What to buy.....

Ok, to start with I have an '09 WR, pretty much stock with a 13/48 sprokets, new chain, airbox mod done, hand guards, skid plate and IMS 3.1 gallon tank. I have a little bit of money to spend still....should I buy a fuel management system (will it make any difference with the stock exhaust?) or keep saving up to buy a header and pipe? Or any other ideas?

I would save up and buy a pipe and programmer. The programmer helps dial it in and the pipe will help it rev out. The header will be lighter then stock but I would do that if and when you want to.

Sounds good to me! Would I benefit from a programmer now with the stock exhaust or just wait until I can afford a pipe as well?

If you do much off roading spend your money getting the suspension revalved first and do the pipe and programmer later.
A good handling bike with a slow motor is faster, safer plus funner off road than a poor handling bike with a fast motor.

If you stay on the pavement most of the time do the pipe and programmer as the stock suspension works well on the road and for easy off roading.

Biglake wrote:

If you do much off roading spend your money getting the suspension revalved first and do the pipe and programmer later.
A good handling bike with a slow motor is faster, safer plus funner off road than a poor handling bike with a fast motor.

If you stay on the pavement most of the time do the pipe and programmer as the stock suspension works well on the road and for easy off roading.

Sound advice and well stated.

All that...and you didn't mention tires.
Not that you need them...but they are my favorite performance feature.
:)

Just buy gas. Bike is fine the way it is IMHO.

Ditto on the suspension. Best money I spent so far on the R2.

Jbbarrette wrote:

Ok, to start with I have an '09 WR, pretty much stock with a 13/48 sprokets, new chain, airbox mod done, hand guards, skid plate and IMS 3.1 gallon tank. I have a little bit of money to spend still....should I buy a fuel management system (will it make any difference with the stock exhaust?) or keep saving up to buy a header and pipe?  Or any other ideas?

In order of "importance" IMHO regarding what you've listed above:

#1 - Fuel Programmer
#2 - Pipe
#3 - Header (least important - but some swear it makes a difference)

If you can buy 1 and 2 at same time that's great. header would be, and still is the least of my worries or concerns.

What is the bulk of your riding? Where do you spend over 80% of your time?

Mainly commuting to work and back, but once in a while some gravel roads on the weekends?
Competition Hare Scrambles?
Amateur Moto-X racing?
Single track exploring in high mountain areas?
Stunting?
Supermoto racing on pro circuit?
Drag racing at local strip on Friday nights?
Two-up touring with 90% of riding on super-slab?
Hooliganism?

Agree go for the suspension, the bike will be faster at any given rider skill level when off-road.

All the dyno charts I have seen, pipes/programmers/headers net you maybe 1-2 horsepower and a little torque above 9500+ RPM (and nothing/almost nothing at the mid/bottom end, see http://www.motorcycle.com/gallery/gallery.php/d/225656-1/Dyno_Chart_wr250x_all.jpg ).

If more power is a must, big bore for $750 is the way to go imo, nets you quite a bit more horsepower/torque across the board (and especially down lower where it really counts for street or off-road, see https://i.servimg.com/u/f22/16/12/22/81/dyno_c10.gif )

rvsixer wrote:

All the dyno charts I have seen, pipes/programmers/headers net you maybe 1-2 horsepower and a little torque above 9500+ RPM (and nothing/almost nothing at the mid/bottom end, see http://www.motorcycle.com/gallery/gallery.php/d/225656-1/Dyno_Chart_wr250x_all.jpg ).

Did you look at the dyno chart you posted?
Theres a 1-2 hp gain below 5000rpm lol.
Thats the first thing I noticed when I put a pipe and programmer on my bike... it boost the weak lowend torque.
PS if you want to gain hp at high rpm you need to open the airbox up, a high flowing pipe with a stock airbox doesnt make much sense or extra power lol.

Biglake wrote:

Did you look at the dyno chart you posted?
Theres a 1-2 hp gain below 5000rpm lol.

