Yamaha thinks it's engineered out the compromises with its new 'Supertrail' WR250R. Trials bikes don’t make great tourers and R1s are no use with knobbies. However, the temptation to serve up two bikes for the price of one is far too tasty a marketing proposition for manufacturers to ignore. Gene-splicing runs rampant.
An easy answer to getting an extra category out of a bike has always been road/trail. Just slap lights on your off-roader to get it legal enough to do tarmac. DRZs, KLXs and TTRs have been doing this for years. Plenty of these sell, and for good reason. They’re brutally cheap, easy to ride and will plug away for ever.
They’re old designs though, and over the years have generally gained weight, or at any rate haven’t lost any, and have not gained suspension or engine technology. Nor have they ever properly addressed the conundrum of a bike that’s truly good on road and trail. They’re generally growly, vibrating 80km road machines that still prove a bit porky when pulling them out of a bog.
Which brings us to the here and now. Yamaha has been working on cracking the compromise and claims the WR250R defines a new category, which they call “Super Trail”. If you peer through the smoke, the WR-R is a bike that intends to grind the idea of “Road/Trail” under the heel of it’s flash modern boot, and reset the concept. It aims to do trail with the weightless modern aplomb of a WR Enduro, and then provide a smooth, emission-friendly Monday ride to work as a soothing, whispering, fuel-injected commuter. Road/trail, as we need it in the new millenium.
Hmm… tricky. Take one strand of WR DNA, and splice it with cutting edge road bike technology.
Thursday 3pm Is this a con job? I’ve flown into sunny Queenstown and it’s gobsmackingly beautiful. I’m here, along with the rest of the Australasian press, for the official launch of Yamaha’s new WR250R and we’re joining the legendary 3-Day Yamaha Safari to ride the southern mountains and lakes. The scenery is so cartoonishly gorgeous and promising; I’m starting to feel a conspiracy theory coming on. Perhaps the addition of sun-baking Scandinavian tourists and good beer is there for a diversion? It’s a road/trail bike after all, the traditional jack of all trades and master of none. Is Yamaha buttering us up so full of beer and good times we all write great tests? Mind you, they have scheduled us to head out for an around 1500km ride. Surely a careful manufacturer wouldn’t dare expose cynical journalists to three days of vertical rocks on an average product…
At first glance the Yamaha WR250R gets the ‘pretty’ tick. It’s not too dumpy, or too tall, or too road, or too off-road. Clear WR cues, but without number plates (which always look daggy on the street) drive the look, but it’s sharpened up, slimmed down and finished with a pretty little R6 tail extender. “That won’t last long,” we all said, to be proved wrong three days later. Look closer to see the lathering with road details. Pillion pegs; a helmet lock; lockable fuel cap; rubber damped rear sprocket and a detailed dash. The dash is legible and informative, all idiot lights are present, and it offers a km-covered-on-reserve readout once gas gets low.
There’s only a single right-hand side radiator, but being lowly stressed compared to a YZ or WR this should be enough to keep it cool. There’s a fan to help when it isn’t. Clever shrouding vents hot air straight up and down, to avoid cooking the rider at traffic lights. The empty left-hand radiator side houses EFI electronics, catch tank and a horn. The chassis borrows heavily from the WR at the top and around the spar area, but has a steel bolt-in engine cradle for cost reduction and servicing ease. The swingarm is nicely detailed and hangs on to an 18-inch rear hoop. In deference to off-road intention there’s a small but comprehensive toolkit on the back frame spar.
Pulling it apart reveals the battery and airbox side by side, with the filter hidden behind a couple of layers of plastic shroud. In the top of the airbox are the usual nostrils with an interesting extra – a vacuum actuated flap. At low throttle, high vacuum, when the motor is not using a tremendous amount of air, ie 100 kph cruise, the flap shuts off one nostril to quiet it up. This increases rider comfort and helps it meet Euro III drive-by noise tests. Complementing it is an EXUP-style exhaust valve. Common to most big street bikes, it works by reducing exhaust diameter to provide good back pressure and scavenging at low speeds, and at high engine speeds it opens up to get good flow. Like the self-closing nostril it also can be fiddled to ensure emissions meet Euro test standards.
