Fans of lightweight machines that favor handling over outright power hold a special place in their hearts for bikes like this Yamaha TZR250 3XV. Following on the heels of Yamaha’s popular RD bikes of the early 80s, the TZR was a road-legal sportbike intended to evoke the company’s pure racing motorcycles.
Like their predecessors, they were lightweight, two-stroke sports machines that were originally powered by liquid-cooled two-stroke parallel-twins, although the 3XV version seen here and introduced in 1991 used a 90° v-twin like the competition from Honda and Suzuki, mated to a six-speed gearbox. The entire package weighed in at under 300lbs dry and featured Yamaha’s signature “Deltabox” frame along with a YPVS power valve designed to give the little two-stroke a more usable powerband.
From the original Craigslist post: 1992 Yamaha TZR250 for Sale
I have a 1992 TZR-250 3XV-4 with a wet clutch. This is a R model. I completely restored this bike with new OEM parts. The engine is completely rebuilt, all new transmission bearings, seals, gaskets. Cylinders replated with pistons and crankshaft rebuilt by Roland Cushway. New OEM manifolds and reeds, carbs were also rebuilt, front forks rebuilt and rear shock is a Nitron from the UK. All cables were replaced and brakes rebuilt. Tires are Bridgestone S-20 front and rear. The body work is high quality fiberglass from Japan. The chassis and engine have less than 200 miles on it. I have tons of extras and spare OEM parts. Also front and rear stands. I have over $17,000.00 invested in this bike.
$12,000.00 Firm, No Offers Please.
Serious buyers only.
This is a rare bike. There maybe only 10 of these in the United States
Commenters often express concern about sourcing parts for these two-strokes, but that shouldn’t be too much of a problem here: a number of shots are included of the extras and it looks like you should be able to to keep this bike on the road for a long time to come, including clutch plates, rings, gaskets, sprockets, levers, and what looks like a whole case of NGK spark plugs. The bike is in Northern California and does have the road equipment fitted, but the listing doesn’t specifically mention whether or not it’s actually titled. I’m assuming it does for that $12,000 asking price.
That’s a ton of money to part with for a TZR, but this looks like one of the nicest we’ve seen in a while.
-tad
Lovely bike. Awesome condition. Fantastic showing…. but at $12,000 the pool of buyers is limited to, well that 1 person that values a 3XV at $12,000 – which IMO is the seller.
As with all restoration projects, what one “has in it” actually has zero reflection on what you should or could expect to get out of it.
Good luck with the sale 🙂
Cali title adds value for sure to someone in that tree hugging state
Lol 12 grand? I’ll have a hit of the crack the seller is on.
If it was the rarer SP version, it might bring that kind of money. Of course it is worth what ever someone will pay for it. It is an interesting power plant from the technical perspective. It is also the final platform for Yamaha road going two stroke sport bikes, which gives a heritage factor to the bikes value. There will be no more mas-produced two stroke road bikes. The biggest value factor is that it is here in the U.S. With the rebuild, the spares package, and if it has a plate, I would say 10k would be fair.
Won’t be made again-werent many made in the first place.
They have been fetching over £6000 Sterling for quite a few years in the UK-so it’s safe to say the value won’t be going down-maybe our seller is just a little ahead of his market?
Sadly all these little beauties will be heading into mothball collections instead of being thrashed properly on twisty back roads or racetracks.
If you must have one, buy a scruffy one and thrash it happily, it’s what they are made for, not polishing.
Been for sale for close to a year now
Here come all the TYGA-boys comments.
It’s like attending a model train enthusiasts convention.
They are not rare – they where made by the thousands. SpongeBob broke 4 in February alone.
they are worth more in parts than being repaired and sold complete in Japan.
A decent 3XV is not going to fetch a million yen – and the fact that this was a restored bike, not a survivor is even more of a measure of its worth.
Buy a decent runner in Japan for 400,000 yen and get to work “restoring it”.
Restorations never pay for them selves – they are just money pits.
Fun smokey money pits, but money pits none the less.
hes been trying to sell this for 12 k+ for well over a year now… if you actually want to sell it in exchange for u.s. dollars lower the price ALOT, if not continue posting at this price point.
Yeah that and it’s not OEM bodywork on the bike it’s reproduction stuff from satiya-f from japan it’s plastic shell with fiberglass base. it’s high quality stuff I have their stuff on a nsr250. but it’s not an original bike the first ad’s didn’t even have the body work or graphics mounted up. The bodywork should have a natural coloring to it on the insides and white outside or they offer solid black outside n inside – the white finish looks like their white non painted finish but it looks to have been painted black on the insides now.
I never claimed to be a two-stroke expert but I like this bike . It looks as cool as an R7 but in two-stroke version . Looks very clean and well restored. Though some might say the price is too high , think about it . As people said , yes you don’t get the money back from your restoration , though think about how much time and $$ you would have to put in restoring a well used/beaten one . So if you’re looking for one that you just put the key in and ride . I get no commission form the seller . Just want people to see the positive side of it too . They look too sexy to buy a thrashed one too . Beat on it in the summer , put it in your living room ( all polished up) in the winter (if you have to suffer winter like we do !) ! 🙂
There is no mention of the title status in the ad – this would impact the price a lot. $12k for a Cali-plated smoker might not be insane, but barring that…
…and then there is the issue of a mature motorcyclist in his forties of fifties pulling up at the weekend motorcycle meeting point on one of these or NSR/RGV/RS Aprilia equivalent. You look ridiculous.
no sane person will pay that hence why no takers maybe theres a website where insane bikers with $ to burn frequent, thatd be the place to post
It’s amazing that ever time a 2 stroke is put on this site all you little trolls that still live at home in your mommy’s basement come out of the wood work to slag off on it. How many on here has done a total resto on a bike? schlepping parts around town, dealing with vendors, discovering a myriad of unforeseen problems? Yeah, I thought so. Blowhards galore!! If you are not interested in the bike, no need to slag off on it-move on to the next post. But maybe first you should grow up and get a job.
