How good does a Yamaha WR250F look in black? British Enduro Championship rider Aaron Gordon is heading into the 2026 season supported by Yamaha Offroad Experience – Enduro21 takes a closer look at his set-up.

Since the Iwata-based manufacturer put more of its off-road focus on motocross and Yamaha Teneres in rally-raid, a Yamaha WR has become one of the lesser-spotted bikes in enduro paddocks.

That depends a little on where you are in the world – with Australian Enduro and high-GNCC/Off Road racing in the USA notable exceptions – but we’re in no doubt the popularity never went away in the fallow parts of the world.

Major updates for the WR250F in 2025 helped bring it back into the limelight and a resurgence is underway as we hear dealers sold out and importers got caught out with not enough stock. Entire nations are bringing bikes back again too with Moto Ausio now the importers for Spain.

The reason? Because they’re good bikes and we told you so here: Tested: 2025 Yamaha WR250F – agile, racy…the best WR250F yet?

They are still out there and racing too and this one’s well-worth a closer look: Aaron Gordon’s WR250F is set for the British Enduro Championship, Welsh Open Sprint, British Sprint, and the EnduroGP of Wales among others.

Gordon works with the good guys at Yamaha Offroad Experience (YORE), a training school based in the heart of Wales plus a race team with a heritage stretching back decades and with multiple enduro titles and trophies. What they don’t know abotu Yamaha and enduro, you probably don’t need to know.

Gordon also knows how to build a bike and there are some sweet extras hiding on this WR, some of which are all his own handy work. And it looks good in black, don’t you think?

2026 Yamaha WR250F bike check:

• EvoTech Racing suspension

• EvoTech second injector and air box boot kit

• Vortex ECU – mapped by EvoTech to exhaust and second injector set-up

• Renthal 827 FatBar + lock-on half waffle soft grips + ultralight black sprocket (51t) + gold chain + front sprocket (13t)

• EnvyMX ‘factory’ hub colour + D.I.D. ST-X black rims

• Dunlop Geomax EN91 front and rear tyres and mousses

• Venhill Engineering front and rear brake hoses

• Boyesen Factory Racing black clutch cover + water pump

• Apico Factory Racing titanium footpegs + front brake master cylinder cover

• Acerbis black linear handguards + chain guide + LED CE tail light + full plastics

• MXFactory Parts Works Connection radiator braces

• ARC levers clutch perch and front brake lever (via MXFactory Parts)

• GECO parts caliper stay and chain blocks

• Akrapovic titanium full system

• GYTR ignition cover

• X-trig ROCS tech triple clamps (std off-set)

• Monsters of Dirt graphics kit + Strike seat cover

Twin fuel injector

Enduro21 caught up with YORE’s Dylan Jones for some of the details about the bike and the major one he gave us was the second fuel injector. “We haven’t run this before,” Jones explains about the team bike, “but definitely it gives the bike more torque low down and increased power throughout the range.”

The second injector and boot come from EvoTech with a Vortex ECU, mapped by EvoTech. Previously YORE team bikes have used a standard ECU and developed their own mapping but, with motocross teams running the twin injector, and it being relatively common for a YZ250F, they are trying it for the first time.

It’s a cool design that fits inside the airbox and intake boot, and pretty common in MX on 250 four-strokes because it boosts the torque and perks its up through the rev-range. It’s why you’ll also find the same principle helping make Josep Garcia’s EnduroGP bike more rideable for example.

Enduro21 was a little surprised to learn Gordon isn’t running any flywheel weight at the time of writing but they do have one to test as they work to make the bike a little more stall resistant – something we know is a bit of an issue for the Yams in enduro.

Full Akro

Another standout addition is the full Akrapovic exhaust system. Yamaha are among the better manufacturers with their standard exhausts and mufflers in terms of power, or rather in terms of the standard exhausts not sucking too much out of the standard motor.

But the full Akro system maximises every millimetre of space behind the plastics and around the frame, crucially reducesing weight by just under 2kg, Akrapovic say.

The Evolution Line (Titanium) system boosts the power and torque (not by much – just under 1bhp) but increases pick-up response through the entire rev range.

A new profiled surface helps the fullness of the sound, they say, and it has an integrated resonance chamber for performance (left side of on this wrap-around design header pipe for the reverse angel Yamaha motor) plus it meets FIM noise limits for competition.

Envy hubs

The anodised Envy MX hubs inside the black D.I.D. ST-X rims add to the stealth look of this WR and are worth highlighting. Formerly the manufacturers of Talon wheels, Envy have been doing their own thing for a while now, with the same high quality and standards but with using own brand name. (They have US and Aussie importers FYI).

Enduro21 tested the wheels they make for Yamaha Teneres at the 2025 Red Bull Romaniacs and it’s fair to say they got a pretty good strength and durability test there!

Sump guard with linkage protection, handguards and radiator braces are “normal” good practice you could say, the sensible stuff to keep the bike protected.    

Brake discs are by Galfer with a wave front and solid rear with the rear shark fin, disc guard an eBay purchase, Aaron tells us.

It’s not the only thing on this bike bought for previous years’ racing on a WR and re-purposed every year since. Other parts which have stood up the test of time are the ARC levers, Works radiator braces, and X-Trig clamps are all swapped onto the new bike, “even after many, many crashes!”

Handy TIG welding skills

“We don’t do much else really other than suspension and the exhaust system”, says Jones. The suspension set-up is via Evotech who are also responsible for the secondary fuel injector – they are in-house specialists who tailor to suit the rider’s needs.

But Jones misses some of Gordon’s own handy work when he says they don’t do much else. There’s a custom made headlight bracket to fit the X-Trig clamps, a light switch and carbon bracket in front of the bar pad which is wired directly to the battery (the lights don’t’ work with the Vortex ECU).

There’s also a custom-made, stainless steel fuel breather holder down the right side of the headstock, designed by Aaron’s dad and which he TIG welded himself.

He’s also done something many Yamaha owners might be aware of already and welded “a bit of meat” on the chain guide mount. “We do always put some extra welding on the chain guide bracket under the swingarm though,” Jones adds, “for strengthening because you can rip the bracket off the swingarm if you hit it hard on something like a rock or log.”

This bike will be in action at the opening round of the ACU British Enduro Championship on March 28-29.

Useful contact: Yamaha Off Road Experience and Race Team www.yamaha-offroad-experience.co.uk

Photo Credit: Driven SMM