The bike is wet sumped, but engine height is kept down by dropping the engine in between the frame rails. Direct ignition (a booster in the plug cap) helps with packaging and an R-series rare-earth AC magneto keeps generation compact with the necessary extra oomph to run the EFI.
Saturday 7.30am Apart from the icy chill of morning sneaking through the rips and leaks in my MX gear, it’s a pleasant commute out to the first gate, heading toward the Dunstan Ranges. Crisp light reflects off the other WRs around me and the R6 tail makes sense. The styling will be as relevant in a pair of draggins’ on the way to work, as it is with a gussied-up trail rider aboard. The engine purrs very sweetly along at 100, without any roughness or vibration, but is choked with the tightness of only 10kms on the clock. The seat’s wider and more padded than a WR and with the upright positioning I could happily cruise for hours. Like the styling, the engine looks as though it comes from the WR, but is actually fresh. The 77 x 53.6 bore dimensions are straight out of a WR/YZ, but that’s about it. Drive and output shafts are mucked around with to provide better mass centralisation and it has WPC coating on the valves. “WP-What?” you ask. “Wonder Process Coating” I reply. Though it sounds much like a bad translation, it helps give a monumental 40,000km valve service interval, which will strike dumb any 250 4T MX owners. The engine uses titanium inlets to keep the revs and response alive and steel for durability in the exhaust. A forged piston and plated cylinder also address durability. Max power is at 10,000rpm. EFI is employed to keep emissions down and efficiency up. The pipe is nicely tucked in.
The gearbox is a six-speed, and nicely spaced, though first is a long way down. Remember this and everything will remain at peace – and you won’t chop down and do a handstand. It’s great for trickling along technical trails though, and avoids having to ride the clutch so much in traffic. Off-road specialists may prefer closer gearing, but we found the right gear choice and an amount of clutch abuse would get you up anything. Gearing it down would impact the excellent road performance. And mean that you should actually be buying a WR.
Sunday 1.30pm Chris Power and I have fallen into a side-by-side formation on the twin tracks of the Hunter Hills. It keeps it interesting. Trying to stay in your own track only centimetres away from each other, while in the unspoken but ever-present race, we take turns to ratchet the pace up to see who bottles first. There are a few touches and near misses, but the WR is a predictable ally in the dogfight. It turns well, has excellent stoppers and a good upper-mid punch now it’s loosened up a bit. The ridge falls off down a steep, rock-strewn track, about 3k’s to the valley floor. Our pace has picked up to just beyond what I am comfortable with on a descent this gnarly. It’s littered with rain ruts, cross gullies and rocks and is vertical on the left-hand side. It’s so narrow in places that every now and again a green No-Fear elbow pokes into my peripheral just under my armpit. Any mistake will reward the both of us with a helicopter ride and Mr Yamaha with a bike in a ball. It’s pretty exciting.
At the bottom I pause by an old stone shed to have a breather. Inside are a guest book and a lot of graffiti, the highlight being one from ‘Bert’, who’s trekked there in 1935 and again in 2007. I realise on the descent, not once did I think about being on a compromise bike. What if I bottom the front too hard? What if the brakes aren’t strong enough? What if the chassis kicks over the wide diagonal rain rut?
I’d come down at around 95 per cent of full pace on a road/trail bike. It may as well have been a full-on WR. The bike, flat and simple, worked. The suspension, at 270mm both ends, is compliant and comfortable, but boasts an amazing amount of bottoming resistance. It’s fully adjustable, but even fussy ol’ me hasn’t touched it. The boingers won’t stand being MXed (by anyone above beginner level), but in the rocks of the Southern Alps, I honestly don’t think I would choose anything else. Deflection was minimal and the full floating front disc gave exceptionally good feel and huge stopping power.
The motor has an easy, flywheely feel to it. The EFI keeps it very fresh in bottom registers, and builds linearly into the mid, with a good surge into the upper midrange and peak power of 10,000rpm. It feels as though it wants to rev harder to show it’s race heritage, but the Euro III emissions controls hurt it a bit. That’s not relevant to the ‘super trail’ concept though, and there’s a useable, broad spread of power that a bit of clutch abuse and a wide open style will really get hustling. On the road it remains flexible, quiet and friendly at open road speeds.
