WR250F or WR450F... Can't Decide

[350scott]

Nobody has mentioned it, but I'll throw it out there. If I was going to by a Japanese 250F for trails, I'd go for the CRF250x, which I have. Mine's been great, even the valves, it lugs around like a little tractor, feels lighter than all the "big boy" bikes and goes up any hill within my ability. And, I'm not a little guy either, 6ft, 210lbs. I've ridden a new WR 250 and I like the 250x significantly more. As for the "big boy" 450 japanese bikes, I'd take the WR450 over the 450x.

All this being said, I'm trying to convince the wife I need a 250\300xc. 2 strokes sound better and I feel like an outsider not having a pumpkin. Plus Halloween just around the corner.

[Geolander]

The CRF250X has crossed my mind for sure. After looking into whatever info I could find online, it seems that the general "word on the street" is that the CRF250X is a more race oriented bike, that is quicker, but requires more TLC. Do you think the CRF250X is as dependable/easy to maintain as a WR250F? I think the Hondas are a little more expensive too... If anybody knows of a shop that has a 2008 CRF250X in stock, I would definitely take that into consideration as well. I really like the looks of the CRF compared to the WR, but I am looking for a dependable trail buddy, not an a$$ kicking diva of a bike... I might be way off on this one.... Can anybody comment?

[Geolander]

I just noticed that there is a 2007 Gas Gas 300 EC on Kijiji at an OK price. What is the general feeling about these bikes? Do we have dealer support here in Calgary? This might be an option too.

[MtnBlue]

Claude is a member here and the distributor for Gas Gas. Rockyridge Motorsports. Click on their ad

[WR_Dave]

The guy that I have been dealing with on the WR250F is pushing me towards the WR450F and has thus rekindled my curiosity in the bigger bike... I have heard that the WRs need to be "uncorked" or they lack decent performance, and I will have that done before I take it home. I'm happy that a Yamaha guy (WR Dave) is giving me his opinion here, to contrast the KTM riders. I love KTMs (really loved my 640 Adv), but I have had a couple yamahas and can't complain about their slightly less intense maintnance schedule and cost. WR Dave, I know that you say that you don't give your opinion on bikes, but do you have a personal preference between the 250 and 450 WR yamahas?

For me the 450 is the right bike, but that could be due to being lazy with low talent , so the bigger bike will do a lot of the work for me. Also, dressed to ride with full gear and all the sludge that I seem to carry with me, I am around 260LBs on the bike, so the bigger engine also helps there. Most of the "uncorking" on the WR's is free or fairly inexpensive to do and all bikes will need handguards, skid plates, rad guards etc. If you properly maintain any bike it will last for a very long time of enjoyable riding. Good Hunting -- WR Dave.

[Geolander]

Thanks again for all the great help. I am going to pick up my new bike today! I went with a 2007 CRF250X with about 6 hours riding time on it. I'm looking forward to getting her out on the trails.

My new CRF250X !! Now its time to get her dirty!

[WR_Dave]

Congrats on the new bike WR Dave

[dirtyboy]

Good choice Enjoy.

[Dobi]

Looks like a good find. Enjoy.

[Hendrix13]

Finally another CRF on the trails . I was starting to get lonely. You'll love the bike.

[steve-o]

Looks pretty MINT. Congrats on the new bike! It'll be awesome.

[Geolander]

I haven't even had The CRF250X out for its first ride yet, (Friday will be a good day) but I am already thinking about what I should be doing to keep it running great/smooth. I think I may need to do a jetting adjustment, since I ride mainly at McLean which I presume is at a higher than average altitude. Also, there is alot of threads out there on CCC mods. Any of you know which of these mods or others are worth doing? I'll probably throw on some handguards/rad guards/skid plate for the inevitable...

[thirtyseven]

Nice!

[motoman6]

Just wondering why you didn't consider an XCF250 or XCFW250? In pretty much all off road shoot outs done by Dirt Rider or DirtBike magazine the KTM always cleans house over the WR or CRFX. Certainly the Honda & Yamaha have the attraction of having the easy to ride ready to go out of the box appeal, but the KTM'S are the serious off road bikes that will help you grow your skills. Consider this, the XCF250 is 226 lbs with 35HP. The WR250 is 234 lbs with 27HP. The WR450 is 246 lbs with hp in the upper 30 range. I have an XCF250 and my buddy has a WR450. His bike definitly has more chug out of the gate but my bike is easily as fast as his once the engine is in it's sweet spot. You can also use the XCF for some light to moderate moto x duties as well. It's an awesome bike. I've also ridden a new CRF250, YZF250, and a KX250F. The XCF250 is easily as fast as these bikes through the mid to top RPM range.


Motoman

[Geolander]

The CRF250X came at a good price, it was available, and it met all the criteria I had for my next bike. I was looking for a bike that could be dependable and trail legal so that I can go out and enjoy myself without to much focus going to my bike. I am not a racer, or even all that agressive, so it isn't really about horsepower. With that being said though, I didn't want to buy a sluggish recreation bike. I'm sure the KTM would have been totally suitable for me, but the Honda was in the right place, at the right time, at the right price to end up in my garage. So, now I can forget about the colour of my plastics and have fun. Its just a toy after all. I've owned a KTM, and a Yamaha in the past so it's kind of interesting to give the Honda a try. Too late to look back now anyway.