t-shock 250

Hmmm, i remember Takumi Narita riding one of those TLM 260's in the 1991 world round at Houghton Tower in Lancashire. That bike sounded amazing as he belted it up the huge steps of the last section, seemed to be incredibly smooth without the pop-pop exhaust note of the other bikes yet very strong when given a handful, quite impressive.

Post a pic or PM one to me, i'll tell you the age.

I used a cycle speedo and passed, gas gas used to have them mounted in the tank cover in about '95 if i remember rightly.

Mine are standard, different to yours by the sound of it, they don't mount in a "u" bracket.

Those plastic takeaway cartons really come in handy for putting all your carb bits in!

Maybe the restrictors affect the noise quite a lot, don't know what restrictors were in this one, although the rider did say he regretted buying it, he used the word "*****" in fact.

There was one at our trial today, i was very surprised at how loud it was when the throttle was used, and not a nice 4 stroke sound either, very harsh, bit like an old cub or something without a tail pipe. Personally I would be really surprised if it passed the noise test, it was the only bike you could hear in the woods, i know people have been saying it's no worse than a 270 Beta but i can tell you it bloody well is! It definately carries a LOT further than a 2 stroke and this is where some clubs may start to encounter difficulties with land not situated in the middle of nowhere.

Good fun bikes, but why handicap yourself with a 156cc engine? There's no need.

Recommending underpowered bikes, is this part of your masterplan to dominate the twinshock scene RS?

Makes sense to have a go on someone elses as RS said, if you really don't like it then at least you'll know. You may find that you prefer a 2 stroke even. Then you could do up the reflex, flog it and buy a handy machine ready to go!

Convert it! Ideally you should aim for a 250, but what with gold rush TLR250 fever at it's peak you'll be lucky to get a decent one ( i got offered over

Interestingly, the gearbox and clutch doesn't seem to work as smooth with full synthetic oil, as with semi-synthetic. Also i have heard that Honda CRM 80 or CR 80M clutch plates are also an improvement over standard.

Which area's of the bike do you want to improve?

If you're stuck then it's not muscle that will get you out, it's technique. Trials riding is 95% about the rider, perhaps you're looking at it the wrong way, a bike will only do what you make it do, you have the controls in your hand.

Yes, i didn't actually mean they were cheap, just that there are hundreds of the things around, i totally agree they are silly money now, certainly not worth

Yeah, i reckon there's bloody hundreds of TLR's, Monts, Sherpas & allsorts sitting in old barns & sheds all over the country unused for years. They had to go somewhere when the monoshock era swept them away. It's like buried treasure!

Hey, i'm just saying that the bikes i compared it to, didn't have the same get up & go, they could have been tired or not very well set up,but i'm telling it like it is. With the RTL, possiby most people view an RTL as "too rare/expensive to ride", TLR's are 2 a penny so are very popular and can be ridden in the t/shock class, but an RTL doesn't really have a class for it. Maybe that explains it.

I rode an RS 250 a couple of years back freshly rebuilt, very trick machine, beautiful,but it didn't have any top end go. Certainly a lot less than the TLR 250 sorry if thats not meant to be true but the difference was like night & day, couldn' say any more than that really. Would like to have a test on yours as a comparison, are you going to Bootle round in March?

Bit optimistic there RS. I ride with two blokes on Fantic 300's and they don't put out as much as my TLR250 (although it has modified exhaust) We could really do with a full on test day with all the t/shocks present. That would be cool.

Really it's mostly down to the rider though, and how you adapt to a particular machine, most people are not familiar with four stroke trials bikes, and therefore can't adapt their riding style to make them work properly. No two stroke t/shock will find grip like a TLR, this is why many people see them as the best t/shock around, but they need to be ridden with the right technique to make them work. On the other hand, something like a TY is very easy to ride, and for this reason some people think these are the best bikes, but the trade off is that they lack power. Choose your weapon!

Actually the chassis isn't that light at the front, but the snatchy power delivery of the 250 often makes the front end feel light, this is the reason the 200 sometimes feels a bit more planted, as it's power delivery is smoother. I have to say after 7 years of riding a TLR 250 the main problem to overcome is the snatchy power at very low RPM, i have tested bikes with altered cam timing to run smooth but this has severely cut the top end performance of the engine, and this is just not worth the compromise for me. Alot of riders run a high idle speed to help overcome this low down snatchiness, another mod is to fit RTL clutch plates which are less grabby than the standard ones, this makes it easier to clutch the bike around tight turns.

I don't think the ratio's are as bad a problem as people make out, i have my 250 geared up, but still use 1st, 2nd and 3rd in sections regularly. I think it's a bit unfair to the bike when folk come on and say the ratios are a "major" problem when clearly it is not. Also you get the old "Oh yes they all spit back & stall etc" when in reality this almost never happens. These are very minor issues on a bike generally accepted to be the most sought after twinshock around, especially when compared with any Spanish twinshock and the TY's. That's it, Rant over! Merry Xmas

Those Beta 80's are bloody loud and annoying anyway, i don't think i've ever heard a quiet one, don't be surprised if you don't hear much difference.

Great little bikes these, but the only reason i wouldn't ride one is the fact that they don't have much power, basically you're up against it as soon as you come up against a decent hill climb or muddy gully or bog, i personally don't think it's a match for a TLR 200 but you can make it go well with a bit of engine work, a piston out of a jet ski and maximum revs all the way!

It's your technique thay needs to be changed then, not the bike. You can hop a twinshock around if you're doing it properly, so a techno should be a piece of cake!