What constitutes an adventure to you? Is it getting lost, going somewhere new or picking up a few groceries? Regardless of your definition, all adventures need to combine a few necessary ingredients. First, adventures must at least start on a dirt bike, right? Well, with a new crop of street-legal adventure bikes on showrooms this year, you should be ready to rip. Pick your favorite color and go! Hold on...there's one problem: They're not really dirt bikes. So we took three of these hybrids to the aftermarket to see if we could put a little dirt in their blinker fluid. Can Kawasaki's KLX250S and Yamaha's WR250R and XT250 stand up to the test?
Yamaha
XT250 | 
Kawasaki
KLX250S | 
Yamaha
WR250R |
Don't let the Yamaha's motor...
Don't let the Yamaha's motor size deceive you; this little bike gets up and goes on the blacktop. For lightweight commuting, the WR250R is more than sufficient.
Yamaha WR250R
Fun-Injected Machine
By Pete Peterson
Photos by Chris Denison
Showroom Stock
Yamaha's WR250R gets a racing-sounding "R" model designation, but it's nothing at all like its true off-road brother the WR250F. If you want to hit serious trails on a blue bike, the F is your ride, and you can put your efforts into plating that machine through your local DMV (your results may vary). This street-legal R is a fun, fuel-injected traffic-dodger with a healthy dose of rev and power. For true trails, the bike is limited by its heavy feel, suspension, tires and its mild manners. But maybe there is a Superman hidden somewhere under the blue suit and glasses...
Modifications, More Or Less
My mods were minimal because I was sure I was starting with the best bike in this test and I didn't want to lose any of the machine's good qualities. First, I mounted up a Dr.D slip-on exhaust to increase the twist-to-giggle factor. The mod required disconnecting the Yamaha's stock EXUP exhaust valve and tucking the cables under the sidepanel. The pipe swap shaved over two pounds but also lost the stock catalytic converter. Next, I ditched the stock rear fender overhang for a simple Ride Engineering fender elimination kit and LED taillight. The kit makes the rear end look significantly cleaner and more like a true off-road machine. It also saves about a pound and a half. Then I added a little weight and a lot of functionality with a Pro Moto Billet rack.
 When all was said and done,...  When all was said and done, our modified WR250R was much too loud for trail applications. But boy, did it wheelie! |
 Gotta have a way to bring...  Gotta have a way to bring back the spoils of your adventures. |
Play Time
The bike is really fun to ride in the dirt. So my first impression with the mods was that I missed the boat by keeping the stock, street-oriented tires. This production bike really is off-road-worthy, and the stock tires are its weakest dirt link. The rack never got in the way (one passenger footpeg hanger did, though), and the lifted plate at least gave me hope of throwing a roost. The pipe presented a problem with an aggressive roar out of this docile bike. On the street, I was careful not to rev the bike in order to avoid disturbing the peace; this is with the quiet insert installed. We complain in these pages about loud bikes closing trails, and I'm worried this pipe might close the I-5 Freeway! If I had to go back in time, I'd swap the pipe mod for better tires. The pipe is a power boost, but I'd rather trade street traction for dirt traction and still have a motorcycle my neighbors would never know about.
Yamaha had a target with this bike-the guy who wants a nimble commuter bike that can provide some semi-aggressive off-road fun-and it hit the mark. The question is not how to modify this bike to hit a different bull's-eye, but to know if you're that original target.
Yamaha WR250R
Dubach Racing Development: www.dubachracing.com; 877.382.2241
WRX/WRR slip-on exhaust: $360
Quiet Core insert: $49.99
Ride Engineering:
www.ride-engineering.com; 800.805.1516
Fender eliminator kit: $54.95
Taillight kit: $54.95
Pro Moto Billet: www.promotobillet.com; 866.466.4762
Rack-it cargo rack: $139.95