Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127386
GIMPRESSION 1991 Yamaha WR200RD ! As trick as it lookst ~ ....-I By Kit Palmer Photos by Nate Rauba he wait is fin all y over. After three years of research and developemen t, Yam ah a ha s released its allnew-fro m -th e-gro und-u p WR200RD, an EPA- legal, "e nd uro-ready," 200cc off-road mot orcycle, designed wit h both the serious off-roa d com pe titor and the weekend trail rider in mind. T he WR200 is th e fir st serious offroad mod el built by Yamah a since the dem ise of the IT200 in 1986. Ever since then , the only tru ly serio us two-strok e 200cc off-road motorcycle offered by anyone of the fo ur japanese O EMs, was the hi ghl y popu la r Kaw asa ki KDX200. But now you have a choice. Upo n the h ighl y antici pa ted arr ival of o ur WR200 test un it, however, we were disappointingly surprised abo ut a few things right off the bat : It seems to us tha t a 200cc off-road bik e shou ld be reasonabl y light in weight and sma ll in size - the WR200 is neither: Fir st of all , wh en we first eyeba lled the WR200 we saw a very tall motorcycle standing in front of us. In fact , at approxima tely 39 in ches, the WR200 has a one- inc h taller sea t height than the Yama ha WR250, two inches ta lle r tha n the YZ125 and nearl y four inc hes taller than th e Kawasak i KDX200! T his seemed awfu lly strange to us, since a lower seat height is desirab le . for off-road riding. Seco ndly, the WR200 is not light. In fact, at a claimed (and we believe 'em) 245 po unds dry (app roximately 261 pounds wi th gas), the WR200 is just p lain heavy. T oo heavy. However, some of this excessive po undage has a lot to do wi th it bein g EPA-lega l. In or der fo r the WR to pass strict decibel laws in the U.S., it has a very heavy exhaust system , a result of a double-wall exha ust pipe and steel spar k-arres ter. So it 's not' entirel y Yam aha 's fault that the WR is so porky. Also, the WR uses man y steel parts suc h as wheel colla rs, spo ke ni pples, etc, whereas its closely rela ted YZI25 uses ligh ter alum in um parts. I n co m p a r isio n, th e Kaw a saki . KDX200, which is also EPA-legal , has a claimed dr y weig ht of 225 po unds (244 wit h gas). T hat's nearl y 20 po unds lighter than the WR2 00. Wh en it came time to ride the WR , we cou ldn 't help but notice the incredibl y tiny kickstarter lever. just looki ng at it makes yo u want to giggle, but what' s really incredi ble is th at it work s and works well , too . A coup le of quick ja bs o n the kickstarter brings the little two-s tro ke motor to life - hot or cold. The WR200's powerplant is based on the one that pow ers the Yamaha DT200R dual-sport model , a bike on ly offered in japan. However, thi s motor is no w imp and has many state-ofthe-a rt features, such as an electronically o perated exhaust power-valve, case-ree d induct io n system, watercooli ng and cresen t-sha ped (sli de ) ca r b u reto r. It eve n h a s co u n terba lancers on the crank (that also ad d to th e WR's overa ll weight ). In o ther words, the WR 200's motor is very trick. Of co u rse, th e WR2 00 is a n ex treme ly quiet motorcycl e. Your neig hb ors won 't mind it, nor shou ld ยท backpackers and other outdoor recreation alists who we share o ur public lands with. In sp ite of the restrictive exhaust T 24 system, we were very impressed with the WR 's 199.7cc, two-stroke motor . It pull s extremely well off the bottom, significantly better than what we had expected. The WR likes to torq ue its way up hills and pl od alo ng on the tight and twisty trai ls; it seems th e mor e demanding th e trail th e better the engine is suited. . Thank s to the electron ically act ivated power-va lve, the WR 's motor is very smooth and responsive. There is no sudden burst of po wer (or vice versa ) anywhere in the powerband, just super smooth and predictable acceleration. For th e most part, the W~OO has a strong mo tor, but wh en the trail opens u p, an aggressive rider will ask more o ut of th e engine than it can deli ver, especially if th e terrain is hilly. For compe ti tion use, the WR will need some mod ification, such as swappi ng the stoc k exha us t system for an after mar ket pipe an d silencer. But for casual or even serious trail ridi ng, the WR's powerplant is abso lute ly fine in stock condition an d the exha ust system should be left alo ne. Quiet is th e key to th e longevity of the sport of off-road riding. Wha t's the use of ha ving extra