Thinking of buying a TTR and wanted to try to get a bit more info about the bike. I've done several searches and read a lot of the useful info but there are a couple of questions I still have.
1. What are the key differences in spec between the older White (pre-2k) OE's and the later Blue ones in terms of weight, power, torque seat height etc (if any)? I've seen a 95 bike locally which looks in good condition but am nervous about having such an old bike. How much (if at all) "better" is a later blue model? Cant find seat height info anywhere?
2. Spec's seem to suggest that the base bike is around 30HP and 30Nm how much extra is likely to be unlocked by freeing up the air flow at inlet and exhaust? How much weight can easily be shed? I'm currently riding a wr125r which is fun for a 125 4 stroke but the inability to lift the front wheel when needed is a big handicap.
My plan is to be able to green-lane and maybe do a little enduro but also modest road trips.
The seat height is 895mm. The later blue models are slightly faster because they have lighter plastic tank and lighter alloy swingarm, they also have air forks.
No need to be nervous as they are bulletproof bikes and this forum is an excellent catalogue of priceless information, also the forum is run by Brian the owner of the totally ttr part shop.
A ttr will be significantly quicker and more robust than your wr125, uncorking them gives them even more, perhaps several HP.
If you want to do some long road work too, you can run a slightly higher gearing, most run 13/48 for laning, but you could run 13/46, 14/44 is standard for the ttr's but it doesn't really have wheelie ability.
There are other 'trail' bikes out their I.e xt, klx, xr, dr, etc but none of them really compare to the ttr. There's a VERY nice ttr currently for sale in Hertfordshire in the for sale section of this forum.
I came here from the ttr250.com FAQ and have had an extensive look around on the old threads too, but couldn't find definitive data on things like seat height (thanks for clearing that up) and weights.
The very useful info on ttr250.com links to an Australian specification but the link appears to be dead now. It also talks about the Blue version having a steeper steering geometry and I wondered what difference that made and if anyone had any experience of both versions so could compare.
But crucially the Blue is listed as having a 6 speed gearbox and the White a 5 speed, yet there is no mention of this in the FAQ which makes me doubt it? And the bore is larger and with a lower compression ratio? Which seems like a fairly major change to the engine?
I'm in Sheffield UK, and locally there is a white '95 that looks in good nice, and a nice looking blue 2004 but for quite a lot more money, so it would be good to have clear comparisons to make.
I'm pretty sure the engines are exsaxtly the same across apart from the blue comes with a kickstart standard and was a optional extra on white they are both 6 speed and the engines are built proof I've had issues with mine but mine is a supermoto and spends a lot of its time on the back wheel for miles on end and dropping gears but has held up very well. Better than my crf 450 witch is constantly broken.
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2005 ttr supermoto with dtx 125 wheels and front forks stainless sleeves to adapt ttr clamps to fit forks.
The seat height is 895mm, the later blue models are slightly faster because they have lighter plastic tank and lighter alloy swingarm, they also have air forks.
The '93/94 Open enduro white bikes have alloy swingarm and air forks too, its the 'Raid' model that is lower spec.
I have had a blue one before and now a '93 OE model, no difference in power at all, tank weight is not significant to make a difference, but exhaust and jetting mods to help gain a couple of HP and improve midrange if done well.
They are not fast at all so don't expect too much, but they are a fun bike to plod around on, especially if you go Supermoto!
-- Edited by srad34 on Sunday 15th of November 2015 12:33:48 AM
The ttr raid has a different compression ratio yeah. The raid was designed sort of like how the Baja and djebel were (cross country style) bigger seat and better headlight etc.
The ttr raid and ttr open enduro both have a 6 plate clutch and metal tanks, but the blue ttr's have a 7 plate clutch and plastic tank and yes you are correct tighter(quicker) steering geometry and revised suspension, also a basic anologue clock.
All ttr's have 6 gears. The raid has a lighter duty 428 chain. The open enduro is the only ttr with grease nipples on the suspension.
Each ttr has its own virtues it depends what you want from it really.
I have to say if I was going to go any long distance and with possibility of riding at night I would want a raid. It is possible to upgrade the chain, swingarm and shock on the raid though if you fancy by retrofitting in from the open enduro.
I like my blue ttr because I find it can cope well on the more knarly trails. Although I have to say I have not ridden an open enduro.
If you don't like the idea of an older bike like you say, I would plump with the blue model, better specs from the off and you can adapt it to be more road oriented if you so wish.
After also reading the ttr FAQ page I immediately bought a blue model ttr because its everything I wanted from a trail bike, I.e dual start and air cooled and long service intervals and reliable and roomy and competant and easy to work on with great parts back up etc.
