It’s hard to imagine a very successful, modern, small-displacement dual-sport motorcycle, namely the Yamaha WR250R, would get cancelled nine years after its release. Yamaha Motor Company has not sent ADVMoto an official statement clarifying the implications on their Japan website, but the WR250R and WR250X appear to have an impending expiration. Once the dealer stock dries up, WR250Rs might only be available on the used market. On the flip side, it could simply mean the WR250R won't be available in Japan anymore.

Here at ADVMoto, we’re big fans of the WR250R. In 2015 we crossed the entire Trans America Trail on one and had zero bike malfunctions. We’re also currently building a kitted-out WR250R project bike. Not surprisingly, it made our list of the best used 250cc dual-sports

The Yamaha WR250R is a versatile machine. You could commute on it throughout the week, then race it in harescrambles on weekends!Speculation will only get us so far, but with high anticipation for Yamaha’s T7 adventure bike we can’t help but wonder if they’re paving the way for a “T3” or other small-displacement bike to compete with the Honda CRF250L Rally, BMW's 310GS, and Kawasaki Versys-X 300 (read the Versys X300 review here). The motor could possibly sourced from Yamaha's R3 - a 321cc parallel twin, a formidable platform that would provide ample "umph" for short highway cruising and keep the bike light enough for easy off-road riding. We'd hope to see some of the WR250R's features carry over, like the stretched service inteverals and quality stock suspension.

What do you think Yamaha is going to do with the WR250R? What kind of small dual-sport would you like to see from them?

By the way, while paging through the Yamaha Japan site we had a good time checking out some of the very cool bikes like the Tricker that never made it to the U.S. It's worth a look!

The Yamaha Tricker is just one of many motorcycles we don't get to see in the US. It's a cross between a dual-sport and a trials bike.