I would not go to any of that effort, until you tried a Scorpa SY175F. Yest it is the TTR 125 engine, but punched to 143cc. Not a fire breathing monster, but far from gutless. All the characteristics of a trials bike, but you can add the seat kit, which is still close enough to the ground for her. If you wanted to go all out, the new SY200F is punched to 163cc, but they are new for this year, and you probably wouldn't find a used one. The engine already has all the mounts for an electric start, if you find she can't kick it over. But, I can't imagine she would have a problem, since the kickstart level is longer than a normal trials bike, and it is low enough to the ground that she could get some leverage.
That's some REALLY good input. I know the TTR motor can be a 16 hp 'mini monster' with BBR goodies and I had not considered that the estart mounts are already there. Believe me, it's not that she can't kick the bike, it's more that some of the situations we get into there are times you just can't find a spot to touch long enough to get a good kick in. This combined with the time consumed during a race/ride in one of these situations getting to a spot to get it going is not good. Now, building a bike that she can touch as well as us on our full sized bikes is a different story altogether.
It's difficult to describe the frustration unless you've ridden with someone who isn't tall enough to make the bike what ot was designed to do.
I appreciate all of the input and don't assume I know anything!! One scenario that is coming to mind as realistic is simply buying a nice, clean and popular 2t trials bike (so that the spare parts have good value) and swap in a KTM 125 or 200 motor, carb, seat, subframe, etc. Since I have both bikes currently and the KTM's wouldn't actually suffer any fabrication damage (cutting, welding, etc) it would be a fairly easy experiment. If it works, I'd have a nice 2t trials motor and rear section for sale, both of which should be fairly easy to sell for a fair price.
Thank you for taking the time to get those pics. I'd have to say without closer inspection the WR250 is the source of the SY250F motor. Might be easy to do the swap. As far as the 125 goes, the 200 would be a waste since I would be building an electric start vesion anyway and I'd source the BBR parts to make it happen.
The T-ride is EXACTLY the right size for what I want; 34" seat, 13"+ ground cearance, 55" wheelbase... When you get them over there, let me know and I'll book my flight!!! It'll save me a lot of effort...
Been there... New England eats TTR's up in a few weeks and they weigh a ton. So, I bought a new YZ85 and put the TTR motor in it. It's pretty gutless.
So, I bought a BBR Bigwheel and put a CRF250 motor in it,
Realizing small wheels aren't well suited for upper level New England racing and riding, I starting working on a 2008 KTM125SX. The best yet, super light, etc but it had to be lowered so much there's no ground clearance or suspension travel left and the wheelbase makes narrow trails and slow speed turns impossible.
Manipulating a trials bike into a trail bike will be the easiest fab job yet.
First post, looking for some detailed info. First, some background. I'm a metal fabricator and have built several custom cycles for my wife for Off Road/ Enduro/ Hare Scramble use. She's 5'2" tall and very skilled but she has trouble touching the ground in some of our extremely technical terrain, especially when the turns are VERY sharp combined with slow speeds.
So, my newest brainchild is to (finally) start with a good trials bike, such as a SY250F and make it trail worthy. My plan is to morph a subframe and seat from a KTM or other brand and make the bike look and feel more like a Medium bike rather than a mini or standard sized bike. Again, the fabrication is not an issue and I may even have to build a gas tank and yes, I've done everything know to man to lower her KTM 125 SX. Without literally building a new frame from scratch (something I've considered) the nike now sits with only 10" of clearance and almost no suspension left.
Now, on to the technical questions- SY250 - too hard to kick start for a 120 pound women in difficult terrain?
SY250 - transmission rebuilt for offroad applications?
SY250F - same motor as WR250 with electric start and standard transmission?
Scorpa Sy250f As A Trail Bike
in Scorpa
Posted
That's some REALLY good input. I know the TTR motor can be a 16 hp 'mini monster' with BBR goodies and I had not considered that the estart mounts are already there. Believe me, it's not that she can't kick the bike, it's more that some of the situations we get into there are times you just can't find a spot to touch long enough to get a good kick in. This combined with the time consumed during a race/ride in one of these situations getting to a spot to get it going is not good. Now, building a bike that she can touch as well as us on our full sized bikes is a different story altogether.
It's difficult to describe the frustration unless you've ridden with someone who isn't tall enough to make the bike what ot was designed to do.
Thanks again,
-tom