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

Maria41 · Member

Should I combine kouba link with handlebars risers?

Cubber · Super Guru

It's dependant, Maria, on your requirements.

With your proposed seat sculpture and Kouba link there may be no immediate need to fit raisers but the option is always available.

Try the bike and make alterations to suit yourself and your pocket as you get used to it.

John Wayne boots may be an option too.

Martyn

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

There isn't a huge amount of room to lower the forks down through the forks as standard no, so to keep the geometry of the bike together yes you may well want to purchase some risers to give you that clearance, there are a few choices in this shop section here.. CLICK smile

-- Edited by peteBLUEttr on Tuesday 21st of July 2015 04:58:40 PM

TTRfan · Super Guru

It is possible to drop the forks through the yokes further if you spin the handlebar supports through 180 degrees wink

That aside, I find that bar risers and/or higher bars makes control easier and encourages you to stand up on the pegs on the rough stuff as you aren't leaning forward over the bars so much - especially on the downhills.

Brian

Maria41 · Member

Hi guys thanks with the quick answers and suggestions!

Yes i am thinking that if i drop the back, i should rebalance the bike by dropping a bit further the front fork, for good balance.

Also, getting risers may indeed be comfortable when riding standing up! I will see how the bike feels once i fit the lowering link and the scooped seat!

Thanks again for your input guys :)

leigh · Senior Member

Hey Maria,

I have a kouba lowering link and dropped the front forks 10mm through the triple clamps. Also scooped the seat.

Fits me perfectly now. I tried a number of different settings with the front forks -5mm, 10mm, 15mm, and 25mm - 10mm is what I settled on.

For me the biggest handling change I made was going to a 100/100 rear tyre instead of 110/100. Michelin AC 10's. Turns much better into corners now especially power/slide turns. Or or power rear steer out of a corner.

I used washers under the bar mount bolt to give me more height, but went back to one washer instead of a stack and that gives me up to 15mm I can raise the forks. Its stayed at 10mm though. Despite the changes I have to say the handling is brilliant, can get away from mates on the trail on WR 450's at times when I am in the zone. It surprises them no end. They are such an under rated bike.

Only disadvantage is the bike bottoms out on the odd log or pegs bottom out in a deep rut. Doesn't happen very often though.

edit:

Just looked at your link - I'm guessing you will be touring on the bike. I went with a 10mm drop on the triple clamps as I felt it handled better (more stable) on road than when I dropped it 25mm - for what its worth

-- Edited by leigh on Wednesday 22nd of July 2015 12:54:05 AM

leigh · Senior Member

Also I have protaper 7/8ths bars in YZ high bend. Almost identical to stock but a bit stronger. Bent the original ones a few times. I am under 6ft in height.

petenz · Super Guru

If you fit a lowering link... you need to slide the forks though the
same amount to retain the same rake & trail ....
If you set the SAGS that will lower the seat height almost 100mm
when you are seated on the bike...
Bar risers tend to make the front lighter by pushing the rider weight more rearwards...

a few numbers...
25mm lowering links..
90mm sag..
25mm out of the seat..
so the seat height with rider will be around 140mm lower
than the bike at full suspension height...

,,

TTRfan · Super Guru

See here for details of a TTR I lowered back along.

Maria41 · Member

Hi guys thanks for all your inputs. (y)

I will be using the bike for future long travels but also, in the meantime, for green lane riding. I need to improve my off-road skills, especially on sand! My nemesis!

I need to lower considerably the bike (down to 82cm if possible) as I am short (1.63m on a good day!). Sitting on the bike, I cannot reach the ground at all, so high heels would not change that, I have small feet, so I cannot even touch with one toe! But combination of lowering link and scooping the seat should be enough.

Ground clearance may be compromised, but I have no intention to go really extreme off-roading. Although in some countries, trails have been beyond “interesting” so I must be prepared. A small light bike is essential to keep going, have no mechanic trouble (or easy to repair) and have fun!

