New to off road, thinking of a wr250r. Any thoughts?

[bryco13]

So, went to check out HVD today, looking for some of the novice trails. Within about 2 minutes of being on the trail I ran into a nice guy on a 2 stroke KTM who introduced himself and was able to let me know where the old railroad bed was (I wanted to learn how to handle dirt roads before just heading out into the woods). On the way to them I found a cool trail that looked like a lot of rocks that went downhill and swept to the left as it narrows. Obviously I have no idea where I am, lol. So anyway, find that this is just a short loop that has some fun dips and lots of berms, which is where I learned a very valuable lesson. No matter how much biking and downhill racing you have done, it doesn't mean shit when you have a motor under you. After 2 loops I was obviously ready to go pro, I hit a couple good lefts, got the left foot down and actually felt the bike hook up in the berm, what a feeling! It was like a 250 pound heavy breathing, very slow Travis Pastrana. Then comes the berm to the right, turned too late, rear wheel comes to the top of the berm and then over it, and right out from underneath me. I went down on my right pretty hard, broke most of the fall with a nice straight right arm into the ground, but was laughing the entire time. Get up quick, make sure fingers look straight and no clicking noises anywhere, and lift the bike up (bike stayed idling on its side until I got it upright, then it stalled?). Put my first scratches on it and continued on to have too much fun to be pissed. Finally got to hit the old train bed, which can get squirrely as shit when you start gaining some speed, also learned line of sight is definitely a factor off road. Anyway, awesome time, can't wait to get back out there this week. Anyone know of any smooth trails that may be better for me to learn on? And pics:



Exhaust guard and hand guard did their job!

[maxim_X]

Scratches, more like battle scars! I don't know your area specifically, but if your finding some flowey bermed out single track riding that will absolutely be the thing to stick with. Riding down a fire rode won't do much for you. What tires are on there? they look pretty mild and may be leaving you with less confidence than a more aggressive tire.

[typeone]

you need to meet us out there one wknd, here's a vid from last Sunday on the lower easy trails. tons of flow, superFun!

[bryco13]

How had I not seen that video yet?! I need to find those trails and that bike you're on sounds amazing!

Next topic, now that I've put a few miles in, is suspension.
Is there a way to adjust my suspension for the WR that will allow it to ride well both on and off road, or am I stuck with one or the other? Right now on the road everything just feels smooth due to all the travel, I find myself hitting bumps and cracks that I would have previously rather risked going into a different lane to go around, so it's kind of fun to have a point and go machine. However, I don't have the experience needed to know how it should feel off-road. I also know tires are an issue. I can get knobbies that are dot legal (like the Dunlop 606), but no clue what to expect for an on road feel and how long they'll last. Thanks for any advice!

[maxim_X]

Vee river trials rear and front Pirelli mt16 is a nice DOt legal off road setup.

[Chippertheripper]

You can get 1000miles out of a 606 if you're cautious with the throttle on the pavement.
It'll feel buzzy, but the 606 will do most things on pavement better than you'd think. It's been a couple years since I've had a set (since I sold the lc4) but I used to hoon on that thing, in the twisties even, on those tires with no problems. They'd push and slide a little if you were really begging for it, but if you ride like a sane human, you'll have no troubles.

[bryco13]

Thanks for the honest feedback. I'm a pretty easy going rider and don't get too crazy on the thing, if just like to see what real of road tires feel like off road, and those seem to e popular for this model bike.

[Chippertheripper]

They're pretty agro, the rear is good offroad, the front kinda sux IMO.
I sound like a salesman I know, but you can't go wrong with the vee rubber products. Call LDA racing and tell him you want a set of the dot approved, and he should have the stuff.
I haven't priced them yet, but I think they'll be cheaper than the 606's for sure.

[typeone]

How had I not seen that video yet?! I need to find those trails and that bike you're on sounds amazing!

Next topic, now that I've put a few miles in, is suspension.
Is there a way to adjust my suspension for the WR that will allow it to ride well both on and off road, or am I stuck with one or the other?

hop in some time, that loop is easy to learn. I like it for a warm up lap, takes like ~20min to complete. the rocky and sandy uphills you can go around if too much.

on suspension, it is one or the other but worth it to try tuning for different terrain. e.g. sack it out for off-road and stiffen it up for on road and see how it feels. only way to know is to test and record results. detailed notes help a ton, it's easy to forget or get lost part way through a test session. once you figure out some preferred settings, it's super fast and easy to tweak the clickers. (assuming you stick with what you've got for hard parts)

[hondarider102]

Wirelessly posted

I'm currently running the vee rubber dot 211 front and I like it in the dirt, no road feedback. On another note the motoz are dot approved (double check but I'm almost positive) and they are great offroad.

[typeone]

yup, the Tractionators (and a few others?) are now DOT. kinda nutty, actually.

Corey, you in for this Sun? ill be there around 9 again.

[breakdirt916]

great read!

sounds like you're having a blast!

Mark on here (BMFR6) got me addicted a few years ago, and our first ride was at Hodges too!



you ready for a trip to CA?

plenty of smooth stuff!!



like hundreds of miles of it!

[hondarider102]

Wirelessly posted

yup, the Tractionators (and a few others?) are now DOT. kinda nutty, actually.

Corey, you in for this Sun? ill be there around 9 again.

In YouTube reviews I remeber people saying they were getting 1500 or so miles out of them.

And yes I will be there Sunday!

