"Short Wheelbase DS Bikes"

Seems as though DW is looking for a longer haul dual purpose/tourer for the missus... something like the F650 would be perfect (even the suzuki Freewind could be worth a look?) given that the mix will be 75% asphalt and 25% gravel ROADS.

Not a dual sport "offroader" as RJF and I were on about... but to follow on the train of thought I was following... Here's a couple of pic's of what in my estimation is a perfect 250cc off road/adventure tourer...

The Yam TTR 250 Raid... elstart, larger tank (side tanks also available) good luggage rack, excellent headlight/windscreen/protector, hand guards etc.

Just whack a wooly seat cover on it (seat height 855mm) and your away...! The stock gearing is good for a relatively easy transport top speed of 120 clicks (without ringing its neck)... just the ticket for a fem fatale who's starting out to find the pleasures of adventure trail riding...

I'm on the hunt for one of these for my Malin...

Hijack alert...

Hey Troy....any info on those side tanks? are they readily available?

Funny thing that... Fuddy but merely mentioning the words "auxilliary" and /or "side fuel tanks" in the same sentence around here, usually creates an information feeding frenzy (regardless of motorcycle make/model involved) that is reminiscent of dinner time at the Pirahna pond!! It's a bit like putting a "free beer for K1W1's today" sign - outside the Coogee bay hotel! Overswamped with potential customers from the word go!

As far as the availability of these tanks go... I know that in the late 90's a lot of Jappy pilots used this bike for both the Oz Safari and even some other European/African rallye events. (That's where I first got the idea of finding one of these bikes as a potential mount for Malin... ie: short jockey syndrome ). Some of these bikes had really neat side tanks made in Aluminium (as you can see the standard plastic sideplates are moulded in the form of a tank) with the filler either side of the rear fender... a la' early LC4 rallye (like Pezz's 640).

I think that Yamaha Japan actually released a rare (even more) limited version of the limited version TTR 250 Raid - that had these side tanks and a close mounted front fender... that was designated the TTR 250 "Safari" (IIRC??). So these tanks could possibly be sourced out of Japan...?

For those ingenious AdvRider fabricators amongst us... it would'nt (should'nt?) be too difficult to use the original "Raid" side plates as a model and - either cut a template and weld some up in alloy... OR - flop a mould off them and do some in fibreglass/resin? I saw somewhere around here that there was a (US?) guy who'd made some nice side tanks at home for his 950 Adventure using such a method...???

But if you're like me (lazy in the shed fabrication department)... I'd go for a "store bought" option if it was available!

Troy...thanks for that. Have got the bum tank on mine at the moment. But would be nice to carry the fuel lower, and out of the way so I can throw gear across the back. Had just never seen the side tanks on the TTR's before.

Just wondering what the wheelbase of a bike has to do with seat height? Wheelbase is measured from the centre of the front axle to the centre of the rear axle and a high or low seat could be fitted to a bike with a long or short wheelbase.

David hunn