The WR250R as a overlander bike?

Oh dear. We disagree again. Grumpy engine? Well, imo my stock one isn't. And everyone falls off eventually, no? I haven't owned a Dominator, but my XR600 was basically gutless and slow with disgracefully bad on-off throttle action, though it was still going well when I sold it at 63,000 km, all of it off-road. Very reliable, generally. It was the fourth XR/XL 500/600 I owned. The best and fastest engine of all was in the 1978 XL500. Nasty handling, though.

Feel good video? For an inferior and heavy bike, I thought the 660 did alright. I guess it all depends on how the individual sees it. I am basically determined to see the good side of my bike (mostly...), having been buffeted and sore-arsed far worse on other bikes. You seem to be determined to view yours differently and that is very much your right. Who is wrong? Neither of us. But you are definitely correct in saying that it would've been easier to ride those hills on the WR.

Anyway, regardless of which bike you choose, I hope you have a successful outcome to your planned journey. Envious. All the very best with it.  

Every single modern dual sport bike out there is 100x better than what Ted Simon "Jupiter's Travels" used.

Just get a small reliable bike and do it. Take your time.

66T wrote:

Oh dear. We disagree again. Grumpy engine? Well, imo my stock one isn't. And everyone falls off eventually, no? I haven't owned a Dominator, but my XR600 was basically gutless and slow with disgracefully bad on-off throttle action, though it was still going well when I sold it at 63,000 km, all of it off-road. Very reliable, generally. It was the fourth XR/XL 500/600 I owned. The best and fastest engine of all  was in the 1978 XL500. Nasty handling, though.

Feel good video? For an inferior and heavy bike, I thought the 660 did alright. I guess it all depends on how the individual sees it. I am basically determined to see the good side of my bike (mostly...), having been buffeted and sore-arsed far worse on other bikes. You seem to be determined to view yours differently and that is very much your right. Who is wrong? Neither of us.  But you are definitely correct in saying that it would've been easier to ride those hills on the WR.

Anyway, regardless of which bike you choose, I hope you have a successful outcome to your planned journey. Envious. All the very best with it.  

Well disagreements arent nececerily negative..... Grumpy is the word I used about the engine although it maybe doesnt cover exactly what I mean. After all english isnt my native tounge. Anyhow I think the engine is far from smooth and have narrow rev range. I have test rided a XR600 once as I contempleted buying one but it was also a very grumpy and all the other you describe it as. Thus I didnt buy it.

I have only once before experienced wind buffeting like on the Ten and that was when I put a tall windscreen on the Tiger 955. It came off quite quick to put it like that. And sore ass problems one can have and will have from most bikes of course But the Ten seat is as bad as I have ever felt it. Well the Klx 250 I borrowed for a week a couple of year ago was probably worse.

"Inferior and heavy bike" you describe the Ten as, well quite a good description and I agree. We all fall off - well yeas we probably do. And many times we fall off is because we couldnt handle the weight and maybe the engine characteristics wasnt 100 % up to it as well....... 

Now keep in mind, my longest trip ever was 2 trips 3000 miles on a V-Strom over 10 days.  I have 3500 miles on the WRR.  I've put on about 40,000 miles on motorcycles the past 7years, so that is the extent of my long distance experience.  Some might recommend the V-strom.  It certainly is very reliable and has almost any kind of add on you can imagine, so that is a possibility. However, it is also 500 lbs, and you don't seem to like weight.  Plus, its not really an off road bike, so I couldn't recommend it.

I think the WRR has proved itself capable of taking you on the trip.  Sargeant has an excellent seat that I am very happy with. I also have a windshield braket, $60, that you can attach virtually any windscreen to. The bike will do 70mph all day as others have testified, and even hold 60mph in the face of a pretty stiff wind. I've been truly amazed at how well it also handles west Texas cross winds, which can be fierce. It has a high capacity stator, so you should be able to operate various electrics if you need, gas mileage is good and reliability excellent.   It is light enough to handle most roads you will likely encounter.

After putting through all kinds of tests, I call it the go everyplace do everything motorcycle.  I had it on a country road last week and hit about a mile of pure deep sand on the road.  Keep in mind, I'm old, almost 61, yet I was thrilled that I and the WRR got all the way down that road and didn't dump it, though I came close a couple of times.  Some guys have had them to Alaska.  If it can handle that, my guess is it will handle your trip.

IMO, there is no doubt that what you say is true. I think the WR will go anywhere reasonable, do anything reasonably well, and hopefully last a very long time.

