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

mossproof · Super Guru

Load carrying

Moo · Senior Member

I have seen an extra reinforcement bar being put in on the left side. I'm fairly sure Lois Pryce's ttr had an extra tube welded in from the footpeg to the rear frame... been trying to find a picture of it somewhere...

comeragh · Senior Member

The frame is very strong as long as rust dosnt set in .

Had the connecting bolt on the downward support get oval after alot of offroad with heavy load .

I dont think you would break it unless you were jumping or the like .

Keep the shock soft also offroad as is cushions the frame from to much weight impact and always carry a dissimilar welding rod for farmyard repair .

Basicly they bike is over engineered and stronger than it need be in most areas .

TTRfan · Super Guru

You may be right to be worried Simon. On the last A2E we had to take some time out to weld up a certain TTR owners rear subframe. The photos below show exactly where the fractures occurred and, no, he didn't have a rack fitted.

Simple enough to fit a length of tight fitting tube inside to add some strength and get the correct shape/bend and MIG it all up - no trouble since wink

Brian

TTRfan · Super Guru

The more common fracture points are where the subframe meets the engine cradle.

Frame_11 012.jpg

Frame_11 005.jpg

mossproof · Super Guru

Pic number 1 is the exact spot I was thinking of Brian. Although the steel looks like it has thinned a bit, it is an obvious flex node. The engine cradle one I've seen before although I can't really see why it's so common unless the welding jig introduces some stress during manufacture. Pic 4 almost looks like the weld has weakened the tube next to it! I think I might just beef up the rack a bit to ease the strain rather than modify the chassis.

This is how it currently looks: ttr rack 009.JPG ttr rack 010.JPG

Thanks folks for your replies.

Ride safe,

Simon.

Moo · Senior Member

Nice rack! Make it yourself?

On a side note... what tyres are you running? Mitas? They look nice...

mossproof · Super Guru

Thanks Malcolm. Yes, all my own work! The top rack stays on permanently and doubles as grab handles. The sides unbolt when I don't need them. Originally designed to hold a pair of Altura Arran cycle paniers, but I lost confidence in the plastic mountings and now have some larger throwovers for the next adventure.

The tyres are Heidenau k60 s. They're a similar pattern to Mefo Explorers I believe, and work really well on all surfaces except deep mud - they don't really dig well, although better than a lot of people expect! Designed as an "adventure bike tyre" (awful name) but they're tough and long lasting and grip to cold wet tarmac like a proper road tyre, and to rock almost like a trials tyre. I love them, but tend to use Mitas 644 army specials for green laning in the uk as we encounter mud, and hard slippery clay more where I tend to ride. The front tyre is quite a rounded profile with not enough sidelug for confidence in ruts. They were on the bike for the VINCE event in Spain, for which they are perfect.

Rack now has a bit more reinforcing which may have spoilt the "line" a bit, but will be hidden by the panniers anyway. Photos will hopefully follow when I'm back home in December...

Ride safe,
Simon.

Moo · Senior Member

Oooh!! That's even better! I've recently just put a new K60 on the front and am loving it! The rear is getting changed when funds allow. I've heard they're excellent tyres and last for ages too! It's been pretty wet and miserable recently, but the tyres are handling great! So I've got some confidence in them.

I do fancy doing the VINCE, looks alot of fun

mossproof · Super Guru

Now put some extra bracing in and had it powder coated... rack 004.JPG

And a heat shield...

rack 003.JPG

With Andy Strapz panniers...

rack 002.JPG

Those with eagle eyes will spot the different tank/seat. I prefer the OE setup for looks and ergonomics off tarmac, but really need the extra range sometimes. Decisions decisions...

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

Nice!!

petenz · Super Guru

My solution a few years ago for my XR250 Tornado...
a leanner sidecar....

good for weekends in the back countrey... could carry every thing including

trout rod , gun for hunting....

PS... Should have kept that bike... they had the CBR250 road bike engine...

...

