The Biggest Issue with the Yamaha WR250r - Chain Eats Swingarms
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- čas přidán 2. 08. 2024
- How to check and prevent one of the most deadly and common wr250r issues - chains grinding into the swing arm. A few simple steps can prevent major repairs and damage down the road.
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PARTS LINKED BELOW TO AMAZON AND RMATV: (This is my preferred safe gear ratio of 14/48. If you want more aggressive gears, get a bigger rear sprocket)
Front Sprocket:
amzn.to/2GTUC16
www.rockymountainatvmc.com/pa...
Rear Sprocket:
amzn.to/3nUVZNG
www.rockymountainatvmc.com/pa...
Chain Slider:
amzn.to/374Tsue
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Make sure you have proper shock sag adjustment, proper chain tension, and always keep a good working chain on the bike without any kinked links, and the amount of wear will be minimal. The rubber guard will always wear some, that is its job, but it will go a long time before it needs replacement.
Wu Tang is forever
Great information! Will do on my WR.
This was extremely helpful. I just got a 2015 WR. Love from New Mexico!
Thanks!
Love the name lol
Basically you just have to maintain your bike properly to avoid this "issue." Check often and replace the slider before it wears through and the swingarm will never sustain damage. 13,600 miles on my 2014 WR 250R with the original slider yet. I've always ran a 13t front and ran 43t rear for 10,000 miles before finally switching to a 48t rear. 13-48 with a 112 link X-ring chain currently and love it for off-road use. Again still the original slider after 7 years and damn near 14k miles. Original Yuasa battery yet too. The secret to my long slider life is a slightly looser than spec chain and I lube right after every single ride, with a wet lube (petroleum based)
good advice! i went up a tooth in the front. 14/50 right now
Did you change the rear tire or do any engine mods? How do you like the gearing change?
@@ItalianStallion1415 right now i have the dunlop 606. no engine mods. off road is great, with the exception of really steep climbs... seems to not have enough torque, forcing me to use high revs and clutch.
What chain size do you use. Im going to switch to 14/49 or 14/50 but dont want to order the wrong size chain
@@natemerzlak18 i don’t remember what size i ordered, but the other day i counted 110 pivots
@@lostman65 ok thank you 👍
The chain actually gets tighter as the suspension compresses, you need enough slack to compensate for that or you cause extremely accelerated wear.
changed to 14 x 47 and no problem so far
Good stuff!
Sick plini shirt🤘🏽
Good video. 👍
Thanks!
Keep an eye on the chain slider and replace it as needed, it's there for a reason.
I run a 13/52, only ride off road gnarly hard enduro and have been out on the MX track a few times we well. I have not experienced the swingarm chain wear problem. Definitely don't go lower than a 13 in the front.
I have a '14 WR. Any tips for hard enduro riding?
@@DirtHero75
Getting a lower rear gear will help a lot, a 13/52 or 13/53 sprocket setup will work well.
Go with aluminum on the rear sprocket to save some weight.
Anywhere you can save weight on the WR250R is a good strategy.
Tires will make a huge difference,
I was running these with rim locks:
REAR: Shinko R505 Hybrid Cheater Tire 120/100x18
FRONT: Shinko MX216 Series Tire 90/100x21 (Fat Tyre Cheater)
Tusk Severe Duty 3MM Tubes
The read tire is a gummy like tire giving you a lot better grip, and the front is wider and makes it easier to traverse hiddeous terrain. I ran around 12 to 13 PSI sometimes a little higher in the front if there was a lot of sharp rock edges where I would ride.
Other than that, bike protection:
Radiator guards, wrap around hand guards (tusk are pretty strong), a good skid plate is money well spent. Carry a spare clutch level in your pack. even with wrap around hand guards I still manage to break a leaver every now and then.
Some form of body protection:
At minimum knee guards and elbow protection is a good idea. Knee braces are the best option. I use the leatt knee guards and the fox titan (older model) upper body protection. When I tip over on a pile of rocks I usually laugh instead of cry in pain since I have some body armor on. The fox titan is hotter than other options so I pay the price on hotter days but for me it was always well worth it.