I have done the big BMW overland trip with Alu boxes and all the crap and overloaded with stuff you don’t need. I struggled and was not fun. And I broke down everywhere for a year, in countries where you struggle to find a BMW dealer within 2000 miles radius! And where BMW does not give a crap about you anyway! Then I rented small bikes (in Vietnam a Yamaha 125) and it was so much easier. Last year we got a couple of Honda XR 125 and rode from UK to Mongolia and back in 4 months. The bikes were superb, but 125 is too slow, trucks overtake you and close on you, bullying you out of the road (Russia). We wanted the same light weight and set up (minimum luggage) but more power and speed. The TTR 250 seems ideal. Just need to find a second one for my husband, in good condition…

TTRfan · Super Guru

The TTR is no stranger to sand! We also probably have members in any country you decide to travel in wink

Robs TTR in deep sand in Tunisia.JPG

Maria41 · Member

TTRfan wrote:
The TTR is no stranger to sand! We also probably have members in any country you decide to travel in

Amazing picture TTRFan!

I notice a little rack at the back holding your bag. Did you get it from "Totally TTR" shop?

TTRfan · Super Guru

Not my bike Maria but that of Robin Webb, TTR250 adventurist from Brighton and one of the stars in the Salt & Gold video.

The rack on Robin's bike is the OEM Yamaha ali rack. Don't see them advertised very often these days.

The racks we sell in the eShop (when we can get our fabricator to make some up for us!) are here and with side rails here.

We have had our order for new stock in for a few months so the racks should be landing any time soon wink

KMAN · Senior Member

Gday.

Ive got a 2011 ttr, lowering link, forks thru 18mm chopped seat.
Seat height is still around 870mm.

Probably is a bit of adjustment on the shock but havent tried it yet

Maria41 · Member

Hi, i thought I would give an update.

i got my seat back from motorbikes-seat.co.uk. I have used those guys on almost all my bikes!

Then today we took the bike to my trusted mechanic. Fitted the lowering link and lowered the front forks, using spacers from the ttr shop.

Sat on the bike and it is way too tall yet. I am barely touching with the tip end of my boots on each side, when someone helps me put the bike straight.

we played with the dampening of the shock.

It seems the preload is at the top So no easy access to it. That is my last hope. It feels very stiff and there is no sagging when i sit on it. The bike drops a bit when my husband or Stewart, my mechanic, sit there, but then they weight about 30 to 60 kg more than me!

The bike has to go back to the workshop as some bearings need to be replaced. We will get the shock preload adjusted to as soft as possible. i am confident it will make a massive difference. Finger crossed!

I only need the ball of one foot down to ride the bike, so i can stop at red lights without dropping it biggrin

pug · Guru

Have just dropped my bike this week with a link an seat cut I did not have to do the seat really as I'm 5' 10" but long body short leg's I got a 2nd seat off Brian as wanted to go for a very low feel to the bike so I took an inch out the foam bike is sitting at 840mm floor to seat after just an inch off the foam. you could take it right down 1/2 inch thick over the base would give about floor to seat of 780mm. shock on my bike is set up for a large chap 16st ( all size's taken with me off the bike forks up 1/2 inch in the trees )

Martyn

-- Edited by pug on Saturday 8th of August 2015 05:24:34 PM

The Mancunian · Senior Member

I got the lowering link fitted and pushed the forks through 33mm I left the sussy settings alone as it was spot on for me when I got it and nothing has changed. The bike rides exactly the same, but I can put my feet flat on the floor now. Considering the lowering link is only about 10mm shorter it's remarkable how much it drops. Might need to shorten the stand though bleh

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

I can understand why alot of people do this mod, cos even I at 6'3" struggle sometimes when in deep rutted bits to quickly find a place for me foot..

pug · Guru

peteBLUEttr wrote:
I can understand why alot of people do this mod, cos even I at 6'3" struggle sometimes when in deep rutted bits to quickly find a place for me foot..

Take an inch out the seat foam even at 6' 3" it will make you a lot happier and feel like your legs are that inch longer

This is what I have been struggling over have had the bike a year an lost count of the times I have fallen over stopping turning the bike round off the black stuff the ground always seems to be 4 inches lower and last week was a laugh deep rutted lane bike in the middle of the track me stood in the rut it was just to high to get me leg over the bike and the rut's must have been ten inches to a foot deep and not enough room to stand on the centre with the bike an get me leg over it. an I could just flat foot with me big boot's on before swapping the link out to the lower one this has given me 3 inch's or more extra on the touch down and a quick run out for 5-6 lanes today has told me I should have dun this 12 months back.

