As my regular readers know, I have been downsizing my bikes to postpone aging out. The process began in 2020 when I added a 650 Suzuki V Strom XT to my stable and learned I could live with a much lighter chain drive bike. 

Last September I purchased a Triumph Tiger 900 ADV Rally Pro to directly replace the FJR and address the V Strom’s lack of cruise control and gain improved suspension, brakes and many other refinements with  little more weight than the V Strom. The Triumph has over 7500 miles now and I just got back the Russell Sport seat conversion which retained the heating elements and perfectly completes this great bike.

I have a third bike that I haven’t talked about for quite a while- my 2000 Suzuki DRZ400E street legal dual sport that I have had since It weighs about 315 pounds, has 40 hp, and 12” of suspension travel. Love this bike but haven’t ridden it for over a year. Why not? There are several reasons- the seat is very tall, the electrical system is only 200 watts total- not enough to run full heated gear, but the real deal breaker is that it only has a five speed transmission. The engine is screaming when I’m riding 60+ mph on the paved roads in between the gravel and dirt ones. That means that I have to trailer it to where I want to ride, then load it back up to go home afterward. I just didn’t want to do that any more. 

My friend Tim Mullins got a Kawasaki KLX 300 dual sport bike. It weighs about 300 lbs, has about 30 hp, and 9” of suspension travel so it’s not as tall. It has fuel injection, a decent electrical system and a six speed wide ratio transmission so it cruises comfortably on the road. I rode it and decided to downsize.

A couple of months ago I sold the DRZ to a friend and started looking for a KLX 300, but all I could find were new ones or used ones priced like new. Several friends told me to look at a Yamaha WR250R, as an alternative. They are basically unchanged from 2007 to 2020, their last year of production. Turns out the WR250R also weighs about 300 lbs, has about 30 hp, and 9” of suspension travel. It too has fuel injection and a six speed transmission so it cruises comfortably on the road. Pretty interesting! 

Went to look at a used one I found on Facebook Marketplace. Good used bikes often come with valuable accessories already installed, and this one was no exception. The 2018 model that I found already had most of the parts that I would have needed to buy- Seat Concepts low seat, gas tank with ½ gallon extra capacity, luggage rack. Those items alone would have cost me about $700 to buy. 

But wait, there’s more! FMF muffler with matching fuel injection tuner, Pro Taper handlebars, premium bark-buster hand-shields, Lithium battery, new tires, new chain & sprockets, shorty grips, premium bash plate, LED headlight and stop/tail light, heavy duty foot-pegs. Bike has 24k miles, but other owners told me not to worry- one of my female friends has 50k miles on hers. Mine was owned by a mechanic who had just done the 23k mile valve clearance check and given the bike excellent care overall.

After buying the WR250R and getting it home, I was amazed at how little I needed to do to get it set up for my needs. I added a small AirHawk seat cushion I had on hand, then the electrical accessories- GPS & phone mounts, a voltmeter and power for all. I discovered that the WR alternator has an output of 360 watts- amazing for a dirt bike and plenty to run my heated gear and grips, so I made some brackets and installed electrical stuff.

So what’s it like to ride the WR250R? It doesn’t have the sheer power of the DRZ, but it’s light, super smooth and with the gearing it will run comfortably at over 70 mph- exactly what I was looking for and just in time for riding season. Time to ride!

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Connect with local Ohio Motorcycle Sport Touring Association riders at these monthly breakfasts:

Southwest Ohio Breakfast, 9AM, May 17

Village Family Restaurant
144 S. Main St.
Waynesville, OH 45068

Central Ohio Breakfast, 8AM, June 1

Portside Cafe
6515 S High St
Lockbourne, OH 43137