Here is a vid of me chasing Taffymoto on his 250f, I’m on my 150. He’s faster than me anyway but watch how the 250f hooks up and how it revs. He’s on Michelin mediums. I’m on Trackers. It should give you an idea of how well a 250f goes on faster open stuff.

https://youtu.be/am4Z8Nl_J0g

They come with Japanese reliability and the best stock suspension start point going also.

 

A mate of mine has one and nas had about 6 WR250Fs in a row.

He has come very close to ditching his reverse cylinder model as it is so noisy for the rider. The air filter and inlet is under a false petrol tank and the inlet noise is deafening. The has ended up having to use earplugs.

He also reckons that the suspension is not as good for trail riding than the older KYBs as it is more race oriented and stiff. He still has his last one and he may yet do that up and revert. His reverse cylinder model also uses a lot of oil for a Jap bike.

 

Thanks for that
I had a go on new 19 WR450 and thought it was suspended v stiff for trail riding

 

Cameron (on this forum) had a KTM and then bought a WR, I believe that he is selling it to buy another KTM. My guess is that nothing ever went wrong with it which he found hugely boring, after all the fun of owning a KTM is things like main bearing failure, wheel bearings falling to bits, draggy clutches, spongy brakes, electrics that fall apart, that sort of stuff!...I'll get my hat.

 

That is pretty much what happened lol! I have a 17 exc 250 which I think is absolutely mega, much prefer if over my wr, not to say the wr wasn't a good bike.

The wr has awesome suspension out of the box. I only did just over 1000 miles on it but felt dead reliable. Did have a problem with a common live coupling rotting out which isn't great for a 3 year old bike though. Other than that it was spot on. I would have kept it but in the end I decided I couldn't get on with a 4t, didn't find it as fun to ride as the ktm, and how easy it stalled drove me mad! Must have stalled it and dropped it 3 or 4 times on the swindonian ldt!

The biggest problem I think is just how much they seem to drop in value, I had it a year and it just depreciated like a rock.

 

You see that a lot the way 4t hook up out of corners and 2t reel them a little in the twisties.

 

Don’t forget if you’re testing a new bike it’ll feel stiff regardless until the suspension has settled in. Ideally try one with 10+ hours on. If the OEM settings turn out to be to firm for your pace/requirements, it’s an easy fix- oil levels, shim shuffle etc. Personally I’d rather have a stiff CC type fork I can soften than a cheap and cheerful fork that’s feels soft and then catches you out when you don’t want it to.

 

Good idea
I think it was a newish bike (Yamaha direct) that maybe had 5-10 hours looking at it

 

I’ve had mine for a year and it’s the best bike I’ve owned by a mile.

I’ve never noticed the noise once so someone needing to use ear plugs seems totally over the top to me.

The suspension is unreal, 3/4 clicks either way is instantly noticeable and makes a real difference unlike the garbage on KTM’s which come with pogo sticks. If it’s still too stiff once it’s been wound all the way off then I’d be inclined to look at the rider rather than blame the bike. I race enduro with mine in ‘comfort’ settings and then take it to an MX track. Add 3 to all clickers and the difference is very noticeable to the point that 4 becomes too stiff.

Loads of power, amazing handling, reliability has been fine but all my KTM’s were the same so no difference in that respect. Given the price being £7,200 for a brand new one I haven’t had to spend any money on it to get it race ready. The KTM is £8,500 plus £700 for CC forks and £150 for a bladder conversion for the shock.

Each to their own but I can’t see me ever buying another KTM or anything other than a Yam.

 

Thanks for that
Kinda the way I was leaning

 

I was going to buy one, then the husky 4t, but ride the 250tpi and went that way, it's an awesome bike and u think overall is better for me. If I was planning on riding next year I'd have probably gone Yamaha

 

I was going to buy one, then the husky 4t, but ride the 250tpi and went that way, it's an awesome bike and u think overall is better for me. If I was planning on riding next year I'd have probably gone Yamaha

 

2018 onwards got a big power increase by way of a heavily revised engine. I wouldn’t buy a pre-2018 one.

 

Didn't know that
Thanks for the tip [emoji106]

 

Taffy is yours the factory model with the ackro?

 

No the GP edition was a 2017 so I went for a standard 2018 model. I have an akro on it though and it makes a big difference. Silencer only not header.

 

A neighbour has a 2018 and said he was surprised by how hard the power came in. Same comments about the suspension that it was set up more for mx than enduro. I haven't had a go on it, but it sounds like they are more for competitive racers than trail riders. As ever excellent Yamaha build quality, even when yams are old they normally look mint with a good clean whereas euro bikes are going rusty and falling to bits.

 

Build quality on KTM on a downward slope but everyone wants them lighter and faster. This is the price you pay.
Yamaha make good bikes but spares are expensive and have poor resale value. Think the backward engine design was a mistake and it hasn't taken off.
I've always likes Yamaha but prefer the smokers and my son rides a150 xcw so makes sense for me to ride ktm.

 

Elaborate on why the backwards engine was a mistake and hasn’t caught on?

