Page 1 of 2

TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 8:09 pm
by Peter Balfour
To start this off here is my winter project. This is a Yamaha TZ250W GP bike I aquired last fall. The bike was in decent shape when I got it and had a lot of nice stuff done to it. The body work was in bad shape plus I have found lots of little details that needed to be updated to keep me happy...I'm a tad anal. Anyhow, here are some images of the bike after fitting the new body work I got from Airtech (nice stuff BTW). Next step will be paint!

Image
Image
Image

Re: TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:26 am
by mike burke
Very nice Peter!! Some day I'll have to learn how to race a two stroke, rob a bank and get out on a real GP bike. Welcome to P4.

Mike

Re: TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 1:29 pm
by Peter Balfour
Thanks Mike. P4 will be an interesting transition and I'm pretty sure I will be firmly getting my a$$ kicked but I'm looking forward to it. I always wanted a real GP bike, it is a different world from a bike you take off the street and try to make a race bike out of. Its very interesting to work on one of these babies, you get to see the solutions the factories come up with for the same problems we face when building a bike. Can't wait for to get her on the track! I'm still racing the P1 BSA though, I have really enjoyed P1500 and have no plans of getting away from playing with the older stuff.

Peter

Re: TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 10:48 pm
by Ron Hanley
Nice bike Peter. Always thought I would like to try a GP bike, the real deal. Just noticing the distance between the seat and the foot pegs. For some of us older more rounder riders, this could cause a little strain on the knees.

Re: TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 8:34 am
by Peter Balfour
You're right...it is a bit of a tight fit, I can barely get my legs over the seat :shock: . Once on the bike though I did not find it all that bad since you are moving around on the little thing a lot. It is a blast to ride though and it does everything well. The only problem is it shows the real problem with crappy laps...the rider :D . Should be fun this year!

Peter

Re: TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 3:54 pm
by The Flying Fossil
Hey Ron, I'm one of those older, rounder riders (6'2", 210 lbs) and indeed it's a tight wind to fit - I've had to pull off twice in 20 years due to cramps - but the effort is worth it!

Peter - I look forward to seeing your face after your first ride - I hope your face doesn't fall in half from the size of the grin!

Les.

Re: TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 4:59 pm
by cha0s#242
Sweet ride ! What are you planning to do for a paintjob ?

Re: TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 6:26 pm
by mixstup
Always humbly willing to pilot interesting GP projects and lavishly appointed street/race bikes.Email me anytime!

mick

Re: TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 8:58 pm
by Peter Balfour
I'm thinking of painting the bike to look like the original with the optional sticker package Yamaha had available in '89.

Image

Re: TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 9:00 pm
by thelittleguy
Hey Peter
Dont worry about the cramped style of a real race bike.After a few laps your nuts will figure out where to go , its the dismount and the first few steps afterwards that yer fellas get a little dangled. Thats why les , myself and other GP phobes sit down for a bit after a track session with the TZs , cus we lost the fellas and we just wait for them to come back
AWSOME
Steve

Re: TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 8:17 am
by Martin426
That thing is saweeet Peter! Quite inspiring...

Scott

Re: TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 9:10 am
by GaryMulcahey
Nice TZ Peter. Are you coming out to race with the 250's in the RACE series or just sticking to the VRRA?
We could use more 250s on the grid. Hope to see you and yours out there.

G

Re: TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 1:33 pm
by johnG#248
She's a beauty Peter, but remember don't spend too much $$ on the paint :mrgreen: Keep the cash for the rubber !

Re: TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 2:39 pm
by Motoshire747
I love it! What's your address again? :lol:

Re: TZ250W Project

PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 12:25 pm
by Peter Balfour
I got the graphics in the mail last week and laid them out on the bike to see if they got the sizing right. Should look OK. Don't worry John I'm not doing anything like putting clear over the graphics, easier to repair that way :D .

Image

Peter