WR250F on the road (dual sport) questions

[JNizza]

Ok, so here's the situation. I have a 2008 WR250F and I converted it to a dual sport, turn signals, hi/lo beam, brake light, horn, tires, etc... It is all licensed and I have put 200 road miles on it over the weekend . It had about 700 on it before I dual sported it so now it has about 900... (duh). However, I have a couple "issues".

FIRST: The bike is made for off road use and I am sure that there needs to be some internal mods to the engine to make it run good on the road. The bike does not go over 68-69mph, which is fine because I do not take it on the highway. But here is the issue. The bike feels like it needs to shift into 5th gear at about 30-35mph. This is not a bike deal for when I ride trails and such, but on the road I do not think this is good considering that all of my on road riding is at about 45-55mph, the bike feels like it "tops out" at 50mph and it is just screaming, I have no idea what the rpms are but I am sure they are high. I was wondering what I could do to give the bike a higher speed power band. So that I can ride at 55mph and not feel like the bike is going to explode. I was thinking about getting a bigger gear on the engine side, possible two or three teeth bigger. I think that this might solve the problem, but I am not sure.

SECOND: Valves. Plain and simple. The bike is now running at higher rpms and I am sure I will need to have some valve work or adjusting done. I have head that running the WR250Fs on the road like I do will destroy the engine unless some preventative work is done, particularly with the valves. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated as I do not know very much on the topic.

THIRD: "uncork" I keep reading this term and I have been to the page that tells you how to do the stuff to get the most potential from the WR250Fs but the page does not say anything about the 2008 model year. This was the first year with the aluminum frame and was a big selling point for me, the bike is really light. I would like an explanation and information on the "uncorking" process, what it does, how to do it, etc... on the 2008 WR250F.

FOURTH: Rider gear. I bought a street bike jacket, Fox Racing 360 Brace Jacket. The jacket is awesome, but I am dying of heat on some hot days, I have all the vents open and the collar part off (do not want to remove the sleeves, that kinda gets rid of the safety aspect of the jacket...) I am still sweating when I am riding on a hot day. I opted out of the leather jacket route because I thought that would be hot, I can only imagine how hot I would be in a leather jacket. So my question is, is this normal and I just need to stop complaining and need to man up and take the heat or is there a secret to staying cool? I have a jacket, gloves and a helmet, anything else I should get?

Fifth: Helmet. I have a regular Fox MX helmet, I have had it for about 6 years and I had to take the visor off because I felt like the wind was going to rip the helmet off my head. The helmet now looks really retarded and was wondering what kind of helmet would be best for dual sport use? I was looking at the Fly Racing Trekker DS as it is basically a dual sport helmet, It has a visor for on road and the option for goggles when I am off road. My only problem with this helmet is that it is only DOT certified, It is not SNELL approved, and SNELL has stricter (stricter?) standards for testing helmets. Is this something I should be worried about or will the DOT rating be enough? It says, "Meets or exceeds DOT standards". This helmet also has a visor, but it looks as if it has places for the air to flow around it, and even between the visor and actual helmet. Will this helmet catch the wind and try to be ripped off my head like the MX helmet I have?

I know that is a lot of questions, but I am new to on road/dual sport riding and do not know much about it. I have been trail/off road riding for about 6-7 years and decided it was time to save some gas and look sick riding a motorcycle, and the girlfriend thinks its attractive too, so that's a bonus ?.

Any information would be appreciated, exspecially on the engine/performance aspect of dual sporting the 2008 WR250F.

Jordan

[Swede73]

With the gearing either go up one tooth in the front or go down in the rear. One tooth in the front equals 4 in the rear opposite way. Bigger front or smaller rear equals higher speeds.

Valves check periodically and shim when needed. Preventative maintenance is key. Change oil and clean air filter

Uncorking nothing has changed since it was written. Still air box, throttle stop, exhaust, gray wire and YZ cam timing

[BazookaJoe]

The first year alum frame is 2007. Search my posts for some pictures of uncorking the air box- there is more to remove than what first seems apparent. (been there, done that).

