It most certainly is a WR250x. I was originally going to the DRZ400sm. Then one night, as I was about to fall asleep I just started thinking about the WR. I coudln't get it out of my head. I jumped out of bad and started looking up stats and doing comparisons and checking out mods and all sorts of crap. Then I'd go to bed again only to repeat the cycle for at least a couple more hours. I decided on the WR because 1) It's a tad big lighter 2) It's 250cc engine makes only ~5 HP less than the DRZ's 400cc engine, the DRZ does make almost twice the torque though
3) Smaller engine = cheaper insurance and better fuel economy 4) The WR has a 6 speed transmission and the DRZ has a 5. 5) The WR is fuel injected and the DRZ is carbureted, I was ready for fuel injection. I think the biggest deciding factor was how much new technology went into the WR. The engine was completely redesigned for this model. Titanium intake valves, ceramic coated cylinder, a better counter-balancer (for a single cylinder this bike is a lot less buzzy than my FZR, even after a carb sync), the list goes on. Plus, even though I really like the look of the DRZ, I think the WR looks way more updated.
So, 700 miles later, what do I think? I hate it on the freeway. That being said, I love this bike. I didn't take it on the freeway for the first 300 miles or so but I still used it to commute to work. This turned my 20 mile and 25 minute commute each way into a 28 mile and 45 minute long commute each way. I didn't care because I was having so much fun just riding it around on the surface streets. One day I was running a bit late for work so I was forced to get on the freeway. BORING! So boring. The bike tops out at about 95. That's fine, I wasn't riding my FZR much faster than 70 to begin with. I just wish I had a little more "go" when cruising at 70 with this thing. Dropping it two gears does help some, but I liked how the FZR would just go in top gear when I twisted the throttle. This bike is just fast on the streets though. It's fast enough to have a lot of fun with, but not so fast to where you can get into a lot of trouble (like when I car turns left in front of you). It stops quick, it's very manueverable. Leaning it felt strange at first because you're so high in the air. It felt like you were hanging out into space and attached to nothing. I don't have chicken strips on these tires though. There's a little in the front. I sucked at leaning the FZR, I had about 3/4 inch strips on the rear. The seat is definitly not meant for touring. Sitting on it for more than 10 minutes starts to hurt my tail bone. So much so that I feel like I should ask my doctor if I have to worry about any permanent damage back there from sitting on my spine.
This bike gets a lot of looks. People know what dirt bikes look like...and they know what sport bike tires look like...but they have no idea what to make of the two put together. Supermoto isn't very big here. A couple of month ago there was an event here at Qualcomm stadium and there was a brief Supermoto segment. NOBODY was there. Maybe 15 people cared to watch. I had to work, otherwise I would have been there.
I'm going to get some more pictures soon. My friend has a WR426 that he converted to supermoto. His is a maintenance princess though. Oil changes every 300miles. Valve checks probably every thousand. He's super jealous. His bike isn't much faster than mine, but he can pull it up into wheelies a lot easier. Plus, his engine sounds like a drum of marbles, and mine sounds like...a bunch of new stuff whirring around in oil and not making much noise at all.
weeeeeee!!!!
