A duo of TTR's looking to get lost, or die trying...

[katana]

A couple of months back, I did a precautionary strip down of my WR450.  This ended up going down to the frame, which left me bike less - light bike at least.  Thanks to my good bud Kawaki, I got turned on to the Yamaha TTR250.  Kawaki did the homework and was so hyped about getting a TTR, I grabbed the opportunity to buy a fellow dog's bike when I spotted it on Gumtree.  I knew that the bike had been pampered more than a widows poodle and loved twice as much.

Pics:
A mint 2006.
My new addition, with the WR frame - freshly powder coated - peeking from behind the TTR.

 

[katana]

My mission with this little bike is to do a west coast trip once I have fuel worked out and a quiet moment with work, with some money saved up.  In the mean time I have taken it on a couple of rides with the Quarriors in the Parklands area.  I have been super amazed by this bike's suspension in particular. 

Myself and Kawaki finally managed to set a date aside for a nice longish ride on the two TTR's.  Kawaki did the route and it was a real early Christmas present  :ricky: :ricky:

We covered +/-230kms for the day.  Some tar, but about 70% gravel and real jeep tracks.  Overall consumption was 21kms/l.  This included 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear technical for long sections.

A basic route plan could have been:  See interesting path - follow it. 

Pics:
Meeting at the Barrel BMX track.
Halfway to Stellies - the river route 
Dead end with a twist - wet grass and slick stumps
Snack time at the dam
Break at the leaking dam wall
Looking for a shortcut out

 

[katana]

Next up was a mission to go conquer one of my bucket list places to ride - Kawaki had already planned on swinging past here.  The 'here' might not have been strictly speaking legal though...  The well prepared leader even had coffee up his sleeve.  This guy is seriously well organized.

After the coffee stop, we ran out of road...  We were forced to scout a route forward, as we had ridden some serious rocks to get to the wash out, on a very bad slope.  This was the most fun I have ever had with a bike.  Bring on Van Zyl's pass, no worries.

Pics:
Coffee stop
Still chillin'
Explaining or spanking... you decide
First sign
Yup, road is gone...

 

[katana]

More pics:
Following in Kawaki's path - just in case we have to carry one bike up
Should have ridden down
No more road - off road only
Some more scouting

 

[Crossed-up]

Hectic stuff!  Looks fantastic.

 

[katana]

The last track was a real gem.  Riding in the mountains, it feels like you could be in another country.  This is what it must be like for our American brethren with their forestry tracks.  Awesome.  Just awesome.  We had another coffee break and some lunch.  We rode until the track petered out and turned around.  We finally got caught in the rain on our way to Theewater dam for a ride in the dam.  We decided to head back and unfortunately had to do some traffic up to Klapmuts on the tar.  From there we could ride gravel again.  It is amazing how kak 90km/h feels on tar, yet when you transition to dirt it is all smiles. 

I was shown the play areas available to the northern guys too.  It matches everything we have in Parklands.

The TTR is a keeper.  It is light, capable and fun.  Hopefully next time I do a report it will be a proper trip, without the need to be vague about the route  ot:

All the playing was done in and around areas I have seen before, yet I never tried exploring the routes to see where they go.  With a GS this would be risky.  With a nimble little bike, less so.

Pics:
Nowhere
The road to nowhere
Coffee stop
Heaven
The picnic spot

 

[KarooKid]

Awesome Lucas

I think you are on the right track - no pun intended.

Small capacity bikes to tour with will be a thing in future. Would love to explore with you guys next time.

 

[Odd Dog]

:thumleft: I had one for a few years and am now sorry I sold it, very capable and reliable.

 

[Piston Pete]

Some knarly tracks! 

 

[Chrisl]

Lyk of daai Kawaki man n rookdingetjie rol elke keer as julle stop :thumleft:

 

[katana]

Lyk of daai Kawaki man n rookdingetjie rol elke keer as julle stop :thumleft:

Nee Chris, daai is ek.    Darem nie lag twak nie.

 

[Chrisl]

Lyk of daai Kawaki man n rookdingetjie rol elke keer as julle stop :thumleft:

Nee Chris, daai is ek.    Darem nie lag twak nie.

Sien jy sit daai wit filtertjies ook in!! :thumleft:
Watse giffies? DRUM? :drif:

 

[katana]

Jinne Chris, jou oë is skerp.  Filters met Colts Natural.

 

[Chrisl]

Jinne Chris, jou oë is skerp.  Filters met Colts Natural.

Wens ek kon n geleentheids roker wees. Die wêreld is net n beter plek as jy langs n kameeldoring vuur sit en jy maak self n rokie. :driftwaalf jaar gelede opgehou laas maand want my longe het te veel gefluit) :eek7:

 

[blauth]

It looks like an awesome ride. Those TTR's are awesome bikes. So practical yet great off-road. They are very difficult to find though.

Thanks for posting....time to do a long trip now.

 

[Dux]

Looks good  :thumleft:  , especially those rocky bits  :thumleft: :thumleft:

 

[walkaboutboertjie]

What a lekker ride, thanks for sharing - albeit having to be vague.    >
Had to mission to Botrivier on Saturday, took the opportunity to look for some "off-the-road" moments. 

 

 

[georgstals]

Well done guys, awesome ride report and seriously looks like a fun day was had


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Kawaki]

Thanks Lucas for taking the time to post this. Looking at those pics just makes me want to plan another one  :biggrin:

I must agree the more i ride this bike especially in that type of terrain, the more I get attached to it.  :ricky:

To be continued....

Kawaki out.

 

[Dogmatix]

I want an invite next time! Surely the XLR250 will be able to keep up with some Yammies!