During his testing, Jimmy "Sometimes I Smile" Lewis praised the power. On the GP course he claimed, "The bike makes big power and felt like it climbed as fast as anything." And after some EnduroCross abuse Lewis grumbled, "This was one of the best motors in the EnduroCross course. It had great snap and pulled quickly out of obstacles. The clutch was solid, too, but the darn E-start wasn't working."
Kris Keefer
Boy, that electric start took a beating with our testers! This WR, due to some jetting issues which only affected starting, was basically a kickstarter and that, in a world of electric-start motocross bikes and two-strokes with buttons, is an attention-getter, especially when you're carrying the battery and all that fancy starter stuff on your off-road bike. The starter motor simply wouldn't spin fast enough, even with a full battery charge to ignite the blue meanie. We've been giving the team a hard time about it since. Now, back to the test.
Yamaha WRs have tested consistently similar in handling over the past couple of years. The bikes are planted, . rm and stable with a heavier feel to them in the tank and, mostly, in the ends of the handlebar. Dubach's ride was no different. The bike wasn't quick handling at the bar in any sense. To change directions, you use your feet more than anything and let the hands and bar follow into place. If you're a muscle-steering, crank-the-bar turner, the bar will physically . ght back. The sensation is similar to riding a bicycle with a quart of oil taped to the ends of the grips. You can really feel some weight out there. Kris Keefer is an extremely talented test rider and he noticed his right away in the Escargot test.
"The front-end traction wasn't great on the WR. But the mellow, smooth roll-on power made for some good grip for the hardpack test. Still, the bike felt a little topheavy up front," Keefer said.
In an endless, . at-track circle, like our Escargot test, the WR is forced into a position just after turn initiation and just before it settles in for the apex. It doesn't really like it there.
Handling in the real world isn't affected by this as it's more a feeling and small hindrance than a glaring . aw. It's just the way the bike feels at one angle of lean. And that feeling is heavy. Each of our test riders noticed it. Some hated it and some translated the sensation into a planted, stable feel. One thing's for sure, the faster you went on this bike, the lighter it became. And going fast wasn't a problem.
With a plush suspension and a low-slung engine, the center of gravity on the WR at speed is way down there. This makes it a breeze to manipulate with your lower body and delivers the con. dence needed to crank it up. Lewis agreed.
"Once you moved into the more GP sections, the faster-. owing stuff where you could use the mid and upper power, the WR was a whole other bike. It got light, planted and plush," he said.
Jesse Ziegler
Sean Finley also felt the bike liked speed more than slow. "The suspension was set up better for going fast versus a smooth trail ride. For somebody looking to do a wide range of riding with a slant toward an occasional race, this would be a great bike," Finley said.
The bike was so fast that Jeff Emig had the third fastest time up the timed hillclimb and Karel Kramer aired it out over the top in a full-on Fro-Daddy impersonation, . st pumping to the crowd and everything. OK, that didn't happen. But it should have.
Kramer really loved the WR. For him, and a few other testers, the biggest holdback this model has (stock or modified) is in its tight trailability. The same low-engine cradle that gives you sweet slicing and dicing is often the first bike to hang up on rocks or bog down in the mud, Kramer pointed out.
The Dr.D crew did a great job infecting their WR with some of their own race-winning DNA. It's one of the fastest WRs we've ever ridden, has a superior suspension setup that can please a wide range of riders and handles well enough on a motocross course to ensure Melton gets at least one free lunch out of me. -Jesse Ziegler