Pug

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

Yeah it probably would make life a bit easier on occasion..

Maria41 · Member

Hi,

i am surprised at how low some of you can go.

With the lowering link and the seat scooped out, i reckon that the seat is about 87 or 88 cm.

i rode my versys back home from the shop, when i bought it, and it was 84 cm before i lower it. So definitely the TTR is still taller

i hope adjusting the rear shock will do a big difference. I don't know if the shock is the original one. I guess we will know in one or two weeks.

TTRfan · Super Guru

Just found this thread.

Anyone beat 812mm????

Maria41 · Member

I will try! I need to get at least 6 cm from the shock for that! Not sure it is achievable but aiming for as low as i can biggrin

leigh · Senior Member

wow thats low.

I have a scooped set and lowering link, 10mm drop of the forks my seat is around 860-70mm from memory. I have the race sag set at about 93mm.(280mm travel) - me plus gear and my tool bag are around 80kg.

I did have the sag at around 105mm (didn't set it when I bought the bike) but was too soft especially when jumping off things and in whoops etc.

petenz · Super Guru

petenz wrote:
bit hard to measure correctly but my TTR has a seat hight of 780mm...
with me seated....
with a
Korba link....
30mm out of the seat...
SAGS SET CORRECTLY... 35mm static / 95mm rider...
had to replace the shock & fork springs to get it...
I weigh 75/80kgs...

Sags are where the biggest drop in seat hight while seat will be...
Another pay off will be the suspension will work as designed...
suspension has to have free travel in BOTH directions... UP & DOWN..

..

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

895 is standard, if you fit Brians 50mm link and scoop out the seat 30mm thats 80mm, bring forks down through a bit prob gives you 10-15 lower at the seat, if anyone can get lower than 800mm I would be surprised.... confuse Maybe you can surprise me!....

TTRfan · Super Guru

The seat on the TTR that I mentioned didn't have more than about half an inch of foam

PeteNZ - what is your seat height without you on it?

Brian

Maria41 · Member

petenz wrote:
petenz wrote:
bit hard to measure correctly but my TTR has a seat hight of 780mm...
with me seated....
with a
Korba link....
30mm out of the seat...
SAGS SET CORRECTLY... 35mm static / 95mm rider...
had to replace the shock & fork springs to get it...
I weigh 75/80kgs...

Sags are where the biggest drop in seat hight while seat will be...
Another pay off will be the suspension will work as designed...
suspension has to have free travel in BOTH directions... UP & DOWN..

..
Hi Pete, you changed the shock and springs to lower the bike?
What shock did you buy? And springs? I may have to go down that road too. I weigh about 66 to 70kg fully kitted I would guess.
Thank you.

leigh · Senior Member

I think they are 910mm seat height in Aus. I would guess my
Kouba link only dropped the bike 30mm. Definitely wasn't 50mm.

petenz · Super Guru

Maria41 wrote:
petenz wrote:
petenz wrote:
bit hard to measure correctly but my TTR has a seat hight of 780mm...
with me seated....
with a
Korba link....
30mm out of the seat...
SAGS SET CORRECTLY... 35mm static / 95mm rider...
had to replace the shock & fork springs to get it...
I weigh 75/80kgs...

Sags are where the biggest drop in seat hight while seat will be...
Another pay off will be the suspension will work as designed...
suspension has to have free travel in BOTH directions... UP & DOWN..

..
Hi Pete, you changed the shock and springs to lower the bike?
What shock did you buy? And springs? I may have to go down that road too. I weigh about 66 to 70kg fully kitted I would guess.
Thank you.

NO NO NO.... to get the suspension sags correct for my weight...

if i was twice my weight with the correct springs for that weight

my bike would still have a seat height the same with me seated on it..

Just changed the shock spring not a new shock.. YET

petenz · Super Guru

TTRfan wrote:
The seat on the TTR that I mentioned didn't have more than about half an inch of foam
PeteNZ - what is your seat height without you on it?
Brian

840mm bike sitting under it's own weight..

thats a total sag 95mm

35mm static another 60mm with me seated...

30mm out of the seat....

