Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127990
1999 Yamaha TTR250 and TTR225 (Left) By adding an electric start to the allnew TTR250, Yamaha perhaps reduced the bike's effectiveness as a serious off·road race bike but certainly Increased Its desirability as a competent playbike. (Below) The TTR225 also features an electric start. By Kit Palmer P 20 lay-riding. It's probably what got you hooked on motorcycles in the first place. No matter what your specialty is now • road racing, hare and hound, enduros or motocross ~ play-riding most likely got it all started. And it's still something we all try to do as often as we can. For some, it's all they do. When it gets down to it, play-riding in the hills with family and friends is still one of the be t forms of stressfree motorcycle riding there is. At least that's my opinion, but I bet it's yours, too. . Yet, it seems somewhat ironic to me that even though play-riding is such a big part of our lives, the manufacturers often ignore this popular segmen t of motorcycling. Instead, they concentrate on building motorcycles with other specific purposes in mind, such as motocross, enduros, hare and hounds, trials and dual-sporting. Sure, when these bikes are through serving their original purpose, they usually wind up on the used-bike market and they do make decent fun bikes, but what if you don't want to take the risk of buying somebody else's problel,TIs? What if you want a brand-new bike designed specifically for play-riding? Well, here's where the new Yamaha ITR225 and ITR250 come in - two bikes designed with nothing but the play rider in mind. Finally! Predicting a new trend in the playriding market, Yamaha is now armed and ready for the occasion with two bikes that are aimed at just this ~ype of rider: the rider who is looking for something reliable, a bike that handles well, produces sufficient power and, perhaps above all else, starts easily. In reality, there a.re already a few showroom-ready, adult-worthy play bikes out there. A few that come to mind are Honda's XR250, Suzuki's DR350 and Kawasaki's KLX300, but all of these bikes were originally designed as full-on competition bikes, which explains why none of these bikes are fitted with a battery to power a heavy electric starting system, a la the ITRs. The fact that Yamaha chose to put an electric start on the TTR250 tells you that racing wasn't as high a priority as was producing a trail-friendly play bike. Yes, it's true that there are other "offroad" bikes out there with electric starting systems, but all of them are streetlegal, dual-sport-type bikes. The ITR225 and 250 are two of only a handful of bikes ever intended for dirt use only that feature electric starting systems. The basic overall designs of the TTR225 and 250 are similar to each other, as they both are powered by single-cylinder, air-cooled motors and feature single-shock, linkage-type rear sus- pensions, conventional forks, lights, and plastic fuel tanks. But the 250 gets the good stuff, such as long-travel suspension, cartridge forks, a reservoir shock, front and rear YZ-type disc brakes, hand guards, dual overhead cams, and just an overall more performance-minded motor. In fact, riding one in a local enduro, hare scrambles or hare and hound wouldn't be totally out of the question. . Another big difference is the carburetor. Yamaha felt it was important for the ITR250 to carburet well, so it got a street-bike-type Teikei carburetor that uses an acceleratorpurnp. The TTR225, on the other hand, is designed more with the entry-level rider in mind, with its low 33.7-inch seat heat, reduced wheel travel, smaller engine displacement and, of course, an electric starting system. Since fewer demands will be asked of this bike, the 225 has