2005 CRF250X vs WR250F Weight

The Tale of the Tape

Up front, the WR received a new 48mm Kayaba AOSS (Air Oil Separate System) fork that divides the air and oil, similar to Showa's Twin Chamber design. The front brake also got a makeover with a shorter, more directly routed front brake hose.

The engine was retuned and Yamaha squeezed more power out of the WR by modifying the head, combustion chamber, piston, intake tract shape, and ignition curve. It was tough to say it was a noticable improvement over the previous model since...we didn't get a shot at the 2004 version. Still, the WR feels a little anemic off the bottom but it redeems itself with a nice usable spread of power up top. The 37mm Keihin FCR carburetor boasts a double-lipped intake joint, moveable fuel line joint, and fuel filter.

Yamaha went to great lengths to insure the WR was as light as possible, just check out the cool weight-saving aluminum sidestand as an example. When the engineers at Yamaha finished the WR's extreme makeover, it emerged a svelte off-road fighter, 1.1 pounds lighter to be exact.

Honda's middleweight went largely unchanged in 2005; why mess with perfection? However, the Honda engineers did add a lightweight rear hub and new graphics. Other than that, the X heads into this tussle with the same figure as last year.

Weigh In

A closer look at the specifications reveals that these two machines are closely matched. They both feature 249cc liquid-cooled, 4-stroke single-cylinder engines. Bore and stroke is also similar with Yamaha offering up a slightly smaller bore and longer stroke (77mm x 53.6) than that of the CRF (78.0mm x 52.2mm). Compression ratios of 12.5:1 are identical on both machines. The WR does offer a DOHC, 5-valve valvetrain, while Honda opts for the single OHC, which allows for a shorter and narrower head.

In fact, it isn't until the rider is mounted up and ready to ride that the ergonomic differences in particular, become apparent. Swing a leg over the gripper seat of the Honda and you'll notice a friendly seat height for the vertically challenged. For most riders, standing flat footed on a dirt bike is a near impossibility, but Honda does its best to accommodate shorter folks with a saddle that measures in at 37.3 inches.

While our testers felt the X to be a bit shorter, they also reported it being a little wider between the knees, which contrasts sharply with the WR that feels much slimmer in the mid-section. The riding position on the blue bomber situates the rider on top of the bike, which is a little disconcerting for shorter riders who have to deal with the seat that rises 38.4 inches into the stratosphere.

"The difference between the two seat heights was noticeable, especially for me," said 5'8" Editorial Director Ken Hutchison. "It didn't bother me at all when we were riding, but anytime we stopped I had to sit side-saddle to keep it upright."

Igniting the cylinders is a breeze on both machines thanks to a pair of electric starters. Simply push the little gray button on the WR, or black button if you're riding red, and the single-cylinder burbles to life. While the Honda only requires you to push the starter, Yamaha asks that you turn the ignition on with a separate button located behind the head lamp before thumbing the starter button. The theory goes that without an ignition on/off switch, over time, the drain on the starter might cause problems. We found it to be a minor annoyance, but after riding the X around and switching to the WR, the ignition on/off switch seemed a bit silly.