The WR250R is very capable in hard enduro, you will just have to work it a little harder here and there compared to a straight up enduro bike that weighs less, has better suspension and power. I was able to go everywhere my friends would ride on my WR250R. The lower gearing and tires will make all the difference in the world.
I have a 2021 Sherco 300 SE Factory 2T now, it is a great bike and although I really liked the old WR the Sherco is a dream to ride in comparison.
did you have to remove swingarm to replace rubber? What was process? liked the vid.
Well it's been a while, but I can tell you I didn't remove the swingarm. I'm pretty sure I put the bike on a center stand, removed front sprocket cover and then just fished the rubber in there.
Chains don't really stretch, the pins and rollers wear and the slop from a bunch of links adds up to lengthen the chain. A 14t front sprocket distributes stress over more links so theoretically chain wear will be less. Add on the reduced slider wear and that's the way I go.
great video bro. actually looking to buy a used 08 wr250x supermoto in the next week or so. found one for 3500 and the guy went down to 2300. I'm going to have to check for this when I look at the bike. is there anything that you noticed worth inspecting?? this would be my first dirt bike
$2300 is a steal! Check for leaking fork seals, bent wheels, anything out of the ordinary.
It's probably worth getting someone experienced to come look at the bike for you.
That said, $2300 for a running, titled wr is crazy cheap. Unless it's completely broken, that's a great deal. Don't wait on it
Appreciate brother. 2 Wheelin Ima check it out for sure, it’s 5 hours away. Has an fmf exhuast, programmer and air box mod. Does look it’s been through some things guy looks like he wheelies on his Facebook page. But now I need more advice because I found a 2010 model w only 7k miles for 3k. And looks barely used everything looks nice and clean but only has a slip on which is cool too. If you had pick would you pick the 08 with 13k or add 600$ and get the 2 year new with 7k mileage.
Me personally, I'd go for the one with more mods. It will save you money compared to modding out the 2010 later.
There's been almost no changes to the bike over the years
2 Wheelin that’s a very good point. I guess I’d save a few hundred easy for the programmer it might have to be North Carolina then. What mods have you done to yours now? That you notice it gave the bike more pep and punch ?
Nothing! My power mod is eating less tacos.
Upgrade front sprocket +1 tooth in front no issue
Do you guys had any huge vibration on this model? It happens mostly at higher speeds (over 50 km/h) and it really sucks. I don't figure out what's causing it. Maybe lowering the back can cause it?
czcams.com/video/HXNRC0zsnOw/video.html
Just came across this video. Read the comments, as the poster doesn't find a total solution but has settled on particular gearing that lessens the issue.
Stock front gear is 13 teeth. A lot of people use a 12-tooth front, and that is known to cause vibrations at higher speeds. Rather than go down in front, it is better to go up in size with the rear sprocket. So, go back to 13, if you have a 12, and add three teeth in the rear instead, or go even bigger if you want more torque to the rear wheel. 13/49 is fairly popular, with 13/47 being a better compromise in terms of highway noise and mileage.
Adventure guy video did it 14 tooth bigger keeps chain off swingarm
Was your front sprocket the same brand as the OEM part? Cyclecruza’s WR250R has some severe damage that cost him $1000+ from going with a cheap front sprocket
To be honest I couldn't tell you... That front sprocket came on the bike, and I don't remember what brand it was.
Sorry
Can you explain how that damage occured, as there isn't much design variation in the front sprocket. The ID is constrained to fit the spline, and the OD and thickness to fit the chain. They could change the hardness and alloy. Or mess up the dimensions.
Court he didn’t make it very clear, but it looked like everything was stripped and the front sprocket was basically just no longer getting any pull from the drivetrain
@@court2379 I'm not sure how they specifically design front sprockets to fit chains, but I can tell you from experience that sprockets with more teeth are typically larger in diameter. If you buy a new 14t and 12t sprocket, the 14 will likely be much bigger. Again, I don't know the engineering constraints of fitting teeth onto a chain, this is just my personal experience.
