Another drz/wrx comparison.. first posted in advrider

This is a post i published in advrider soon after i got the wrx.. 


A comparison: wr250r/x and drz 400e

Many people have asked me to compare the wr to the drz, since i've had it for a couple of months, now, & have put a couple of thousand miles on it.

For 3 years i rode my faithful & reliable drz, covered many miles of various terrain, multiple states, & it started every time & never broke down or had to be towed or trucked away. So why would i change? Why break from such a good relationship?

As i'm getting older, i began to think i wanted something a little lighter, & a little lower. The drz is pretty tall.. i can only touch one toe at a time, & have dropped it many times on off camber ground or on high mounds or rocks. It also gets tiring picking up this heavy of a bike.

So i began to consider what i might get next.. i liked the husky's.. & thought the te250 would be adequate for me & my riding style. A buddy had one & i got to ride it. But i also liked the te610 for it's long distance worthiness. I began watching the threads on the yamaha wr250r, too, & was impressed with the technology & the reviews from owners. As i contemplated a more suitable ride for myself, i came to the conclusion that a 250 would be the way to go. It wouldn't have the power of the drz, but i could live with that.

I eliminated the bigger dual sports mostly for weight & height. I wanted to touch both feet at once.. i figured i would drop it less if i could touch both feet. I knew i might sacrifice some suspension clearance & fork travel, but that was the tradeoff i was willing to make.

I do day rides into various parts of arizona.. sometimes easy gravel roads, sometimes they can get rocky, rutted, muddy, steep or any & all combinations. I also like to do longer adventure rides.. cross state lines, explore known & unknown dirt roads, trails, & scenic places.

So i wanted something that would cruise the pavement at 60 for long sections, & even get up to 70 if necessary. I also wanted a lighter, more nimble bike for the majority of the riding i do during the week.

I also considered the klx250.. i knew someone who had that bike, & it seemed like a good balance of size & power, too.

So here are the results of my vigourous contemplations.. with the summary decision i ended up making.

KLX- good price, weight, little low on power, easy mods.

te250- great weight, trannie too close spaced, higher priced.

wr250- heavier, good power, wide range trannie, higher price range.

I leaned toward the yamaha.. mostly for the higher tech engine, the wide range transmission, & more power stock. The others didn't have all those combinations, so i decided to go with the wr. I had planned to begin looking for one early in 2010, & finish out the year on the drz. I was planning a trip to utah, & was considering the barstow to vegas ride, but the dates didn't work for me.

Then i saw a wrx on craigslist for a good price. It was an '08 with 220 miles! It was like new, & the guy wanted $3800 for it. I didn't hesitate, but bought it the day i looked at it.

The x is the sumo of the wr250's. It has 17" rims, a bigger front brake, & a black frame. I got 17" knobbies & set it up more for dirt. I've tweaked the suspension a few times, & this last ride i was very pleased with how it is set up. I've ridden it a few times on day rides, a 4 day adventure ride, & in various types of terrain.. deep sand, mud, boulders, loose gravel, & of course, pavement.

So how does it compare with the drz?

Power. No contest. The drz wins hands down. My E had the fcr carb, hot cams, a muzzy ti pipe, & could accelerate up the steepest grade. The wr will bog down in higher gears, but if you downshift & keep your rpm's up, it will climb the same hills at speed.

Weight. The specs on the bikes lists them very close.. the wr is listed wet, the drz e dry. But the weight on the wr is much lower, & it feels lighter & more nimble. It is lighter to pick up.. probably because of the lower center of gravity.

suspension. At first i was not happy with the suspension for the wr. But i think it wasn't broken in, with only 220 miles on it. Now that it is ~2k, & i have tweaked it a bit, it is much better. I could never get the drz dialed in for my weight & riding style. It was stiff. It cornered well in gravel, & hooked up in just about everything, but it beat me up in anything bumpy or washboarded. I just got back from a long ride on the wr in sandy, washboarded reservation roads. It was a dream! I looked down & could see the front tire bobbing up & down, while the handlebars remained steady. The suspension was really doing it's job. This isn't really a negative for the drz, it just didn't come set up for my weight & riding style. I could have spent some time & money & gotten it dialed in better for me, but i didn't. The wr i was able to tweak the clickers & get it to work.

Height. I had kouba links on the drz, & put the yamalink on the wr. I can touch both balls of my feet to the ground on the wr. There have been several times riding on the wr i think i would have dropped the drz.. in some deep, wallowy sand, hopping on boulders, & stopping on a ridge. I have been able to catch the wr, & because it doesn't feel as top heavy, i'm able to hold it up. My main problem is now my bike stand won't slide under the wr.

Controls. Even. The seat also.. i made up my own seat cover & transferred it to the wr.. i'm keeping that baby..

Maintenance. Even. the drz holds 2 qts of oil, the wr 1.4 qts. Air filters, spark plugs, tires, sprockets, chains are about the same.

Economy. I got mostly in the 50's on my drz.. 60mpg max on 50-60 mph long easy pavement. The wr gets about 10 mpg better in the same situations. I've gotten in the low 70's a couple of times, but mostly am in the 60's. Either of those is very acceptable.

Transmission. Wr gets the nod, here. That wide range trannie is very nice. If the drz had that, it might be the perfect dirt worthy adventure bike.

Reliability. Remains to be seen. Yamahas also have a good rep for reliability. They have some big tires to fill to be compared to the drz.

Price. I've got about the same in mods & initial costs on both bikes. I don't have any performance mods on the wr, yet. I might consider getting a FI programmer, pipe & muffler. But stock it is adequate for my needs.

Conclusion. For me, it has been a good change. If i was 25 instead of 55, or if i was 6'5" instead of 5'8", or if i weight 255 instead of 155, the drz might be better for me. But i haven't missed the power (ok.. a little). & the other factors outweighed it.

I'm not going to badmouth the drz. It is a phenomenal bike. It took me everywhere without a problem, & very economically. It has a tremendous fun factor.. it can accelerate very fast, & go faster than i want to go on knobbies. It is a little heavy in tight, technical terrain, but not overly so. It is easy to mod, maintain, & cheap to own.

I have found the stock wr to be adequate powerwise for my needs. Sure, you can always appreciate more power. But i also like the quiet of the stock wr muffler.. much quieter than the ti muzzy on the drz.. the stock drz muffler is pretty quiet, too.

Would i do it again? Yes. If i hadn't found the x, i would probably have gotten an R, since it is better set up for dirt with the stock rims. But my knobbies on the 17's have been surprisingly capable.. even better in sand & mud than the narrower 21's on the front. But i have no remorse over the change, & am still getting to know the capabilities of the little wr. I wouldn't hesitate to take it on a long adventure ride across the country, or to some single track in the mountains. I wanted a single, do it all bike, & this one has fit the bill for me.