Well, that didn't take long.

[Lawn Dart]

Well, now that I have a fully farkled WR250R it was time to break it in.  Vern's bike is down, my brother is off to Glamis and in general I'm feeling rather anti-social today.  So I'm off, gonna hit the roads around El Cajone.

Why El Cajone?  Well, it's close, for one.  I've been out there once before so I'm somewhat familiar with the roads.  

And it's close enough with 100% cell coverage so I can call my wife for a recovery if I need it.    



Yep, that didn't take long!  
















El Chupacabra maybe?  




















Yep, steep hill - it's always steeper than the pictures lend.  Packed up mud filled tires.  Yep, dumped the bike twice on this.  Walked it up the hil under power and still had issues.


That gash on the side is 6' deep.  






This in honor of miles..."Look at the penalty for failure!"    My wife would NOT be happy seeing that picture!


Civilization!








Rotopax.  You know what?  They are indeed the real deal.  I hate saying it the dang thing is worth the money.




Things I learned today:  

1. The WR is a whole lot easier to pick up than the GS!  
2. It really does need to be regeared lower.  Stock si 13/43 gearing:  I'm going to move to 13/48 very quickly.
3. The bike pretty much tops out around 82.  Catch a nice downhill or backdraft and I saw 87.  Get a headwind and watch it pull 70.  The sweet spot seems to be around 75mph.  
4. Ummm...I didn't get 70 mpg.  I didn't get 60 mpg either.  Nope, got closer to 50 mpg.  I'm fairly convinced that my smile factor was much higher at 50 mpg though!    Tank range appears to be about 100 miles ridden with a heavy throttle hand.
5. OEM tires are fine on the highway and pretty much lousy off road.  D606's or AC10, here I come!
6. Seat height is, indeed, a little tall.  I have about 3/4" I can take out of the rear and can lower the front the same.  Good enough.
7. The seat:  isn't a problem.  100 miles of riding and no issues.  I'm good with it.
8. That @#$%^&* strap across the back of the seat has got to go though!    That thing is truly lousy and creates a nasty pressure point for freeway burning.
9. I need to put some kind of tail bag on the bike - no flat repair kit, no water, no backups on this ride.  Granted, it was a short run but...I much prefer having some back up.
10. Glad I put the heated vest connector in.  Bad that it was a tad exposed and broke the cap off.  No biggie though.  
11. HDB Hardguards:   Yeah, they really are that good.  
12. Power:  more than adequate in the dirt.  I could spin the back up in the first three gears with no real issues.  
13. 21" front really does handle crap in the roads a whole lot better than the 19" on the GS.
14. Need to add temp gauge with voltmeter built in.  I'm pretty sure it was in the lower 40's today.  

All in all, good times!
 

[ScottB]

Very nice!  I love WR250s, although I have a hankering for the X supermoto version...

[bluepoof]

Very cool!!!

[County Tar]

Thanks.  Enjoyed the pics.  Still cold and snowy here.  

[1KPerDay]

Looks like a blast.

[scottzilla]

you better keep going if you plan on crashing as much as me.

[stromgal]

What fun! I know it's easier than the GS (which is again easier than a Strom), but how much difficulty in getting it upright?

[Lawn Dart]

What fun! I know it's easier than the GS (which is again easier than a Strom), but how much difficulty in getting it upright?

I'm 5'8", 41 years old, 180# and a pencil pushing desk jockey who doesn't really work out.  I picked the bike up at least 6-8 times and a couple of times it was on a declining angle.  The bike, I think, weighs 310# wet (farkled weight).  I didn't have any problems picking it or dragging it around for a better angle.  

On the GS I had real issues picking it up a second or third time.  MUCH more top-heavy.  

Nope, the WR was quite nice to pick up!  

[mxvet57]

That gash on the side is 6' deep.  

Is that you standing in that rut?  

[Lawn Dart]

Is that you standing in that rut?  

Nope!  Thankfully.  If I had fallen into that rut it would have been incredibly difficult to get out of.  Actually, that section of road was so bad I took my helmet off and walked the bike up the hill under power to a safer starting point.  It was somewhere around 20 degree incline and decently slick.  Better tires would have no doubt helped.

[servicerifle]

Nice report.  Yes, looks like different tires would make a big difference for you.  

Watch those erosion areas, it looks like the soil is saturated with water and it will shear (already has) with little provocation.  Probably wouldn't send you to the bottom, but it could cause some difficulties.  

You should be getting better gas mileage than that, and greater range.  Should have at least 120 with the stock tank (I ran mine as much as I could when I had the opportunity, and got 60mpg-ish heavy handed) so with the 3 gallon you should be close to 170 or more.  The guys on the WR forum say the same.  Running rich maybe?  Semi-disregard, I re-read your other thread, I thought you already had the 3.1 gallon IMS tank.  That's one of my first additions.

