Team r2wtrials... Motorcycle Trials in the West Country and South East Wales.

Honda TLR200 project... Scott Burghart has sent details and pictures of his lovely TLR200 Project that he has been working on, I will let him explain all... "I Started with a standard USA spec TLR200 Reflex, which is not as well set up as UK 200's. The bike had only 413 miles on it when I got it last year. Weight was about 221 lbs (just over 100kg.)I stripped off the battery and wires and all road crap and stripped it down to all parts. Ground off all extra frame brackets, bought a sand blast kit and stripped frame and painted with Rustoleum Professional series paint in a spray can (after primer). Added Falcon shocks, WES muffler (only about 2.6 lbs) and a glass tankseat from BJ Racing in the states (a copy of the Chris Stevens type). Tank was supplied in raw black glass and I filed all the divots before priming and painting with more Rustoleum Professional series paints. I polished the tank down to 2000 wet paper and it has a nice shine. Inspiration for the styling came from Anthony Seales, a UK based gent whose TLR250 can be seen in a few places on the Web. I wrote to him and he provided some advice on things he had done. I polished all the parts on a bench wheel, including the WES and every nut and bolt, which I also clear coated . Bars are Renthal 6" rise as I am over 6'1" tall and 49 years old so I don't want to bend over as much as some of the young guys!! The shifter is from a TL250 and is ground down to the minimum and drilled as it is steel. It is short enough to tuck in BEHIND the flywheel bulge in the left engine case and I run it up high out of harms way. Tires are IRC but some prefer Dunlop 803 or Michelin. IRC's are much cheaper than the Mich and are pretty good, especially in the dry. I will try the 803 rear next as I hear they are very good in slimy conditions. I have a DID ERS2 chain, which is one of the lightest chains you can buy but very expensive and hard to find. It is made for 250cc road racing or trials use. I had to get it from Canada as no one in the States even knew what it was...

..... The rear sprocket is a Sprocket Specialists hardened and lightened 46 tooth (not shown) and the front is 10 tooth. I have not ridden it with this combination (too cold and too much snow right now) but am hoping it is the right gear combination. Stock in the states is something like 13/44 and is made for road use. I had the pegs in the picture made from the stock pegs with some extra teeth added and moved back about 3/8". I also have some new aluminum pegs to put on that have standard front rear placement. I have some alloy DID rims to put on and am going to use thinner butted spokes on the front as the front spokes are unnecessarily thick. The bike weighs 184 (83.6kg) now and with the new alloy rims, spokes, etc. should lose another pound or so easily. The USA spec bikes came with steel rims as shown in the picture . Also had a stainless head pipe made by a friend, which looks cool and knocked off some more weight and added an RTL250 copy fender from an Ebay seller in the UK. It too looked better and was 7oz lighter than the stock one. All the ounces really begin to add up and my goal is 179 pounds. This will require money! Alloy Falcon shocks are $485 in the USA! And a custom made aluminum swingarm will be at least a few hundred USD. Then an open or aluminum airbox and I am probably done! But, it has been fun and the bike is a MUCH better trials bike than I ever imagined. I love riding it and expect to nab many trophies this year!!!"