you come up with for neck protection against this horrid bush? I also had one come into me helmet/goggles gap and tore the end of my nose.

Good thread my friend!! Congrats on your purchase they are a lot of fun . I ran through a lot of them bushes and decided to wear higher collar shirts under my jersey's. But I haven't seen anything on the market besides a hospital neck brace LOL.. and that you want to avoid cause it will cut down on your riding time

Stay safe and have fun!!

Doc

Bought a new 2008 wr250x in 2010 after a short stint on a vespa lx50. I was always afraid of being run over from behind and laws restricting me from highways made travel difficult. I use the wr as a commuter for a 10 minute ride to the Hospital in a neighbourhood filled with senior drivers. I take a back residential street or two that avoids left hand turns. It does not provide and kind of riding experience as I am always on the lookout for car doors and pedestrians. I do get the odd fair weather day where I can adventure out. I did a 245km loop out to Port Renfrew, across the island to Cowichan Bay and back to Victoria via the Malahat at 10 pm. On a 2 gallon tank Langford to Cow Bay is a stretch. A couple of rides to visit a bud in Cobble hill and a ride to Nanaimo have been my only other trips. On my trip back from Nanaimo a friend from the late 70s pulled up beside me. He wondered if it was me. Pray tell why as he did not know my bike or clothing. Any way to make a short story long , I felt much younger than the vision in the mirror these days ( 56yo ). Its liberating and fun like many years ago. I am happy with the speed, the light weight of the bike, and its suitability for one rider. I have a 2010 GMC pickup and a 2000 Miata, but this bike is a different bit of fun.

I Did that Port Renfrew loop on my brothers Vstar. It was a really great ride. There were logged areas that seemed post apocalyptic. Port Renfrew has some nice hiking trails too. The twisty highway to Tofino would be a blast on the WRX. You guys in BC have the best roads in Canada for riding.

That Renfrew to Cowichan bay road used to be the worst because of all the logging truck traffic on gravel, but now that its paved its great although only on Sunday when the trucks have stopped running. Google maps has a bunch of pictures for those unfamiliar. I used to travel that road in the late 70s. I worked a hoe cleaning the culverts out on the logging roads. I remember drinking beer and watching the New York Islanders in the Stanley cup playoffs on TV at the old Renfrew pub. And it rained . I actually just got to botanical beach this last year. I like the drive to Tofino too. I am determined to do that this year. I drive the pickup or miata there 4-5 times per year.

Hi All. Regret It's been a while since last updated but the weather here has been a bit warm and with the threat of fire so high the last thing I need to do is get into the forest and be caught in a blaze. With luck some rain this weekend and I will be able to get out.

However, a new addition to the bike is a Force bash plate. I was going to get a B&B plate but for some reason the dealer had some trouble getting it delivered. With the bash plate that will open up a whole string of different trails that I've been leaving alone due to the number of rocks.

Watch for pics next.

I'm 2 years older than you and simply take it a bit slower but wow, "this bike gives you wings!!"

Thanks Dude. If you are anything like me you will start to wind the speeds up again. Have you had to do anything with the suspension or other mods to make the bike suite your purposes?