To make your bike work better on the road, do what Swede says. Keep in mind that the WR chain does not have a masterlink, so if you go to a 14T front, you'll need a smaller rear as well (I don't have details as to what you should buy).

BUT... If you are planning to use the WR250F as a road bike, I would suggest to reconsider for something larger displacement like the WR450 or a DRZ400 or larger bore KTM etc

Bullet head.... Find a diff helmet. If your visor is set correctly, you will do just fine at road speeds. I have ridden my V Strom at 90 mph with a visor and goggles with no problems.

Snell standards, years ago, were aimed more at the stock car application and had a different set of tests. DOT is a good test, just different. It's not like DOT test is applicable to hockey helmets. If your helmet is old, then maybe it's time to go shopping.

[JNizza]

Just got finished doing some mods to the bike. Here is the stock information: topped at 69mph, gears were short, I would need to shift into 5th gear at just under 30mph, but I mean it is a trail bike meant for low end torque, reved very high at about 45-50mph.

First mod was a bigger sprocket in the front, I added one tooth to go up to 14 teeth (did not need to do anything to the chain or rear sprocket, just pulled the rear tire in a little bit with the adjusters that are there), it widened my 4th gear so I could shift into 5th gear at about 35mph, topped at 73mph,did not rev as high at 45-50mph.

Second mod was to cut the gray wire, I actually just pulled it out of the connector in case I needed to hook it back up for some reason or something went wrong. The bike RIPS, it has a bunch of torque throughout the whole range of rpms, when I hit the throttle at any speed I actually get pulled back, It feels kind of like a 2-stroke in power delivery. The bike sounds totally fine running at 45-50mph, it does not seem to rev to high at all. The bike now tops at 79mph.

Third is to back out the throttle restrictor screw in the carb

Fourth is to get a FMF Q4 pipe and FMF power bomb header. Then do the airbox mod and re-jet it with a JD Jetting kit. I was told not to mess with anything intake or exhaust unless I am ready to re-jet it.

[Swede73]

With the throttle stop there is no backing it out. Take it out and cut it shorter. JD jetting is prolly one of the best mods you can do. You can do the YZ cam timing on your bike. It's free!!!

[YZEtc]

I have a 2009 WR-250F with a license plate on the back.

A 2009 model is the same as a 2008 model, except for the stickers.

I ride my bike on the road only to get from one trail to the next on my local state forest trail loop.

Here are my feelings on your points and questions:

FIRST: The bike is only a 5-speed and geared low overal so it works off-road, a place where you aren't always going 50mph or more, but often working to hit 25 or 30 mph over rough terrain.

A bike made for considerable street use (a dual-purpose bike, AKA dual-sport these days) would be a 6-speed and geared much, much taller.

For example, I also ride a 2008 WR-250X (Yamaha's "motard" that is based on their dual-purpose WR-250R (which is nothing like a WR-250F, by the way, except in name)), and the WR-250X is a million times better on the street for two big reasons:

1) The gearing is much taller (even with lower gearing a lot of guys run on these bikes), allowing what feels like half the engine RPM required to do 65mph.

2) Since the engine in a WR-250X (or WR-250R) is it's own design and owing nothing to the WR-250F and YZ-250F except bore and stroke and the oil filter element, it feels very smooth and almost vibrationless out on the road, lending a feel of the bike not straining in the least to run at highway speeds.

My WR-250F, in comparison, is geared very short, vibrates noticably more, and basically feels out of it's comfort zone on the street, a place that's comparatively smooth in terrain surface where you can easily notice these things.

In my opinion and for where I ride my WR-250F, gearing it up that much would ruin it's effectiveness off road in my neck of the woods.

SECOND: The WR-250F engine is considerably smaller and lighter than a dual-purpose bike engine, and made to make more power and gain and lose revs much quicker.

It's a higher-performance engine.

Basically, it's an electric start YZ-250F engine with different cam timing.

Making it last for 20,000 miles plus of street use was not part of the plan when it was designed.

Although I wouldn't doubt that somebody out there has a WR-250F with lots and lots of miles on it, myself, I'd keep that on the back of my mind and change the oil frequently, service the air filter frequently, and, basically not expect to get tens of thousands of miles before something needs to be replaced.

