We recently got the chance to do some trail riding on the revamped 2015 Yamaha WR250F. Photography by Kit Palmer
Yamaha gave its off-road lineup a jumpstart with the highly revised WR250F and the all-new YZ250FX, which the company introduced a couple of months ago. We recently got the chance to spend the day riding each one and came away extremely impressed with both bikes. Luckily for Yamaha, our first impression is a good one and, without doubt, should be a lasting one.
Both bikes are based closely on the 2015 Yamaha YZ250F motocrosser with its reversed cylinder head (front intake and rear exhaust), fuel injection and new aluminum frame. However, there are a number of important differences that make these bikes more off-road compliant than the YZ. In this article, we’ll concentrate on the new WR250F, which replaces the previous carbureted WR250F, a bike that has seen few changes since 2007.
Head to head, the WR strays fairly far from the YZ motocrosser. It has a six-speed gearbox compared to the YZ’s five-speed tranny. It has an 18-inch rear wheel versus the YZ’s 19-incher. It has softer suspension settings, electric starting, head and tail lights, a kickstand, a plastic skid plate, a more powerful generator and heavier generator rotor, a cooling fan, an intake baffle, a more restrictive exhaust, a throttle stop, tamper-proof EFI and ignition, and EPA and CARB-approved fuel mapping. The WR is fully EPA compliant in all states.
Our test bike, however, was delivered sans the intake baffle, exhaust baffle and throttle stop—all noise-related items.
As mentioned, our WR had the intake and exhaust baffle, and throttle stop removed, yet the bike is still remarkably quiet—and spunky. In near stock form, the WR is surprisingly powerful, but, actually, this shouldn’t surprise us at all, since the YZ is pretty much the horsepower king in its class. But the WR has a noticeably softer power delivery and doesn’t quite have that high rpm pull compared to the YZ. Still, the WR’s power is impressive as a whole. You can detect a slight lean feeling at certain throttle positions (mainly down low), but it’s not something you can’t live with, which is good because there is no way to adjust fueling (and that’s done on purpose). Through Yamaha’s accessory division, however, you can purchase an adjustable EFI black box (which you can adjust via Yamaha’s GYTR Power Tuner), but, once you install it, be aware that your WR is now considered a closed-course bike. The WR’s six-speed gearbox makes it easy to find the correct gear for just about any situation, but at least one more tooth on the rear sprocket might be a little more desirable than the bike’s original final gearing. The tight trails we rode on this day, we found ourselves seemingly always caught between first and second gears. We would like to see second gear pull a little earlier at lower rpm. Overall, though, the WR’s power delivery, and motor in general, is a big improvement over the previous WR250F. Without question.
Suspension and handling are also improved big-time over the previous WR. The new WR feels much lighter on the trail (although it weighs about the same on the scale as the previous WR). It’s very agile in the tight stuff and steers quickly. Suspension is, as you can imagine, noticeably softer than the YZ’s suspension but plenty capable of soaking up the big hits. Both the front SSS KYB fork and rear shock do a great job of absorbing the smaller ripples while still maintaining plenty of girth to handle large whoops and holes at speed. We heard no complaints from our testers when it came to suspension bottoming.
Unlike the YZ250F (but just like the old WR), the 2015 WR250F has electric starting, which is something very new to this motor. And it works well. We could easily start the WR in neutral or in gear. Unfortunately, you have to provide your own hand guards. Overall, our first day on the WR had us smiling from ear to ear. It’s without question a fantastic trail bike as is. It has so far been a fun bike to ride and is, from what we can also tell so far, a worthy performer. Look for a more complete test on the 2015 Yamaha WR250F in an upcoming issue of Cycle News magazine.