Last week I bought a great looking TTR250. The previous owner told me that Brian restored the bike in the past and I trawled the forum and found the thread for it:
The bike was 4 hours drive from me (8 hours round trip) and I wouldn't have bothered had I not read the thread and seen the effort that's gone into the restoration. While looking for this specific restoration thread I also read many other restoration threads by Brian so I gathered he knows his stuff and that the work could be trusted. The bike has only done about 1500 miles since the restoration. There are a couple of small things that need taking care of so it suits me better (wider handle bars and bar risers to start with) and then I want to fit a better exhaust and uncork it (air box and jetting mods.) It'll also get a fresh set of knobblies as I'll mostly be using it off road.
I have a DR-Z400SM that I put off road wheels on, but after riding Locky's TTR (also a member on here) I decided that a smaller (and lighter) bike was the way to go. I didn't consider the TTR right away, I figured I might get a ~200cc 2 stroke, but after looking at the available options and my requirements I ended up deciding a TTR was going to be just right. The DR-Z is getting prepared to be sold in SM trim.
I also own a Yamaha MT-09 Tracer and a Beta Rev3 (trials bike), I recently sold my V-Strom DL650 (had a 110k miles on it :) ) After selling the DR-Z I'll be back down to a sensible 3 bikes instead of 5 :D
Where'd you find the lanes info, I haven't really found anything decent around here? I usually just get Locky to do all the map work and then follow him around and fall a few times to keep him entertained.
In the main I was looking for a lighter bike and something that had less go than my decently tuned up DR-Z. The DR-Z is fairly heavy, more than 150kg, and, even though I've got no trouble picking it up, dragging it around or manhandling it in whichever way I decide to, I know how much easier it gets with a lighter bike. This is mainly because of the Beta Rev3, my trials bike is 75kg fuelled and it feels like a mountain bike in comparison. I was also having a problem with the brakes on the DR-Z, because it's the SM model it has a standard 310mm disc on the front and a 250mm on the rear. On 17" wheels on the road this is perfect, but off road matched up with a 21" front and a 18" rear they are deadly. I ended up cutting a significant amount of pad material from the front brake pads as an experiment and it turned out I'd have to take about half off to get the result I needed. Last time out riding on it I fell twice off road (quite hard) and both times it was due to the trouble with the front brake and not being able to modulate it as required, it's too on/off. Then there is the issue of comfort, a word that's not in the DR-Z dictionary. I can take a lot of posterior abuse on a bike, but the DR-Z always gets uncomfortable quickly unless you're standing up :D 5 gears on the DR-Z too, it's just too revvy on the road for my liking. We plan an off road tour for 2 weeks in Portugal, north to south, and I came to the conclusion that the DR-Z would be torture after a few days.
The TTR seemed to be the solution to a lot of the niggles with the DR-Z. It was designed for it's wheel size and the brakes are matched to that properly. It's a lot lighter than the DR-Z, it's got a more comfortable seat than the DR-Z (and a tad lower), it has 6 gears so the on road "touring" should be better. Another thing I like is that it's air cooled, it's less to go wrong off road in the middle of nowhere. Why go smaller on the engine then? I am of the persuasion that it's a lot more fun to ride a "slow" bike fast than it is to ride a fast bike slow. The DR-Z is very eager, you have to be careful with the throttle at times and it's easy to get carried away and put on too much speed too quickly. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun, but I think the TTR is just enough of a step down to be in the sweet spot I want. Since the TTR is lighter and makes decent power the power to weight ratio does't suffer that much. I'm also a torque lover and I think the TTR pulls well with the right mods. I had a go on Locky's on a ride out and his is well sorted, I couldn't believe how well it went for something with "only" a 250cc engine, but the thing that impressed me most was how nimble, yet planted, it felt off road compared to the DR-Z. The suspension on the TTR is surprisingly good. The whole TTR package suits what I like: to get into the gnarliest terrain possible and then to get through it more trials style than MX racer style.
I hope the TTR is all I want it to be and that I can keep it for a long time. I want a larger "off road tourer" around 600cc to replace and improve on what the V-Strom did for me, but if the TTR250 does it all then I might just focus on travelling lighter (I don't need to travel fast.)
-- Edited by Juvecu on Wednesday 9th of September 2015 06:31:57 PM
