With KTM making up +40% of the bikes on any desert racing start line and Yamaha in 2nd with +15% and no competitive off-road platform to speak of there is only room for improvement. Up until now it seemed like the big four manufacturers didn’t understand that all we really needed beyond their production motocross bike was an added side-stand, starter, light and wide ratio transmission. Essentially that is what we’ve got with the brand new WR 250F.
The first thing you’ll notice once you get it started is how quiet it is. So quiet that when you give it some throttle you can hear the engine sucking air through the air-box that is now in between your legs. It sounds almost electric and it’s very deceiving. When you’re riding it just sounds like it’s not making that much power but trust me, the power is there. After spending a few hours re-learning how to ride a 250f machine, keeping the RPM in the sweet spot, it does feel like there is a slight hesitation off the bottom as you’re twisting hard through the power. When you’re cruising in really low rpm it makes all the power you’ll need but when you twist hard from a “putt-putt” it lags just a tiny bit getting on the pipe. Otherwise the power is smooth and strong.
The clutch feel is very nice for being a cable pull instead of hydraulic and the transmission powers through the gears smoothly. Being a 155 pound A-rider the stock suspension was pretty much perfect, as most stock bikes are, and the seat definitely beat the rock hard KTM one I’m used to. After spending some time in the snow and heading back in the dark the stock light on the bike is really not made for anything but compliance. The stator should be more then strong enough to handle some upgrades in lighting and if you are planning on doing any serious night riding I would recommend stepping up first. All in all the bike felt really good to ride, made a good amount of power and was able to do everything it’s brother YZFX could do. It pushed closed to 90mph stock and would be able to do over 50 miles on the tank. Out of the box it is a great entry level bike for all levels of riders from beginner to experts and with some minor race prep it could be on the start line no problem.