I am looking to buy a bike to do some trail riding and possibly try some of the trials type manuevers. I rode a ty250 as a kid,and really enjoyed the way it handled in the woods, as well as its ability to climb any hill that I was brave enough to attempt. My question is, with the styling of the new bikes is it possible to install a larger fuel tank so that I could ride longer distances thruogh the woods without the worry of running out of fuel. Thanks for your input!!!!!!!!

I have seen Montesa 315R's with very large tanks and also Scorpa do a "Long ride" version of both the 250 and four stroke which have a large tank and a small seat.

many people do larger tanks for trials bikes, and i am sure that it wouldnt cost an arma and a leg to have a seat made up for one, the main problem with using a trials bike for trail riding is reliability, if you are looking for a modern bike (ie. last 4 or 5 years) then the scorpa is probably the best, as the TYZ engine is very good, this also comes in the long ride form. apart from that most of them will not last more than a few years of average to vigorous abuse on trails. however, if you go back a little further then i would eagerly suggest the gas gas txt, as this bike has to be the ultimate for reliability, the engine is absolutely bomb proof, and they dont weigh tooo much.

these are my two most recomended for fairly fecent years, but if a seat is that big of an issue for you and you dont like the sound of forking out for a custom one, then how about going for an old TYZ, as i said the engine is nice and reliable, it is quite a bit heavier than more recent trials bikes, but it had a bit of a seat.

the choice is yours.

I guess it would be a little expensive, but any of the bikes with aluminum tanks could be made larger.

Scorpa,with long ride kit is just the ticket for dual use, great compromise and looks superb....

Only snag is the cost of the longride kit, but if a relatively cheap sy250 can be found, go for it.. As i have done.

S,M.

Edited July 9, 200521 yr by 348mate

I really do appreciate the input. The one thing that I really did not mind about the ty was standing up while going through the woods, I seemed to have pretty good control that way. However I am still shopping and was unsure of the availability of a larger tank. Thanks again. I guess we will see what we end up with, several of my friends are trying to talk me out of a trials bike, in favor of a enduro type bike.

That's because they don't want to have to follow you through all those places they can't go.

Gas Gas Pampera MKIII. Rides very much like a trials bike but with all the road kit. A real favourite for Long Distance Trials events here in the UK.

Why not buy another TY250? Seen loads of pinkie's on ebay just recently.

Edited July 13, 200521 yr by boofont

If you enjoyed your ty, you owe it to yourself to try a modern trials bike. You will love it. An enduro is always an option but make sure you won't miss trials. I think if you enjoyed trials before you still will, probably even more so. I would reccommend making a trials bike work on the trails as opposed to an enduro. Just my 2 cents. Good luck with your decision.

a) get TBM http://www.trailbikemag.com/

check out rides.org.uk

c) gas gas pampera, beta alp, Yamaha serrow, crf230, low number Xl's, etc, etc

trials bikes are far too specialised for any sort of trail riding really, non existent fuel tanks, no seat, etc while the bikes above excel at LDTs without being to enduro styled

rabie

I have ridden dirt bikes for 34 years, and I recently bought my first trials bike, a used SY-250 Scorpa Long Ride, and I am very satisfied.

The seat isn't much use on the trail as it's too far foward and too low to allow good control, but you can use it on smooth trails and dirt/gravel roads. Plus, since there is a solid mounting point, I don't think it would be too hard to make a better one.

To me, the bigger plus was the extra fuel (1.1 liters) capacity. At my level, I don't find the extra height of the LR tank to be a hinderance, but if you were serious about competition, it might get in your way. In my case, I was lucky enough to find a used Long Ride that also came with the competition tank.

The final reason I chose the Scopa is the Yamaha engine. It is very smooth, with good, clean throttle respone and a little more flywheel effect than most modern bikes. Plus, it has a 6th gear which will cruise effortlessly as fast as you'd ever want to go.

More important, while all the current bikes are well made, I just felt that the Yamaha engine would be more trouble-free in the long run (same would apply to the Montesa's Honda engine). After all, look how many Yamaha TY's from the 70's are still running. Many of these bikes have never even had the bottem end apart. I'll bet you can't say the same about very many of the Spanish bikes from that area.

As far as your friends and the enduro bike, if I could only have one bike, it probably wouldn't be a trials bike, but I also have a street-legalized KTM 625 SXC. Between these two bikes, I can do anything and go anywhere that I want on a bike. You could always get a trials bike and then pick up a good XR250 or KDX200 for under $1000.