Ok, now we're splitting hairs. Both these bikes aren't true trail bikes. I know because I tried to consider it one on a recent Baja trip and am now lusting for a beta. (It never skipped a beat though.) But I've never had a situation on my WRR where I felt, dang I wish i went for a crf for that little bit more torque.

Both these bikes are lightweight adventure bikes leaning more towards a trail bike than an adventure bike compared to any other adventure bike. But out of the two the yammy is marginally more trail bike than the Honda it seems. Pick your route and choose accordingly. The Honda wasn't around when I got my yammy but I'd still get the yammy because of its better spec and aftermarket support. Made concessions on spec in the past add it just ended up pissing me off. Don't see the dealings with a foreign bike as that much of a hurdle myself.

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Ooh i do love getting into the nitty gritty.

The only issue I think that hasn't been covered here is the known reliability issues.

The last 2 days I have trawled the CRF and WRR specific owners forums to see what the most common faults that rear their heads. For the WR almost all of the problems were related to the to '08 (release year) fuel pumps and chain skip on the ridiculous pyramid shaped rear sprocket teeth. I really can't find too many gripes for common faults.

But the forums for CRF it was mostly oil leaks, fork seals and top end issues.

I can't tell if if made my mind up. I feel there has to be some dirt on the WR that isn't widely reported. It looks like the greatest complaint is the lack of engine torque and the stock gearing. More often than not when I see a WR vs CRF thread the deciding factor in favour of the CRF was the simply the cost.

I'm still keen to hear about any shortfalls in the WR suspension though. Most reports I have seen have praised it greatly over the CRF and KLX.

yamaha reliability really dropped these days and wr has far more issues, most recent stators failure and recall which can leave you stranded.

Top end in crf??? never heard of, but I heard about tensioner issues.

That's news to me. I've heard fuel pumps on the older ones. They changed the part number I think. Biggest gripe for me is the chain guide even as it's a minor part. No excuse for not working out the geometry in design. Particularly nowadays with computer modelling.

Still haven't heard anything more about the suspension issues.

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I'd ride what has parts available locally where ever you're going: Things like brake parts, shift lever, oil & air filters, sprockets, shocks. Having those parts available locally is important for my choice. In any case, I do agree that a 250cc moto is a great bike for travel & exploration. If you pack light, there is no hesitancy to get off the main highways and ride where the heavily loaded travelers generally don't go.

OK So today I took the CRF for a test ride, since it's been the fist day that it hasn't been storm conditions for the last week and a half.

Thoughts: Now I can't tell if it's because i'm coming from an 800 GS Twin or not, but the CRF felt needlessly underpowered. It felt like it developed less power than a 15 year old carbed XR250L. Last year I owned a 2007 XR125L and that felt comparable to the CRF today. Surely that can't be right?

Power aside it did feel fine however. Ususal Honda build characteristics and I felt very at home on it. My first ever bike was a Honda and I have had many since then.

Tomorrow I will go test the KLX, as in the FI Euro version, so I will see how that compares.

There is no option to test the WR. It would be a leap of faith purcahse, or a short flight to another country for a test ride. Eek.

well, because it is and gearing is screwed too.

Compared to your 800 a Crf will feel gutless if course. You will have to use throttle and shift pedal much more often to keep up speed. And the speed of a 800 you will never keep up of course.

I havent owned a Crf but have been riding it as a rental for about 10 k kms and on highways I found a sweet spot around 95 km/h. You could of course push it harder but then the engine seemed to feel a bit stressed. Anyhow - as someone mentioned earlier in the thread - the Crf has more tourqe lower down than comparable bikes. Its actually a downtuned CBR250 engine. I found the power delivered in very in useful rpm range. I havent been riding the WR so cannot comment upon that. But have had a week on a KLX250. But it was the carburated model and the Crf beats that in all ways.

Some Crf owners do go down one tooth on the front sprocket - I guess good for offroading and around town riding but personally I wouldnt do that on a bike for overlanding. Have a go on a WR if possible and share your experiences....

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Hey folks, another step forward.

So yesterday I test rode the KLX250, purely because I had nothing else to do. I took it out for about 40 minutes around town. I didn't get a chance to take off road, but I did find a very beat up farm access road so I flew up and down that a few times.

Keep in mind this is the FI Euro version of the KLX and not the carb'd American version.

I felt that it had a bit more power than the Honda certainly, but since I got it home I looked over the stats and they are only within 1-2HP or so. Strange to think how much that actually shows at the wrist.

The problem though is that of the 3 the KLX is perhaps the least likely candidate to replace the GS as a super-lightweigh RTW steed. Service intervals are much shorter, very few aftermarket parts here in the UK and the closest place I could get an IMS tank sent from would be USA.

*siiiiggghh*

It really is frustrating living in the UK. No dual sport market makes life hard when searching for a lightweight tour option.

I went into a Yamaha dealership yesterday and discussed the WR250R, he said he was shocked the 250 even existed because for only £ 800 more you could have got a XT660! He really didn't understand the concept of lightweight adventure.

Typical European thinking.

Well I give myself perhaps 2 more weeks of looking into my options and expenses regarding the WR. So far it's looking like a £12,000 bill to get a hold of USED bikes, never mind new. I could have 2 Used CRF's for £6,000.

I really need to get that figure well under £10k to make the Yamahas a feasible option.

oh please...do not sin, there are thousand of places more frustrating to live then UK

Get a KTM 690 enduro R, almost same weight as crf250l and you'll get guts to travel efficiently. 250cc is not meant for that.

No kidding. The main reason there is no 100kg 500cc long service interval offroad weapon. No other reason as a large part of the global market has nowhere to ride them.

I'll sell you mine with all the bells and whistles (overland ready) for a good price if you can wait until next year.

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You could plan your next holiday around a wrr test ride.

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Just take the gs

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Just go with the CRF250L it is great for traveling outside europe. Also the most reliable bike I know. As soon as you leave the modern world you will have the most powerfull bike around;-). If you are worried about the power difference between the WRR and the CRFL, maybe the 250 league is not for you...

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What's your route that you feel you need that ability?
I wouldn't consider a drz. I replaced mine for a wet. The drz is a way better trail bike but not fun on the open stuff.

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