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

Dayum. That'll dent the bank!

Think I'm going to let mine go soon..

Museum piece but sadly not museum quality - needs work doing!

that is one neat and tidy looking steed

Looking at this bike it does seem ahead of the curve in terms of price, but by exactly how much and what bikes should you compare the TTR to?..im not sure the CRF is a good comparable.

The TTR is a very versatile & robust bike,having been in production for the last 25 yrs. The TTR was over engineered for a 250cc bike,compared to its competitors at the time. while the CRF is manufactured in India/Thailand..im not sure that was ever the case with the TTR...Japan only with associated precision( I am a lay person in comparison to many others on here.. educate me please if I'm wrong!)

I don't know if they were officially imported into UK( I think they were)- but the lineage is there (or here!!)...I know in Australia & United States of America they are held in high esteem.

Here are the figures:

Currently (August 2017 UK)- bikes on the road.
For the Yamaha TTR (generally)
265 Licensed(on the road)
198 SORN
BUT how many are TTR RAIDS- I believe a ratio of approx 10 Open Enduro/Blue:1 Raids exists- which would make approximately 46 in existence in UK- 26.5 are currently taxed!...

XRV 750(Africa Twin)
140 Licensed
117 SORN

Serow
44Licensed/ 40 SORN

If a famous person backs a bike/brand ( McGreggor/Boreman) and its combined with a trip of worth- then people want them & the price goes up..see BMW GS1200

The same can be said of the Africa Twin (xrv)- it proved itself plenty of times in the original Paris Dakar rally...people loved them & try as I might-...I ended up with 2 XRVs- they far surpassed my ability!
...Honda have also realised this and re-released a modern Africa Twin...its not holding its value/desirability anywhere near the original Africa Twin...the TTR has no unbroken history..they got it right & so part availability is good!

TTR's undeniably have the proven record-
1.25yrs without a major engine change (Brian please chime in)
2.Simplicity to repair at home or on the road- the RAID(above)  has a steel sub frame- making it ideal for weld repairs in 3rd World Countries...coupled with the large tank range. (220miles..which is the same as my BMW GS1200!!!!
3.Ease of part availability & super fast service (www.TotallyTTRs.com)
4.Fantastic dedicated no nonsense site- brimming full of help/ideas/videos- headed by our own bearded GURU!

Now if the TTR's could be shown to have the ability to be not just great off road bikes..but instead fantastic adventure distance travelling bikes- this would pique the interest of travellers... BUT wait a minute???
Lois Pryce has done some fantastic trips on TTRs?
Other travellers have completed similar trips- often with no/limited hassle
We are about to salute two people intending to ride their "old" TTR's to Australia from UK
http://ttr250.activeboard.com/f532525/overlanding-a-ttr250/

If any further evidence were required asto their reliability- look at the sister to the TTR- the serow(xt225).
10 years ago you could pick up serows for £450.00-£750.00.. I have had 12 of them. Try to buy a serow now for under £2,000 & you are taking a risk/or you are prepared to do it up for your intended trip...they will become collectable, but are currently sought after because of their forgivingness when ridden off road...they again can be repaired/maintained/serviced at home/on the road- that's why they are loved by adventure travel riders....yet the TTR is a better more bullet proof bike!

I personally saw the prices of these bikes rise- initially when people stripped them down/rebuilt them & prepared them for travel- such was their pedigree.

This had the effect of raising the general price of the serow stock in UK- even though some owners had never bothered to maintain/service their bikes.

I suppose what I'm attempting to suggest is 3 fold:
1.If your TTR has a proven history & regular schedule of maintenance/stripped rebuilt
2.If your bike is set up for or has the ability for adventure travel or
3.If the bike is inheritantly original & not off road abused without regular maintenance

Then I believe you will be pleasantly surprised in years to come- There are some people who do invest in bikes...

who would have thought the C90 would achieve the prices they currently do??....Decent TTR's will do the same. If you keep your bike maintained/serviced/ridden- you gain twice...once for the pleasure of the ride & secondly as you eventually sell on- you wont lose money.

..so finally we come back to the price of this bike?
1.Brian identified it is not showroom condition- (can you expand on this Brian?- I see bolts missing/tank scratched etc..but what else do you see Brian..anyone?)- its certainly not set up for distance travel
2.There is unlikely to be any history with an imported bike
3.The traders will I assume warranty the bike- how much do you value a warranty?
4.NOVA(importing)- what's the cost?
5.Is it ready for your intended use?- to travel/offroad/commute or simply store..?...its certainly rare enough. But the traders will need to show a profit to cover normal business expenses (staff/workshop/showroom/tax/VAT etc) 

The bike is undeniably a "looker"- but I would like Moo to put up a picture of his bike...I have seen it & its glorious.. certainly ready for adventure travel...of course there is mossproofs bike...God I love that bike!

 (yes...I have spare time on my hands!!)