THIRD: You must do all of the uncorking, or "free mods" if you expect a full-power WR-250F.

Period.

The bike is sold in a choked-up condition to get around stupid EPA regulations.

If you haven't unplugged the gray wire from the ECU yet, removed the muffler outlet silencer (AKA pea shooter) yet, removed the airbox snorkels yet, rejetted the carb yet, and replaced (or shortened to the correct length) the throttle stop yet, you're not even riding a proper-running WR-250F.

These all must be done.

In my opinion, even a modified stock muffler is very restrictive.

Ditch the stock muffler and head pipe entirely and install an FMF Q muffler and Powerbomb head pipe.

More power across the RPM range and the noise is completely acceptable.

FOURTH: If you want proper riding gear on the street, you want something made to withstand sliding down the pavement with you off the bike and laying down on the road.

Leather is the best at this, and, in my opinion, the choices progress from withstanding pavement sliding and moving more toward plain old casual wear that you could wear to the shopping mall and blend right in without a second glance.

Blue jeans?

Might as well be wearing tissue paper soaked in water.

While I'm out on my WR-250F riding the pavement sections of the trail loop, I'll be dressed in typical off-road/motocross gear, riding down the paved road at 35-40mph, crossing my fingers because I know the textile pants material, jacket material, and material of the gloves won't take much sliding down the pavement nor impacting the pavement.

When I'm on the street for the entire ride on my WR-250X, it's street gear of a leather suit and the whole nine yards.

FIFTH: I've always worn off-road/motocross helmets on my dirt bikes and dual-purpose bikes when any off-road riding is done.

Much better air flow to cool you off and allows for less fogging of your vision and easier breathing.

I've never had any annoyances due to the motocross visor, probably because I naturally keep it angled downward while riding at speed.

Edited July 23, 2011 by YZEtc

[Toby_S]

I just got a plated 2006 WR. Previously I rode a plated 2002. They have identical gearing, and 45 is a comfortable cruising speed. 60 is the max I want to go. My brother in law took it to 78 (Grrr!). It is not a road bike, and I avoid riding it on the street because I'm putting "non-value-added" wear on the engine.

When Yamaha went to aluminum frame, they also dropped high gear a little to tighten up the ratios. They also went to a 50 tooth rear from 52. This might have offset the high gear change, but first gear got higher.

I wonder what would happen if you geared it even higher (46 or 48 rear), and put on an auto clutch? That might give you the best of both worlds - assuming you would like an auto clutch. It would work the plates in the slow speed stuff, but not too much.

-Toby

[JNizza]

With the throttle stop there is no backing it out. Take it out and cut it shorter. JD jetting is prolly one of the best mods you can do. You can do the YZ cam timing on your bike. It's free!!!

What do u mean take it out and cut it shorter? how short? is there a pic or a procedure? and how do I do the YZ cam timing? isnt that the gray wire thing? I did that last night and it helped a lot

[Swede73]

http://www.thumperfaq.com/free_mods.htm

Within that link is a link specific to the throttle stop and links within that.

YZ cam timing is rotating the exhaust cam 1 tooth clockwise so instead of 13 chain pins between the dots on the cam shaft there will be 12. It is explained better in the link I gave you. You can do it on your year with the auto decomp cam. You have to grind 1mm off of the decomp pin and it's very easy to do. It took me about half an hour to take the cam out, grind down 1mm and put it back in and set it. Very easy!

http://www.thumperfaq.com/yz_timing.htm#Timing

[JNizza]

I just got back from a 80 mile ride and the bike did great as opposed to stock, even thought I only did the 1+ sprocket in the front and cut the gray wire.

YZEtc, thank you for the awesome reply, it helps a lot, I have some follow up questions

FIRST: It does feel exactly like I need a 6th gear, I would have gotten a true dual sport bike but I had bought this one back in 2008 with no intentions of taking it on the road, and I am not financially prepared to take on another bike payment and insurance lol.