I don't get the love for the Rotopax.  Sure, it looks cool, but the mount doesn't lend itself for dual use (when the can't not on) and it's just in an awkward place (to my mind).  Why is this better than an a couple of MSR bottles?  Educate me please.  Urg...after looking at their site it is cheaper than I expected (so many things are too much $$) So, not bad.

For a "tail bag" I really recommend the Giant Loop Coyote.  Yes, it's more than just a tail bag, but it is so good, it's easily an all-in-one.

Stromgal, it's a piece of cake to pick up.

[1moreroad]

 

Tires have a big effect on this bike.

[Lawn Dart]

Nice report.  Yes, looks like different tires would make a big difference for you.  

Watch those erosion areas, it looks like the soil is saturated with water and it will shear (already has) with little provocation.  Probably wouldn't send you to the bottom, but it could cause some difficulties.  

You should be getting better gas mileage than that, and greater range.  Should have at least 120 with the stock tank (I ran mine as much as I could when I had the opportunity, and got 60mpg-ish heavy handed) so with the 3 gallon you should be close to 170 or more.  The guys on the WR forum say the same.  Running rich maybe?  Semi-disregard, I re-read your other thread, I thought you already had the 3.1 gallon IMS tank.  That's one of my first additions.

I don't get the love for the Rotopax.  Sure, it looks cool, but the mount doesn't lend itself for dual use (when the can't not on) and it's just in an awkward place (to my mind).  Why is this better than an a couple of MSR bottles?  Educate me please.  Urg...after looking at their site it is cheaper than I expected (so many things are too much $$) So, not bad.

For a "tail bag" I really recommend the Giant Loop Coyote.  Yes, it's more than just a tail bag, but it is so good, it's easily an all-in-one.

Stromgal, it's a piece of cake to pick up.

SR,

Yeah, those erosion areas are bad.  I took a lot of time (relatively speaking) to check out the bad spots before riding over them.  For one, I didn't want to do a Miles and fall into the ditch...down the mountain...or worse.

Rotopax:  The beauty of the RP is flexibility of the pack.  On long range cross country tours I always liked having an extra gallon with me.  I'm far too prone to "pushing it that extra mile" and the RP is an easy solution.  Moreover, it's flexible:  when I get a bigger tank on the WR, I'll relocate the RP to the GS.  I can use it for the FJ Cruiser when my wife and I go out to the desert.  You get the idea.  

The mount is solid.  I never knew the can was back there.  No bouncing, jiggling or otherwise.  Very, very solid.  They make a mount that slings down the left side but I didn't want to go that route.  I didn't want to have a gas can that exposed.

Which is silly because the RP Can is extremely over-built.  Super tough reinforced plastics.  Don't even think that they compare to a Kolpin or any other gas can:  The RP is in a whole 'nother league.  

Finally, at $74 shipped with ADV discount, it was way less than the IMS for an initial increase in tank range.  And, when I do go out and get a big tank for some kind of TAT/CDT/Death Valley ride, I'll still pack the extra gallon.  But I'm like that.  I try to be prepared for any and all situations.

Fuel economy:  heck, I was WFO on the freeways.  I'm not at all surprised at my lack of mileage.  I figure to back down speeds to a nice 65mph with the AC10's I have on order.  

Anyway, the RP was a cheaper solution that gives me flexibility for fuel options for other vehicles.  Hence why I went that route initially.  I have every intention of putting a 3gal IMS on the bike.

[servicerifle]

Gotcha.

I have not even ridden my WR on the highway yet, lol.  I intend to avoid it at all costs.

Please check your PMs.

[M.Brane]

  Packed up mud filled tires.  Yep, dumped the bike twice on this.  Walked it up the hill under power and still had issues.

 You're supposed to go fast enough to fling the mud off.  

[kurtw]

Cool report! Looks like some neat riding... perfect WRR territory!

 You're supposed to go fast enough to fling the mud off.  

Or it may be time for some real tires. 50/50 Dualsport tires don't clear mud for shite.

For a "tail bag" I really recommend the Giant Loop Coyote.  Yes, it's more than just a tail bag, but it is so good, it's easily an all-in-one.

+1 - Although for day rides, check out the GiantLoop MoJavi. I had been using my Coyote for day rides as well as camping, but it was overkill for day trips. I just put a MoJavi on my 450 and it's SO well suited for this type of riding. It will carry a couple of MSR fuel bottles and still have room for tools, a jacket, etc, etc. When you get a bigger tank, check it out.

[KLRchickie]

Very nice!  I love WR250s, although I have a hankering for the X supermoto version...

It is *very* easy to have a schizophrenic WR250

Here is ZED's WR250X wearing its other set of wheels, beside my WR250X the day it came home.  We each have a set of dirt wheels from Forrest at Wheeling Cycle & the swap over takes 30 minutes or less per bike.

[mxvet57]

 You're supposed to go fast enough to fling the mud off.  

When in dout, gas it