Pinky: 1992 Yamaha TY250R Trials
As with golf, racking up points in a trials ride is a bad thing. No points, good. Points, bad. Having an interesting motorcycle doesn’t hurt either, and this 1992 Yamaha TY250R trials bike is listed here on eBay in impossibly beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The seller has an opening bid price set for $6,000 and nobody has clicked on it yet. Thanks to John D. for sending in this tip!
Trials riding is hard enough without the mental strain of trying to go as slow as you can without touching the ground. The longer you can go without touching the ground the fewer points you have. It’s one of those less-is-more situations. Yamaha made trials motorcycles in seven engine sizes: 50, 80, 125, 175, 200, 250, and 350. The TY part is easy, T = trials and Y = Yamaha. The seller says that this one has 108 miles on it, those are very low miles, even for a trials bike.
If there’s a more 1990s color scheme, I can’t think of it. This model is known as a Pinky for obvious reasons. The seller says that it was bought in Canada and imported to the US as they weren’t available here, at least for this year. I thought the Pinky version was from 1991, but apparently, the Pinky model was made in 1992 and was the last hurrah for this model. You can see that even with low miles, this one isn’t perfect. Some of the graphics are worn off and/or bubbling. Fear not, the seller is including a set of NOS decals for the rear fender and tank!
Keep your hands on the grips and your feet on the pegs. Yamaha jumped into the trials market in 1968 and by the early-1970s, they were producing specific motorcycles for trials riding. They’re made for non-speed obstacle course riding with the rider typically standing on the foot pegs the entire time. Some versions don’t have seats and I’m surprised to see a speedometer on this one, and a taillight, as they aren’t street-legal.
The engine in this version is Yamaha’s 246-cc single-cylinder with around 16 horsepower, and it should have a slightly increased flywheel mass for inertia, in order to be able to really lug the engine down and keep your balance on those one-mph rides. Well, typically under five mph. It starts, stops, runs, and rides as it should and for anyone looking at getting into trials riding with a super rare and eye-catching bike, this is it. Are any of you trials riders?
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Comments
You know, I woke up this morning( or was it last night?) and said to myself, “I’m not going to make a fool of myself on BFs ANYMORE! What always irks me to no end, is others here post lengthy comments, yet mine are always scrutinized. So I thought, okay, no more comments( but keep the membership for the site),,,then good ol’ SG, slaps me in the face with this.
I actually had a TY250, not sure the year, a mid 70s, the yellow one, as they don’t come with a title. Gol dang, I’ve had a lot of motorcycles, but that TY was the absolute MOST fun bike I had for off road. My daughter as a little kid, rode in front of me on the tank. Taught her a thing or 2( dads, DON’T forget the daughters!!) I could sure use it now for some of the rock climbing here the Jeep can’t do. Couple things to add to SGs excellent writeup. The speedo is for, many times in a trials event, directions are given like “turn right 2.1 miles”, or something, and a head/tail light are needed as some runs go into the night. Trial,,not “TRAIL”, riding, kind of a mix of MX and Hare Scrambles, is slow going over rough terrain, like logs, boulders, junk Mustangs in the forest,, it’s really intense. The gearing is for off road, like 1,2,3, real close, then 4th and 5th, like a “road gear” on a tractor. There are sections where you can sit down, but not for long. Again, I don’t think I paid more than a couple hundred bucks, fun per dollar, off the charts, but I’d balk at this much due to it’s limited use. Thanks and hope I didn’t upset too many folks, like many,,been pretty frustrated lately. Old Colorado she hain’t what she used to be,,
And another thing( 2 comments on an “EA”, I don’t have to log back in), I just want to say, again, despite my demeanor, you roving, non-member, “one line wonders” that happenstance upon the site, with no real addition to the vehicle,,,get lost.( what, did you think this was going to be a sunshine and smiles post?) The writers work too hard to present this to us, and the staff can’t “babysit” the site 24 hours, so some of your dumb comments make it through. Peace, and consider becoming a member.
Thanks for the great additional info on the speedometer and why they sometimes have headlights, Howard! And, this site and the old vehicle hobby, in general, isn’t just for guys – thanks for mentioning that, too.
Howard….don’t sweat it !…I know your close to the same age as me, going on 70, I lost track along time ago how many times I’ve made a fool of myself, in fact I can still recall times in high school when now I think ” you dumb F***, why did you say that “? But anyhow, I had a XT 250 Yamaha ( 4 stroke ) that of all the bikes I’ve owned was definitely the absolute most fun ever, putt around in the woods without getting beat up or strap a fish pole to your backpack an head out down the road to explore new fishing spots….just fun to ride…..And I think if I remember correctly, 70 or 80 mpg….couldn’t beat it….
I look forward to your nonsensical comments every day!
See? Has absolutely NOTHING to do with the post. I swear, some put more effort into the emoticons, than any useful information on the post itself. In a defense mode, that I shouldn’t have to pay for, my posts resemble some sort of fact. The fact you say “nonsensical”, tells me, you and your 7 lackeys have no real interest, just heck bent on making someone upset,,,,,,
sigh,,I DID want to say one more thing ABOUT the bike itself. My only complaint,,before I got so sidetracked there, was the 2 stroke didn’t have the low end grunt for slow riding, like over logs, and such. I rode with a guy that had a Honda 4 stroke, and did much better. The short wheelbase and the lightness, no battery, or accessories, make it ideal backwoods machine.
And I am out of here,( for the 8th and final time)
True Story: I clicked to read the comments about this li’l moto before I read the review to see what Howard is saying about it. It isn’t the first time – and Lo & Behold!
I always learn something in the write ups – it’s why I come here. The the discussion in the comments section quite often adds to the article – Bob In Tn, Alphasud, Howard A, and many others – cast the perspective of experience upon many of the machines I’m old enough to remember, but too young to have driven. And I often get a chuckle.
Keep on making those posts!
Monoshock TY250s are fab. Such a step on from the twin-shock models.
Then again, the increased capability gets you into so much more trouble…!
Nice bike. I also used to own the yellow version of this. I was thinking he was way high on his price as I saw a used one of these recently for 2500 OBO. But I do not understand why a rusted out Mopar is 30k either. Good luck with the sale,
And you never will
My two favorite motorcycle competitions are: English Trials and Speedway Racing. Two completely different fields but I love to watch them. I am amazed by the slow maneuvering of the Trials comps and then the hell bent for leather dash that those idiots make with those flimsy bikes with huge engines. The others are fine too but these always catch my attention.
I took the boys to a monster truck show a few years back and one of the drivers was also a skilled Trials rider. He rode out on a Bultaco Sherpa-T and stopped beside the MC. Throughout the chat (a good 3 min.) he never took his feet off the pegs, he just sat there, engine idling and balanced it; drove the MC crazy. I think the Trials show was as much fun as the monster show itself…
Pinky Tuscandero
I knew it as a Trials bike as soon as I saw it. We had one guy in the hood with a Trials bike. I got to ride it up a hill. It is like taking your bike setting the front tire up on the wall and riding it as close to straight up as you can without falling off as slow as you can. LOL. You need mad skills to be any good it it. At the time I was still learning how to ride my Suzuki TS-125 dreaming of one day owning a RM-250 or a Yamaha Trials Bike. I used to love to watch Motorcycle racing of any type on TV. But the Trials racing was the one that had me on the edge of my seat. Watching them rooster tails on the hill climbs. Great fun.