The 2010 Yamaha WR250X Review Has Begun…

Hi Chadx:

To help with some of your other questions, the following may shed some more light…

Yes, stock gearing. While good for the acceleration up to 35 to 40 + mph, after that, it seems to fall short for a CleanMPG member riding style. Meaning it is geared to short and adding Rev’s for higher speed riding.

Yup, California model… In testing like this, I have not found a single vehicle where the spec’ed capacity was equal or more than what they could actually hold. Other than 04 – 09 Prius’ and their bladders in the winter that is

Riding the California model with the EVAP and extra connection into the tank is rated at 1.9 gallons. As I saw from the pump and extra container from fuel starve, its actual total capacity is closer to 2.05 gallons vs. the 2.094 I did the calc’s from (I spilled quite a bit of fuel unfortunately ). I suspect the non-California models may hold upwards of 2.15 gallons so you were really close to fuel starve yourself! I will be sure to have an MSR fuel bottle instead of a large, one time use plastic container the next time I come this close to fuel starvation

If I get stuck at a light that has no cross walk timer or Rabbit sitting at it ahead, I shut her down. I got caught at a light in South Milwaukee on Sunday that would not pick up the X’s wheels through the magnetic sensor in the pavement and most small displacement bike owners know how frustrating that can be. Fortunately I was shut down while I was rolling the bike back and forth over the road sensors for an ~ 2-minute period. A car finally came up from behind and asked if I was having problems… I was of course but not the kind that he was probably thinking about

If I get stuck at a Green to Yellow, it is downshift, downshift and downshift while slowing to keep within the fuel cut window. If there is a yield sign to the right turn, I will take that alternate for half a block or so, U-Turn and then right turn again to keep my progress moving on my intended travel path. This has saved me countless precious ounces on the 250X in a number of areas within the Milwaukee suburbs. Use it if available but the Chicago area is almost devoid of those kinds of intersections w/ yields unfortunately

If it s a Stale Red and I can see a Walkway countdown timer almost at 0 ahead, I will do exactly what you posted. Just pull in the clutch and continue the glide in what we call a NICE-On (Neutral – Internal Combustion Engine On). That way you are only idling while coasting to the light that is about to change green. It saves fuel vs. continued power and then brake and back on the accelerator to time the light if that helps.

On lengthy down hills, always NICE-On’s and FAS’s. This is the surprising thing. The 250X rolls really well with those OEM Bridgestone Radials. Few other bikes can maintain speed w/out power while coming down intermediate hills. The 250X does and I make sure I take advantage of it at every opportunity. We are not talking about 55 + coming out of the mountains but around town with some of the steeper streets at 25 to 35 mph and PSL’s of the same.

I do not travel fast enough to Close in draft but I do get the kick from traffic side as the vehicles on my left come by at slightly higher speeds. This transitions into a Surf for another 10 to 15-seconds before they have moved ahead far enough that their wake has all but disappeared. I described this kind of quickly but you are in the far right lane while they are in the middle or left lanes passing by at maybe a 2 to 15 mph delta.

I also stick to 55 mph or under roadways as I find little enjoyment whether on a bike or in a car/truck of traveling at 65 +. I have watched to many IIHS vids and seeing what a car turns into after just a 35 or 40 mph impact is enough to keep me between the limits in the far right hand lane.

I hope that helped?

She Wolf, Sean hit it on the head. When Bikes receive an OBD-II port, many of us will be plugging in a ScanGauge. There are other devices that you can tap into the injector but the R/X’s VSS (vehicle speed sensor) may not be a standard build either so that may be out of the question If the bike has an instantaneous and averaging fuel consumption display, the WRR and ADV forums would have a lot more fuel efficient riders in them too

If you have read the BMW F 800 GS and R 1200 RT blogs and review, you will see BMW incorporated an iFCD (instantaneous) and aFCD (averaging ) into their bikes and whooaaa is that a neat addition! With feedback, everyone is a Hypermiler and it is so easy even a caveman could do it

WH, if you are not buried in school work and want to go for a ride, let me know and maybe we can arrange something?

Good Luck

Wayne

 

Hi All:

A little ride into the Windy City today… One of my most challenging rides due to traffic and stop sign after stop sign along my chosen route.

First stop...

Evanston Beach


Motorcycles are great as there is no gate that can hold them back… Don’t tell the Evanston Police how this WR250X got onto the beach road

Low Fuel Appears a bit early this time around


Tank 2 hits low fuel at 147.9 miles. That is about 8 miles short of last tanks Low Fuel and boy do I have some work ahead of me!

