It's on it's way from the west coast of Canada to me as we speak, as silly as it sounds it's a dream come true. I'm giddy with anticipation.
Thanks. It a '89 Yamaha TDR 250. Parallel twin 2-stroke from a contemporary TZR, never imported into US, only imported into Canada '88-'90 and other parts of the world up to '93, by all accounts as rare as hen's teeth even in Canada. Ever since I discovered these I've wanted one but was resigned to the fact that it'd probably never happen because of their rarity (I would guess less than a dozen in the states). Well one popped up for sale and I was in the right place at the right time...I'm stoked!
Not to worry, once the bike is in my possession I will take some more pics and a video. That pic is one the seller sent me, that is the bike that I legally own however. I have the bill of sale and importation papers to prove it. I was just too excited to wait till it arrived to tell people. Should be at my doorstep in two weeks! The agony!
Here are some specs ... The last street 2t bike I remember seeing in the states was a ~73 yamaha 250 twin cylinder bike ... It was fast to say the least ... No mention of it below, but it's got to have a working oil pump I'd guess... Not sure on the CARB fuel delivery either ... -- General informationModel: Yamaha TDR 250 Year: 1989 Category: Super motard Rating: 71 out of 100. Engine and transmissionDisplacement: 250.00 ccm (15.26 cubic inches) Engine type: Twin, two-stroke Power: 50.00 HP (36.5 kW)) @ 10000 RPM Top speed: 161.0 km/h (100.0 mph) Compression: 5.9:1 Bore x stroke: 56.4 x 50.0 mm (2.2 x 2.0 inches) Fuel control: Membrane & power valve Cooling system: Liquid Gearbox: 6-speed Transmission type, final drive: Chain Chassis, suspension, brakes and wheelsFront tyre: 100/90-18 Rear tyre: 120/80-17 Front brakes: Single disc Rear brakes: Single disc Physical measures and capacitiesWeight incl. oil, gas, etc: 153.0 kg (337.3 pounds) Fuel capacity: 14.00 litres (3.70 gallons)
It has a kick-starter and 6speeds .. You gotta kick it over from time to time, just to be honorable to the bike and its' creators ... Lots of web-words on this bike ... It looks like an early early DS bike to me ...Before DS was invented ... Maybe it is that pipe(s) or from my early days of riding, but that bike screams yamaha to me ... -- No way I'd put knobbies on it .. I'd cruise around on the hardtop and whip every 4t bike I could with my 2t 250 enduro bike ...
From what I was reading off the web, DS and ADV bikes were probably being invented at this time and these are the some of the first bikes aimed at that field ... Yamaha had a 2t 250 racer model, a TZR, and its engine was used in this bike; at the same time, Yamahas' dirt bikes were DTs ... This bike was a cross of them... (The DTs are what I see so many of here .. Never saw this bike here yet) That 850 was a 4t bike and was also a ground-breaker bike for the term 'ADV' a few yrs down the road after this bike... ~25 yrs ago these different riding styles were being hashed out for guys like SP to sell bikes in today ... Here's a pipe for the TDR..
The US got the TDM 850 imported for '92-'93, the TDM 900 continues in production to this day I believe. But as mentioned that was a 4-stroke, very cool bike none the less. The TDR was an anomaly when it debuted. Critics didn't know what to categorize it as which reflected poorly on the bike when it came time to testing, as a result it didn't sell well. It was intended to perform well on both street and trail, the ultimate dual sport if you will, I mean jeez it says it right on the damm thing . As with many bikes that were a bit odd and sold poorly it now garners quite a cult following. Some people go nuts for them, especially in the UK. By many accounts, the most fun bike current and former owners have ridden, it is possible they are biased however. I personally cannot wait to get that thing on pipe and terrorize the neighborhood! As mentioned a super Moto setup is the way to go. It shares a powerplant with the TZR sportbike of the time so parts are plentiful. Kick start only. First on the list for me is to tighten up the suspension with some cartridge emulators, springs, and fluid etc. Then I'll throw some JL chambers on it.
Do you know what induction system is on that bike? Probably the ~most modern stuff as we have today but there were a few different styles back in that era ...YamahaPowerValveSystem ... It must have a ~new thing at the time ... That thing is gonna scream ... Gas mileage might be surprisingly low ... TZR 250 ...
It has an electronically controlled exhaust valve. I believe the ignition is controlled by a combination cdi and 8-bit processor, pretty sure I read that somewhere. I can say I most likely won't be surprised by the poor fuel economy considering my other street bike is a RZ 350 with JL chambers and 420 mains, that gets about 25-30mpg
Now that you mention it, I got a friend here who has a 200cc DT from that era and seems like he said his PV is ELECT also... Is your RZ yellow? You should have a clue already on what that 250 2t 2 cyl is gonna feel like ... Ton written on these bikes also on the web ... I can always read more on Roberts ...
Here she is. Roberts was awesome to watch, really dig all the vintage GP races you can view on YouTube.
Absolute awesome i loved the Yamaha tdr 250 when i was younger and really jealous of my older brother as his bike was brand new at the time. I later went on to own a Yamaha tzr 1 KT was basically the same parallel twin engine in a race rep chassis. Again im really jealous.
I'll raise a glass to that. There was a TZR 1KT at a vintage Japanese bike show/swapmeet (rice-o-rama) I went to this weekend, really cool bikes, so nimble and light looking. Really can't believe I own a TDR myself, def won't sink in until it's delivered to my door.
TDR 250... such a great bike, it makes fun, its fast, and you can go off road (but as parts are easily scratched its not recommend to do so), also its a 2seater... engine is lot newer than the tz350 rd350, its very identical to the single cylinder dt125 tdr125 tzr125 with 56mm bore. My cousin still owns one of these bikes in yellow and blue.
