It’s been three long years of running The Dirt, but finally, I got my hands on a Yamaha Motors product in the form of the 2022 WR250F. The bLUcRU’s lites enduro weapon is just as capable on the pipe as it is off it, providing one hell of an easy bike to ride and race.

2022 saw a serious overhaul of the WR250F, bringing it more aligned with its YZ250F motocross mate. It is the usual story for Yamaha with the enduro/cross country models receiving the same or very similar updates the year after the MX bike gets the goods. Saying this WR is all-new isn’t that far off the mark for this model and the list of changes are as such;

New YZ250F type cylinder head
New YZ250F exhaust camshaft
New YZ250F intake port
New YZ250F type intake joint
Improved cam chain tensioner design
Redesigned engine balancer
New gearbox shift cam
New CF-die cast aluminium Deltabox frame
New engine brackets with WR-specific rigidity levels
Industry leading KYB speed sensitive forks with revised damping settings
New top triple clamp with redesigned handlebar clamps
New YZ250F type footrests, handlebars and front axle
New multi-function meter (dashboard)
Stronger chain guide bracket
New 270mm front disc with 16% larger surface area
New more rigid front brake caliper with larger pistons
New front brake pads giving 25% more contact area with disc
New exhaust heat guard
New stronger muffler bracket

So as you can see, there has been a whole host of upgrades to the new 2022 model and plenty to wrap my head around as I threw my leg over my first Yamaha in probably about 5 years.

And it is safe to say that the initial feeling felt like an old pair of jeans – a comfy fit. I raced for Yamaha NZ from 2012-2015 and the feeling in the cockpit was not too dissimilar to what I remember. However, the bike has slimmed down a lot, which seems to be mostly from the shrouds getting more compact and streamlined. Not that those initially wider Yamahas ever bothered me, being a taller, somewhat, larger guy. This 250 is definitely slimmer than it’s ever been since the reverse engine was introduced and the taller seat height of 955mm also suits my size.

Yamaha has been doing this for a while now (and most others have caught up), but I have to mention the handlebar setup that allows 4-different positions, matched to a bar bend that instantly creates a comfortable feeling. I don’t think I have ever ridden a Yamaha that I can’t make feel pretty damn good on the track in stock form. Bar risers are a thing of the past, no matter how tall you are. But let’s jump straight to suspension – an area that almost always creates struggles for me as a larger rider and one that can turn a great bike into a bag of potatoes.

Suspension

I was lucky enough to have Josh Coppins forward a few pointers to me regarding setting up the KYB suspension that comes on the WR250F. He informed me that most riders run the fork height at 2mm, and the rear shock with about 104mm rider sag. The spring rate is suited to 75-80kg riders so getting the rider sag and static sag to match up was going to be a problem. Running it at 104 for my 97kg left not a lot of static sag left, almost topping out the rear shock. I settled with about 110 rider sag, which was at the very edge of the range Josh suggested. And to be fair it seems to work pretty well. The bike felt very balanced and a breeze to throw around, turn, dive, and punch in and out of corners. The whole package gave your confidence to put the WR pretty much anywhere, knowing that it would do what you told it to. Can’t ask for much more than that.

Of course it was a little on the soft side spring-wise, but the valving really made up for that deficit a lot more than I expected. Initially, the suspension is super plush and really does feel like a bit of a couch. If you come off any other bike and straight onto the Yamaha, it would appear that it feels way too soft. And for high-speed riding, combined with G-outs and bigger hits - it is. But anything in the range of 0-60 this suspension is close to being bang on. Tree roots, ruts, logs, rocks, river crossings, you name it, the WR soaks it up like it’s not even there – floating across everything in its path. The amount of traction you get from the rear when cutting through the tight trees, even with the FIM tire on the back is just incredible.

It is kinda weird because again…when you first get on, it feels so soft and wrong, but when you ride it, where it’s designed for, it feels so right. Personally, I would go up one, maybe two spring rates on both ends, but leave the valving as is. Weapon in the bush.

Engine

The WR250F's engine power is certainly not equal to the YZ250FX or YZ250F, but it still makes plenty of usable power – just in a bit of a different way. With the F and FX, you get a more punchy delivery right from the initial crack of the throttle. The WR hits differently in that you lose that initial crack, but gain some very impressive linear torque that starts very low and seems to peak at about 100,000 revs! The combination of engine, gears, mapping and sprocket sizes is spot on for the bush riding we were doing and ALL of the power goes straight to the ground and pushes you forward.

First gear was actually usable and low enough to hit technical switchbacks, while also being able to rev out long enough you can get away with not changing gear if you don’t want to back off. And that is the same for second gear too. It pulls from way down low and is such versatile gear for pretty much any situation. It’s one of those engines that feels slow, but builds quickly, quietly, and without warning. You end up going much, much faster than you think and with that 250cc-sized inertia, the engine doesn’t hinder the manoeuvrability of the motorcycle when it rotating up past 10,000rpm.

Starting was about the only issue I had with this bike, and by issue I really mean not that huge of a deal. Yamaha has said to have addressed the hot starting quirk which has been apparent on the WR250F for a few years now – but they have not quite mastered it as of 2022. Another tip Josh passed on was when starting the bike when it’s hot – it likes a little bit of throttle. 5% to be exact. Finding 5% is easy as there is a line on the grip and 2 lines on the throttle housing rubber. If you line these up it is an indicator for 5% throttle and is meant to help with firing it up.

My research during the three weeks I had the bike showed that hot starting was about 60-70% successful. And it didn’t matter if the throttle was at 5% or not. There were sometimes when it just keep turning over and over and not fire. And others where it was running before the button was all the way in. But I found a very easy solution. If the WR is going to fire up it will do so instantly – as soon as you push the button. If after 2 seconds it had not fired up, it simply was not going to no matter how long you held the button for. When that happened I just got off the started button and straight back on again, and it fired straight away. And this was good for about 99% of the time. And again the 5% throttle tip seemed to make no difference in my experience.

The 2022 WR250F is the most racy WR250F that Yamaha has every produced. And that makes total sense, when you take into account the bike is built from the MX model. But even though this is the case, this bike will happily suit any average trail rider in any situation. And that makes this bike one of the most versatile rides you can buy today.

If you like a bike that is easy to ride, very comfortable, has great plush suspension and can easily tackle technical bush and go fast in the open, as well as follow the kids around the trail, this bike is a serious contender. Swing a leg over. You won’t regret it.