However, it's worth remembering that they do have USD forks. <3000km before mine started leaking. This is gonna get expensive at this rate. So if a really big trip is in the pipeline, a spare set of seals, wipers and bushes might be a good investment. Again imo, these forks might work pretty well, but they are a crap idea for a non-competition bike. High maintenance and very prone to damage when used off road - for instance, mine already have some minor injury due to stones bouncing off the bashplate and shooting forward into the back of the chromed fork sliders.

66T wrote:

IMO, there is no doubt that what you say is true. I think the WR will go anywhere reasonable, do anything reasonably well, and hopefully last a very long time.

However, it's worth remembering that they do have USD forks. <3000km before mine started leaking. This is gonna get expensive at this rate. So if a really big trip is in the pipeline, a spare set of seals, wipers and bushes might be a good investment. Again imo, these forks might work pretty well, but they are a crap idea for a non-competition bike. High maintenance and very prone to damage when used off road - for instance, mine already have some minor injury due to stones bouncing off the bashplate and shooting forward into the back of the chromed fork sliders.

Thanks again for sharing thoughts and information. Are these fork problems you mention common and well known? 3000 km before yours started leaking - wow they wear out/get injuried at that speed - they will need replacement every time one change oil. Are this kind of forks really that bad?

the wrr is a bombproof bike its light and economical and will take all you can give it I've had a xt660 thats a good bike but not as good as a wrr

Check out this guy's site. He's got a ton of miles on his WRR. If you read down, he said he had like 30,000 miles on the original seals. I don't know what the story is on the fork seal but it may have been a rare instance on his seals that gave out at 3500. Maybe that guy rides it off road hard. That could make a difference.

http://www.bigdogadventures.com/WR250R.htm

Prairieparson wrote:

Check out this guy's site. He's got a ton of miles on his WRR.  If you read down, he said he had like 30,000 miles on the original seals. I don't know what the story is on the fork seal but it may have been a rare instance on his seals that gave out at 3500.  Maybe that guy rides it off road hard. That could make a difference.

http://www.bigdogadventures.com/WR250R.htm

Yes, it does depend on the use the bike gets. Mine is ridden off sealed roads, with a lot of genuine cross-country km, ie no roads at all. It is well recognised among all my workmates and friends that USD forks can be a bad thing as far as leaking goes.

It's possible that my bike is worse off because of the very wide front tyre fitted to help with slow speed riding in sand. Small rocks get picked up in the knobs, then get thrown off into the bashplate and bounced into the back of the fork legs. This is bad. Regardless of my situation, bikes with USD forks are maintenance intensive due to dirt getting past the scrapers and under the seals. Dried mud on the chrome sliders will make seals leak very quickly. In short, dirt riders are always stuffing around with them.

In comparison, my 70,000km TTR250 is still on its original seals after 9 years of the same use. Say no more - it's tough to argue against fact!

Merry Xmas to everyone, and may you seals last and last   

Hi there,I use my wr2 out in Kenya and cover extensive distances remotely and with luggage. Faultless engine, light enough to pick up and be confident heading down single track into the bush - turning around a big bike when the narrow trail runs out can be a nightmare. Small enough to load on the back of a pickup if there is an issue or deep river crossing. Having run 600, 750 and both 660 teneres, I'd go for the wr2 anytime especially if I don't have to carry spare tyres and ridiculous amounts of clobber a la charley and Ewan. On my 5 wr2s I've had one seal go. Use some neoprene protectors. Rims do get dinked but that's riding technique and tyre pressures. Best tyres I've found (d606 not available in Europe) are maxxis it deserts (available in Germany).
A guy that's done uk to Siberia is http://brighton2expeditions.co.uk/siberia/. Just do it.
John

Oh yes and check out http://web.archive.org/web/20120410045002/https://wr250rforum.forumotion.com/t4763-wr250r-to-south-america

Thank you for sharing

"After 30,000 miles she needed a $25 set of piston rings, and while we’re at it might as well get a new piston thrown in for $65"

Nuff said.

bfgjohno wrote:

Hi there,I use my wr2 out in Kenya and cover extensive distances remotely and with luggage. Faultless engine, light enough to pick up and be confident heading down single track into the bush - turning around a big bike when the narrow trail runs out can be a nightmare. Small enough to load on the back of a pickup if there is an issue or deep river crossing. Having run 600, 750 and both 660 teneres, I'd go for the wr2 anytime especially if I don't have to carry spare tyres and ridiculous amounts of clobber a la charley and Ewan. On my 5 wr2s I've had one seal go. Use some neoprene protectors. Rims do get dinked but that's riding technique and tyre pressures. Best tyres I've found (d606 not available in Europe) are maxxis it deserts (available in Germany).
A guy that's done uk to Siberia is http://brighton2expeditions.co.uk/siberia/. Just do it.
John

Thanks for thought and advice. I have been reading the UK to Siberia report but the US to Ushuaia I havent until now. Great report! Thanks for sharing.

