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

DTRAL · Member

New-To-Me '01 in Indiana

mossproof · Super Guru

Probably doesn't need much farkling! Just get it running right and use it.
Welcome to the forum!

TTRfan · Super Guru

A nice project!

Welcome to the forum

Brian

DTRAL · Member

mossproof wrote:
Probably doesn't need much farkling! Just get it running right and use it.
Welcome to the forum!

No, not really to much at all. I could maybe see a tall removable wind screen and heated grips as a way to keep me riding later into Fall. It might get an additional taillight strip since I anticipate being in suburban traffic a lot and I'd like to try to be visible to all the Karen's in the Yukon XL's.

Other than that, I think I like that it's pretty basic. Less stuff to go bad on me.

PlumasDude · Senior Member

Congrats, best trail bike ever. With that exhaust the former owner may have also opened the airbox (which I think is good) and rejetted (which I'm not convinced really works). When you open the carb check the jet sizes, maybe replace them rather than clean them (pretty cheap). If you have any trouble with carb performance think about going back to new stock jets (137/50, standard jets not Mikuni), adjust the needle, and experiment with bigger jets from there if you want. After many hours fooling with the carb I've ended up back at stock, with a needle adjustment, even with the open box and aftermarket exhaust.

In general the bike is set up really well for trail riding, at least for humans of a certain size. It was a good full size learner bike for my kids. I'll bet yours will beat up that exhaust a bit :). I'd like to see about improving the front end if I had time.

Be sure to check out totallyttrs.com, great stuff there, worth the shipping just to trade with the TTR gurus. Love their skidplate and brake guard.

Jeff B · Veteran Member

Congrats! Great to see these highly underrated bikes getting the TLC they deserve. The Honda XR250 got all the glory. I own 3 of these and do not plan on selling them any time soon. I've put about 2000 miles of woods and dirt miles on my dedicated off-road bike. Its a 1999 model. It was in sad shape when I bought it 4 years ago for $700. I rebuilt the carb (used JB weld to fix the broken float post), rebuilt front & rear shocks, replaced the piston rings, decarboned (cleaned) the head/valves and replaced valve seals, rebuilt front & rear brake calipers and master cylinders, head-carb intake boot, chain, chain guides, clutch plates/springs (not needed but I wanted stiffer clutch), tubes/tires, wheel bearings, seat cover, fuel pet****, and battery.

Yes, it was alot of work, but the bike has been 100% reliable since. All I've done since the rebuild are oil changes every 200 miles, clean air filer, and ethanol-free gas. I ride it at least 2-3 times every week from March thru November. It still starts immediately and does not smoke at all. These bikes will run forever with minimal maintenance.

Now to jetting... Japanese bikes in the USA are notoriously lean due to emissions laws. For offroad, I have standardized on 52/140 Takei jets from Jet-R-Us. They work great for stock or slightly modified exhaust setups at my altitude (300ft. above sea level). I have an FMF exhaust with a DB killer. I did not modify the airbox because I occasionally go through some fairly deep water crossings.

Since you are in the states, Rocky Mountain ATV, Partzilla, Dennis Kirk, EBay, and Motosport,com should have all you need. Spending the time and money now will reward you for years to come!

DTRAL · Member

Thanks for the welcome and the guidance. I am already getting very familiar w/ PartZilla... the carb clean & rebuild went great, but it still dumps gas from the very bottom. My culprit is clearly the accel pump diaphragm and associated o-rings, so I have those on order.

I learned during the disassembly that the tank strap had been replaced with a piece of wire, so that is on order as well.

Previous owner was running the airbox w/ no air filter, so that will have to be addressed.

I'm going to be looking for threads with info on the rear brake switch. If I pull the bulb and learn that it isn't burned out, I'll have to troubleshoot the connections and switch.

Thanks again!