The Chicago River


At the Chicago River.​

The Chicago River flows through Downtown Chicago but there are two items that make it notable. First, it used to flow into Lake Michigan. Today, it flows to the Mississippi river. And second is what every Chicagoan knows happens on St. Patrick’s Day. The city dye’s the river green!

The John Hancock Building


Looking up at the John Hancock Building from almost underneath the WR250X.​

John Hancock Center Building Facts

• Completed in 1970
• 100-story mixed-use complex
• 896,980 sf of office space
• 171,771 sf of retail
• 17,371 sf observatory on the 94th floor
• 34,307 sf TV and radio broadcast facility
• 49 floors of residential condominiums

Millennium Park CloudGate


At Millennium Park with CloudGate (otherwise known as the Bean) in the background. Chicago police were all over me anytime I crossed that darn rope so that was as close as I could get :ccry:​

Cloud Gate is British artist Anish Kapoor's first public outdoor work installed in the US. The 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect the city's famous skyline and the clouds above. A 12-foot-high arch provides a "gate" to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture, inviting visitors to touch its mirror-like surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives.

Inspired by liquid mercury, the sculpture is among the largest of its kind in the world, measuring 66-feet long by 33-feet high. Cloud Gate sits upon the AT&T Plaza within Chicago’s Millennium Park.

Art Institute of Chicago


Some Chicago visitors were happy to help by taking my Canon and snap this one… The Art Institute of Chicago Lions with Blackhawk helmets. Can anyone figure out why that is ​

The Art Institute of Chicago is featuring the artist Henri Mattise until late June with 120 of his most ambitious and experimental paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints from the period. Matisse himself acknowledged the significance of these years when he identified two paintings, Bathers by a River and The Moroccans, as among his most pivotal. These monumental canvases from the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, inspired the collaborative work of this exhibition and serve as major touchstones within it. This is the first exhibition to offer an in-depth investigation of Matisse’s art from this time, revealing information uncovered through extensive new art-historical, archival, and technical research.

Buckingham Fountain


Chicago’s Buckingham Fountain with the center fountain flowing at full pressure and height!​

The Fountain, one of the largest in the world, begins its show every hour on the hour for 20 minutes. What is the show? The Fountain produces a major water display and the center jet shoots 150 feet into the air. Beginning at dusk, every hour on the hour for 20 minutes the Fountain's major water display is accompanied by a major light and music display.

Buckingham Fountain History

• One of Chicago's most popular attractions.
  
  
• The Fountain opened on May 26, 1927. It was dedicated on August 26, 1927.
  
  
• Edward H. Bennett designed the Fountain to represent Lake Michigan with four sea horses, built by Marcel Loyau, to symbolize the four states that touch the lake: Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. Bennett attributed the design specifically to the influence of the Latona Basin in Louis XIV's gardens at Versailles.
  
  
• Kate Buckingham dedicated the structure to the people of Chicago in 1927 in memory of her late brother, Clarence. At the time, she also established a $300,000 trust fund to ensure that the taxpayers would never have to cover all of the repair and upkeep costs associated with the fountain.
  
  
• The funds for the $2.8 million restoration that was done in 1994 came from the Buckingham Fountain Endowment Fund, which the Art Institute of Chicago has administered. Funds from the Buckingham Fountain Endowment Fund also helped fund a portion of the 2008-2009 project.
  
  
• The Fountain is constructed of Georgia pink marble.

Navy Pier


Overlooking Chicago’s Navy Pier. Don’t ask how I took this pic but it had something to do with standing in the middle of Lake Shore Drive ​

Navy Pier is a 3,300-foot long pier on Chicago’s Lake Michigan shore. The pier was built in 1916 at a cost of $4.5 million and was a part of the Plan of Chicago developed by architect and city planner Daniel Burnham.

It is one of Chicago's most famous tourist attractions offering a number of Lake Michigan sightseeing tours and a dinner cruise on the Spirit of Chicago, The Odyssey, and the Mystic Blue. Other attractions include the World Famous Ferris Wheel, the Children’s Museum, an IMAX theater, and the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows.

This coming August brings to Chicago the "Tall Ships" with real working tall ships coming pier side for all to view.

Wrigley Field


Final stop before heading home… If you do not know where this is, heaven help you. We are still counting on taking a World Series before the second century of MLB is over ​

Maybe the following will help? The Cubs became the first team to record three consecutive World Series appearances and two consecutive World Series victories with both championship wins coming off the heels of a record one-hundred sixteen victory season of 1906. In 1908, Chicago's West Side franchise was more than just a winning baseball team; they had just become sports first official "dynasty".