SECOND: I am going to change the oil and oil filter pretty frequently now, and also service the air filter. Are there any "better" air filters out there? I am going to do the air box mod as soon as I get the money to buy a JD jetting kit. (I was told not to mess with intake or exhaust unless I am ready to re-jet it). What other service should I more regular keep up on besides the oil and air filter?

THIRD: is there a place for more explanation on the throttle stop? I do not want to mess that up, and can I do that without re-jetting it? Will it still run good? Is it true that it is not good to mess with the intake and exhaust unless you re-jet it? I plan on buying the FMF megabomb titanium header and the FMF Ti Q4 Slip-on exhaust when I get the funds.

FIFTH: I bought a HJC street bike helmet yesterday that I wore on my ride today and it is amazing, awesome air flow (no sweaty head!) and it looks pretty sick too, and it only set me back about $140, but I needed a new one anyway as my old one was about 6 years old and has taken some spills.

[JNizza]

http://www.thumperfaq.com/free_mods.htm

Within that link is a link specific to the throttle stop and links within that.

YZ cam timing is rotating the exhaust cam 1 tooth clockwise so instead of 13 chain pins between the dots on the cam shaft there will be 12. It is explained better in the link I gave you. You can do it on your year with the auto decomp cam. You have to grind 1mm off of the decomp pin and it's very easy to do. It took me about half an hour to take the cam out, grind down 1mm and put it back in and set it. Very easy!

http://www.thumperfaq.com/yz_timing.htm#Timing

Ok, so within that link, within the link, I can not seem to find the specs for a 2008 WR250F, it seems like all of the mods have been designed for the WRs of the early 2000s, do you know of a place that will give me the procedure on a 2008? I am pretty visual and this is my main means on transportation right now so I can't mess it up lol.

On the cam thing, I heard that it was different and I needed to buy a new YZF cam after like 2004 or something, I am really cautious about grinding it down and to be quite honest I am not sure what the decomp pin is.

[Swede73]

It all applies to the newer models. The only thing that changes is the location of the wire harness and since you already did the gray wire it is not applicable. As far as the cam timing, like I said earlier, you can do it on your bike you just need to grind 1mm off the decomp pin. It is easy, just grind, or file, it a little at a time till you get 1mm off. I used a set of digital calipers and measured the total of the cam and pin sticking out and used a dremel tool with a stone bit and took off a little at a time. The key is to keep the dome profile at the tip. Trust me it is super easy and works awesome. Well worth it. One of the better free mods I think

[JNizza]

It all applies to the newer models. The only thing that changes is the location of the wire harness and since you already did the gray wire it is not applicable. As far as the cam timing, like I said earlier, you can do it on your bike you just need to grind 1mm off the decomp pin. It is easy, just grind, or file, it a little at a time till you get 1mm off. I used a set of digital calipers and measured the total of the cam and pin sticking out and used a dremel tool with a stone bit and took off a little at a time. The key is to keep the dome profile at the tip. Trust me it is super easy and works awesome. Well worth it. One of the better free mods I think

Do you have a picture of how to do the cam timing mod? I am not exactly sure what the decomp pin is and what I am actually doing, I am sort of new to working on the interior of an engine. I mostly do automotive steering, suspension and electrical along with body work. What dome profile do I have to keep? I put 140miles on my bike total today and still want some more get-up-and-go

[meares]

What kit did you use.

[JNizza]

if you are refering to my dual sport kit then I used DSA, and would never ever recommend them to anyone, if I had to do it again I would build my own.

[meares]

I am...i just finished installing the baja designs and within the first mile, I could tell this bike isn't geared/intended for the road. Guess I'll try a bigger front sprocket. When I get used to riding on the road, I'll have to get something else. Please PM me and we can compare notes on the progress. I'm in North Carolina, if you're close

[meares]

Any ideas on a better seat? My rearend was killing me after 10 miles!

[meares]

DUH!! you're from Michigan...sorry...did the last post on my phone

[JNizza]

Does anyone know the specifications on the TPS sensor for a 2008 WR250F, I need to replace mine and I need to know the ohm spec so I can clock it correctly, the spec is in the service manual, but I lost mine.