Originally Posted By Gabriel:
WR250R. The Kawasaki doesn't have enough power to get out of it's own way.

Originally Posted By optimus:
Is EFI that big of an advantage? The cynic in me just sees it as a handful more sensors to fail.

Originally Posted By sandboxmedic:
FI is nice from a simplicity point- hit the button and go vs pull the choke, crank it, be sure to cut the choke off after it warms up. FI can be a pain if the bike goes swimming. If you wait a year Kawasaki may bring the fuel injected version of the KLX250 to the US.

For commuting around town either will do; the WR is going to do better off-road and have a higher top end from what I've read; I've never ridden a WR. Top speed on either isn't going to be much over 70mph with stock gearing and a 200# rider. I spent two weeks on a FI KLX250 in Laos and very rarely had it up to 100kph (about 62mph) but it didn't really have much over that with my 235#s plus a dry bag of stuff on the back.

If you want to ride more street or highway miles get a larger 650 but they're much more of a pig off road.

All of them can benefit from a better seat. Budget for farkles (hand guards, engine gards, etc), suspension upgrades (most Japanese bikes are sprung for someone around 180#s) as well as proper riding gear. Remember bikes eat tires much, much faster than cars, especially knobbies. A rear D606 is doing good to see 4000 miles and 2000 is more realistic if it's on the road most of the time. You'll eat up any fuel saving quickly with a bike.

That said, buy it and try. You can always resell it or trade it towards something else if you change your mind.

Originally Posted By optimus:


Who makes a 450 Dual Purp? Only finding 250s and 650s. If I could find a 450 I'd be happy.

Originally Posted By TruckinAR:
Skip the 250 go ahead and get the 450.

You'll thank me later.

I think the 250 is gutless, both the KLX and the WR.

The 450 is a bit heavier, but the torque is way more fun.

Originally posted by jeffthedccguy on SMJ
So several months ago I decided like many here that Yamaha was very wrong for not offering a 450cc street legal version of the WRX model. That said I promptly decided to take the task upon myself and build project WR450X from a 2009 WR450F. So did I achieve success? Well sort of...

The biggest complaint levied against the WR250X both on this forum and elsewhere is it's lack of overall power and portly weight, and I was with everyone on these points. Most arguments also conclude that it's too expensive, and again in most circumstances I tended to agree with that logic. It wasn't until after I tried to build a better mouse trap that I realized Yamaha didn't really fail when it built the WR250X. In fact from the standpoint of a nearly perfect street tard, they did a damn good job! So I decided to make a list of street tard needs in versus format in no particular order just for giggles.

So here are the two contenders. In this corner we have my slightly modified 2008 WR250X with 1800 miles -



And in this corner we have my highly modified for street use 2009 WR450F with about 250 miles -



Power - Let's put this one to bed early. No matter what you do to the WR250X short of installing a rocket engine, the 450 will make more ponies and will have far more torque. In fact the 250 seems downright anemic in a straight line when ridden back to back with the 450. Also if you like to do clutchless wheelies, the only thing required from the 450 is a twist of the wrist in any of the first 3 gears. To do the same on the 250 at the 4500 foot elevation where I live, try a really big rear sprocket or really small front one, or both. Winner WR450F!

Gear Box - Honestly I was surprised at how good the 250 was in this regard. Shifts are short, light, and precise feeling, and neutral is so obvious I never have problems finding it whether moving or not. Now I realize the 450 is built beefier to handle the extra oomph, but honestly this is not a smooth transmission, even for a 450 (my KTM 450SMR is better without question). I have been told that extra break in miles will help the notchy feeling 450, but as it stands the 450's tranny is stiff, neutral is tough to find, and the thing is downright loud when idling in neutral with the clutch out. Another point worth making is the overall gear ratio including the 6-speed box in the 250. Geared as it is now (14-42), the 450 runs about the same top speed as the 250 (95 ish), but it feels strained at anything above 75 mph. On the flip side the 250 cruises easily at that speed, and while part of this credit goes to the ultra smooth 250cc motor, the 6-speed doesn't hurt matters. Winner WR250X!

Suspension - I honestly didn't think I would ever admit this as I know the 250 uses cost conscious suspenders, but for street use the 250 has a pretty nice setup. The suspension dives less under hard braking, feels more compliant over small bumps, and just seems more planted than the 450's setup. Now while I'll admit I've played with the clickers a lot more on the 250 than the 450, the 450 is noticeably softer (the stock sag is a joke) and again it just has a cheap feeling to it when ridden back to back with the 250. In the dirt I'm sure the 450 would shine, but I'm comparing these as street bikes with stock setups, and as such I prefer the WR250X!

Brakes - I sort of knew the victor of this contest before going in, but honestly for a stock setup the brakes on the 250 are pretty good, and would make any sane person happy. The problem I'm not really sane, and the full Brembo radial mount 4-pad setup on the 450 is just plain sick! Single finger actuated stoppies, check. Impossibly high fade resistance, check. Huge amounts of feel at any speed, check. Winner WR450F!

NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness) - This is of course more subjective than many areas, but I see this as a no win scenario for the 450. In all regards the 250 is buttery smooth, virtually vibration free clear to the rev limiter, and the motor is eerily devoid of valve and gear noises. In fact it may as well be using an electric motor when compared to the noisy, vibrating and downright harsh 450 power plant. Using the stock rubber ringed front and rear sprockets on the 250 also help reduce drive line lash and noise to extremely low levels. And while this may not seem like a big deal, the 450's chain slap and sprocket noise make it feel really unrefined on the street. Would a rubber sprocket setup or cush drive on the 450 help? Probably. But as my bikes sit, the WR250X "feels" more expensive and sorted and wins this one without question in my mind!

Overall Rideability - As it pertains to street use, the 250 is tough to beat. For starters it's fuel injected, and as such it runs perfectly regardless of temperature or altitude and starts without effort cold or hot. The carbureted 450 is much more cantankerous in this regard, and although it runs very good for a carbed bike, altitude and temperature do affect it in more obvious and mainly negative ways. Also when under way the 250 has none of the crazy TPS/CDI map issues under constant throttle that the 450 has. During constant 55-75 mph cruising, the surging 450 gets really old really fast, whereas the 250 cruises smoothly and seamlessly. Winner WR250X!

Fuel Economy - This one should be labeled are you freakin' kidding me! Now I know I've talked about the power difference between the two bikes, but while the 2 gallon tank on the 250 is good for 125 miles even when the bike is being flogged, the 1.5 gallon tank on the 450 is only good for about 40 miles under the same conditions. 40 miles?!? Now I know there are bigger tanks for the WR450F, but all of them ruin the lines of the bike IMHO, and it would take a 4 gallon version to get close to the 250's range. Winner WR250X!

Comfort - This is certainly a subjective topic, but honestly I don't think anyone could compare the two bikes after after a back to back ride. While not horrible, the 450's extra vibration and noise, combined with a slightly narrower/firmer seat make only short rides tolerable. Thank God it only goes 40 miles or so between fill ups! On the flip side I could be happy tooling along on the 250 for a tankful and then some. I also prefer the seat to bar height of the 250. The 450 feels too low in the back, and while some tweaking will help this I'm sure, I've never touched the sag settings on the 250. Winner WR250X!

Maintenance - This isn't even close. The WR250X may as well be a Honda Rebel 250 when it comes to maintenance. And while the WR450F isn't bad when compared to pure race bred 450's, it still needs oil and valve changes more often. Also based on my limited mechanical knowledge, I would surmise that the 250 motor is good for a lot more miles than the 450 before a complete overhaul would be required. I mean the 250 has a 26,000 mile valve adjustment interval for crying out loud! I'm not really convinced at this point that the 450 would even go 26,000 miles. Winner WR250X!

Looks - I realize this is purely subjective and I really like how the 450 is coming along, but honestly Yamaha did a pretty good job with the 250 from the factory. The blacked out frame, swingarm and forks are sweet, and the lines of the bike (except for the stock front fender of course) are really nice and make it look very modern. I particularly like the tail section and rear fender, and how the angular side panels expose the exhaust. In contrast the 450 looks more like a typical dirt bike to me. It has huge side panels which I'm not too thrilled about, but at least the stock headlight and taillight are good looking. Overall I'm going to call this one a toss up mainly because I really want the 450 to be good looking, even it's only true in my mind!

Fun Factor - Ok I have to give this to the 450. It's unrefined, not really comfortable and sucks fuel like a locomotive, but you basically have to pry the smile off your face after riding it even after a block or two. This thing is simply the epitome of hooligan motorcycling. And while the 250 shares a lot of the unruly DNA of the 450, the old argument that there is no replacement for displacement really comes into focus when riding the big bore. Winner WR450F!

Cost - So this topic has been debated to death, and mainly against the Suzuki 400SM. Honestly that's probably a better match up, because compared with the dollars I've invested in the 450 so far, the 250 seems downright cheap! Even if you purchased a set of dirt wheels for the 250 from the get go, there is no way you could get a new 450 on the street for anywhere near the cost of a new 250. And prices of the bikes aside (I paid $1,600 more for the 450 than the 250 as an FYI), I've spent around $2,000 for all the street legal stuff including the wheels, brakes, lighting and other electrical goodies. Winner WR250X!

So let's tally the votes to see which bike wins Jeff's street tard competition... I come up with 8.5 to 3.5 in favor of the WR250X. So the 250 wins hands down right? Well not exactly...

From my perspective this isn't a biased review to the extent that I own both bikes and I'm not making comparisons based on a test ride, or worse no experience on the bikes at all, but I realize that I have preferences that others could probably care less about. Things like looks and comfort are obvious points to argue about, but even the performance areas are debatable to some degree and I welcome what others think in these areas.