With the announcement of the 2015 Yamaha WR250F and YZ250FX the company has made a statement that they are serious about keeping in the off-road game. In a off-road world dominated by KTM, it is not only refreshing but a wise platform to reinvigorate the WR line as well as introduce a true off-road racing 250F from a Japanese company.
The surprising news is the YZ250FX. Mostly because the success of KTM with the XC line—to have a non-neutered, basically MX-spec bike with the simple and obvious off-road changes that most serious customers would do. And the two big ones that are much more difficult, if not impossible for a normal human, adding electric starting and a sixth speed in the wide-ratio transmission. The 18-inch rear wheel, off-road tuned suspension, engine setup for enduro or cross country and a kickstand round the changed from the much praised YZ250F. The claimed weight jumps 18-pounds from the MX version to 249 lb. while the spec sheet shows a 0.1 gallon increase in fuel capacity, we’re not sure if the tank is identical between machines. There is no more need to suffer trying to ride a MX bike off-road nor have to modify it. Additionally having an electric-start track bike for the more casual motocross rider is a great idea.
The WR250F is a 50-state EPA compliant off-road trail bike. With the introduction of fuel-injection it is much easier to get these bikes to pass the stringent emissions and noise regulations for a complaint bike, hence the logical use of the YZ-based machine. In doing so the motor will be tuned much differently than it’s full-race brothers but for most trail conditions that is usually a good thing. The WR package includes the electric starting, six-speed wide ratio transmission, 18-inch rear wheel, a kickstand, head and tail light and a very quiet muffler. The weight increase from the MX bike is a lofty 44-pounds at 295 lb. ready to ride. We suspect a good portion of that is actually in the muffler and in the coatings and canisters necessary for evaporative emissions equipment.
How will they run? Do they handle? Will they beat the KTMs? These are all valid questions and can only be answered by a test ride, which we will do as soon as the bikes are available. But if there was ever a wise place to poke a sharp stick, the 250cc four-stroke market is a great place to re-start for a number of reasons. The world-wide market is ripe in this class and domestically Yamaha will have a much better time selling the smaller sized bikes. There is the obvious possible transition to a full-on dual-purpose machine or machines as well. A dditionally Yamaha has had a lot of success with the current WR250R which is due for an upgrade. The 2015 WR250F will retail for $7,990, and the 2015 YZ250FX will retail for $7,890. Both bikes will be available in dealerships by December. 
