A forum for owners of Yamaha TTR250 trail and enduro bikes!

Tale of Two TTR's ....Read On only if you're interested in height issues or general clues about buying bikes. (comments or tips welcome..i'm still learning)

As a TTR enthusiast i have ended up with two of them. A 2002 and a 2006.

The newer bike is the latest addition and had done only 1600 km's when i bought it. It was supposed to be "immaculate" but (long story) i did not check it over too thoroughly and only later found a few issues..I love "stock" bikes with only sensible improvements where justified..I was not impressed when i found that the air duct/manifold intake thing at the top of the airbox ,had been removed. Who would do such a thing ?!?                                                                                                                                                An essential part costing @ $90 is there for a good reason. Only a bonehead would take it out plus then 'lose' the part along with the tailpiece etc..(IMHO).

The clue initially was that the entire airbox was filled with beach sand including the air filter which was thoroughly clogged. Grrrr..Tackling that situation led to a week stranded in the city sleeping rough wondering why the bike would not start. Thought maybe the carby was compromised by sand ?                                                           Difficult to work on the bike where i was but i pulled things apart as best i could and checked everything.

Got a new filter..Recharged the battery..Filled the tank..Cleaned carby intake ,hose going in and of course the airbox etc..Inspected all wiring connections.

Took out the plug ,checked for spark ,then cranked the motor over in an effort to clear the carby if possible..The third time i tried doing that the plug fell to bits !! Aha !!

Got a new plug and at last the bike started !! Inflated the tyres (the seller said not to bother because it was all set to go,.when in actual fact the tyres were at 6psi front and 9psi rear !! Up they went to the stock 22 and 25psi).  Changed the oil and filter which both confirmed that again the seller had lied ..                                                              Finally i got the bike ready and rode the 300 km's home..Only then i could sit the two TTR's beside each other and make comparisons.

The newer bike was also missing its tailpiece (?) so i bought one for $50 delivered (e-bay). Also gave it the barkbusters off of the 2002 TTR. Better than stock front fender on its way also so that the 2002 can get the newer stock one (since the plan was to sell the 2002).

The main difference now ,which was intriguing at first ,is the actual seat height difference between the two bikes.

The 2002 bike had the stock Dunlop 605's which were first replaced at 8500 km's which i think is an impressive mileage for a tyre. That bike now has "Trail Wolf" tyres which seem OK.  Meanwhile the 2006 bike has Dunlop 606's ,which are more of an offroad version of the Dunlop 605's..Checking the tread depth i found them to be taller tyres.(taller by 20mm)

So the 2002 TTR has the stock seat height of 890mm ,which i like. The 2006 TTR has the seat height of 940mm which i do not like at all.                                                         The 606 tread might explain away the first 20mm..out of the 50mm difference.                                                                                                                                                  From the forums on here i'm thinking maybe the front forks have been tampered with or the rear shockie might be wound up to its limit ?                                                  Theres another 30mm to account for. The seller was shorter than me and in retrospect ,slightly bogus.                                                                                                                (I did get him to put it in writing that the bike is NOT stolen or in debt. Drivers Licence I.D. etc ,plus the usual paperwork)

Not sure how to tackle either front shocks or rear shock issue but at least i can compare the two TTR's and see if the manual is any help.

Its not my preference to go chopping up the seat for lowering purposes ,especially since the centre of gravity of the bike would not be lowered at all and i do like the stock seat the way it is. The 2006 TTR is essentially a molested bike and all i want to do is get it back to "normal". Luckily the sprockets are stock ,as is everything else now.

Now the bike can be appreciated and looked after the way it deserves ,but ridden as much as possible of course !!                                                                                         The height however needs to be reduced. Makes it harder to ride in soft sand in my opinion.                                                                                                                               Today i hit the soft stuff face-first several times. Steering seems more difficult on the taller settings. Front end also seems less trustworthy on the bitumen.                             It jumps OK but so does the lower 2002 one. When parked ,the taller bike leans over too far as  well.     Buyer Beware (i know ,i know)..  Rolls eyes at self.