Early review & comparison to the drz.

Here's a review i made of the wrx soon after i got it.. that way the comparison to the drz is still pretty fresh.


I bought the bike in july of '09.  It's an '08 wr250x with 220 miles! Here are some of my first impressions & observations. I've been riding an '06 drz for the last 3 years but wanted something smaller, lighter, & more high tech. I was very happy with the drz & still think it is a great bike. Anyway, here's my review.

Riding home from flagstaff. I rode about 50 miles after buying it. I came down oak creek canyon, which is full of paved twisties. I didn't really push it hard, since it is new to me, but i did go into the turns faster than i ever did on the drz. However, the drz was an E with full knobbies, while the new x is an sm. But the bike never had any problems & acted like i was going way too slow. The x is bone stock. The PO just removed the mirrors, everything else was as it was from the factory.

The next few days i was too busy working to go riding, but i did tinker with the bike some. I took off my acerbis rally pros from the drz, painted them black, & put them on the x. I removed the kickstand & clutch safety switch. I did the 'airbox flapper mod'. I set all the suspension settings to minimum, & backed off the preload. I changed out the handlebar with a higher one, & aired the tires to recommended pressure. I ordered some knobbies & a skid plate. I also raised the forks about 1/4", lowering the front for better handling.

I did go out for a short night ride to see how the lighting is. Very bright. The halogen headlight lights up the night very well. The dash guage is also nicely lighted.. doesn't blind you, but the backlit lcd is very visible.

On Friday i did a run to rimrock & took a back road on dirt. This road is graded, but is usually very washboarded & has some rocks & bumps. It's pretty twisty, too. I was very surprised that i was able to go nearly as fast on the x as i usually do on the drz. I thought the smoother tires would be less stable on the gravel & loose rock, but they hooked up pretty well.. as well as gravel can be. The bike soaked up the bumps very well.

This bike doesn't have the low end torque the drz has. If i'm in a higher gear, you can twist the throttle on the drz & it will start pulling. The x needs to down shift. But the wr has a true 6th gear! It isn't even practical to use unless you're doing 60. 1st is very low, too. On the drz you have to compromise on your gearing, getting low too high for better highway riding, or getting high too low for slower off road riding. The wr is a true wide range trannie. Low is very low, & high is very high. I don't see any reason to change it from stock.. it's already much wider than i'm used to. This is one of the major 'upgrades' from the drz. I'm already surprised how much of a difference it makes having the wider range in the transmission.

Yesterday i called wrtom (from TT) & he wanted to see the new bike. I wanted to ride it some more, so about 3:30 i rode out to Prescott. I took the freeway for about 30 miles to see how it did there. I had a pretty stiff headwind, & the big test: the climb at copper canyon. It accelerated fine & merged with the freeway traffic. I passed a few cars, then when the traffic cleared, i opened it up to see what it could do. The speedo measures high (they all do.. why?), & i got it up to 92 wot. Next time i'll take my gps & check real speed.

I started the copper canyon climb going about 75. The bike had no problems holding that speed, & it could accelerate in all but the steepest sections. I only had to downshift when i came upon another car passing a truck. I had to slow to about 60 & downshifted to 5th. But once the lane opened, i accelerated back up to 70 & up shifted to 6th. It is more powerful than i expected. Now on the drz, i can accelerate up the hill & go 80.. but remember it is geared much lower, & of course has a few more horses. But i'm happy with the power of the wrx. Perhaps on steep hill climbs off road, or deep sand i might miss the power of the drz..

Coming home from Tom's, it was dark & i went through Jerome & all the twisties on 89a. I pushed it a little harder, & was very impressed with the handling. Each curve i pushed a little more, until i just couldn't bring myself to go faster. The bike hugged the road & i never felt the tires lose any traction. I'm sure it will be much different when i put on the knobbies, but those sm tires are nice on paved twisties!

This coming week i'll be getting my knobbies & a skid plate, then i can take it off road & see how it does. But the power & handling are superb. ..much better than i expected. The suspension is softer, too. My drz was always a little stiff, even when i set it to the minimum.

The vibration is also very minimal.. less than the drz, which is famous for low vibration. Of course, we'll see if that increases when the knobbies are on. But on smooth pavement there is very little vibration.

The stock seat is bearable.. better than the stock drz, but still too narrow & hard. I will probably get another seat or mod this one. I like it a little lower toward the front for tight technical terrain, & wider on the back for cruising.

Brakes are tremendous! The x has a bigger front brake than the r, & it will stop! They felt very smooth & controlled.

The throttle response is very smooth. The drz with the fcr carb is a little smoother from idle to slow acceleration. There's a bit of a jump from idle to throttle on the wr.. probably the way the FI works. It's really only noticeable in the lower gears at slower speeds.