 

This vid is super useful. Made by the typical WR250f owner......

https://youtu.be/G8FbuY_10mM

Yz250f with modded suspension here:

https://youtu.be/sPLY0O6jpQs

 

No substantial growth in sales after xxxx amount R&D most pertentonal customers not blown away in fact not really impressed with new design. As I've already mentioned resale value is poor and looking at the engine you got admit it does look fucking odd.

 

Taffy us the suspension more for the faster riders?

 

I have a 17 wrf 450, great bike trouble free, well built. Reverse cylinder puts the air intake higher up that has to be a good thing.

 

Good to save you from drowning the bike, terrible for keeping dirt out of the air box I found.

 

Taffy us the suspension more for the faster riders?

 

I wouldn’t say so. I only race and practice on mine no trail riding but it is very responsive to changing the clickers so I don’t see how winding it all the way off wouldn’t make it nice for trail riding. I struggle to see a scenario where the standard OC shite on KTM’s would be better than the KYB’s, even trail riding.

You might be better off asking bob though as he seems to be the expert on them. I wonder if he’s ridden one or just looked at pictures of them and made his mind up.

 

Haha, I suppose cost of spares was a concern, what they like in the tight twisty woods going? I liked my mate's 18 husky Fe 250 on the open going but it was heavier in the switchbacks so was concerned it'd wear my tub if lard arse out faster, but I think I need a change from 2t

 

Have you not seen the cost of KTM spares recently? They must be coming near to Jap prices now as they have been going up and up.

 

I find mine great in the woods. Obviously if it gets stupidly tight then the smaller and lighter the bike the easier it is but it’s no harder to ride through tight sections than a 250/300 2 stroke.

I’ve ridden it back to back on a fast test with a 350 EXC and a 250 XCF and it is much harder to stall than both of those bikes.

Spares-wise it’s fine. A spare set of plastics for it is £200 so that’s mental but day to day stuff is as cheap as anything. Oil filters, levers, chain guide etc are all the same price as a KTM would be. I smashed the headlight mask the other day and that was £25 delivered for a genuine Yamaha replacement. Chain guide £15.

It’s not as versatile as a 250 TPI for example which is what I had before. You could use that for anything but I hated it for the racing I do which is all time cards. Horrible shitty woods riding on the going then fast grass and mx tests for my ability and style of riding it’s the perfect bike.

 

I had the new type yam with reverse engine for awhile good build quality but as mentioned no good for trail riding I always felt it was like riding on ice but fine when getting a lick on plus I'm six foot and unless you stopped on level ground it was hard to get your foot down the bike is very tall, never had a problem with the air intake noise, the price of genuine parts is eye watering £150 for a headlamp and that's not with the number board,£320 for a pair of rad cowls I know because that's what I paid for them after a stone hit the headlamp and a branch pulled a rad cowling off, while in wales I rode my mates 350 ktm loved it straight away when I got home bought a 350 six day off eBay only done nine hours best decision I've made and struggled to sell my yam but eventually sold it, I'm a hgv mechanic so I like working on bikes yes the yam is a little better built but to be truthful my ktm has been faultless the one thing the ktm is a more maintenance based bike but that don't bother me I think each person needs to ride as many bikes as he can and decide what works for them

 

Thanks for that review
Sums it up well and maybe why used post 2015 Yam WR F prices are so low and on bikes with 400-1000 miles - trail riders buy them and then don't get on with them

 

Funny the difference in opinions, I thought it was mega for laning but I felt racing it wore me out far more than the ktm especially the tight woods stuff. I'm only a wobbler mind, can see the faster lads could get far more out of it than I could. That kayaba suspension really is brilliant though, again not that I used it to it's full potential but I reckon it saved once or twice from my lack of talent!

 

It’s all relative. KTM’s hold their money really well but if you’re paying £5.5k for a brand new bike if the resale value isn’t amazing it’s not so bad. It’s not like Sherco’s where they’re expensive upfront AND impossible to sell.

 

I have just bought a 2018 WR 450f last week. It was stupic cheap! Less than £5500 brand new OTR. Rode it last weekend, didn't touch a clicker. It's nice to jump on a bike where you don't have to mess much with the suspension. It's a give as taffymoto said, you buy a KTM you need decent forks/inserts at a minimum if your racing it at any pace.

My Dad had a 2017 wr 250f last year, he sold it for a ktm 250f. He didn't like the bike much, too tall and a bit racey for him, which I kind of understand as he only trail rides. I rode it and loved it, race bike out of the crate with only a re-map and tailpipe. I have ridden Yamaha's for years, and owned plenty of KTM's in between.(Still have a ktm 300xc 2017). It's hard to ride anything else when your used to KYB suspension. Quality is second to none on the yams, but they have their quirks granted. They are built to last, not built as light as possible like the austrian machines.

 

I had the same thoughts as your dad had the biggest thing for me was how tall the bike sits and I'm six foot, my son who is a really good mx rider rode it and loved it god knows how shorter riders get on with the height of the bike what we want is a ktm with Japanese build quality