And since that time… I watched many a game in 1969 and for some god forsaken reason I can still name most of the players from that team. Unfortunately the miracle Mets stole the show.

Does anyone want to know about the Billy Goat curse?

Second Tank Details


212.5 miles on 2.124 gallons = 100.44 mpg.​

Whooa, that was close… It started to do the run out for ¼ of a block and run for 2 to 3 blocks routine at fuel starve. This time I was slightly ahead of last tanks fuel starve game per the Low Fuel but they were within .5 miles of one another. That Low Fuel sensor appears to be pretty darn accurate when riding smooth surfaces!

I was next to one station (forgot which brand it was) and about ½ mile ahead was a Speedway in Waukegan, IL. I risked it and chose the Speedway. After the third fuel starve cycle occurred, I pulled in the clutch and glided into the station ICE-Off.

Final tally, 212.5 miles on 2.124 gallons = 100.04 mpg with only a few drops not getting into the tank. The first tank was on some 93 Octane Premium in East Central WI that had no ethanol. This tank was 91 Octane laced with 10% of that corn garbage. The 10% ethanol fuel should have nicked about 2 t o2.5%. The other 2% loss probably came from the stop sign and light to stop sign and light in and around Chicago proper. SOB that was a lot of work today and my clutch hand is aching!

Wayne

 

Hi Al:

Finally got around to mapping the 2010 Yamaha WR250X Chicago Ride along the infamous North Shore... One of the best and most challenging rides to date.

Wayne

 

Hi Beatr911:

I was going to go out today but ran out of time. I think your right about the peak. Pulling out all the stops, maybe 125 mpg or so?

What I am finding is that it is not as fuel efficient as the other 250’s we have reviewed but is a lot more powerful way up top. Once above 40 mph, this thing really takes off unlike the rest which came up to and through 40 mph very linearly. Not really peaky as it has enough down low to pull from lights and signs without having to really get into it while above lug but it really begins to use those high tech, high lift performance cams from about 40 mph and above which per my RPM calcs (remember this bike lacks a tach unfortunately) is around 4,400 RPM.

Another item I really like is the FI just starts this thing right up no matter the temperature or conditions. The KLX250SF was a lot more persnickety.

Regarding crossing the country, I am still shooting for 100 although that last tank was really really close, I think it might finish up the crossing in the low 90’s or thereabouts if the weather cooperates? Running RT segments at home is about the best we will ever get vs. the open slab crossing the country no matter what we are riding or driving as you have already surmised. Going up against the Jet Stream from East to West is not a great proposition either but I really do not have a choice given Yamaha HQ is located near LA

While setting up the pics for a Throttle Rocker Review shoot this evening, I took some of the WR250X by itself in the yard… She looks *$%!@)$ Fast even when standing still




Wayne

 

Hi SouthernCannuck:

I twisted it once to about 3/4 on my way up to Elkhart Lake for all of about 10 seconds. I am pretty sure that entering a fast sweeper at 65 mph feels the same whether I am in 6th at 7K or 4th at 10K

Per the manual, avoid prolonged riding above 1/3 throttle for the first 600 miles and 1/2 throttle before 1,000. After which, have at it! That fits my riding style to a Tee!

Something else I thought was very interesting and it came right out of the manual. The WR250X has an Auto-Stop function! It does not work in the same manner that we would like it to however. If the bike has idled for 20-minutes without moving, it automatically shuts down the engine. There is no way I am going to let the WR sit still and idle for 20-minutes but I do wonder if it takes down the lights and all 12V loads during the shutdown? It throws a code as well but that is cleared on the next start.

Another interesting Auto-Stop function I hope to never try is it has some kind of inclinometer built in. If the bike goes upside down (maybe even if it is lying on its side?), the bike shuts off as well. I may be able to try the lay down Auto-Stop function when it stops raining.

And finally, the OEM shift points right out of the manual... Boy, I do not know as I must be accelerating to aggressively Shift to second at about 10 mph, to third by 15 mph, 4th by 20 mph, 5th by 25 mph and 6th by 30 mph. Riding in sixth at 30 mph is well into lug range on the WR. Maybe one of the Japanese engineers in charge of the manual build copied it out of a different manual without actually riding the WR? Funny for me to be saying they shifted to early

Wayne

 

Hi Sean:

No Auto-start function

Fortunately, all bikes have a FAS switch (I meant to say kill switch ) and they are all hard-wired right next to your right thumb in most cases

Wayne

 

Hi All:

I took a ride at 01:30 AM with the roads all but desolate and knocked out the Speedo (mph) and Odometer (distance in miles) errors using a Garmin Nuvi 1490T. I also performed the top speed run on an older abandoned highway.