My concern is that I do need to load the bike to some extend.....

Snakeboy wrote:

I have been riding a XT660Z Tenere (the newer models from -08 and later) but didnt quite like it. Its just quite heavy and the engine is kinda slow and far from smooth (needs 3000 rpm to pull clean in 5'th gear)

So I ask for advice, opinions and thoughts and ideas about the WR250R as and overland bike?

Yea... You'll have a lighter, perhaps more reliable bike, now with less power, and now loaded with gear that won't pull SIXTH gear.

Based on the above statement alone.... My advice is to keep looking.

Would not the need for high octane gasoline be an issue on such a trip?

X-Racer wrote:

Snakeboy wrote:

I have been riding a XT660Z Tenere (the newer models from -08 and later) but didnt quite like it. Its just quite heavy and the engine is kinda slow and far from smooth (needs 3000 rpm to pull clean in 5'th gear)

So I ask for advice, opinions and thoughts and ideas about the WR250R as and overland bike?

Yea...  You'll have a lighter, perhaps more reliable bike, now with less power, and now loaded with gear that won't pull SIXTH gear.  

Based on the above statement alone....  My advice is to keep looking.  

Have you read the ride reports linked to above? The UK-Siberia trip on a WR and the US to Ushuaia trip on a ditto? Did any of these riders report that their WR's didnt pull in sixth gear while loaded? Based on those guys it dont seem that the lack power.

Have you by any chance calculated the power to weight ratio pr on those two bikes?

WR250R with fuel 136 kilo and 31 HP are ?
Ten 660 With fuel is 204 kilo and 48 HP are?   

Add that the Ten wont pull under 3000 rpm and doesnt like more than around 7000 rpm and the WR really liked to be reved...

I belive that the Tenere 660 is a tad more reliable than the WR because its not that high strunged, and also on the WR one need to drop oil twice as often (according to the book at least...) and can carry weight better of course.

But as you say I am still looking. Really like the Honda Crf 250 L as well....

Yeasty wrote:

Would not the need for high octane gasoline be an issue on such a trip?

The English guy that travelled UK to Siberia where there undoubtly are common with low octane fuel and low quality fuel reported no such problems at all.....

Yammy is quite a bit taller than the Honda.

and bits are easier to get on a wrr and cheaper than a crf250L

lanerider wrote:

and bits are easier to get on a wrr and cheaper than a crf250L

You might have a point depending where in the world you have in mind - but I am going to southeast Asia and I plan to make a decent amount of riding there. And the Crf's are made in Thailand and thus parts and availability are much better there and probably elsewhere in SEA as well.
Thats a plus for the Crf.....

OMG - what did I just Write on a WR-forum......  

yer you right the crf is new here in the uk the wr is a tried and tested bike here with plenty of bits

[/quote]Have you by any chance calculated the power to weight ratio pr on those two bikes?
 
WR250R with fuel 136 kilo and 31 HP are ?
Ten 660 With fuel is 204 kilo and 48 HP are?   [/quote]
 
 
Always remembering the Tenere has 23L of fuel and the WR has <8 in the above comparison.
 
So if the Tenere had an 8L tank, it would weigh 204 - (23 - 8 = 15L x approx 0.76 [fuel density] = 11.4).
 
204 - 11.4 = 192.6kg
 
Not a big reduction, but one has to compare apples with apples in this case.
 
At highway speeds, there's not much difference in fuel consumption between the two, really. At slower speeds, the Tenere can get up 70mpg (imperial), and I have had 93mpg from the WR during the running-in period. Nothing like that on the dirt, though.

Re the fork seal issue - my experience is only that, my experience. A stone ding in the back of the l/h fork slider is not imaginary, nor is the resulting leak. It may not happen using conventional-sized knobbys, though. I have fitted neoprene covers, but they won't stop a sharp stone. I will have to come up with a plan, as we have to ride a fair bit of rock of varying sizes.

The covers should be great in muddy conditions, and that makes them well worth fitting imo.

Fuel are not 1 lit = 1 kilo, I was a little quick there.... anyhow add engine oil, fork oil, coolant etc etc and the numbers will be approx right anyhow.....

Here's a chart. This guy sold his WR and picked up a Honda.

http://rickramsey.net/WR250RvsCRF250L.htm