The Tenere made me do it - WR250R

[jajpko]

Holy Crap!!! This WR250R is gonna be fun!!!

So this morning I got to work on my new-to-me WRR. I took off all the plastics and checked everything out to figure out where everything is and do some cleaning. I wired in the rugged mount for my Montana GPS. I then put everything back and mounted my Wolfman Explorer lite that came with the bike. Then I stripped most of the drivetrain apart - all the chain guards and the like - and soaked the chains and sprockets in degreaser. Mutliple cycles of scrub, degrease, wipe off, degrease, scrub, wipe off later and I had a bare chain and sprockets. I lubed everything up and put back on the now cleann chain guides and guards. I checked all the fluids and adjusted the brakes and clutch.

I then took the WRR out for a run over Cotton Top to Gauley Bridge and back. Wow!!! What a difference half the weight of the Super-Ten makes! This bike is gonna be a ton of fun, give me access to all kinds of terrain beyond the scope of my abilities on the Super-Ten, and hopefully teach me alot about riding offroad that I can then transfer to the Super-Ten. Can't wait to get back out there tomorrow. Thinking I might go for some revenge on the Nallen Rd where I had to bail a few weeks ago because the riding just got too tough for my skills on the Super-Ten.

If that was a o-ring or x ring chain, you may have to buy a new one. Soaking in de -greaser is not good for the grease inside the o-ring.
The bike comes with an o-ring chain. The chain manufacturers recommend Kerosene and not to soak for a long period of time(minutes).
Just sayin

 

[snakebitten]

Oh NOW we are supposed to use Kerosene.

 

[jajpko]

Oh NOW we are supposed to use Kerosene.

That's what the little note inside the package said.. ::025::
I keep my chain clean by wiping it down now and then, along with the sprockets. But I also use DuPont Teflon wax. It's worked good so far. ::001::

All of that really means nothing. I've read of riders never greasing the chain..

How ya doing snake? I have been working out now for 3 weeks, two of that in the gym, 5 days a week.
I think Big Bend is a go, if I don't wreck again.. )

 

[snakebitten]

If you're going, I'm going.
First round on me.

So are you n me up to the desert challenge?

 

[jajpko]

If you're going, I'm going.
First round on me.

So are you n me up to the desert challenge?

Oh yeah, desert challenge sounds good to me.. ::26:: The very worst, I can break something, or, we can finish
1 & 2 ::003::

 

[trikepilot]

Well... technically I used WD40 as that was the degreaser that I had on hand to cut through all the crud - along with elbow grease and a toothbrush. Bottom line is that irrespective of what I cleaned it with... the chain is already cashed out - it has frozen links here and there and still has a ton of crud in it despite my protracted toothbrush battle. I don't think my cleaning efforts did any damage to the chain that is not superseded by the untold miles it was ridden while laden with layers upon layers of crud before I got it. So a new chain will go on the list of things to get

 

[Dirt_Dad]

It's alive!! ::018::

It's a totally new bike...and I like it... a lot!! ::012::

What changed?

Gearing: 13/47
Fuel: FMF fuel controller
Tires: Dunlop 606
Airbox flapper: removed
Forks: changed the 5 year old original oil with fresh 5wt

1st gear results:



... and in 2nd gear.


Still not as easy as some of my past bikes, but this is a 250cc and I can deal with how light I can get the front now.

The fun factor for this bike has just gone off the charts. Before all the changes I would have told you the Tenere is a better dirt road bike. Forget that now, this thing is a blast.

I've already realized I need to increase my discipline when riding it on dirt road. I ended up on a dead end. This one to be exact.



When heading back down the hill I found my roost going up was probably 150 feet long. In fact I could almost tell my entire route of travel as I back tracked. Not a good idea to make a lot of enemies who are pissed because some old guy on a dirt bike is ripping up their road. It's going to be a challenge, because, damn it was a lot of fun flying up those roads. I'll figure something out.

This is finally the bike I thought it should be. It's really freaking fun now. It's a definite keeper. This is one of those bikes you would regret selling.

The only problem I'm seeing is a definite hard to start issue. It started fine after sitting for a couple of weeks. I rode it for about 20 minutes then got off for about 15 minutes. I turned the key, did not wait for the fuel pump to end it's cycle, it ran for a few seconds then died and would not restart. WOT, nothing. Waited 15 minutes, similar ran for a few seconds, then nothing again. Waited another 20 minutes then got it running. I need to go to the WR board to see if this is common. It's definitely not the battery. That new thing was cranking the engine fast.

One other note: Those Dunlop 606s are super smooth on the pavement. I was shocked at how smooth those tires ran.

Trikepilot- I know I owe you an answer on the email. I was out riding the amazing roads of SE Ohio this weekend, then appliance shopping all morning with my wife. I will get you a response as quickly as possible, may be tomorrow.

 

[jajpko]

Could be the fuel pump. It's not normal.


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[trikepilot]

Jon - I hear ya. I may get to those mods sooner or later but for now the lightly modded WRR I picked up more than has my attention. I had a blast getting WAY MORE lost on a dead end road than you did and I was never more than 25 miles as the crow flew from the house. I already had dual sport heaven in my backyard, but now this little bike has easily tripled the rideable terrain here locally.

We must ride soon!!

