Devon TRF Group Forum

Rather than hijack Steve's For Sale thread, I have started a new one - hope that's OK Steve?

I am quite surprsied that there aren't more WR250Rs around and that we haven't heard more from their owners. Apologies to Salcomberider (Laurie) if he has posted some info about his steed but, if he has done, I missed it 

I would be interested in your opinion of the WR250R if you have a moment Laurie 

Anyways up, I have spent a few days trail riding in the mountains of S spain on these little beauties and they are cracking dirtbikes with that all-important 6th gear and non-close ratio gearbox making both trail and road riding comfortable. I have to admit to being a tad jealous of Steve's acquisition but he has promised to let me have a go on it - I think 

Here is a write up from the TTR250 Yahoo Group:

I have recently upgraded from the TTR to the WR250R

I purchased the ttr new in 2005 (Australia) - this was my first bike at age of
42 (only riding a farm bike once a year when growing up). I loved my ttr even
after a broken humorous in 2006 and a dislocated shoulder in 2007. Now that I
have been riding for almost 6 years, I think I have progressed from a novice to
probably intermediate and am fairly conservative when on the trails (memory of
pain stays with you for a while - the older we are the longer the healing takes)

I have done around 6000km of off road riding and the bike still goes great. I
get it serviced once a year by a friend and do the normal general maintenance -
clean filter after each ride, oil & filter changed around 1000km or less. The
only major problem was having to replace the clutch plates & springs (but this
was probably caused by my obsession with learning how to clutch wheelie - and
was not that expensive or difficult to do ourselves).

The main thing with the ttr was to put a good exhaust and de-restrict & to gear
it correctly - we mainly ride off road on fire trails & single track - very
minimal black stuff (plus I cut the seat foam down due to height challenged). I
have a staintune exhaust (aussie made), 13t front sprocket and now a 47t rear
sprocket (replaced chain & rear sprocket at about 4500km and was pleased with
the extra power that the larger rear sprocket gave - it also improved my riding
as I was using a higher gear more often and the engine seemed to be in a better
rev range (ie I was using 3rd more on the single track where I would have stayed
in 2nd before).

I was able to test ride the WR at the cowen Forrest ride last year and felt
comfortable straight away - it had a lot more power than the ttr and steered
really well (the test track was a 30min single track enduro loop in the Forrest
- which was a good test compared to a motocross or grass track which is not what
we usually ride on). After the test ride I decided the bike was the ride upgrade
for me - even though I still loved the ttr. I put a picture of the WR on the
fridge in April 2010 as a goal - and I finally ordered the new toy in dec 2011
in time for a Christmas mini adventure ride that I organized with a group of
mates.

I have kept the ttr so that I can invite mates along on rides that don't have a
bike (or maybe I just can't part with it). My 20 year old son has a ktm250excf &
my 18yo daughter is learning on a ttr230. The group we ride with have a range of
bikes, ktm450exc, Kawasaki klx250, ktm200, husky 250, xr250 etc.

The WR is a great bike that fits my needs perfectly and is not just a
replacement to the ttr but definitely an upgrade. The seat is narrower and
better for getting up on the tank to get the weight forward compared to the ttr
(it is a gripper style but not too hard compared to say my sons KTM). The fuel
injection works well - no choke and no fuel tap to worry about - and no need to
warm the bike up. There is no kick start - and just like the ttr if you leave
the key on you will kill a battery in about 1/2 hour - I have done this now on
both bikes! The fuel tank is metal - I believe this is to allow the system to be
pressurized for the fuel injection. One advantage is that there are no stickers
to bubble as there are shrouds on either side of the tank. The fuel cap is
lockable - which I think is a good thing. Plus as it is a sealed system, no tube
coming out of the fuel cap - that was always a pain on the ttr. There is a
radiator on the right hand side and a cooling fan that cuts in when needed. The
side stand is similar to the tttt (but it is sealed at the bottom which prevents
mud from filling up the hollow of the side stand).

