Yamaha Wr250
CYCLE WORLD TEST
YAMAHA WR250
YOUR 1995 OFF-ROAD BIKE IS READY TODAY
IS IT 1995 YET? IT IS FOR THE PROSPECTIVE WR250 owner. Why? Well, usually the WR is a year behind the YZ250 motocross bike as far as development goes-underneath the 1993 WR250 was a '92 YZ motocrosser with the requisite off-road goodies added. But times have changed. The 1994 WR is the same basic bike as the '94 YZ250. It differs from its motocross brother by way of an 18inch rear wheel, a wide-ratio gearbox, an 0-ring chain, and a 3.5-gallon fuel tank. Also, there is a lighting coil in the ignition, and a round-slide carburetor replaces the flat slide MX piece. But that's it. I
The bike is sold as a closed-course competition model. It does not come with a spark arrestor or meet EPA off road noise regulations, but getting the bike registered for off-highway use in most states is as easy as fitting an aftermarket spark arrestor. We tested the bike with the YZR accessory spark arrestor ($60), which, according to Yamaha, produced a surprising one-quarter horsepower gain on the dyno. Not bad, considering it took a considerable bite out of the WR’s exhaust bark.
Sitting on the new bike brings a big surprise: It is thin. Past WRs have gained their extra fuel capacity at the expense of splaying a rider’s legs around an oversized fuel tank. This year, the capacity is there but the tank’s shape is better thought-out, and still holds enough for about 50 race miles, 65 at a trail-riding pace. The seat is shorter than the YZ unit, and if you were thinking of changing the bike over to the smaller YZ tank, it would require a YZ seat also. The rest of the bike is pure YZ, right down to the sidepanels and the radiators.
The WR motor is essentially the same as the YZ’s, except for the carb, a 38mm roundslide Mikuni that makes the intake tract slightly longer and gives a smoother power surge.
Both powerplants have five speeds, but the WR’s ratios have been altered. First gear is lower than on the motocross bike, and the ratios stay lower through fourth, though the jump up to fifth gear passes up the YZ and gives the WR a higher top speed. Fifth gear is all that you would ever want on a fireroad, but Baja-types will have to resort to sprocket changes.
This year, emphasis was put on suspension settings that work in areas other than the desert. With two top riders, Fred Andrews and Jan Hrehor, winning national harescrambles and cross-country races, feedback and testing for the new WR was much more well-rounded than before. As a result, the WR is versatile. It still works in the desert, but is now on par with the excellent Suzuki RMX for woods riding. It can even handle MX courses, though fast riders will find the calibrations too soft there. Compared to the YZ, the shock has its own valving setup and a lighter, 5.0-kg. rear spring. The fork utilizes the same 0.4-kg. springs as on the YZ, but again valving is more suited for trails than for the track.
Starting never took more than a couple of kicks. Put the bike in gear while cold and the clutch has a grabby feel, but this goes away in a matter of minutes. Clutch pull is very light and missed shifts were rare. The clutch takes a lot of abuse. We subjected the bike to slow, trials-like conditions where tons of slipping was necessary, and the clutch never lost feel or faded.
This bike has horsepower everywhere in its rpm range-a seat-of-the-pants guess would even have the WR running better than the YZ. There is not much power just off idle, as with a Kawasaki KDX or an RMX, but there is plenty above that, a situation that can partially attributed to an ignition-and its light flywheel effect-that is shared with the YZ.
The amazing thing is how much hit the engine can put out while remaining so user-friendly. And it doesn’t take much throttle control, either. If you need stump-pulling grunt, it is there. If you need to lift the front wheel right now, tap the clutch. If you need more than this, you need a 500.
A word of caution, though, about the motor. Like the YZ’s, it is prone to detonation. Yamaha set the timing on our WR to 0.8mm before TDC from the standard setting of 1.2mm BTDC. At this setting and running 92-octane pump gas with Yamalube R at 32-to-l, the engine did not detonate. Throughout the test, the carburetor didn’t require any jetting changes, and functioned perfectly all the way up to 7500-foot elevation. The air-filter stayed surprisingly clean and as an added bonus proved as water-resistant as any dirtbike’s we’ve tested recently.
So what is wrong with the WR? Nothing, as far as performance is concerned. Pricing may be an issue, though. At $4999, it is right up there with the current crop of top-dollar motocrossers—appropriate since it’s basically an MXer in disguise. What you don’t get for that price are such off-road amenities as lights and handguards. Internally, there is a lighting coil for powering lights, but a voltage regulator and the lighting setup have to be purchased separately, adding $ 100-plus to the bike’s overall price. An addition this year is a nicely done plastic front-brake cover, but including a set of sturdy handguards would sweeten the package.
If Yamaha set out to totally upgrade the WR250, it has hit the mark. Functionally, there is nothing wrong with the WR. We like the idea of selling the bike as a closed-course model-unlike an RMX or a KDX that has to have a lot of work put into it before it’s race-ready-but more stock offroad items should be standard for the WR’s five-grand asking price. Both Husqvarna and KTM manage to do it, so should Yamaha.
But no matter, this is one of the most enjoyable offroad bikes to roost through the Cycle World offices in a while. The Best Enduro Bike award of 1994 is going to be a real contest. ^
YAMAHA WR250
$4999