-- Edited by peteBLUEttr on Sunday 15th of November 2015 01:25:46 AM
The seat height is 895mm, the later blue models are slightly faster because they have lighter plastic tank and lighter alloy swingarm, they also have air forks.
The '93/94 Open enduro white bikes have alloy swingarm and air forks too, its the 'Raid' model that is lower spec.
Yeah cheers Matt, forgot that bit, there's quite a lot of variants over the three models when you think about it.
But crucially the Blue is listed as having a 6 speed gearbox and the White a 5 speed, yet there is no mention of this in the FAQ which makes me doubt it? And the bore is larger and with a lower compression ratio? Which seems like a fairly major change to the engine?
Thanks for posting the links. Nice photos of the TTRs!
I emailed the website owner asking him to correct the older TTRs to 6-speed box and he has already done it - thank you Tony!
They also have the seat heights a little higher at 914 rather than 895...
Went to see the older OE model today, couldn't get a test ride yet but apparently the speedo is a bit "wobbly" which seems weird given it is a digital one, could this be a warning it is about to pack up? If so an expensive job?
The bike is also an import and in km anyone know if this is likely to make insurance super expensive or hard to get?
By saying 'wobbly' he means what exactly? Not reading correctly?
Not sure. The bike was buried right at the back at a small dealers (he is selling it on behalf of a customer/friend) and will take some time to get out, he told me it was "wobbly" before I saw it was electronic and he seemed to be indicating that the needle jumps about so doesn't give a clear reading. His attitude seems to be that it is a cheap bike for green-laning so "that'll do", which doesn't fill me with confidence. On the other hand the bike does look very tidy and well maintained and the dealer is generally pretty straight but he wants £1200 for it.
Assuming I pass my Mod2 test tomorrow I will probably head back for a test ride and see for myself, but I am very nervous about a 20 year old bike and leaning more towards a blue if I can find a good one for sensible money.
Thanks for the continuing help.
Also if anyone can point me in the direction of a good blow by blow account of opening up the air-flow (box, filter, header and exhaust) and changing the jets to suit that would be very nice.
The digital speedo's have a magnet/sensor that send the signal from the front sprocket. If the magnets on the way out, this could be the reason for it being intermittent. Budget around £60 for a replacement used part, I think Brian on here does them....
Thanks srad, be good if it was something relatively simple, my worry was that it might be the display itself which I imagine could be hard to track down.
Thanks for sending those details Brian, it looks nice but actually quite a long way away (70miles) so I will probably look at more local options before I widen my net than much.
Passed my test last week but then spent/wasted a few days looking at all kinds of bikes on the internet. But finally got out and had a brief (road) test ride of the 1994 TTR250 OE mentioned above today. It has a needle bearing "all balls" rear linkage and new tyres but otherwise seems stock.
The Good:-
Seemed in mostly very good nick.
Really liked the seating position
Seemed pretty torque-y after my 125
Suspension felt nice
Started straight-up with no horrible bangs etc though maybe a very small noise on stopping
The Bad:-
Speedo was not "wobbly" in the least. Instead consistently displayed a wildly low speed (showing 12kmph at about 30mph), hard to check it much since it was obscured by the front brake hose...
Bit loud and poppy sounding, this may well just be that the current owner had taken out the exhaust baffle? Not sure. Pulled well so maybe just normal?
Quite a lot of vibration coming through the foot-pegs at speed. Only got up to about 50 so not sure if this is a resonance thing that would pass if I pushed on a bit or something more?
Mirror absolutely hopeless, only a right and only took 30 seconds to droop down and show me my elbow-pit instead of the road behind.
The bike is in a (small) dealers who is selling in on behalf of a customer, listed at £1400 originally but he dropped that to £1200 immediately but said that that was the floor. That's with no warranty and essentially no different to a private sale...
I am wondering about making a cheeky offer of £800 which seems like about all it is worth, but if I did get it I would want to sort the Speedo (will do a fair few road miles getting to lanes and dont want any points on my nice clean licence) and mirrors etc.
If it was a 5-10 year younger blue then I probably would have gone for it.
Any idea on the speedo problem? Fixable for modest money?
The fact the dealer wont even offer you a 1 month warranty does not inspire confidence.
Trouble is if you buy a white one will you wish you had bought a younger one down the line?
If speedo sender/magnet is dodgy on it - relatively cheap. If the unit is dodgy - not that cheap.
Footpeg vibe might be engine mounting bolts loose or poor chain adjustment.
Everyone replaces their suspension linkage bearings with all balls ones as genuine yam are expensive.
Thanks for the reply, yes, that was my thinking. I'm still on the lookout for a blue at a good price fairly local, as well as considering other makes/models but TTR is most appealing at the moment.