Mission Creep: 1989 Yamaha TDR250 for Sale in CA!

1989 Yamaha TDR250
Miles: 8,604 [14,104km]
Clean Title
Listed Price: $8,900

While technically more a supermoto than an outright sportbike, the Yamaha TDR250 shared most of its DNA with the TZR250 and was produced between 1988 and 1993. That meant much more sophistication than its offroad styling suggested, and the liquid-cooled 249cc parallel-twin powerplant included the TZR’s YPVS powervalve system and electronic ignition system, along with the TZR’s six-speed gearbox. The bike offered capable handling both on and off-road and was a hoot to ride, no surprise, given the powertrain. The tachometer is on the gas tank! Check out the braced motocross bars! The upswept expansion chambers! Unfortunately, as fun as it was, no one really knew what to make of it when it was new, and the bike didn’t sell well. Today, they’re largely forgotten, but have a strong cult following. They’re rare as hen’s teeth here in the US but, as you’d expect, maintenance and tuning parts for TZRs can also be applied to the TDR. The photography here isn’t great, including some terrible blurry images, but the bike looks very decent from what can be seen, with all plastics present and accounted for and seemingly in good condition, and just that missing right-hand mirror to sort out.

1989 Yamaha TDR 250 2 Stroke California registered. 14,104 original km ( approx. 8604 miles). Speedometer is metric. Second owner since 1993. No Accident history. Ride it home or anywhere. Thanks to the factory 50 HP parallel liquid cooled twin cylinder engine and
six speed transmission it will cruise at freeway speeds without issue. Starts idles and runs like it should.
Recent service includes: new pistons and rings, removal and cleaning of power valves, replaced power valve seals, new carburetor rebuild kits, new fuel valve rebuild kit, new OEM Yamaha fork dust covers “Gaiters” , new fork fluid and seals, new brake pads and fluid. Brand new Michelin “Road Classic tubeless tubeless tires. New OEM hand grips. No Rust in fuel tank due to coating. OEM oil injection pump works great. Excellent cosmetic condition consistent with age.

Okay, so we’re technically drifting a bit outside of “Rare Sportbikes” a bit here for this one, but A: all of my riding buddies would think this was cool and B: a good rider on a Yamaha TDR250 would nip at the heels of a sportbike rider on a twisty canyon road. There’s no question it’s rare, as they were never imported to the US, and I’ve never actually seen a California-registered one for sale, so I’d say the $8,900 asking price is pretty reasonable, considering two-stroke prices these days. Cool bike, decent price. Don’t agree? Find me another for sale and we can compare notes. Hey Marc, you got room in your garage?

-tad