-- Edited by RodYorkttr on Friday 18th of August 2017 12:18:41 AM

For that price Rod I would expect something looking more like this for a Raid:

 

Or like this for a similarly priced OE:

 

Sri Lanka 

iantomich wrote:

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Nice, there are a few in India, a little closer, you could drive it home lol

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 Ian- you have obviously researched locations of Raids!..I haven't been able to find any except in Japan...none really in Europe, except Greece- is there a list of countries the TTR OE & Raid were exported to?...I know the "Bluey" is more internationally recognised.

South Africa use to have a supply of older bikes for us tinkerers. Sadly no more. All now are classics, vintage, collectable etc. If you have a stock std low mileage bike that would be desirable to a person who craved one in their penniless youth and am now wanting to relive that moment - ca-ching £$£$£$

Cost of ownership when buying second hand - especially older discontinued bikes - makes them very expensive in the long run.

On the other hand, Euro 4 has killed the thumper in South Africa, I am planning to enjoy this bike for a long while yet.

Hi Rod

Just a pointer to say that the heavy steel swingarm on the Raid is easily upgraded to the lighter aluminium version of the OE - and, for the conversion, all that is needed extra to the swingarm is a longer rear axle.

There is the added advantage that you escape the unsightly rust that inevitably disfigures the steel Raid swingarm 

Fully rebuilt aluminium swingarms here https://totallyttrs.com/epages/699105d9-e4cc-4b32-b236-84e72cd67f84.sf/en_GB/?ObjectID=1655063&ViewAction=FacetedSearchProducts&SearchString=swing+arm

Brian

iantomich wrote:

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i had just put in ttr250 raid parts worldwide on google and went through the lists,anything in the way of tanks and panels and rear mudguard in white are like hens teeth,but they do crop up,just a matter of waiting till they do,enjoyed your travels on youtube by the way

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 Yes..parts do crop up- a friend visits Philippines regularly and can get parts from a bike shop there.  He aslo said that Raid plastics etc can be found.  I thought I had a complete set from China, but alas, when I bidded, I got a message saying they had been sold.

Id really like some plastics for a OE- so if anyone has some..God (and I) would smile down upon you!

Thanks for the comment about the films- the last one "theDesert****s" is far superior to the "3 eyes,2 bikes and 1 passport" in terms of filming, location and characters- it took 07 months to edit - the first 12 episodes are located on www.shaw2shore.co.uk , while the trailer is here https://shaw2shore.co.uk/video-gallery/#bwg2/4

I'm planning a trip 2018(subject to an impending operation)- guess what bikes i'm intending to take?

Regards

Rod

 

p.s the sensor on this forum is quite keen..you will have to imagine what the film title is called, but its a play on The Desert Rats..only featuring fools!

 

 

-- Edited by RodYorkttr on Tuesday 3rd of October 2017 09:49:04 AM

-- Edited by RodYorkttr on Tuesday 3rd of October 2017 09:50:37 AM

Anyone on here buy this one from EvilBay?  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-ttr250/172978421738?_trksid=p2485497.m4902.l9144

No, at the moment its partially dismantled as i was going to get the frame powder coated and fit a fresh set of rings on it!

It has been for sale with that dealer for ages to expensive for most folks me thinks

The best raid you would ever find???

JDM Japanese Domestic Market.
Quite a lot of money for a 20+ year old bike, although it appears in good condition. Are they collectors items yet? I don't think so. These guys bring containerloads of old Japanese bikes in. They seem to pick some nice ones, but I think they're trying to create their own market in grey imports.
Ebay does allow things to reach an appropriate value, one way or another. This bike's been around for a while which suggests to me they're asking too much.

I reckon it should realistically be hanging round the £2k region tops.

It's got the slightly rarer Raid colour scheme and gold rims, but apart from that doesn't have a kick start, no oil cooler, no raid sump guard... hasn't even been registered.

I think if I powder coated my frame, my Raid would look better than that one and have better mods..

Moo wrote:

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I reckon it should realistically be hanging round the £2k region tops.

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I agree. For not much more than £2k you can buy a nearly new blue TTR with low miles and perfect bodywork.

While it is easy to accept that it’s a nice example, as already said at that price it is simply competing with too Much other stuff.  I recently sold a mint late model 1500 mile WR250X for 3k and bought a really good tiger 1050 for less Than this TTR.  The low initial price of a TTR250 is a big part of its appeal and the new (pre reg) sales invoice for my TTR in 2006 Was way less than this asking price..

TTR’s may have a slightly different purpose and be good at what they do but a better bike than all others they are not, and Should they really be dust collectors when some are only around 10 years old? I know it’s a raid but that’s not why the dealers have priced this like it is, they have done it because they think someone will be daft enough to pay it.

There seems to be a growing contingent  trying to be investors through bikes rather than enjoy the bikes for what they are and I personally think it is detrimental to the fun of biking.  I used to be able to buy a bike I fancied trying out, use it for a bit and then pass back on for a little less or on a really good day the same.  Now they are more expensive restricting Fun purchases and hampering using them for fear of devaluing and of course they now  take much longer to pass on because of the reduced audience willing to take a punt.