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

Your is still 870 Maria??... Thought you would be able to get lower with a seat scoop and a link... Its one of Brian's 50mm links is it?... confuse

Maria41 · Member

Hi guys,

Yes I got one of Brian's lowering links.

I got the seat totally scooped out (all foam removed ) and a gel seat inserted. And the cover replaced, as the original one broke when removing and could not extend.

I have now got the rear shock adjusted to the lowest possible with the preload adjustment. I also got the front forks down using the spacers, so about 1 1/2 or 2 inches in total?

I sat on the bike yesterday, and I am still feeling very high. I can put feet down both side, on my tip toes. I can put the toes curved on one side, not the ball of the foot. Bike is not sagging much, but then, I am much lighter than the usual male rider the bike is built for. When my husband sits on it it goes down a lot, but the option of me putting on 4 stones is not there! furious

Difficult to give an estimate but the bike may be about 84 or 85cm, still uncomfortably high for me.

I will try to test the bike in few weeks time (pretty busy the next 2 weekends) on road and off-road. If I don't stop it is ok. When stopping off road I will need to be very careful where I stop and which foot I put down as to not drop the bike. IF it leans too much it will go down as I do not have upper body muscle to keep the bike up. I will see how it goes.

IF I don't feel comfortable or happy with it, I will give it to my husband and I will look for something else. I should have kept my honda XR125 . My husband got too enthusiastic about selling stuff on ebay! cry

But what alternative do I have? all is either too tall or too heavy. I want 120 kg max. ANd seat of 81 max.... Plenty of choice in south america but not in Europe doh

hanzo · Senior Member

Maria have you considered an xt225 serrow .If you feel awkward on the ttr its not going to give you confidence off road .In my opinion the serrow would be a good alternative dry weight 108 kg and a seat height of 81cms air cooled and a very capable machine very close to the ttr for reliability and maintenance .

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

To make it lighter you can rip all the stuff off you dont need that much like pillion pegs and indicators and mirrors etc.

Have you thought about a shorter shock or lighter shock spring or lower profile tyre?

125's are a bit slow but yeah you could try a serow or a ktm freeride or a gas gas pampera etc..

Maria41 · Member

Hi guys, thanks for the suggestions.

Yes I considered the Serow. But the price puts me off. They are now very rare. I saw one yesterday for £2,500 from 2004! To compare, I bought my honda XR 2006 last year for 1,000!

New serows seem to sell at £5,500! I am not paying that sort of money.

I know there are lots of Spanish or Italian bikes pretty cool, but I want to use the bike for travelling (going back to south america, Russia etc...) so I need something simple and very reliable. And not so rare that I cannot find spare parts when I need them. And there is no way you can know in advance what is going to break. No matter how many parts you take you can be sure that what breaks is not in your list! ALthough my little Honda XR125 was bullet proof, but too slow.

I had a BMW 1st time round South america, never again! I'd rather Japanese, tough and light. Ideally bigger than a 125...

ALthough, to be fair, right now I am looking at ... italian! Yes I know. J&S accessories sell really nice Derbi Terra Adventure 125 (part of Gilera) , they look really nice and from what I heard, they can cruise at 60 /70mph and are reliable....

Oh well I will see in the next few weeks. I should have kept my honda :(

TTRfan · Super Guru

May seem a silly idea but what about 17" SuperMoto wheels with dual purpose tyres fitted?

Maria41 · Member

Not such a silly idea Brian.

One of my friend crossed africa on a DRZ400S, but his friend Neil had a DRZ super moto with dual purpose tyres from what I remember (his site:http://www.touringted.com) . They did not go all the down together (hard to travel with mates, it happens often) but not a bad idea. I don't see why the wheel must be 21''?

After all at Yamaha Off-road experience centre, they use kid sizes bikes and they have small wheels...

hanzo · Senior Member

Decent serrow on ebay for 1400 .Worth the investment if it fits and your looking at a keeper as you say they hold there value well and are capable and proven on the adventure bike side of things .

