Price Yamaha WR250X

Yamaha WR250X Design

The 250X’s single lung engine fires up easily enough just push the magic button and the fuel-injection takes care of the rest; there is no kickstarter. However, it is a bit cold-blooded and requires a minute of warming before it responds cleanly to the throttle. Early impressions are good and not so good.

The WR gets kudos for its light weight (299 lbs ready to ride with a tank of fuel) and for its nimbleness, but short people will wish for a seat height lower than the WR’s 35.2 inches. Steering effort (if you can call it that) is incredibly light thanks to a wide motocross-style handlebar, and its super-tight turning radius makes it easy to maneuver in the garage and when filtering through traffic. However, clutch engagement a bit lurchy and inconsistent, while the gearbox is occasionally notchy.

While power is adequately sprightly at urban speeds, I was initially worried the mini motor would run out of breath at a California speedway… er, freeway pace. However, it runs just fine at 70-75 mph, using its sixth gear to bring down revs and vibration to levels that aren’t objectionable. It’s also able to cruise at 80 miles per and above, but engine vibration becomes more pronounced and its darty steering becomes unnerving. The narrow seat is surprisingly supportive, giving a butt almost an hour before squirming.

Yamaha WR250X Engine

But, for the WR, riding on the freeway is like the movie preview prior to the featured film. Find the squiggliest lines on the map and you’ll find the perfect playground for the 250X. A wide handlebar and a 25.3-degree rake provide exceptionally quick steering, allowing a rider to pick precise lines in the twistiest sections. Grip from the 17-inch Bridgestone BT090 radials (110/70; 140/70) is greater than a sane rider would require.

The 250X is especially stunning in its new-for-‘09 bad-in-black paint scheme. It appears more menacing than a 250cc bike has a right to look. Magnesium-colored triple clamps and exhaust heat shield are nice design touches, as are the black-anodized wheel rims and the clean aluminum frame. While the black bodywork looks great, scuffs show readily, especially the top of the tailsection where a rider’s boot needs to be thrown high to clear it.

This quality hardware puts it in a loftier price zone than its newly minted Japanese competitors (Honda CRF230M, $4,749; Kawasaki KLX250SF, $5,299), but the Yamaha will easily out-motor those lower-spec rivals. However, the WR’s high-spec componentry causes its MSRP to crowd the price of Suzuki’s larger-displacement DR-Z400SM, being just $109 cheaper. The DR-Z is noticeably torquier, but it has only about seven more peak ponies and weighs 23 extra lbs.

Overall, we came away from our time with the WR more impressed that we thought we might. This slightly-less-than-super supermoto bike gave us more grins than we’d anticipated. As expected, it excels on lower-speed twisty roads, and it does a fine job in a commuter role around town. And, while it’s not an ideal touring mount, it surprised us most by being adequate at highway speeds. It is more than suitable for an hour’s worth of freeway travel while heading for serpentine canyons on which to humiliate larger-displacement sportbikes, piloted by lesser riders.