I restored all 3 of my 250 smokers RGV n two NSR 250 mc21’s and i’m starting on a RG250 nope i’m just talking Shit not to mention the many dirt bikes I’ve done my first nsr 250 came to me in a many boxes non running!! . When I was done I had about 7 maybe 8 grand total into the bike like new crank new top end reeds reed block manifold pipes body work!! suspension work cables tires etc!!!Dude doesn’t have 12 grand into I know what it takes to rebuild this bike and some KEY parts are NLA new which would really slow one down if they don’t have the ability to get used shit from japan.
What does all the effort and cost a restoration takes have to do with the final value of the project vehicle?
Here let me help you – nothing. If you spend $10,000 restoring a vehicle worth $7,000 expecting to sell if for $12,000, then all you have done is proven what a poor custodian of money you are.
In such a case all the money spent over and above the real value of the vehicle is simply lost and that’s it – you sell the vehicle at a loss and start the next project.
Expecting to just sell it for more than the market value is a fools errand. But then again what would those of us who buy and sell multiple 2 strokes know about the subject?
BTW – how many multi cylinder 2 strokes do you have in your collection? (Some of which have been bought from sellers whose listings where featured on RSBFS?)
RC45, not that it’s any of your concern, but I have an RZ500 with Toomey Chambers, RGV250(recently sold,), RD400 awaiting a full resto, a couple of RZ350′ sold to buy the RZ500, RG500 with Gixxer wheels sold(got an offer I couldn’t refused) and a gixxer 1000.
So, I’ve been around and do my own work. I’ve always broke even on ever bike I ever sold or made a nice profit.
If someone has to farm out most of their resto, that’s no reason to bash them. At least they are trying-which is more than I can say for the majority of commenters on this site who always seem to have their panties in a bunch.
And again – what does the cost and effort put into a restoration have to do with a realistic selling price?
Nothing. Period.
The most recently “sold market” sets the value. The pile of “receipts” doesn’t really dictate the market value of the vehicle involved. Of course sellers are free to ask what ever they want and they do..
I don’t believe anyone has bashed any seller for their restoration methods (whether work is done by themselves of farmed out) – all folks have commented on is the ASKING PRICE of the seller.
There is no way in any world of reality that at this time a rebuilt 3XV is worth $12,000 in the USA, even with a pile of spares. The seller is however holding out for that 1 buyer. Good luck with the sale.
SpongeBob just broke another 3XV in Japan, the parts are listed on eBay at this time – there are still lots of 3XV’s out there.
Lets take your RD400 – if you spend thousands on parts to restore it to showroom brochure condition, would that suddenly make it “worth” $12,000 (adding in purchase + spares cost + labor)? Could you get it insured for that amount without using a stated value policy? Or is the real world market value much lower than $12,000?
ROFLMFAO……. I just noticed the for sale says $17,000 invested. That should read “invested” as you could buy a near new perfect low mileage showroom resident 3XV for 2 million yen.
At what point should/would a person look at a “restoration” ( and with fiberglass body it’s not a restoration) and say – no more money goes in, it gets sold as a runner for a loss and I am moving on.
If this bike needed $17,000 to revive it then it must have really been trashed – but then again I can’t see it.
I just priced buying and shipping a frame, swinger, tank, body work and running 3XV motor and it’s less than $2000 including shipping. How does someone spend $17,000 reviving a 3XV?
Now I am just intrigued 🙂
they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result the next time, seller hasnt moved on his price ever as far as is known… just saying…
It’s interesting,and not a little revealing, how the Internet has allowed groups of like minded people chat about a subject, but unlike a face to face chat in the pub the anonymous nature of the web lets things degenerate into a bitching session almost immediately.
Biking is a broad church, we should allow space for those of us who lust after Russian military motorcycles, or American baggy things, or utterly decrepit board racers from the 1920s-they all have a place in The Great Plan.
So I shall stick to my opinions, and no doubt you shall stick to yours-having owned a scruffy TZR 3MA which saw service trackside only I remain convinced that a racetrack is the right place for these sublime little toys.
Value isn’t only a question of price – these sort of bikes represent a world our governments think we should be “protected” from and so it follows there will be less and less of them on either the road or the track. So enjoy one while we still can.
People who tool around with these little 2-strokes don’t go to pubs.
RC45, you were dead on……..
LOL!……………………..
I think RC45 has said it all, I agree , how bad is a TZR that needed 17,000 worth of restoration and all you can come up with is what should be a $8,500 purchase unless he forgot to mention the gold plated crank case, and who would want to part with hard earned for a iron house that every nut and bolt has be applied by a non factory Yamaha technician? and what was already said, you can go on yahoo auction and pick one up for less than $6,000 US.