'12 250R is in the house

[GMP]

Well I'm late to the party but I'm finally here. Very nice bike, as was said the fit and finish is worlds ahead of the previous bikes. Per my other thread, it came with a 2K-2 and older AS I carb. Good on both counts IMO. Also S3 pegs, and a complete extra set of "XC" graphics. No skid plate was in the crate, so I'm hoping I can make the Hyde fit so I can ride it. No plate, no ride here. Rear sprocket is an alloy Talon, not a Supersprox.

Bike is noticably lighter than the '07 (both tanks empty) pushing it around. Also taller as we know. I'll get to checking the preload soon. Fork is absolutely rigid! I loosened and retorqued the clamps, and aligned the axel but no change. Les told me its 90% stiction in the very tight and dry seals, and some grease under the wiper helps a lot. This is going to be rough before it breaks in. Linkage looks a bit low for some of the technical stuff, thinking about a Scorpion skid if I can still get one.

Bike started 2nd kick and idled with stock jetting(no idea yet). Warmed it up a bit and rode around the neighborhood. Quiet PV, low vibes, and what seems like more flywheel effect than I would expect with a 2K-2. Probably the new, tight motor, jetting and tall gearing. My '07 felt a lot more "moto" though out of the box. Very nice clutch feel, and ZERO drag, even with 15W-40W Rotella.

Steering lock(lack of) bugs me a little, I'll have to fix that. For racing it doesn't matter but its more of an issue in technical trails, especially combined with the extra height.

I did not get a manual. What is the rating of the headlight bulb? It has to be pushing the 2K-2 to the limit. The battery box is cool, I like it. I think I will make up a small rectifier/regulator/capacitor and mount it in there, then I can run an LED in the headlight shroud for when I want/need a light. Also good for stashing oil and a few spares.

The two part plastic issue is very strange now that I can hold it in my hands. It comes off the bike in one piece easily, and is not that large as an assembly. I've been involved in engineering projects that had extensive molding and signed off on some very expensive molds. If I had to guess, I'd say they did this so they could have the two different colors in one assembly. There is no other functional advantage to this design than I can see. Molding in one piece/color and using graphics just makes so much more sense. The bike is gorgeous though, and undoubtably there was an artistic influence in the desgn team.

Oh well, lots of setup work to do, will report back with pics.