Hello Everyone,

I have been reading through the posts and have not found a definite answer on what to do and what not to do. Here are my specific questions, ohh and thanks for the help in advance. I have a 2003 WR 250

- What aftermarket exhaust will give me performance and still be legal. FMF Q?
- I bought the Yamaha insert (Bigger hole than stock) should I stick with this?
- 12 hole UNI filter to do or not to do?
- Remove snorkel?
- Re-Jet w/ JD kit?
- Grey wire? Is it really worth it?
- Battery move? Should I do it or is that worth it/is there a good place for it?

Basically what I am looking for is the most performance with the least amount of risk Example moving the battery under the rear fender = risky in my opinion. If there are any other mods that cost money I don’t mind looking into those as well. I will take before and after pictures of all mods I do so someone new can see what I did and make decisions on what they want to do. Ohh and on the jet kit it would be the first one I have ever installed, I really want to learn how to tune my bike. I am sure this will be a road of headache, but I have all of you to cry to!

Thanks,

Sean

hi sean,

first off, check out our excellent 250F FAQ -- a lot of the information you are looking for is covered therein. see the FAQ link in my sig. pay close attention to the FREE MODS and jetting sections, this is where all your performance is going to come from.

> - What aftermarket exhaust will give me performance and still be legal. FMF Q?
that's what i run, and i'm happy with it (and so is Mr Forest Ranger). see the "Six Days" link in my sig. just as importantly, the stock exhaust is VERY heavy. so there's gain in power and reduction in weight by changing the exhaust, i.e. WIN-WIN. but it does cost some dollars. you may want to play around by getting a used YZF stock exhaust ($50 or so) and see a) how loud it is, what the power is like.

> - I bought the Yamaha insert (Bigger hole than stock) should I stick with this?
the FMF Q is better, albeit more money.

> - 12 hole UNI filter to do or not to do?
i use a UNI filter in my '01 WRF, it's still running . but this won't change your performance much.

> - Remove snorkel?
yes. right now. don't wait. and the throttle stop. see the FREE MODS section of the FAQ.

> - Re-Jet w/ JD kit?
ride it for a bit, get used to it, and play with you jetting. the JD kit is getting pretty good reviews, read the nearby thread about it.

> - Grey wire? Is it really worth it?
abso-fricking-lutely!

> - Battery move? Should I do it or is that worth it/is there a good place for it?
can't comment, as my '01 has an old fashioned kick starter.

jim aka the wrooster
'01 wr250f

Thanks! Any good places online to buy from? Should I buy the FMF from their site?

Congrats TypeO,
And welcome to the club. This forum and the FAQ site wrooster told you about will give you an overload of info.
I have 2 '03 wr250f's. The first one I have done a full super-moto convertion on. The 2nd one is for off-road, trails and harescambles. These bikes are assume ! Do the free mods and run an insert on the stock pipe to keep the already unhappy, non-riding civilians out of your hair. I have not moved the battery on either of my bikes. There is no quick/easy fix for this and I do not see it as a problem anyway. The only other things this bike needs is a good set of aluminum bars and hand guards of your choice. PM me if you have any more questions. There is nothing I like talking about more than my bikes. Have fun riding !

Is the stock YZ250F exhaust lighter than the WR exhaust?

Hey Sean.DEFINATELY do the free mods.The power increase when compared to stock is night and day.

Wrooster... I'm a tard, what's the snorkel?

> Is the stock YZ250F exhaust lighter than the WR exhaust?

lighter and louder.

jim aka the wrooster
'01 wr250f

> Wrooster... I'm a tard, what's the snorkel?

answer lies here: http://216.239.37.99/


heh heh heh

jim aka the wrooster
'01 wr250f

ps
see the FAQ page on FREE MODS

I see we are feeling funny today!

sonq,
didn't mean to be a DH...

