Yamaha WR250F 2017 — Specifications

Can a true enduro motorcycle be both a race machine and a docile companion for Sunday trails? Yamaha has long labored over this equation with its WR250F, and the 2017 version, inheriting the deep revisions of 2015, provides an answer. This is a serious machine, with a price approaching €9200, an investment that is justified when you scratch the surface. Because beneath its guise of a tame trail bike, it hides the genes of a champion, directly borrowed from the AMA-dominating YZ250F crosser. The main evolution for this model year? A simple front disc increased to 270 mm. A discreet update for a motorcycle that had already changed everything two years earlier.

At the heart of the matter is this engine. A 250cc fuel-injected single-cylinder, but not just any one. Yamaha dared to use a revolutionary architecture for the time's enduro: a rearward-tilted cylinder and a reversed cylinder head. This arrangement, coupled with a central tank and a forward-mounted airbox, works wonders for mass centralization. The result? A rare agility, where the 118 kg fully fueled are forgotten. The announced power is 32 horsepower, but it is mainly the way it is delivered that impresses. Compared to the old block, this one is much more vehement at high RPM while remaining incredibly usable everywhere. This is the magic of a cross engine slightly civilized, with a long six-speed gearbox and a specific clutch to swallow roots without stalling.

The chassis, for its part, is a direct derivative of the YZ aluminum twin-spar frame. It offers a compromise between rigidity and flexibility that inspires immediate confidence. But it is at the level of the suspensions that Yamaha's expertise truly shines. The front fork incorporates the air/oil separated chamber system from the crosser, a jewel that limits aeration and offers remarkable damping consistency in a series of bumps, simply recalibrated for enduro. At the rear, the shock gains 4 mm in length, offering 10 mm of additional travel compared to the YZ to better absorb obstacles. With 325 mm of ground clearance and Metzeler 6 Days tires, it devours rocks without a murmur.

So, who is this Yamaha WR250F for? Clearly not for the complete beginner looking for a simple trail bike. It is a machine for the diligent rider, one who wants a motorcycle homologated for the road – with a street legal kit – but whose soul is 100% trail. It demands an active rider to reveal its full potential. Faced with competitors like the KTM 250 EXC-F, often more radical and lighter, the WR250F 2017 plays the card of efficiency and versatility, with proven reliability. Its drawback? Perhaps this 7.5-liter tank a little tight for long adventures, and a 965 mm seat height that may intimidate. But for those seeking the pure essence of competitive enduro within a legal framework, it remains, even used, an absolute reference. A test ride on the Yamaha WR250F will convince you that it is much more than a simple transitional model.