Of course I did.  If the article the chart was posted in was read, as well as the other chart, for the same price point (and the point of my post) one can clearly see:

Pipe:
~1hp or less, 1-1 1/2 ft/lb gain below 5000rpm.  1-2hp, 1 ft/lb gain in torque above 9000rpm.  In other words not much.  The motorcycle.com article/real world testing also notes minimal if any gain down low, its mostly up high.

Big Bore:
Fairly consistent 3-4hp, 4-5 ft/lb gain across the board.

I imagine both big bore and pipe together would be yummy  .  Peace out.

Since the question was asked, the first thing I would recommend is paying off the loan, if any.  Then consider COMPLETE protective riding gear, if missing.  If any $$ is left over, save it up for the next bike...  I can't count the number of bikes I've seen for sale, where the owner says it must be sold to pay bills, or they got married, or had a kid, or whatever.  Minimize the investment and monthly cost, and there's a better chance of keeping the bike and RIDING.

http://www.wrrdualsport.com/tech-guide/dynotesting <-- dyno testing

mucker wrote:

All that...and you didn't mention tires.
Not that you need them...but they are my favorite performance feature.
:)

Oh, forgot to add, my bike has Maxxis tires on it already. Set to go off roading!!

motokid wrote:

Jbbarrette wrote:

Ok, to start with I have an '09 WR, pretty much stock with a 13/48 sprokets, new chain, airbox mod done, hand guards, skid plate and IMS 3.1 gallon tank. I have a little bit of money to spend still....should I buy a fuel management system (will it make any difference with the stock exhaust?) or keep saving up to buy a header and pipe?  Or any other ideas?

In order of "importance"  IMHO regarding what you've listed above:

#1 - Fuel Programmer
#2 - Pipe
#3 - Header (least important - but some swear it makes a difference)

If you can buy 1 and 2 at same time that's great. header would be, and still is the least of my worries or concerns.

What is the bulk of your riding? Where do you spend over 80% of your time?

Mainly commuting to work and back, but once in a while some gravel roads on the weekends?
Competition Hare Scrambles?
Amateur Moto-X racing?
Single track exploring in high mountain areas?
Stunting?
Supermoto racing on pro circuit?
Drag racing at local strip on Friday nights?
Two-up touring with 90% of riding on super-slab?
Hooliganism?

Unfortunately it's mostly commuting to work, only 2.5 miles each way. Trail riding on the weekends. I have a kx250f for track fun!

dhally wrote:

Since the question was asked, the first thing I would recommend is paying off the loan, if any.  Then consider COMPLETE protective riding gear, if missing.  If any $$ is left over, save it up for the next bike...  I can't count the number of bikes I've seen for sale, where the owner says it must be sold to pay bills, or they got married, or had a kid, or whatever.  Minimize the investment and monthly cost, and there's a better chance of keeping the bike and RIDING.

Paid cash, would never finance a bike. I could afford to buy some goodies if I really needed to, but I figure I'll spend a littke here and there and just enjoy riding it. I have all the safety gear from my MX bike, so I'm good there!

After installing and riding, I would add a RSC clutch lever. Wow what a difference in feel and control.

If mostly commuting, I would go for comfort mods (seat, better grips, heated grips, dialed-in suspension, lynx windshield, etc). Since it is also used for weekend trails, I would now spend for a Go-Race suspension/fork. I think your gearing is already ok given the DS type of use and not heavy single track/mountain trails/log hopping type of riding.

Just my thoughts ... Cheers!

Oh, the RSC clutch lever too! I have thebearing type....what a joy!

Spend the money on gas for the tank. It'll make you a better rider than all the other suggested purchases on this page combined.

if its mainly used for commute and light trail riding and you already have a kx then leave the bike alone, it will be more reliable and the power is ample for the road also when its time to sell on a standard bike will always fetch more than one that's been fucked about with.

Wallrat wrote:

Spend the money on gas for the tank.  It'll make you a better rider than all the other suggested purchases on this page combined.

completely agree with this.

A good soft seat was one of the best mods I have done to mine.