Built between 1986 and 1996, the Yamaha TZR250 came in a variety of forms, from the original liquid-cooled, parallel-twin “2MA” to the “3MA” that came along in 89-90 and featured an interesting “reversed” cylinder design that had the carburetors mounted on the front of the engine, exhausts running directly out the back to through the tailpiece. The final version made the same swap as Suzuki from a parallel-twin to a v-twin configuration for the “3XV” model as seen here.
In fact, the spec sheets for all of the little 250 race-reps of the period look like carbon copies of each other: 249cc two-strokes and six-speed gearboxes, with just different names and acronyms for the fancy power-valves fitted to each. On the little Yammie, we had a “Deltabox” alloy frame, Yamaha Power Valve System (YPVS) to beef up the underwhelming two-stroke midrange.
The complete package weighed in at about 280lbs dry and all the usual two-stroke superlatives applied. If you want pure cornering thrills and a bike that rewards skilled input, you can’t go wrong with one of these.
From the original eBay listing: 1992 Yamaha TZR250 RS 3XV for Sale
This is a very rare bike with factory dry clutch, I would guess there are probably only two or three here in the US and this is the only one that I know of here in California with a California title and plate. This bike still has all the original 3XV fairings complete, original windscreen, stock pipes and silencers. Clear California title and current registration in hand. 18,596km, NO test rides, don’t ask..
It’s unfortunate the seller only includes three photos with the listing, but at least those photos are of decent quality. In the 90’s, Yamaha seemed to offer some of the most restrained graphics treatments among the Big Four, and the lozenge-pattern along the flanks looks suitably vintage, but doesn’t detract from the lines of the bike, with the yellow number-plate panel integrating smoothly into the design.
This one has covered a surprising 11,555 miles. Not exactly a touring bike, but pretty high for a bike like this. Considering the original fairings and screen, it’s clear the bike has seen sympathetic ownership during its life. The seller appears to be the same one who offered up the TZR500 we featured back in April, so he clearly knows his Yamahas!
-tad
The 3MA had reversed cylinders…not head…it’s a smoker!
He’s got that RZ for sale again along with a bunch of other stuff:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/getrealperformance/m.html?item=171872345563&forcerrptr=true&hash=item280463dddb&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562
dc
a nice little collection of two strokes. the rz was nick gargano’s bike, alot of money invested in that build. the gamma looks a little suspect, I’d need to see that one in person prior to considering bidding, but for a cali titled rg its a rare bird. the tzr I”ve seen listed several times for sale over the past 3 years.
is this the same dreamer who had his tzr listed forever on craigslist at 12 k for a long while with “no test rides” in the ad lol?
Lol- he’s the seller of that Frankenstein RD500 with the Honda single sided swing arm!
The 3xv was built from 1991 to 1999.
Looked amazing n 1991 and looks amazing in 2015. Always my favorite of the 2 stroke Yamahas. Only the later model NSRs looked better!
sorry seller, and anyone is welcome to chime in on this one. Sorry, but this is not one of 3 RS or even SP’s in the united states. In fact this is about the 3rd time we’ve seen this bike on this site in the last 18 months, fact is, they come up all the time. what we haven’t seen is an authentic NSR 250 SP Repsol in a long time, California title , yes good thing, 18,000 klm’s sorry not that rare. In fact there is a guy in Florida that is sitting on 2 SP’s alone. 3 in the US? are you trying to sell bikes or used cars?
the no test rides bit is the most chuckle worthy, who in there right mind would buy a bike without testing it themselves?
While the add overstates the rarity, you will not be seeing many on the road here in the states. They were also not imported into Canada so no border bleed on this model. The SP was only made in 1992. It had intake tunnels riveted to the inside of the fairing side panels to direct cool air to the air box. SP versions are the rarest versions of 3xv worldwide with only 500 made. It was the “sp kit”
that was so valuable. It made the sp much closer to a TZ. The kit is VERY rare. There was not to much model year variation, but, the last versions sported a CDI controlled oil injection that employed the use of solenoids to time oil flow.
some of the tz parts and tzr parts around that year are interchangeable, better performance but increased wear rate