just bought a Raid to replace my Suzuki DR Big. It will become my commuter bike which I use daily to commute to the office and to rush around to various sotes I work on around london.
Due to the new ULEZ (ultra low emissions zone) in central london which is due to expand to the north and south circular in April 2021 I have down sized my suzuki dr big 750 To a TTR250 Raid. I will get the bike emissions tested and a certificate of conformity which will allow me to remove the ttr in central. The other option is to buy a 2007 or newer bike, but that’s no fun.
Thought I would start this thread as I have quite a few bits to do to the bike to get it back on the road. I have also bought a few parts from China and they might come in handy to others on the forum.
To kick off - a few pics of the Raid as I bought it off Steve at Totally TTR’s. Unlike most bikes he sells this one was not prepared by him, he simply bought it and passed it straight to me - so the things I need to fix on it were mostly known to me prior to buying the bike.
I will post my progress as I go - hope it’s of interest!
Thanks Martyn, For my sins i have a KTM 250 exc-f (with 280 big bore) which I use for green laning and Hare + Hound events. The idea is that the TTR will stand in for some light green laning if/when the KTM is being fixed :)
Few updates, I have stripped off the Starter relay as this was smoking when the starter was cranking which didn't seem ideal... so i will clean the rust and crud off it and run some tests/replace if required.
I have also replaced all the Dzus fasteners on the side panels as some were missing and I prefer the type with the hoop on them for tool free use. When leaving the bike locked up i will use a rain cover so thought the tool box behind the LHS panel will be an idea storage spot for one, hence tool free access is preferable.
Also been doing some work on the front brake - the Brake hose was far too long and I had a spare braided hose for my DR750 I bought from Hell which was too short so they replaced it and didn't ask for the old one back. Offered it up and its a perfect fit! Ive also bypassed the brake switch which was faulty and added a pressure switch instead which i have always found much more reliable.
The screen i ordered from China also arrived incredibly quickly - Ordered on the 17th October and turned up on the 29th. 17 USD delivered and it fits perfectly. My headlight surround doesnt have the mounts for it so I have improvised with some stainless P-clips. 25mm are a bit tight so have 4 28mm clips on order.
Also on-going is the exhaust. I noticed the Airbox has been opened up and the snorkel removed, so i am keen to get a more free flowing exhaust fitted, and rejet to suit.. The existing one has been badly repaired too both the link pipe and the rear mount. I found a second hand unit on ebay which looked roughly right for the job, but had next to no information on it. I took a punt and got it for £30. It arrived this morning and remarkably fits almost perfectly. Also turns out its a genuine yoshimura system, just no idea what its off! Just need to weld on a hanger tab to the frame, and get a short section of pipe swaged to marry the header diameter to the exhaust.
Over the weekend I stripped the rear subframe to weld up the grab handle brackets which were all cracked. Shouldn't have been so hasty with the priming and respray as now i need to dress a section back for the exhaust hanger.. Hey ho!
A weekend well spent!
Hope the tyre clears the exhaust ok. Don't recognize the shape. Any numbers stamped on it?
I expect the brake hose was a long one in preparation for some high rise bars. Check the new one is ok on full fork extension - like for when you're wheelieing across Tower Bridge
That screen looks great. Sometimes Chinese stuff is worth the gamble.
Luckily the exhaust clears the rear tyre throught the full travel, and it’s got quite a big michelin AC10 on at the moment. Got a set of TKC80’s to go on which should be better on the streets of london, but also permit a spot of trail riding too.
for sure the brake hose could have done with being 60mm longer, but the picture is taken with the bike on a sump stand so should be alright for those wheelies ;) - only done that once, but it was over Blackfriars bridge. Defiantly wasn’t worth the three points and £60 fine
