Test Ride: DR650 vs WR250R vs Super Sherpa

[dino3310]

seen road legal but not the lecky leg, shame there an awesome bike. funny how all the modern bikes get taller and taller, the old 500s use to be real shorties.
a works mates wife had simular problems she was only 5'3 she ended up settling for the yammy225.

sounds like the WR is pushing all the right buttons though, i just looked at some online - they right up there for $$$$

[cooneyr]

A DR350 was actually on the radar as an option before we got the Sherpa, it'd need some lowering obviously, but we've never seen one that is both road legal & electric start.

Cheers
Clint

As I understand it the DR350 is the kick start off road model that can be road reg and the DR350S (pre 96) and DR350SE (post 96) is the elec start on road model. The non S apparently has better suspenders and the S apparently is slightly lower.

Cheers R

[clint640]

As I understand it the DR350 is the kick start off road model that can be road reg and the DR350S (pre 96) and DR350SE (post 96) is the elec start on road model. The non S apparently has better suspenders and the S apparently is slightly lower.

Cheers R

Yep, they are are out there apparently, but whoever's got em ain't selling.

Clint

[mazz1972]

KLE? Not sure what they're like offroad but shorter riders seem to like them.

KLE500? Not a good choice for us short legged hobbits. I had one and I grew to hate it. It would be awful offroad - the most offroad I got with it was Rainbow. Dropped the front shocks as much as possible and it was still too tall. We had to shorten the stand so I could get on/off which made it lean over a bit far and I had to be very careful where I parked it. Awful weight balance and it was very top heavy, I couldnt pick it up, it was so top heavy it took both me & hubby to pick it up the one time I tipped off.

XT660R? Might be between the DR & WR? I had a ride on a mates one that he had lghtened by 20kgs & it felt to me like a dirt bike. The FI was terrible at lower speeds but nimble handling & lots of grunt.

Would be my pick, and I would have one now if there'd been one around I could afford when I was looking, there were very few for sale at the time and lots of $$. Hub had the X model and lowered the front forks a little so I could ride it. Very nicely balanced weightwise - I'm 5ft4 I managed it pretty well. I loved riding the XT, except at lower round town speeds it surges and my hand always got real tired having to constantly work the clutch and accelerator round town, they just don't like going slow and great handling otherwise. I reckon you'd want to spend the money on the mods to try to rectify the surging or it would be a a friggin pain offroad at times.
R model 172kg, 865mm seat height before lowering. But too heavy?

WR250 - standard seat height is 930mm?? so that's an awful lot of height to lose for Rosie if she already lowered the Sherpa which is 810mm standard...but has better ground clearance than Sherp so shouldn't cause issues?

[mazz1972]

[QUOTE=clint640;1129715779]That's another area where the WR really shines over the DRZ, like the Sherpa it has a really wide range 6 spd gearbox. [QUOTE]

I changed the sprocket on my Sherpa to get more top end speed....didn't work tho haha.

[clint640]

I consider anything much over 150kg as too heavy for ME to take the places we like to go, so even the DR650 is right at the limit of what would be sensible for a smaller & less experienced rider, let alone something over 50kg heavier than the Sherp. The other issue with a few of the bigger cc bikes like the XT is the width, they may have a low seat height but being wider through the guts means that a slim WR250R lowered say 60mm will be easier to get a foot down on than an XT660 that is actually a bit lower in the seat.

...& while Rosie can buy whatever she wants, an alleged 'adventure' bike with the exhaust pipes slung under the motor would not be allowed in my shed... ;-)

Funny you had a go at gearing UP the Sherpa, Rosie went up a few teeth on the back at the last chain & sprocket change as 6th was such an overdrive. The new, slightly lower gearing works really well on & off road.

Cheers
Clint

[Padmei]

I don't think there are any bikes left then are there? Sounds like the WR with a bit of work may be the business.

