I was not enthralled by the forward leaning seat, as the narrow area would do OK after a toughening up few hours, but the forward slope pushed me up against the fuel tank, a potentially unpleasant squeeze job as you can image. Oddly enough, the slimmer photographer did not experience a similar constraint as I did, although both of us had to live with being just a little too close to the handlebars.

In the city, I could easily beat all comers at any Red Light GP, provided I kept the motor over 6,000rpm, with similar happy results right up to a comfortable 130kph on the motorways. This puppy move, with a well programmed Electronic FI to keep things humming without hesitations or flats sports, right up to 9,000 rpm. In fact, you can almost feel the family resemblance with the other free revving engines from Yamaha, with the 600 and 1000 cc fours coming to mind.

Ride one, you will be as surprised by the package as I was!

One of the great joys of motorcycling these days is that you will find an excellent bike that does exactly what you are looking for, and at a price - quality point that you can live with and afford. And where do I see the WR250X in this spectrum? For starters, this a new style machine, with a modern engine, efficient EFI, alloy frame and high quality brakes, suspension and instruments. This WR is priced above its competition, but the difference is largely explained by the higher level of refinement and performance of the Yamaha, who led the charge with efficient small displacement motors that has taken over off road riding in the last five years.

Ride one, you will be as surprised by the package as I was!




Photo Credit : Marc Cantin