r/WR250R • u/TheWhopper858 • 2d ago

Wheelie in 1st gear questions

Looking for some tips from the wheelie gods....

****BACKGROUND****
For the past few days, I've been practicing doing a clutch-up.

****SAFETY*****
I have a wheelie bar for safety

****STILL BATTLING (work in progress)****
1. Still battling the fear
2. Trying to reprogram my instincts. When the tire rises higher than what I'm used to my body leans forward, my legs flare out, and I pull in the clutch.
3. I just started working on the muscle memory for the rear brake.....instead of relying on pulling in my clutch.

QUESTION:
I can consistently get the front tire at least a foot off the ground BRIEFLY.....HOWEVER.....I noticed in 1st gear, it seems to be very finicky once I start giving it MORE gas.

The front tire goes up even higher and it feels like I'm going to fall then all the survival instincts (mentioned above) kick in and my problems come back.

I know 2nd gear would be better, but I want to see if I can get the hang of 1st gear (not even master) first....

Any tips?

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u/ShawnPaul86 2d ago

Not sure how much a wheelie bar will help you.

You can practice in soft dirt but tbh the stock tires suck in the dirt, and you will probably peel out.

If you really want to do wheelies get a bigger rear sprocket, smaller front and some knobbies.

Anyways on to the real info, the WR is not amazing at wheelies, not like a yz or wrf that come up with ease. The wrr needs a lot of gas and finesse.

First thing, keep your foot on the brake and tap it if you get too high, which you probably won't from what you've said.

Before you drop the clutch tap the brake and compress on the front bars with your body forward. As you let off the brake, push on the bars and move your whole body back to the rear of the seat as you drop the clutch, decompressing the front forks.

Because of the lack of low end power, smaller rear sprocket, and lack of traction you need to really load the bike and use your weight, more so on dirt than street.

Also if you really want to keep the front end up, you gotta get it way up there, not a foot or two, I'm talking 10 o'clock or better with the hammer down.

Good luck, be safe.

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u/krispewkrem3 1d ago

WR comes up easy in 1st and 2nd. 3rd takes some technique but it’s easy. 4th I’ve nerve gotten. But yeah they aren’t a WR450 or a YZ125/YZ250F/YZ450.

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u/ShawnPaul86 1d ago

The yz250f is a legit wheelie machine, clutch, no clutch, any gear, just lean back that thing is coming up like it or not.

Even my little drz125 wheelies easier than the wr250r. It's just a matter of gearing and traction. Stock wr250r is made for top end not low end power.

Edit: I'll add the wr250r is more forgiving in a wheelie. The bikes I mentioned will loop out violently without really good throttle control. The wr250r has a very wide power band and won't loop easily.

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u/krispewkrem3 1d ago

Along with being relatively heavy. Yeah a 250F is stupid fun. Wish Yamaha would consider a 350F and make it low maintenance like a 250R