[JATZ]

Road legal DR250 ?
The boys one has excellent suspension (compared to the Big, mind you so does the Arahura ) And I understand they are easy to change to a 350. IIRC bolt on a 350 top end

[Phreaky Phil]

Yep, they are are out there apparently, but whoever's got em ain't selling.

Clint

There were 1000s of DR350x's in NZ but not many Dr350SE"s (electric start). The SE was much heavier and had less suspension. I have one of the last DR350x's, a 2000 model. Currently being adventurised. Big tank, trick suspension etc. They made some changes with the kickstarts on the later ones and the are ridiculously easy to start. With a 6 speed box they humm along on the road ok. They are cheap to buy and there's lots of bits around.

[merv]

Yep, they are are out there apparently, but whoever's got em ain't selling.

Clint

Well you missed it, I sold my dear departed brother's DR350SE to Pampera on this site and he rode it on the CCA 2010, photo here http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/at...3&d=1269077276 and Ad was here http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...62#post1999762 - seat height was around 900mm so it wasn't a short bike - the DR650SE is lower and can be lowered a further 40mm with the inbuilt adjustment

[merv]

I'd go the WR,short arse Merv has his lowered...get him to tell you the seat height and how he did it.(shorter shock).Pity the DT230's are getting a bit old now,but I still reckon they would be perfect for Rosie now she has plenty of experience.A lot of grunt for a small bike,and they can keep up with those KTM640's no problem.

Motu, mine is the WR250F, which is basically the race engined enduro bike and not suitable for long highway kms at all - 5 speed gearbox is a minus on the road too, and though it revs to 13,500 and is fast I wouldn't ride it from Wellington to Auckland. I use my XR250L for the longer rides or borrow Mrs' DR650SE. The XR250L is a good bike but quite heavy (128kg dry) and in many ways very similar to the DR350SE. If they'd made the WR250R in 2004 I probably would have bought one of them, but they too are heavy for a 250.

The WR250F comes into its own on rides like the CCA, it makes me laugh in my helmet it is so light and easy to ride, and at the end you feel like going around again, but I can't imagine ever doing a Dusty Butt on it.

[Taz]

Craig Baileys ad in kiwi rider says they have a road reg 1997 KLX300...... Most probably kickstart only though.

[Squiggles]

Well you missed it, I sold my dear departed brother's DR350SE to Pampera on this site and he rode it on the CCA 2010, photo here http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/at...3&d=1269077276 and Ad was here http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...62#post1999762 - seat height was around 900mm so it wasn't a short bike - the DR650SE is lower and can be lowered a further 40mm with the inbuilt adjustment

If only, I was looking for one late last year, the lecky starters are rare

[andy mac]

I,ve owned my WRR for 6 months & 7,000 km and love riding it. It can do the road miles (Wgtn - Taumaranui & Rainbow/Clarence River) and is very easy to ride off road.

It is heavy for a 250 (135kg) but has a low centre of gravity. The only time you notice the weight is lifting the back end out of ruts, because you will try to get thru them on this bike.

The engine is high tech with fuel injection, fuel pump & associated sensors, electric start only. There is a 30,000km bike in Nelson which is troublefree. The engine doesn't have much torque but revs like a sewing machine. The necessity to change gears makes you feel like you are going fast all the time also the speedo reads high. I've lowered the gearing so it pulls up steep hills (Cnut) & it cruises at 95km true.

The suspension is great too. This bike has changed my focus to more technical trail riding.
The seat is OK up to 200km, i use a sheepskin for longer rides.
Stock tank range is 200km (fingers crossed). I put on a 13.5L Safari tank which goes 350km - sore bum range.

Best wishes, Andy

[clint640]

It is heavy for a 250 (135kg) but has a low centre of gravity. The only time you notice the weight is lifting the back end out of ruts, because you will try to get thru them on this bike.

Yep, that struck me during my brief ride, it definitely carries it's weight lower than a DRZ or KLX 250. That combined with the extra grunt & the easy lowerability sure give it an edge over the Suzy & Kwaka. I don't think 135kg is too out of the ordinary for a road legal 250.

Cheers
Clint