 

[simmons1]

Could be the fuel pump. It's not normal.


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I agree sounds similar to the problems mine had when the pump was going.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I agree sounds similar to the problems mine had when the pump was going.

Once running the bike performs flawlessly for as long as I want. Even restarts at gas stations and if I stall it. Does that still sound like a fuel pump going? I believe it is a fuel issue, but the running without fail does not sound like the other fuel pump issues I've been reading about so far.

I'm not disagreeing, I honestly don't know. Just want to make sure I spend the money to fix it in the proper directions. I do appreciate the diagnosis assistance.

 

[johnpitts01]

The WR 250 R is the most fun bike you can have.
I have beat the dickens out of mine and it just keeps begging for more.
Last year we rode the WABDR, ORBDR, Lost Coast of California then rode across Cali to finish in Reno.

The ride from Seatlle to the start of the WABDR was mostly highway. Had the WR pretty much wide open for a couple hours.
Same thing for the ride across Cali.

She just ate it up.

And handled the off road with no problems. My buddies were on GS1200, KTM 950 Enduro and Suzuki DR650. They could not believe the little WR kept up with them on the freeways. In difficult sections I was the one not killing myself trying to maneuver more weight than necessary.

Over the winter I plan on doing a Super Moto conversion for the WR250. A complete spare set of wheels and tires that I can swap back and forth. Got a friend with the SM setup on the WR and he says it is a complete blast.

I could seriously consider having the WR as my only bike.

The damn thing does pretty much everything.
About the only thing that gives me any problems is really deep South Jersey Pine Barrens sand.
I was out on Sunday and the sand was really deep in places. Too much work.
I damn near became a hood ornament on a big jeep on Batsto Forest line road in the Jersey pines. The guy had big balloon tires on the thing and was flying pretty quick through the deep sand. He got the thing sideways with the brakes locked up when he finally saw me coming at him.

 

[Yamaguy55]

It does sound like the pump. The tale is a run of early bikes with problematic pumps. I'd suggest that running the tank dry with the stock radiator shroud assists in the pump's demise. The stock setup puts a lot of heat under the tank.

Not selling stuff, but the removal of the stock radiator guard and replacement with the Flatland version changed the cooling of mine substantially: the fan seldom comes on, while it ran a lot stock.

That may have noting to do with it, but running tank dry and excess heat kills everyone's pumps sooner. Some sooner yet.

But back to your bike: the big to-do over on Thumper Talk when the WRR was new had the pumps doing what yours is doing when they failed. Most if not all would recover and work if you let the bike cool off. Once started, they would be ok until next episode, which could be next day or next month. But hot weather riding seemed to be a common theme.

Mine in a two-digit serial WRR, and I changed the rad guard early, and still have the original pump. It has spent its life being full of gas and cool.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Nowhere near as excited to replace the fuel pump as I was to install all the other goodies, but if that's what's needed, I'm happy enough with this bike now that's it's worth making the investment. In fact, I'm about as happy with the performance of this bike as I could ever hope to be with a 250cc bike. It's staying.

 

[snakebitten]

Nice to have knowledge and experience at your fingertips though. If the pump solves your issue, you certainly avoided chasing a rabbit. Good luck.

 

[Yamaguy55]

While you're there replacing the pump, replace the plug with an ix version. Put compressed air in the drain hole on the right side of the head with the COP removed, it blows any debris out of the plug hole before you pull the plug. Anti sieze the threads too.

But: before you buy a pump: prove the failure again. Get it hot, shut it down while nice and hot. If it restarts, fine. Do it again however many times necessary and see if when it does fail, it requires a cool down period to finally work. If that happens, it is most likely the pump. Be sure to keep the tank half full or more. It will fail under heat stress if on the way out. And it will happen again and again. The standard side stand and kill switch problems exist as well. I had a weirdo ECU problem where it didn't turn on the fan and the engine shut off due to over temp. It was a logic hang up in the ECU, hasn't happened since.

I understand the pump is (or was) about 200 bucks. Considering the cost of everything else, that's cheap. I'm hoping to avoid this, but you never know.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Nice to have knowledge and experience at your fingertips though. If the pump solves your issue, you certainly avoided chasing a rabbit. Good luck.

Thanks, I agree. Yamaguy55 has been very helpful both here and sending a lot of stuff via email. He's clearly been around this bike for a while. Which is great, because I'm a noob with this thing.

Thanks, Yamaguy55... and all the others who have offered advice. Much appreciated.

 

[jajpko]

Instead of buying a Yamaha pump, maybe this motor will work for you. There are other brands as well.
http://tinyurl.com/lpdrtzj

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Instead of buying a Yamaha pump, maybe this motor will work for you. There are other brands as well.
http://tinyurl.com/lpdrtzj

Interesting, it's less than 1/5 the price of a Yamaha pump. I need to do some research on it. Have you heard any feedback on if they last more than a few rides?

 

[jajpko]

Interesting, it's less than 1/5 the price of a Yamaha pump. I need to do some research on it. Have you heard any feedback on if they last more than a few rides?

I have only read about people replacing just the motor. If you do a search on ADV wr250r mega thread, some of the people on there have used motors to rebuild their pumps. On this forum, simmons1 has done this. You may want to PM him also. If I run across the thread, I'll post it.