[hondarider102]

Wirelessly posted

yup, the Tractionators (and a few others?) are now DOT. kinda nutty, actually.

Corey, you in for this Sun? ill be there around 9 again.

In YouTube reviews I remeber people saying they were getting 1500 or so miles out of them.

And yes I will be there Sunday!

[typeone]

sweet. see you there

[bryco13]

Gonna try to go again tomorrow, though my version of morning is different than most. I'm now wondering about tire pressure. I'd like to safely ride there on the road and then take some air out to have better grip. Anyone have any suggestions of a tire pressure to run in the woods and still make it home a few miles afterwards in one piece? Not sure if a small bike pump will do the trick to top off after I deflate them. Thanks!

[Chippertheripper]

12psi. Maybe 13 up front.

[typeone]

what time? we'll prob be there at 9, do a lower loop then head up top. look for us (white Husky black Tacoma, red Honda white GMC) if you want to hop in line for lower stuff.

+1 on 13F/12R to start

[bryco13]

So, I've been spending monies on the little bits and pieces to protect the bike, and I'm currently working on a smaller tail section for the rear lights/plate. I think my next step (after trying the stock tires at lower pressures), will be more aggressive tires. The bike comes stock with Bridgestone "Trailwing" tires. The common tires used to replace these that are better for off road, are a Pirelli MT21 up front and a Dunlop D606 in back. In additions to these, I was wondering if anyone had any feedback on the following (granted, they're personal opinions, and I'm aware "YMMV"). I'm looking for something DOT legal, and most of my off road is HVD, which seems to be like most of the terrain around New England. Thanks for any input!
Pirelli mt21
Dunlop 606's
Michelin t63
Kenda trakmaster II
Mitas stoneater (love the look of these, unsure of how hard they are to get around here)
Pirelli mt43 trials tires (or any similar trials tires, front and back?)

[Chippertheripper]

Here's what I think of Pirelli offroad tires:
Uber crappy construction.
TONS of stuff out there about delamination inside and outside the tires, especially here in the rocks of New England.

So, the 606 is a decent choice for sure (the front will cup weird if you run them too low on the street)
It here are some other dot trials tires out there (which I dig as a rear, especially around here) and the vees should be on everyone's must try once list, especially for the price.
(No I'm not sponsored by vee rubber, or LDA racing, the local vendor)

[bryco13]

Thanks for the heads up about the pirelli's, I was thinking about the 606's front and rear, but I've heard good stuff about the trials tires and look a little smoother for the street. Are people just running them in the rear or front too? And do you know which Vee model I should check out?

[nhbubba]

I don't have a lot of experience here, but here's what experience I do have:

My bike came to me with an old, well worn set of Pirelli DOT dirtybike tires mounted up. I did not leave them on long and they were probably excessively spent already. But I was shocked at how good they did on the street.

I put D606's on per Chips recommendation. They have done well by me. Although they wear VERY quickly on pavement. If looking for a real dual-sport or predominantly for dirt road use, I would look elsewhere. Off road they seem to work well.

Honestly, I probably will not go for another set. I'm undecided on what I will replace these with. It will either be a budget dual-sport tire for dirt road use (markvt seems to have some idea, I'm also watching to see what viola puts on his new DR650) and I will see less and less real offroading. Or I will look for a cheaper dirty-tire. The D606's are probably fine tires. But they are pricey for how I use 'em.

Fortunately my sumo wheels spend more time on the bike than the dirty ones. So the D606's aren't seeing much wear lately.

[Chippertheripper]

Thanks for the heads up about the pirelli's, I was thinking about the 606's front and rear, but I've heard good stuff about the trials tires and look a little smoother for the street. Are people just running them in the rear or front too? And do you know which Vee model I should check out?

Mostly just the rear, unless you're one of those kooks that lace up a 18 to your front hub and run two rears.
The new for 2014 vee offerings are somewhat of a mystery to me. The trials tire (which I have) is dot approved. I'm not sure which knob (both front and rear) is dot approved, and the actual vee rubber website is built by people overseas, it looks like. Your best bet is to call the fine folks from LDA racing in charlton ma (I think, whatever that town off the pike is)
He'll ship them to you pretty cheap too.

[Garandman]

Totally impressive bike. I found the stock SnailWings to be quite good on rocks and decent in soft dirt or sand, but they do not like the mud so much.

[e30addict]

I don't have a lot of experience here, but here's what experience I do have:

My bike came to me with an old, well worn set of Pirelli DOT dirtybike tires mounted up. I did not leave them on long and they were probably excessively spent already. But I was shocked at how good they did on the street.

I put D606's on per Chips recommendation. They have done well by me. Although they wear VERY quickly on pavement. If looking for a real dual-sport or predominantly for dirt road use, I would look elsewhere. Off road they seem to work well.

Honestly, I probably will not go for another set. I'm undecided on what I will replace these with. It will either be a budget dual-sport tire for dirt road use (markvt seems to have some idea, I'm also watching to see what viola puts on his new DR650) and I will see less and less real offroading. Or I will look for a cheaper dirty-tire. The D606's are probably fine tires. But they are pricey for how I use 'em.

Fortunately my sumo wheels spend more time on the bike than the dirty ones. So the D606's aren't seeing much wear lately.

Ha! I'm a newbie at this too, I wouldn't put much weight behind what i do. I'll probably try the TKC 80's once I burn through the D606's. My only resErvation is everyone says they wear super quick. Supposedly the D606's do too but I haven't checked relative prices or how hard it is to change them. That's going to be something new too.