New motorcycle!

[Greg]

So I decided I needed a 2nd motorcycle for technical trail riding, something that the DR650 isn't very good at. I wanted a bike that was small, light with good, manageable power, electric start and a suspension that could handle some serious abuse. Since it was a 2nd bike, it needed to be affordable as well... a lot to ask, huh?

I ended up finding a '03 WR250F on craigslist for a decent price. The WR250F is built to be a race bike of sorts, for hare scrambles and such. It's a high-performance bike, much like it's big brother the WR450. '03 was the first year for the electric start, which was highly desired, but the bike does have a back-up kick start. Very cool!

One of the things that really attracted me to this bike was in the past, a previous owner had already added a big bore kit! On top of all that, the bike was plated, making it easy to register and make road legal in Colorado. After a quick test ride and considering the pluses I opted to pick it up.

After I picked it up, I added new big bars, new levers, grips, fixed the loose shifter, replaced the plastics, etc. I still need to change the spark plug and oil, adjust the carb, etc but I was happy with the work I had done so far, so I decided to take it for a ride tonight after work.

Riding it is pretty impressive, the bike likes to be ridden like a 2 stroke... it revs to 13,500 RPM!! The power is pretty impressive for a little 250, it really comes on HARD at about 9,000 RPM... you better be hanging on if you get it up there and crack the throttle wide open. It's no torque monster, but it has enough bottom end to tackle anything and the high rev's really make it a hoot to ride. When slowed down, the bike is quite happy to tractor up and down rough terrain. 1st and 2nd gears are plenty deep for slow going.

The suspension simply rocks, considering I'm used to my cheaply suspended DR650. I've ridden into rough washes with way too much speed, enough that I was bracing to pile it up, and the bike soaks it up quite well.

I headed out to Rabbit Valley and rode some of the tough trails and singletrack for a few hours and got a great feel for the bike. Here's some pics of the bike and the trails out at Rabbit Valley. -

 

[Greg]

Oh... this is what I will be bringing to the AF Canyon singletrack ride... :greg:

 

[Caleb]

I'm jealous of that riding you have so close by Should be a fun bike, just enough bike to get you in trouble

 

[Greg]

I'm jealous of that riding you have so close by Should be a fun bike, just enough bike to get you in trouble

Rabbit Valley is great, 15 min away and enough fun trails to entertain you for a day or 2. If you come back out this way again, we'll have to hit some of these smaller trails, rather than the 2 track roads of the Kokopelli.

It really is just enough to get me into trouble, I can ride this thing down rough trails much faster than I can ride the DR650... not sure if that's a good thing or not! Honestly, the bike is small enough that if things get out of control, I'm able to manage it and so far, get things back under control. It's been fun so far, but the seat SUCKS. It's not a bike I'm looking forward to riding for a full day.

 

[Rot Box]

I'm really jealous of the new ride! I'm going to get a different bike in the spring, and I have kicked around the idea of a 250F (or any make) a lot. There is so much to like about them especially for the type of riding I do.

EDIT: I've heard these guys make a seat feel like a giant marshmellow... http://www.gutsracing.com/pages/ktmmain.html Might be worth looking into!

Oh... this is what I will be bringing to the AF Canyon singletrack ride... :greg:

That weekend can't come soon enough! I'm really looking forward to it :greg:

 

[rholbrook]

If you really want to turn that thing into a great trail bike, you need to get the Revlock Dyna Ring. It will make a world of difference when your trying to go slower around those tight areas. You just wont stall it and when you want to get on the gas, it flat makes your bike hook up.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Right on! That is a great looking bike.

 

[Amy]

AWESOME!

 

[Greg]

I'm really jealous of the new ride! I'm going to get a different bike in the spring, and I have kicked around the idea of a 250F (or any make) a lot. There is so much to like about them especially for the type of riding I do.

EDIT: I've heard these guys make a seat feel like a giant marshmellow... http://www.gutsracing.com/pages/ktmmain.html Might be worth looking into!



That weekend can't come soon enough! I'm really looking forward to it :greg:

Anything tight & technical is so much easier to handle, I think you'd really enjoy having a smaller 4 stroke.

Nice find on the seat! They do make a comfort seat for the WR250F and it's not too pricey! Sadly it's for the newer bikes... wonder how hard it would be to fit on an older bike? Better save up the pennies... but I really need to get better at not sitting down.

If you really want to turn that thing into a great trail bike, you need to get the Revlock Dyna Ring. It will make a world of difference when your trying to go slower around those tight areas. You just wont stall it and when you want to get on the gas, it flat makes your bike hook up.

Believe me, I've considered it. Maybe down the road... for now this thing needs to stay on the cheap side of things.

Right on! That is a great looking bike.

I just hope I can keep up with a certain KTM...

AWESOME!

We need to bring Catherines TTR out and let you spend some time on it... but Shane might not like that, considering where it may lead.

 

[Gravy]

DAng it Greg! I want one, sooo bad. Very jealous

 

[benjy]

Yup, I'm jealous. Well done Greg.

 

[Greg]

DAng it Greg! I want one, sooo bad. Very jealous

Yup, I'm jealous. Well done Greg.

Don't be jealous, deals are out there...

 

[benjy]

Don't be jealous, deals are out there...

We'll see I loved the KDX until the bottom end puked, and I didn't need another project :-\ I may be looking for a newer 4 stroke this spring... it all depends on the two pending projects

 

[Caleb]

Hey Greg, not to tempt you or anything but there's a good deal on an R in Utah.

 

[Greg]

We'll see I loved the KDX until the bottom end puked, and I didn't need another project :-\ I may be looking for a newer 4 stroke this spring... it all depends on the two pending projects

Sorry to hear... after seeing Caleb's link, I may be putting this WR250F up for sale real soon here. :greg: I hear you on unplanned projects, hope you can work thru it all.

Hey Greg, not to tempt you or anything but there's a good deal on an R in Utah.

Holy damn.... I'm gonna call. Might be riding that on Sunday, instead of the WR250F. Thanks Caleb!

 

[Caleb]

If you need help getting it, I'd be happy to run up to Ogden.

 

[Greg]

So over the last weekend I made some simple changes that really made this little bike scream!

First off, the stock exhaust was very dented, rattly and loose. The header pipe was crushed in enough that I'm sure it was restricting flow at higher RPM's, which is where the WR made all it's power. I found a factory take-off exhaust from a YZF250 on Ebay that looked pretty clean and picked it up for $50. I bolted it on since it's almost a direct fit, but noticed that it was a much better exhaust.

The other 2 things were spark-related... there is a simple mod to change the WR timing and make YZF timing. It's as simple as disconnecting 1 wire. I did that after pulling the tank off and since I was there, I also replaced the spark plug since I didn't know when that was last done.

It's quite impressive now, the bike rides like a very torquey 2 stroke! It pulls the front tire off the ground with ease now and the bike is way more responsive thru the entire RPM range now, not only on the top end like it was. The exhaust really makes the bike breathe, you can tell that it made a huge difference itself.

I'm pretty happy with this bike so far, it's light and powerful. Great for riding in highly technical trail!

 

[Greg]

If you need help getting it, I'd be happy to run up to Ogden.

I'm talking finances with Catherine... I'll be up there for NPLD this weekend, so I might be able to pull it off, if it's still around.

 

[Ogre Palowakski]

looks like fun!

 

[rholbrook]

You want to ride my 450 this weekend? I will get it to Calebs.