My chain grinded into the swingarm. The teeth weren't stripped, and the drivetrain functioned normally. The damage occured on my bike from a combination of things. The front sprocket was a small 12T, so the chain sat lower (closer to the swingarm), the chain was at an improper tension when I got it, which allowed it to move around and grind on the swingarm.
I watched that video from Cyclecruza and nobody would ever want that to happen and i think i would rather have my swing arm chewed then an engine out, strip down and complete rebuild. My WR is stock so if you wanted to mess around changing ratio's wouldn't it make sense just to do it with the rear sprocket and only ever use a 13t genuine Yamaha front sprocket always.
If the chain has proper tension it shouldn't rub no ?
Ideally not, but it may if you have a small front sprocket or do a ton of wheelies
Im buying a 2020 wr250r next week, is this something i need to worry about? Im confused if it happens on stock or if Yamaha has changes anything over the years.
Congrats!
Typically this will not happen on stock WRs, usually just when people modify it. Yamaha didn't make any changes and it affects all wr year models the same.
I would suggest you play it safe and change the front to a 14t eventually, it is uncommon for this to occur on stock bikes though.
Hope this helps and cleared that up.
Make sure you keep your chain on the loose side of factory spec. It will only eat the swing arm if it is set to tight.
@@AceCarleton hmm, but if it's caused by being too tight... and chains have a tendency to stretch and become looser... Why does it happen?
@@xpusostomos new owners setting the chain tension to tight.
@@AceCarleton Wasn't too tight on mine, and I had stock sprockets - deep gouges after 7000km. I do wonder if poor chain maintenance makes it worse, with a stiff chain holding its curve more as it comes off the front sprocket, and forcing it against the swingarm. I'd done a long offroad trip (over 2 weeks) and the chain had become quite stiff during that time. It's definitely worth keeping an eye on wear on a regular basis.
Change gearing 14 49 I hear
yall think ill have the same problem with my wr250x?
I've definitely heard of it happening on the X as well, but not seen it in person.
I would be safe and check for damage at the least.
6000kms on my stock sprockets, no issues.
As long as you keep your chain in proper tension and replace the swingarm guard when it's worn out it'll never eat the swingarm.
Is that a Plini shirt?
Yessir, fantastic artist!
2 Wheelin he’s very talented. Though, I haven’t followed some of his more recent work.
I bought an 08 wr250r before seeing this issue. 4000 miles and always garaged n taken care of, looked brand new, as it should with that few miles. But upon inspection, the swig arm was almost completely eaten away by the chain. Two deep grooves and even the middle of the chain links were starting to eat metal. It was lowered an inch and a half by previous owner, and I can only assume that’s what caused it. I sold it immediately after seeing that and hearing that chain slap every time I took it out of the driveway. Awful bike imo.
Sorry to hear. That kind of thing sucks. That said, bike issues due to aftermarket mods don't make me think the bike sucks. It is an unfortunate flaw of the wr250r for sure though.
that front sprocket looks worn at the teeth ..
It's not, just looks like it on camera cause of the dirt on it and bad lighting.
Sprocket is only 2k miles old. Should last a good while if I don't romp on it too much lol.
I dont see anything wrong with your swing arm. Why are you making this video?
If you look close, the chain had started to grind into it. I caught it just before it destroyed the swingarm. The video is here to hopefully let others catch this before catastrophic damage occurs.
czcams.com/video/swfvQvYjInE/video.html maybe this would help
Supriatno HBS I have yet to see a swing arm on a WR250R with damage. I had a 12 tooth front sprocket on mine and didn’t even see unusual chain guide wear. Just saying.
@@matt3122 He's making the video because this is a well known problem and he's helping other owners. I had major gouges in my swingarm after 7000km with stock gearing. Thankfully it wasn't deep enough to need replacing the swingarm. Just saying.
Alters bike then complains about problems. What a joke.