The WR-250FP relaxing in the front yard after today's Pachaug rock pile ride.
How did the bike perform on it's first ride with me at the controls?
Read and learn.
Yes indeedy, folks, today was the starting point for yet another bike that has me riding it on the ol' Pachaug enduro loop, and things went very well, too.
When I loaded the truck for the trip out there today, I also brought a collection of tools with me because I knew I'd be fiddling with the carburetor setting (since the bike still has the stock EPA needle and stock main jet).
I unloaded the bike and rode it a couple of miles around the truck to sample how it ran, stopped and adjusted the carburetor needle setting a step richer, and left it like that for the day.
The carburetor settings as they are right now are merely a temporary setting that will be used until after I get the bike inspected and registered (before this month is out, I surely hope) and can then sigh in relief that I survived yet another DMV trip and THEN get the bike jetted properly and ride to my heart's content.
Well, how did the WR-250FP work out there?
Very well, I am so happy to say, because I experienced what I was missing with the CRF-450X9:
The feeling of light weight and maneuverability.
In fact, I rode down a trail today that I basically didn't dare try with the CRF-450X9 because it's tight in spots and I knew full well that riding the 450 there would have been like wielding a locomotive down that trail.
The WR-250FP made this particular trail quite fun to ride because of what it does well:
Display a great balance of good, effective power with excellent maneuverability.
The WR-250FP has a similar torquey pull way down low like the ol' WR-250FY did, yet still can get up and go when you open the throttle and wind it out.
Sure, the 250 can't match the 450 in sheer power and torque at any point in the rev range, but, believe it or not, I wouldn't go back if you gave me a 450 for free, Bucky.
No way, Jose, I'm sticking with a mid-sized bike, thank you very much - my old nagging wrist and shoulder were already thanking me today as they didn't complain much.
Simply put, the WR-250FP was much easier for me to ride out on the ol' Pachaug loop and without the pain of my aging body.
So, even though the jetting is not great (for now), the engine passed the acid test.
How was the handling and suspension?
It was great, Lenny.
The bike feels light, allows the rider (me) the ability to actually maneuver the bike around trail obstacles without having to opt to ride straight over them, instead, and, as I was wondering about before I rode it, this WR-250FP with the steel frame likes to brake slide into and around corners with a better feel than my two recent aluminum-framed bikes did (WR-250FY and CRF-450X9), and rear brake sliding to negotiate corners is one of my old tricks from when I was a teenager, Bub, and I still do it a lot.
I've read and heard many comments about how steel is actually a better material for a dirt bike frame, but marketing men have made steel obsolete and old-fashioned.
Well, I like it, Leonard - the bike is stable in a straight line and carves corners well and is very willing to make sudden moves on a twisty and obstacle-strewn trail.
A very nice feel from the handling side of things.
Suspension action is good, even with the ten-year-old oil and nitrogen gas pressure in the rear shock (I'll have Tom at Nasin Machine do a basic service on the shock after DMV is over and done with).
I set both the fork and shock at the stock damping settings, set the rear spring preload to achieve the usual 4 inches of sag with my weight on the seat, and went riding.
Both ends worked well, lending a decently cushy ride over the sharp bumps while not feeling too soft over the faster bits, such as on the pine-needled whoops through the woods.
At times, the rebound damping at the rear seemed a little light, but I didn't turn the clicker to make it heavier, either, so maybe next time out I will.
As on the ol' WR-250FY, taking the gnarly stuff was best done with the throttle open and weight transferred to the rear wheel, allowing the rear suspension to soak-up the bumps.
In situations that feel right for doing this, the bike is really in it's element, and a couple of times I was basically amazed that the ugly-looking terrain I'd just seen with my eyes as I approached it passed underneath the rear wheel incredibly easily and with a good feel from the bike as a whole.
Overall, I liked the action of the suspension enough to stay with the stock valving, at least for now.
A good suspension, I'm very happy to say.
My feelings on a couple of points I'd read about 2001 and 2002 WR-250Fs, points that were supposedly sore spots:
1) I'd heard that these bikes can be a pain in the ass to start.
Mine wasn't at any point in today's 54.6 mile ride, and I hope it stays like that.
The bike is kick start-only, complete with a little manual decompressor lever near the clutch lever, but it always started right back up when I stopped the engine - hot, cold, luke-warm, it didn't matter - and I did stop the engine a couple of times just to test the restart ability.
The bike passed the tests just fine.
2) I'd heard that the 3 gallon fuel tank holds a lot of fuel but makes the rider pay the price for this by being so big and bulbous that it makes the forward part of the seat end rather abruptly and not allow the rider to get far enough forward on the bike to pull-off some in-the-seat aggressive cornering maneuvers, the kind of maneuvers where you want to slide up forward to the front of the seat and get close to the steering stem.
This was not a problem, at least not for me, and I'm a rider who is quite aware of the need for a seat and fuel tank shape for some good ergonomics on a dirt bike.
Compared to the WR-250FY and it's flatter seat and 2.1 gallon fuel tank, you cannot slide up as far forward.
That is true.
However, although I couldn't get as close to the steering stem while performing in-the-seat cornering, the WR-250FP still felt fine while doing this.
It simply was not an issue.
That's just fine with me because I was wondering about this.
Nothing to fear.
At the end of the ride today, I was able to wash and lube the bike without feeling quite as beat-up as I'd been feeling lately on the 450, and that was basically the whole point of going back to a 250cc bike.
If you're naturally a bit skeptical, you're wondering how I can be bigging-up a 10-year-old 2002 model dirt bike and trying to make it sound like it's better than the 2009 models I rode before it.
Well, Bucky, the bike simply felt good to me out on the trails today, and in comparison to the CRF-450X9 I was owning and riding just two weeks ago, the WR-250FP feels lighter, handles easier, and doesn't prevent me from riding down any trail I care to take for fear that it will feel too big, heavy, and ill-suited for the job.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
The CRF-450X9 suspension was of a high quality, indeed, and the bike exuded a solid feel that made you feel it could handle the fastest and bumpiest situations you could find, and it had a strong engine that could easily propel the bike up to those speeds in short order.
However, there are all too few spots like that out on the ol' Pachaug enduro loop, Hank.
As for comparing the WR-250FP with the WR-250FY I rode before the 450, both bikes share the same light feel and go-anywhere ease of maneuverability.
The WR-250FY ran better with much better throttle response, but that's just a temporary thing because I haven't bought the parts (yet) required to rejet the carb on the WR-250FP, and I did have to do that with the WR-250FY as well.
I prefer the feel of the steel frame on the WR-250FP, and I like the extra gallon of fuel capacity, too.
The suspension seems to work as well as the WR-250FY's did (actually, equal at the rear and a bit better on the front for some reason), and the overall handling and feel of the bike is very much as I remember the WR-250FY being.
That means it's very good stuff, Edwardo.
As time goes on and I rack-up the miles, I'll keep you posted as to how things go, as usual.
Next stop:
Buying the parts needed for the DMV inspection and registration.
Stay tuned.
-John
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