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

I helped my brother Trev with a couple of jobs on his TTR this morning.

Firstly we swapped out his shock for an eBay item that I had tested. My testing is quite simple. The hardest part is taking off the spring to check the damping action i.e. that the rod moves freely and returns to full extension under its own power. If it doesn't, that is an indication that the seal head and possibly the rod are worn/damaged and that the shock has lost its oil and nitrogen pressure. Time to send it off for refurbishment if that is the case!

Whilst the spring is off, I carefully check the rod for any damage. Plus I check the clickers are moving freely and the bump stop is in good condition and not badly perished.

Trev's shock had lost its bounce and the bottom clicker was just turning without effect. This is what's "under the hood" in the clicker department.

I have brought Trev's shock home to clean up and check over but Trev is still mobile in the meanwhile with his replacement shock fitted.

Whilst adjusting the replacement shock I noticed that the spring retainer was catching on the swing arm - see photo below:

Trev's TTR has a lowering link but his old shock cleared OK. The difference on the new shock was that the bottom ali block was positioned further up the threaded portion bringing the spring retainer into contact with the swing arm. It was an easy fix. We just wound it down to be the same as the old shock and we had clearance 

Trev had another problem on his TTR in that he sometimes has to keep pressing the starter button for a while until the starter engaged. The first thing to check, assuming the battery is properly charged (as it was), is the starter button as the contacts can get dirty. This was the case here and a quick clean up got it working reliably again.

However, there is still a problem. The solenoid now clicks merrily (which it didn't before) but the starter motor is lazy. So the next check will be the solenoid by shorting it out. If the starter motor turns immediately that will indicate a faulty solenoid. If it doesn't then we will have to pull the starter motor to check the brushes as they may be worn or, as is more common, sticking.

Sorry about the poor photos but I only had my mobile phone with me and I haven't got the hang of taking pictures with it yet  

Brian