Was given a 2000 TTR250 from a buddy for free; a little rough but just needs some TLC. Has 352 miles on the clock, but don't know how accurate that is as you can turn back the odometer by hand (although my friend has no reason to lie). It's been in storage for 5 years so I have some work ahead of me; worst part being needs a new fuel tank due to multiple cracks (had gas in the tank when stored away). Cleaned out the carb, changed oil and gas, put on the jumper cables and started right up; no sprag clutch bang upon killing the engine! Here's what I plan on starting with for the restore:
New tires and tubes
New chain and sprockets
New bars, grips, throttle tube
Rebuild carb and rejet with mikuni 140 main, 52.5 pilot
New battery- are the $20-40 batteries off amazon okay?
Would love to get some grab handles, but I heard they only fit on the Aussie models-- that true? Any tips on things I might have forgotten or may not know about please reply-- would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Martyn! I knew I would be getting the bike for a few months now and I have been searching the forum for tips and mod. When you replied, I noticed your name right away; a lot of your posts really helped me out. I've been riding two strokes and 450's for a long time and I had never seen a TTR250 and honestly didn't even know they existed (my brother has a TTR230; and this is a completely different bike). I haven't owned a bike in over three years due to financial issues, school, and moving around and the getting the TTR250 is awesome; great little bike Thanks again!
It might be worth making sure the carb has a real good clean and you try it out before changing jets as the originals may be OK. Just make sure you ream the pilot jet with a bit of copper wire or similar to get it absolutely clear as its this jet that can give slow running problems if not fully clear of dead petrol.
Thank you Brian! This forum is great; warm welcomes within a few minutes of my first post
The bike runs and idles nice after a thorough cleaning of the carb; only took it on a 10 minute ride around the neighborhood though. I figured I would need to rejet if removing baffling from exhaust and opening up the airbox due to the change in back pressure and airflow, but I might as well see how it runs prior to purchasing the jets. I ride off-road only and elevation differs depending on if I'm riding close to home or at my weekender cabin in the high desert (800/3500 foot elevation respectively). All the info is greatly appreciated!
Just curious; what jets did you use? I read that the mikuni jets are a little big and threaded differently and don't want to strip the carb. I found tekei jets from jetsrus but the are 3x the price and are sized weird and I don't know the equivalent to the mikuni 140 and 52.5. Awesome handguards by the way! Definitely want to get the 38 mm risers; did you have to get longer clutch/throttle cables?
airbox: I was going to start by removing a few rungs from the top of the snorkel and from inside the box; will work my way to fully removing if I don't feel a difference. Thanks for the picture!
Baffling: I just read this from a US TTR'er "BigCoopDawg" on the thumpertalk forum. I guess it's supposed to make the bike breathe a little better by less restriction but I don't know; just remove bolts on end of muffler and pull out. Ive usually picked up aftermarket exhausts on my bikes; but that was before the financial responsibility that come with marriage and a kid haha.
Fuel lines: yea I meant line from tank to carb and breather hoses off the carb
Tank: I read about the xr tank and zen brackets; I'm worried it might be a little big though. I ride in a lot of soft sand or rocky areas and feel a smaller tank would suit me better. The cheapest I have found an OEM tank was for $500 US
Starting to take her apart; figured I'd give her a nice go through while I'm waiting for parts to arrive in mail. Will post pics as I make my way through in case any one is interested
That's a clean looking bike! No boot scuffs, no pipe discoloration, pristine grips. Any scuffs on the bottom? You may have a nearly-new motor there. Too bad about the sun damage but you can just keep it covered with mud :)
I'm not sure what you mean about the baffling in the muffler. I've seen people (kids I assume) on thumpertalk suggest you take out the spark arrestor, which of course would be a very bad idea. I've heard about removing the header restrictor (which would require cutting and welding) but I think that restrictor doesn't exist on the US model. If the idea is to just pull the 3 bolts on the tail pipe and remove the screen, that's the spark arrestor.
I like the stock jet set up: 137/50 OEM (not Mikuni); with a big hole in the air box as shown above, find your best needle setting. I still have the US stock pipe.
Thanks for all the info plumas; havent ordered jets yet so i will see how it runs after cutting airbox. Does need new gaskets though. I will definetely check out the decompressor plug when I get home. It is clean, but it sat soo long I'm worried about all the gaskets and rubber haha. The baffling was connected at the chrome exhaust tip by one bolt and went into the spark arrestor screen. Took that out and it sounds nice and seems to have a little low end pep. Definetely keeping the spark arrestor; plus I ride desert and it's needed. Thanks again!
The baffling was connected at the chrome exhaust tip by one bolt and went into the spark arrestor screen.
Interesting, I didn't find any such baffling on mine (actually you can see the chrome tip in my profile pic). So I'm baffled but as long as it runs well! There is a single hole in the chrome ring.
Yea it was mounted from that single hole on the exhaust tip ring by a hex nut. It was like a little 5 inch or so steel pipe, almost like a plug. Maybe aftermarket to reduce noise? I think I've seen them on the ttr125 or 220 but I could be wrong. Would have posted a pic but I tossed that sucker in the trash. Anyhow sounds and breathes much better now
I found this from a crf230 mod; third picture down is what it looked like
the bump stop on my ttr is not as bad as yours was, but it's dry and cracked. I don't have the tools (or ability) to remove the damper rod; so I am wondering if you think it would be suitable to cut the bump stop down the middle vertically, slide it on to the damper rod and use adhesive and/or steel hose clamp or something similar to "suture."
Also, is it normal for there to be a little bit of play at the top shock absorber mounting point or is this a sign that the bushings are worn?
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer and I appreciate the write up you did
I had considered your suggested methods in the past but came to the conclusion that the first time I bottomed out the rear shock it would split the join. I could be wrong and maybe there isn't anything to lose by trying it?
The big problem I used to have was holding the chrome damper rod tight enough to undo the yoke without damaging it. The aluminium block trick works a treat. I have since talked to an owner who didn't have access to aluminium but could work with wood and fashioned his rod clamp from a small piece of oak and he said it worked a treat
I have seen shocks with no bump stop left at all and there didn't seem to have been metal to metal contact.
If the nut and bolt on the top shock mount are tight then the bearing is worn and is best replaced - a cheap and efficient way of doing it is to use Steve's offering - see http://totallyttrs.com/epages/699105d9-e4cc-4b32-b236-84e72cd67f84.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/699105d9-e4cc-4b32-b236-84e72cd67f84/Products/TTR-0294
Brian, no worries and thank you for the info and suggestions. I figured it would be best to do it the correct way. The bump stop isn't too bad, just cracked and brittle. Maybe I will hold off for now and just fix the top shock mount. Will have to look into the wood block method; thank you again!