Monday 3pm We’re into the led section of the ride over the Rollesby Ranges. The day so far has been a lot of gravel and tarmac. The engine has loosened up nicely now and will cruise, though working hard, at 125-130kph. On a long gravel road, I tuck my clutch hand behind my back, drop my fat head into a space between the tank and throttle side, try and set my elbow level and pin it. As speed climbs, I do everything I can to make myself Oompa Loompa sized. Tucking toes and knees and flattening my back gains a few precious kms. There’s a slight tail wind and 150kph comes up on the digital speedo. At 155 I’m going for the Yamaha Safari Speed record in the 250cc off-road class, when she gives the sort of little shimmy that makes one put ones hand back on the bars and have a good think about the fact one’s lucky to be still on the gravel.
The led section has been branded as difficult, but I think that’s just to keep numbers down. It’s our ride home, led by Joe Forsyth, an older guy on an 08 KTM 530 EXC that can really pedal. I make it my mission to catch him and the WR gets the workout of it’s so-far short life.
And suddenly it’s all over. We’re back on the State Highway to Omarama. The bike I’ve just chucked, jumped, thrashed and biffed around mountain trails settles down to a quiet 110kph thrum, offers my tired backside a slightly widened seat and spirits me with a comfy lack of drama back the bar.
You don’t do a 1500km test too often. Not one in rocks on a mountain. From showroom new, 10 WR250Rs have just been used in a manner no buyer will put them through in a year of Sundays. Nothing has fallen off. Nothing has rattled loose. The only thing I can claim to be annoyed with is an indicator I can’t run off easily.
Can I keep it? I’m perfectly aware it reads like Yamaha has crossed my palm with silver, but the WR250R lives up to the “Super Trail” claim and successfully straddles the road/trail gap. KLXs, TTRs and DRZs will still be cheaper, but technology has moved on and the WR-R does both the jobs they claim to, properly. Engineered to a WR Enduro concept is smoothness, quietness, comfy seat, an ability to do open road speeds and pass traffic. Even an R6 can be none of these at times. And here’s the trick. But for the few extra kilos and more friendly suspension, you’d think you were riding a WR on trail. It hits all the off-road targets.
If you’re a commuting trailrider, an outright beginner on a learner licence, a trail rider who’s finding gas for the car expensive, into adventure touring, just want a bike to get around on, or any sort of rider – get ye to a Yamaha dealer. The WR250R proves road/trail doesn’t have to be a compromise anymore.
Thanks to Yamaha NZ for the bikes and launch. Thanks to Mike Britten for a great ride and immaculate organisation. You MUST do this trip, or another Britten ride at some stage in your life. See www.adventurerides.co.nz for details on the Yamaha McKenzie Safari, and other rides in the North and Asia.
Modifications
The WR250Rs were modified with Acerbis Handguards, a GYTR bashplate, and an old handgrip over the cold-water radiator feed for rock protection. Tyres were Dunlop D952s, which were outstanding, registering 1500 ugly k’s and still keeping a degree of edge.
WR250R SPECIFICATIONS
Engine Engine type: Liquid cooled, four-stroke, DOHC, four-valve, forward inclined single cylinder Displacement : 250cc Bore x stroke : 77.0 X 53.6mm Compression ratio : 11.8:1 Lubrication : Wet sump Fuel system : Electronic fuel injection Clutch type : Wet, multiple-disc coil spring Ignition system : TCI Starter system : Electric Transmission : Constant mesh, six-speed Final transmission : Chain Fuel tank capacity : 7.6L Oil tank capacity : 1.5L
Chassis Chassis: Semi-double cradle Front suspension : Telescopic forks Front travel : 270mm Rear suspension : Swingarm (link suspension) Rear travel : 270mm Front brake : Single disc, Ø 250mm / Ø 298mm Rear brake : Single disc, Ø 230mm Front tyre : 80/100-21M/C 51P Rear tyre : 120/80-18M/C 62P
Dimensions Length : 2180mm Width : 810mm Height : 1230mm Seat height : 930mm Wheel base : 1420mm Min grd clear : 300mm Dry weight : 126kg Colours Racing Blue or Sports White
