Yamaha TTR 250
 

Hi All :scooter:
Eight months into our RTW I'm back to the which bike debate. My F650GS is just a tad too heavy for me so I decided to sell it and get a lighter bike. The GS is great in many ways: hight, comfort..... But I am short and off road, this bike has proven a little heavy to have confidence and fun.

Now in India on a little Indian 220cc toss-around, my suspicions that I'd be having even more fun on a lighter bike, have been confirmed. I CAN ride on the GS, but I'm having twice as much fun on this 120kg bike!

So, a 100-120 kg GS or similar would be great, but I don't know of one (if you do, shout!).

I've been eyeing up the Yamaha TTR 250 (I particularly liked a 1993 model I've seen). Completely new to these bikes, I have a few questions:
- have there bikes changed much over the years, i.e. in seat hight, electronic complexity, carb vs electronic start, weight
- are spare parts (especially for the older models) widely availlable
- what modifications should I think about to get it travel ready (e.g. stronger suspension, frame reinforcement to carry luggage, front suspension, anything prone to break on these ones?

Any advice would be much appreciated!:helpsmilie: Thanks!bier

Bad luck with the F650, they are usually pretty reliable. I am also a convert to smaller bikes and think the TTR250 would be a good choice, the only thing you might want to think about is a bigger petrol tank, I have no idea what size they have or what is available but as you will know a 200 miles range is useful. The only mods would be a bash plate if they don't have one and you will need to fit some luggage, perhaps the F650 set could be modified to suit? Apart for that it is down to condition.

The TTR250 is a superb bike with excellent reliability and a very loyal following. www.ttr250.com has a very active and helpful forum and there's a link to a FAQs page there too. Models remained essentially unchanged apart from colours, tank shape, and later models had a kick start as well as electric. For heavier luggage a rack would be a good idea with supports down to the passenger footrests to spread the load.
Most parts are readily available, try www.totallyttrs.com
There are a couple of rtw ttr250 owners on here - I'm sure one will be along soon...
Ride safe,
Simon.

Thanks, that's some really good links!!!

Does anyone have any experience with getting spares round the world?

I never used to think it would be a problem, as we have all the time in the world. But with our GS we've had to have things sent out to us from UK, so we ended up waiting 3 weeks outside the post office. Normally I wouldn't mind, get to know the locals and all that.... But when you are 25 days into a 30-day visa, no extension possible, you end up seeing the rest of the country from the back of a lorry that's trying to race you to the border in time. Which isn't quite how I envisaged my RTW...

So in short, I'd like to take a bike for which almost all things are available in most countries across the world. Or which are so simple, most things can be bodged ;)

How does the TTR do in that respect?

The trouble is the world bike market differs between continents, so not everywhere will have the TTR250 for sale. As bikes go they are fairly widely used and available in Australia and Asia, but in North America we only get the TTR230 (which is not street legal) XT250 and WR250R, theres a few grey import TTR250's around, but not enough for anyone to stock dedicated parts. So do a bit more research and figure out which model Yamaha has the best support in the area you are heading to.


I had a 93 Raid model TTR250 with a 17 litre metal tank, at the time you could buy an Acerbis 22 litre tank for the TTR250, might still be able to pick them up. I thrashed the crap out of it and sold it with 75,000 kms with no major problems at all, great bikes.

TTR 250s are quite tall. The Serow 225 is much lower.

Intend to use lowering links :)