as delivered from the dealer, the '01 and '02 WRF airboxes are substantially covered by a 2 part plastic assembly. there is a "snorkel" which is a rectangular cross-section tube, and there is a flat "cover" which has a square cutout to accept the snorkel. the two pieces can be removed as an assembly by taking out the 4 screws at the perimeter of the cover. these two pieces conspire to choke off the air intake of the '01 and '02 WRF's, and you will notice a nice power gain once these parts are taken off. there is one drawback of course, the airbox is now more susceptible to water (and sand, mud) intrusion. to that end, yamaha provided us with a rubber "flap" that fits under the front of the seat and prevents water from running down the top of the gas tank and directly into the uncovered airbox -- use it.

thus, if you have a pre-'03 WRF, underneath your seat it should look like this when you are done:



note that some people instead modify the cover and/or the snorkel for more airflow by putting holes or what not into them, which ends up looking like this:



the '03 and '04 airboxes are totally different and none of the above applies. go read the FAQ if you want to learn about the '03 and '04 WRF airbox mods -- rick has done his usual outstanding job writing up the details.

jim aka the wrooster
'01 wr250f

And for all you new wrenches out there, notice how clean that air filter is!

we are so in awe!



jim aka the wrooster
'01 wr250f

Wrooster,
These guys need your help
http://www.thumperta...5/o/all/fpart/1

Hey wrooster, don't start with me! I am not a 16 year old kid with 3 bikes.

Cheers

Quote

rick,
yeah, next maybe we should worry about 3 year old's with 16 bikes!

ps
here's an edit for the FAQ:

on
http://www.thumperfaq.com/swingarm.htm
about 1/4 of the way down is
"Other TT members simply clean the bearings with a spray solvent and then pack waterproof grease "over" the polylube."

as i wrote in
http://www.thumperta.../Number/809135/
the guys who make the MPL (aka string cheese) recommend that solvents NOT be used to clean the MPL, since it draws the oil out of the porous polymer. so maybe that text should read something like:

-- begin --
There are as many opinions on the MPL as there are members on TT. Two things are for sure: 1) DO NOT USE SOLVENTS TO "CLEAN" the solid lubricant. You will just be drawing the entrapped oil out of the "sponge". 2) Solid lubricants do not have good water resistance. To quote the article referenced above:

Quote:
"While MPLs generally resist contamination better than greased bearings, this does not make the bearing waterproof and will not prevent corrosion of the bearing. Direct contact with solvents, cleaners and/or acids is not recommended. Repeated exposure will deplete the oil from MPLs, making them less effective."

For these reasons some folks remove the MPL from the bearing during initial or follow-up linkage servicing. You may have heard the term "string cheese" here on TT -- that's exactly what the yamaha MPL looks like when it's removed. Contrary to some folks posts, there is no additional "room" in the bearing cavity with the MPL removed; the needles still meet at their respective tangents.

If you decide to keep the MPL in place, DO NOT USE SOLVENT TO CLEAN THE BEARING. Just use a Q-Tip dipped in oil to get any dirt or debris out of the way, and then repack the bearing with waterproof grease.
-- end --

also, you may want to add my "waterproof grease test" from that same post.

jim aka the wrooster
'01 wr250f

Jim, I don't know if I agree with you on whether or not there is more room with the "string cheese" removed or not. I agree that the needle bearings are still going to be in the same location, but where the poly lube used to be, there would now be grease. This would provide a larger safety margin of lubrication in my eyes, and also a sort of "heat sink" that would help keep the bearing running cooler, and therefore, additionally lubed. Let me know if you don't agree with this, and why. Thanks. Maniac

maniac,

maybe what i wrote was unclear...

what i mean by "room" is that a few folks have posted that after you take the string cheese out that you may need an additional needle to make up for the space that the cheese used to occupy. that is not the case. the needles meet at their tangents whether the cheese is in the bearing or not. i think you would agree on this.

i also agree with you fully that with the cheese gone you can get far more grease in the bearing -- which is goodness.



jim aka the wrooster
'01 wr250f

Oh Wrooster, I didn't think you were being a DH at all. It's good to make pople try and find things out for themselves sometimes. Anyway, I don't think I could get away with that snorkel removal mod anyway, it's way too dusty where I ride, my neighbor has to clean his off after every ride cause his looke like the first picture. However mine is still stock and I just have to clean it very 4 rides or so. But does that mean I'm getting poor air flow? Humm...

Thanks wrooster, I will take care of the editing next week when I get back to my office.