With my experience from the ttr, I wanted to make sure I had all the goodies on
the new bike from the dealer so I waited until I could justify the expense - but
in the end I decided that life is disappearing too quickly so I just went &
bought it (making sure the wife doesn't find out how much it cost!). The
following is a list of what I got the dealer to include:

B&b bash plate, gytr exhaust, rental bars, bark busters, talon 48t sprocket,
chain, b&b numberplate holder, metzler mc5 tyres, lowering link (from ballards),
gytr rear rack, gytr air filters.

The b&b bash plate & no plate holder are excellent (Aussie made). The bash plate
is easy to take off to clean and is not too bulky but covers the right areas.
The gytr rear carry rack fits great and although I won't need to use it very
often, it is not obtrusive so I will leave it on all the time. It will make
carrying extra fuel easy or a small bag if we go on a longer ride.

The fuel economy & tank size is great - probably similar range to the ttr - most
other bikes will run out before the WR does.

Ps: highly recommend chris Watson motorcycles at Cessnock Nsw - i negotiated a
good price by getting competitive prices & they fitted everything at no extra
cost over the advertised retail price. They also spent a lot of time with me
when I picked up the bike.

I have ridden my son's ktm250f a few times and I have always been a bit nervous
as it has so much power. But right from the first ride I felt comfortable on the
WR. The front suspension is so much betterr than the ttr - the usd forks soak up
the bumps - often we come across rocky uphills and it just eats them up - it
amazes me sometimes when I see a large rock or ledge and think I'm going to have
a problem- but I just give it some throttle and it handles it as if there was
nothing there. But I don't feel intimidated like on the KTM (I always preferred
my trusty ttr over the KTM - but I love the WR even more).

The WR definitely has more power and acceleration - the gytr exhaust has a great
bark sound (but still 94db). On uphills, the front wheel spends more time off
the ground, and it can handle being left in third gear with some clutch rather
than having to drop down to 2nd. The ttr was like a tractor on uphills (with
13/47 gearing) and the WR is the same if not better.

I have done around 800kms since getting the bike just before Christmas and had
the first service - there is a 2 year/ 10000km warranty which is pretty good.

The only mods I have done is to remove the side stand cutout switch, chain guard
and pillion pegs (which protrude out and beg to be broken)

The foot brake lever is better design than the ttr - the pegs are similar. The
front sprocket cover is easier to remove to clean the mud than the ttr. There
are no stickers on the side panels. The engine is easy to clean as there are no
cooling fins.

The usd fork protectors are easy to remove to clean the forks. The brakes work
really well. The bike can like the front wheel easier than the ttr - makes it
easier to wheelie over obstacles.

There are a couple of small gripes though - the speedo pickup is from the engine
and hence with the change in gearing and tyres, it reads about 20% high. I have
check with forums and this is a known problem (they have even been reported to
read 10% high in stock trim which is bad). The only solution I have found is a
small electronic device that someone has made that can be installed which allows
you to adjust the reading by programing in a conversion factor based on
sprocket/tyre specs.

The air filter & cage is exactly the same as the ttr which is convenient,
however the filter is mounted vertically in a much smaller air box which is
awkward to reinstall the filter after cleaning. Also, the air box door has a
hinge which seems to give a good seal - but it is recommended to replace the
phillips head bold on the door with a Allen key bolt otherwise to get to the air
filter you need 2 different tools (Allen key to get the side panels off, and
Phillis head screwdriver to open the door - what were the guys at yamaha
thinking)

The other small gripe is that there is no hour meter on the fancy speedo unit -
so I purchased one and went to install it only to find that the spark plug lead
is a type that has the coil on the cap and although I got the dealer to install
it, it is not reading correctly - it must not be getting a good enough pickup
from the coil. My mate is going to get a different hour meter for me that he
will wire directly to the ignition so that it measures when the key is in.

Ps: I have put together a short report on the first major ride on the new bike -
you can view it from http://steve.businescraft.com (actually it's more like a
novel with plenty of pictures)

Well I hope this is of interest and helps answer the question - although I've
forgotten what the question was. Anyway, i'm off with a mate to join the
"trailrider" ride next weekend which is an organized ride done by KTM trail
tours in conjunction with the trailrider magazine - it's a 2 day ride from
ulladulla to batemans bay - and is graded "advanced" - should be an interesting