Yamaha WR250R
Return of Son of DT-1
It's been four decades since Yamaha introduced the world to the joys of cheap, all-surface travel with the 1968 DT-1. Sometime between now and then, 250s were demoted to tiddler status: bottom-rung means to more respectable ends, taken seriously only by those lacking the cash or skills to roll on something bigger and stronger. The pain of $4.75-per-gallon super unleaded has changed all that.
These days, a fuel-injected 250cc single that can cover nearly 70 miles on just one of those gallons rates serious consideration. Even from those of us who haven't carried a learner's permit or valid student ID in years. Especially when it's the spiritual great-great-grandson of the bike responsible for planting millions of roots in American dirt, and comes complete with an impressive technological rsum.
Though it pitches around through...
Though it pitches around through the twisty bits, Yamaha's quarter-liter dual-sport is happy on the pavement as long as the speedo doesn't top 70 mph for too long.
Reasonably light at 299 pounds (wet) and amazingly lithe, the 2008 WR250R looks like the proverbial dirtbike with lights, but any resemblance to Yamaha's hard-core WR250F is entirely superficial. The 77.0 x 53.6mm cylinder lives under a four-valve head with a twinge less compression. It exhales through a catalytic converter and an EXUP exhaust valve cued by the EFI computer that makes for more tractable power delivery. There's an aluminum mainframe and asymmetrical aluminum swingarm, attached to a steel engine cradle and subframe. The R is aimed at those of us who aspire to more dirt than pavement, though Bridgestone Trail Wing tires, relatively soft suspension and power delivery enforce a relatively conservative off-road agenda. Card-carrying AA Enduro riders will be underwhelmed. Still, anyone old enough to remember the original DT-1 will be stunned at how well it works in the dirt. And unlike more capable, purebred dirtbikes, this WR earns a slot in the garage by hauling itself to the trail on weekends and hauling your bad, bad self around town the rest of the week.
As long as you have enough inseam to surmount a saddle towering 36.6 inches above the surface du jour, the WR is a willing little accomplice on any surface. And, unlike a couple of our other contestants, it doesn't look little. Springs are a bit soft-even for everyday street riding-if your wet weight is above 185 pounds. But the short-stroke single still propels XL types through the suburban landscape willingly enough. It makes up for a predictable dearth of low-rpm urge with flawless fuel delivery and enough midrange and top-end power to dust all but the most determined four-wheel traffic away from a green light. But that kind of power lives next door to an 8750-rpm power peak, and staying there requires a certain facility with the shifter more common to YZ125 pilots. Aside from some stickiness between first and second, the WR six-speed makes maintaining a rolling boil easy enough.
Still, squeezing 60-plus mpg out of a half-pint single-0.528 to be painfully precise-opens your eyes to things that are normally hidden by displacement and horsepower. Head winds and uphill grades you'd never notice on a bigger bike suddenly demand a downshift. Freeway travel is possible, perfectly legal and strangely enjoyable if you're only on for a few exits. After 45 minutes, it's not a whole lot of fun.
The engine is astoundingly smooth at 72 mph or so. Especially considering it's just about tapped out by then. A long stretch of flat road and a whiff of tail wind can put 94 mph on the nifty digital speedometer, if you tuck in tight enough, but not quickly. The vibration and sounds of tortured fury coming from the engine are enough to entice anyone with an ounce of compassion to back it down to 72 again. And for you heartless types, the mileage sucks up there anyway, so why bother?
Take the nearest exit, maintain some humane distance from the rev limiter and the 2-gallon fuel payload runs low every 120 to 130 miles. The little single likes super unleaded, which can bump the price of a fill-up by $1.38 at today's prices. Connecting the apexes on some idyllic country two lane, the WR is agile enough to make anything less than a U-turn feel like a sweeper. Smooth control inputs keep the chassis from wallowing around on its long-travel suspension. Brakes are an excellent compromise, generating adequate power to slow you down on the street and enough accurate feel to slow things down in the dirt without locking a wheel on some snot-slick downhill. Maybe you'd rather skip the dirty parts? Yamaha's WR250X is essentially the same bike with a supermoto spin, bigger brakes and sticky 17-inch street tires for $100 more than the $5898 R-model.
Whatever cheap means to you, this isn't it. The $3499 Ninja 250 and $3199 Rebel have that angle covered. The WR is an innovative all-surface motorcycle that just happens to go 60-something miles on a gallon of super unleaded. To us, that's a better deal than wringing great gas mileage from some cheap little motorcycle that can't do much else.
 |  The 250mm disc provides perfect...  The 250mm disc provides perfect stopping power until you top 60 mph on the pavement. Then it wilts. |  Yamaha's first fuel-injected...  Yamaha's first fuel-injected dual-sport monitors intake airflow, crankshaft and throttle position to determine the fuel/air mix. |
Off The Record
Tim Carrithers
Getting 60-plus miles from a gallon of unleaded is a lousy reason to buy a motorcycle. If saving money is all you want, buy a Prius or a bicycle or a bus pass because there needs to be more significant motivation behind riding a motorcycle. After all, you can fill up the Family Truckster 65 times for the price of a DR-Z400SM or WR250R.
If I didn't have to run a gauntlet of L.A. freeway five days a week, the WR could rate a slot in my garage. But I do. My '72 Honda Trail 70 gets 90 to 100 mpg, so I've got the suburban grocery-getter angle covered. The WR is nearly perfect as a clandestine cow-trail weapon, but the used KTM 620SX I'm looking at is perfect for one-third of the price.
So? Thousands of people could be deliriously happy with any one of these things. I'm just not one of them.
Age: Gracefully Height: 6' 3" Weight: 215 lbs. Inseam: 35 in.