-- Edited by petenz on Monday 4th of January 2016 10:07:04 PM

-- Edited by petenz on Monday 4th of January 2016 10:11:04 PM

-- Edited by petenz on Monday 4th of January 2016 10:13:55 PM

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

I'd be worryed about it tipping over off road!

petenz · Super Guru

peteBLUEttr wrote:
I'd be worryed about it tipping over off road!

LOL....

I did put it over a bank once... had to pull it apart an carry it back up in bits then put it back togeather...

It was a Adventure unit.... that was a adventure.....

,,

Watts · Member

What do others think of this soft-rack solution?

www.greenchileadv.com/products/gcag-uprising-soft-rack-kit

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

Ben from green chili adv is on this very forum! Has not signed in for a while though.

Moo · Senior Member

Watts wrote:
What do others think of this soft-rack solution?

www.greenchileadv.com/products/gcag-uprising-soft-rack-kit

This one is along the same kind of lines too...

http://www.motonaut.eu/

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

If you want to hear the benefits of the green chili system from the horses mouth you could drop him a private message.

If he has the notification setting for private messages 'ticked', he will know he has to log in to read it.

mossproof · Super Guru

I'm afraid I can't see much of an advantage in adding extra straps to which you attach your own straps. Am I missing something? Just means more straps and you still need something solid underneath to take the weight/keep things away from exhaust/wheel etc.

heffh084 · Veteran Member

Simon,

Your rack look amazing. I've just finished a set myself, but my incarnation looks like it'll damage fuel efficiency much more than yours!

What gauge steel did you use and how did you get the lovely uniform bends? Use a pipe bender?

Cheers

Howard

mossproof · Super Guru

Thanks Howard,
I don't think your's will affect fuel economy unless you're planning to ride sideways? Frontal area is slimmer than mine. Nicely braced too. I think people often forget that the loading is inward rather than straight down on a bouncing bike.
I'm fortunate to live on a farm with a well equipped workshop. My rack is made from solid 10mm bar, bent with a combination of oxyacetylene heat, formers made from bits of appropriate diameter tube, hammers and patience! Arc welded. Bending tube to those tight radii is beyond me and the tools I have to hand, but I think although it's slightly heavier, the solid bar is easier to straighten and repair in the event of ground contact.
That exhaust of your's looks loud! Watch that the gasses exit past the back of your panniers - it gets pretty hot back there!
Have you got a trip planned?
Ride safe,
Simon.

heffh084 · Veteran Member

Hi Simon,

Well, I was referring to the weight of mine as I used 25x5mm flat bar. Probably weighs the best part of 6 Kg, and supposedly the frame is only rated to carry 90Kg so with a rider of 70Kg that only leaves 15Kg for luggage! I made a brace for the LHS of the rear frame today that runs from the helmet lock to the flat bracket that the little flappy chain guard is bolted to. Only a bit of 18 G steel tube with flattened ends, but it completes the triangle should offer some additional support.

Sounds like a a handy place to be with all that equipment. I hope to have my very own man shack one day, but for now, the car club at the place I work is where I carry out all my fettling. Still, I've done OK with a vice, Gabro sheet metal brake, hydraulic press and a MIG welder. Oh and a sewing machine in the bedroom/at the girlfriends (for the home made panniers).

I've been painstakingly restoring a 1984 XT600 for the past 11 months in that car club with a view to travelling to Mongolia and back on it, and I'm almost done. The TTR is actually my partners bike who will be travelling with me, but thankfully Brian had already done a good job on the TTR in Oct 2014, so I've not had to worry about on her (she's named Gertrude after Gertrude Bell) apart from a fork rebuild, exhaust shims and trouble shooting the carburettor. Turns out the choke plunger's O-ring had come off and stuck in the end of the choke bore, and was causing a very rich mixture! Nothing a sheet of silicone and a scalpel couldn't sort.

Apart from heated grips and some wide foot pegs which need fitting, she's ready to journey Central Asia!

Ta for the note about the exhaust. I shall improvise a heat shield! And yes, it is loud. Too loud. It's a Supertrapp E.A.R exhaust if you're interested. Nice sound, but maybe not for 10K miles....