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-XT-225-SEROW-/151778375565?hash=item2356b2378d

21" wheels lead up over rocks and stepped climbs better etc, all round better off road

mossproof · Super Guru

Serrow definitely worth a look if you can find one - wait for the end of the "season", the prices WILL drop, and talk to David Lambeth www.davidlambeth.co.uk about prep - he's had a huge amount of experience, and incidentally has a dream of running a Serrow desert rally series. I was looking into a project involving my ttr250/325 engine into a serrow, with yz front forks as the ultimate trail weapon, but for the long road mileages I also do it might be a tad cramped for me...
Don't give up on the ttr until you've exhausted every option though - I think they're a tougher machine, but of course you pay for that with 20kg more frame. Hmm, decisions decisions!
Good luck whichever way you jump,
Simon.

-- Edited by mossproof on Tuesday 25th of August 2015 05:50:29 PM

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

Say for example you had a tyre setup of 80/100-21 & 120/90-18, you could change to something like 90/90-21 & 120/80-18, effectively lowering the whole bike another 10mm.

17" rims would give you about another 25mm lower but quite a lot of dosh to spend getting them laced up on your hubs + tyres, and a fat front tyre wont be as good off road. Need quite a good setup if you want to ride sand and quite 'interesting' trails like you say..

You might be able to wangle in a shorter shock from another bike with similar eye diameter etc, you don't have to have a remote reservoir one.

Or some have actually modified the body of the shock to be smaller!:

shock pic length ttr250.jpg

smile

Maria41 · Member

Hi guys, we were away on holiday with the big bikes, around France and the Alps.
Back home.

It seems now the "season" is ending there is a lot of choice. I found a serow xt250 (jap import) reasonably priced! I sat on it and it is perfect! So after discussion with the husband, who loves the TTR, he will keep it while i will buy an XT250. Seat heigh is perfect ( about 81 cm). I can get the ball of both feet down. Enough. No need to lower or do anything on it!

I really don't know how some of you can get the TTR down to 82 or even 78 cm.... I suspect the shock on our TTR is unusually stiff, won't sag much even after setting the preload as soft as possible.... Might need a new shock, but to be honest, i think the XT is better suited to my size.

It was worth trying, it is such a nice bike and so light, the XT is 130 kg compared with 114 kg for the TTR...but then Alistair will carry most of the fuel (bigger fuel tank for the TTR when we can find one) and luggage.... Next year we plan a big overland trip again.
After doing one year round SA with a BMW ( too heavy and fragile) then riding to Mongolia and back with two honda XR125 ( superb off road but too slow) we think 250 is the ideal size and weight. Time will tell. Also the fact we will have different bikes.... And mine will be tubeless.... I guess each travel bike is about compromise.... There is no perfect bike. We need enduro bike capacity with comfort and endurance.
Next year, either we go back to south america or .... We will see... Depending on work commitments... If we can take the summer off we will ride East again... Russia and Siberia keep calling...

Thanks for all the suggestions and ideas.

Cubber · Super Guru

Glad you are happy and seem to be now sorted, Maria. smile

Good luck on whatever you and and your other half decide to do - but just make sure you travel safely and enjoyably.

Martyn

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

The serow is a great liitle trail bike. My mate has one and loves the fact it is light as a feather! Too small for me but for the right person they are pokey and nimble. Bit challenging to get parts for though.

I look forward to reading about your next trip.

Moo · Senior Member

I'm going to have to measure and take a picture of my TTR... i find it extremely low. I'm 5'11 and can quite comfortable get my feet flat on the floor, with bent knees... I know its got a kouba link on it (which i'm going to swap for the orignal) and the front forks are dropped about an inch at the front... Be interested to see how heigh the seat is...

-- Edited by Moo on Monday 12th of October 2015 01:27:41 PM

Moo · Senior Member

Maria41 wrote:
we think 250 is the ideal size and weight. Time will tell. Also the fact we will have different bikes.... And mine will be tubeless.... I guess each travel bike is about compromise.... There is no perfect bike. We need enduro bike capacity with comfort and endurance.
Next year, either we go back to south america or .... We will see... Depending on work commitments... If we can take the summer off we will ride East again... Russia and Siberia keep calling...

Thanks for all the suggestions and ideas.

One to look for inspiration might be Steph, who is travelling around the world on a new Honda CRF250L

http://www.stephmoto-adventurebikeblog.com/

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

Have you got the preload on the shock done up enough for your weight Malcolm?

You might be grateful of the lowering link when your out on a knarly rocky/rutted trail!...

Moo · Senior Member

Probably not! Havent had a chance too look yet...