Top Speed and Speedometer error

This was interesting because it was not linear like I would have suspected. During the top speed run, the WR250X hit 88 mph per the OEM Speedometer and 82 mph per the Garmin. The run was performed over an ~ ¼ mile stretch in both directions, temperature of 65 degree temps, absolutely no wind and in an upright seating position.

With that data, the Speedometer should be reading approximately 7.3% high in sixth gear from lug at ~ 33 mph (OEM indicated) all the way up to terminal velocity of 82 mph with my big @$$ on board.

At 59 mph per the OEM Speedometer, the Garmin read 55 mph. A 7.2% error which follows along almost perfectly with the high speed run as expected.

At an indicated 50 mph per the OEM Speedometer however, the Garmin read 45 mph or an 11.1% error. Even if it were 49 mph, the offset would still be 8.1% so it does not appear to be linear at all. The lower you drop down below 55 mph, the larger the error on a percentage basis appears. At an indicated 33 mph per the OEM Speedometer, the Garmin was indicating 30 mph or 10%. No big deal but just something I thought was interesting.

Odometer Error

This was the important one as it is the basis for actual distance which will impact the fuel economy calculations.

I did two different segments on two different routes. I let the Garmin calculate a route from one intersection with no turns to a T intersection. The point to point distance was 7.5 miles per the Garmin. The OEM Odometer (Trip A) displayed 7.6 miles to the corner.

The other segment was a 15 mile distance calculated per the Garmin involving 6 turns. The OEM Odometer (Trip A) from reset to parked displayed 15.1 miles.

Averaging the two, an offset of 1% is miniscule by comparison to the Speedometer offset.

I will go out tomorrow and ride a longer run to lock it down further but the Odometer is pretty darn close right from the factory. The Bridgestone Tires are brand new of course so as they wear, the offset will increase a bit. At least I have a baseline and the two tank average of 102.7 mpg (220.8 miles and 212.5 miles on 2.094 gallons and 2.124 gallons respectively) is a solid calculation.

After riding the big 1200 GS all last week, the WR250X is like riding a bicycle... A welcome respite indeed

Wayne

 

Hi Alvaro84:

Your BMW's speedometer and odometer errors are probably pretty small. The 1200 GS' we rode last week had a 2 mph offset (57 mph indicated and 55 mph actual) with dead on odometers.

The next time you have an escort, do another side by side. Have the driver raise his or her hand at 100 kph and you can see if it matches your 650's.

What does Europe use for kilometer markers? Are there signs or markers along the highway, distance between lines on the road or some other means available?

You have got to get a NAVI unit for Europe! I do not know what they cost in Hungary but TomTom 330XL's (I think it was the 330XL?) are in some of the local advertisements of the Chicago Tribune for just $99 USD! Hopefully you are seeing the deals over there now too? The waterproof bike specific units are ultra expensive (decent ones start at $599 USD) but in the rain, I plan on placing it under the see through tank bag cover out of harm’s way.

I purchased a RAM-Mount for the WR and 1200 GS along with a Garmin and a TomTom Carrier for < $50.00 USD as well. Locally I do not need them but traveling any lengthy distance off the Interstates and I do not trust my map skills anymore

Good Luck

Wayne

 

Hi Alvaro:

That is a beautiful section of asphalt and if the rest of Europe is that way, no wonder so many love to Tour the European Continent on BMW GS'.

While the signs are foreign, I can make sense of them but would be glad a TomTom or Garmin would be leading my way

I hope someday to drive or ride in your locale. It looks absolutely beautiful from the WIKI pic you linked.

Good Luck

Wayne

 

Hi All:

I wanted to add something here as I took the WR out for the Speedo/Odo error calibrations and top speed run the other night. The WR is more stretched out than the 1200 GS and GS Adventure we rode down the Eastern Seaboard last month! The seat to peg distance is taller allowing for a little less cramped feel for the hours you may be sitting behind the bars. Surprising that the WR250X has that ergonomic addition let alone weighing in at almost 1/2 the weight so it is much easier to handle at slower speeds. Low weight on the slab can be a detriment as anything going by causes a disturbance you have to adjust for but around town, its nimble nature is a welcome reprieve from some of the monster Touring, Sport and Adventure bikes that many ride in this day and age.

WH, that was funny

Good Luck

Wayne