I am getting ready for a two year trip around Nepal, India, China, and the stans. I am hoping to leave this August. I had intended to pick up a bike in Nepal, but those plans fell through so I am most likely going to buy one in the states and ship it there. After a bit of research, I was looking at either an XR400, XR250, DRZ400, or WR250R. In general, I would like to avoid bikes with more modern technology, but I have heard pretty good things about the WR250R regarding performance and reliability and am therefore opting for the WR250R. I am having a hard time finding a used one, I guess because they are not that old. So I might have to buy it new and mod it myself. Besides a bigger fuel tank, something like the 14L Safari, any other mods or prep work that are must do's? Any particular weak points that I should be aware of or spare parts that I should bring with? Thanks for any help.

Funny old thing, but the Wr250r came up about a month ago, but in a different forum:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...wr-250-a-62751

It contains a fair bit about the bike, including prepping it (check the links in there), and there are no bad points about it apparently.

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Dave

I'm a WR250R owner and I love it to death but my fuel tank says not to fill with anything less than 95 RON so it may not be a good idea to take it to places without premium fuel, although people have done so before.

Recently I bought the Wolfman racks + saddlebags and they are excellent. In regards to the safari tank, it's very expensive and you may be better off just buying a fuel bladder or something and spending the other $500-$600 on your trip.

You will probably want a bash plate of some sort, mine is from Force accessories and it's very good, removable by removing one screw.

Keep the chain oiled and slightly loose as they have a habit of eating into the swingarm when not maintained properly. Don't put a smaller sprocket on the front either. If you get an 08 model you may need to replace the fuel pump as some of the 08 fuel pumps were faulty.

I would advise you to leave the bike mostly stock as it is plenty fast without mods and any mods will cut heavily into your mileage.

In my opinion this is a much better bike than any of the others you have mentioned.

Pockethead,
I had not heard that the WR250R requires premium fuel. That would be a bit of an issue, but from hearing about people taking the bike around the world, I have to imagine it can get by on lower quality fuel. Do you have serious issues when you use regular? Thanks for the other advice, I will probably leave the performance mods alone for now.

Walkabout,
That definitely is a great thread. Thanks for pointing it out.

I've run regular gas in mine for many thousands of miles with 0 issues. Its probably not the best choice when its hot out, but if low octane is all you can get it'll still burn and run it just fine. If I knew I was going somewhere with a lot of crap gas, gas poured out of glass jars, etc I'd get a pre-filter for the gas tank like I've seen from some of the dirt bike places.

IMS also makes a pair of bigger tanks for the WR250R, the smaller is a 3.1gal and the larger is nearly 5gallon. The 3.1 is nice because it doesn't require a secondary lifter pump and is good for a solid 150 miles. I have the 3.1 tank (holds closer to 3.25gallons US) and it fits and feels like stock vs the bigger tanks which are wider to much wider. If you go with the wolfman racks they also have a rotopax mount of the left side of the bike that allows you to carry a 2 gallon gas can under the bag on the rack.

Definitely get a bash plate and some sort of protection for the single radiator. An upgraded seat will help with comfort. Heated grips are a nice addition too. I didn't notice a major hit to fuel consumption with aftermarket parts (FMF header and muffler, programmer, opened up airbox), but the noise is increased significantly.

Maybe bring a spare spark plug, spare clutch+brake+shift levers, have spare cables in place ready to change. Leave with a fresh chain and sprocket set along with fresh tires and you should have very little to worry about. Rarely do these bikes get any serious problems, and when they do they usually give plenty of warning. Fuel pumps, for example, don't just quit working but rather slowing start cutting out more and more frequently after warming up and will eventually run again. Make sure its in good running shape with a fresh battery, fresh fluids, etc before leaving and this bike will treat you right.

I'm currently sitting at ~38,000 miles, just rode it from Maryland to Alaska, and have yet to have a single issue with mine.

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2008 Yamaha WR250R

I have a WR250r and it is a great bike. This is my first post on the hubb, although I have been on ADV since 07. My bike runs the IMS 3.1, heated grips, dirt bagz, rear rack, skid plate, radiator guard, 14/49 gearing, pro-taper bars with risers and gps power with ram mount.

The only thing that I still want to add is an improved seat, but as stock seats go, the OEM is not too bad. Overall the bike is set up very well for more localized trips. Which is how I intended it, since I have young kids etc and cannot go on an extended trip.



For long distance, if that should ever happen, I'd add Wolfman luggage, a rotopax and of course a better seat

The WR 250 r is a great traveling bike.
I rigged mine with a Safari Tank 3.6 gallon, Flatland skid plate, Sargent Seat, Wolfman Racks with Andy Strapz Bags, tail rack with Ortlieb Roll top Bag, Wolfman Enduro Tank bag and tank panniers, Heated grips, and Scotts stabilizer.
I have also lowered the gearing with 14/49 sprockets and upgraded the springs. It is pretty much perfect.

If going to far off places,take a spare fuel pump and a chain slider. That is about all that can give trouble on the WR.

My bike is an 09 with 7,500 miles and I have put one chain guide on it. I think I wore it out by being heavily loaded on stock springs and running high speed highway with a some chain links that were not loose enough.
My fuel pump is acting up. I have one ordered for it.

Ed’s WR250R | Brighton 2 Siberia

He is on the HUBB as edteamslr

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Byron and BigDon,

Great looking bikes!

Ive always liked the WR250R, I always thought it would make a good alternative to the DR650 on tighter technical single track, what sort of gas mileage and range do you get from the Safari tank?

Do you know the differences between the X and R versions ? obviously the X is on supermoto wheels and a bit lower, but are there any major changes to the bike, suspension etc?

Id like to get a WR low enough that my wife could ride it (30 inch inseam)

Are they fussy with higher octane gas or will they take 87 ok?

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Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

Thanks Gipper,
I use 87 most of the time with almost no problems. I live in Texas and when the air temp gets up around 100f I switch to Premium Fuel. It will ping a little with the 87 in high temps. I now run the Premium all the time iv available but do not worry if it,s not.
I use a lower gearing on my bike 14x 49 and my fuel mileage suffers while blasting down the Interstate Highway with the throttle against the stop. I look for gas at about 100 miles and could probably go 130+. That range is with the 3.6 gallon Safari Tank.

Out on back roads and trails I can go close to 200 miles.

I do not know for sure but believe the R and X models have the same suspension. They are set up a little different from the Factory.
The X model is geared higher. It has a 41t instead of the 43t rear sprocket of the R.
The R runs 21" front and 18" rear wheels while the X uses 17"F& R .

You may want to PM Hayduke over on Advrider . His Wife rides a WR R that has been modified to a low seat height. She might be 5' tall.

Good luck with it but remember,they are great bikes but they are only 250cc's.