Show us a picture of your Twinshock or Classic Trials bike

[restoremaz]

so mine being white and yellow has to be a 75 then..............? i was told it was a 76 when i bought it,and have been ordering parts for it based on that,and the guys at yamaha keep telling me a 76, is a C model....

[David Lahey]

Year models are always a bit of a dodgy topic with bikes because they might be made one year and sold both in that year and the next year etc. Twinshock TYs can be a bit tricky too because the paint schemes were different in different parts of the world for the same model.
I've seen so many pictures of your bike I'm certain it is a B model and B models in Australia are usually referred to as being 1975 models. The letter model lines up with other Yamaha dirt bikes too so a DT250B and a TY175B and an MX250B and a YZ360B and a DT400B are all referred to as 1975 models even though they might have been originally sold in late 1974 or even in 1976.
There are lots of ways you can tell what model a TY250 is. I suggest you have a good close look at a C or a D model (C and D are mechanically the same) when you get a chance and you will pick small differences to yours in the frame, swingarm, carby, air box, rims, brake arms, cylinder finning, fork sliders and the obviously different seat and rear mudguard. The D model in Australia has a pale blue tank and side covers with three "feathers" on the sides of the tank while the C model in Australia has a dark blue and white tank, dark blue side covers and the paint pattern on the tank is the same as the TY250B.
Most parts are interchangable between models of the TY250 twinshock so any given bike may have bits from other models substituted over the years.
Photo of my D model attached

[sherpa t]

Well done everyone and thanks David for your collection of photos.

Anymore photo's of twinshocks ??

[David Lahey]

This lovely KT250A2 was built from two and a half basket cases recovered from the proverbial chook shed on a cane farm house near Bundaberg in about 2001. Most of it was spread out through two chook houses and an open shed. The carby had to be found at the seller's workplace and collected weeks later when he came to Gladstone to run his coffee stall at the local markets. The motor I ended up using wasn't too bad and only needed a rebore and new clutch plates. Because there were so many boxes and all the parts were mixed up, there were quite a few still-unidentified bike parts that came with the KTs.
First rides quickly identified expremely soft fork springs and very high standard gearing as the main weaknesses. Luckily for KT owners there is a KT fanatic in NZ (Fred Carter) who sells high quality parts for people restoring KTs. I was able to get replica front and rear mudguards, sidecovers, handlebars, a smaller front sprocket and effective fork springs from Fred. With the new fork springs, Falcon shockies and a clutch that is every bit as good as a TY250 clutch, the KT became quite nice to ride in trials sections. The motor, steering and handling is very much like an early 1970s Bultaco Sherpa combined with a modern-feeling clutch and a very user-friendly kickstart. It's not as easy to ride as the TY250 for modern-style (tight turns and big obstacles) competition riding but is very enjoyable to ride in it's own way. People ask why I have such weird high and wide handlebars without realising that they are perfect replicas of the originals. The ergonomics are great with them.

[paulmcleod2003]

Here's some of my Twin shock bikes from New Zealand.
Majesty Ty175 with 250 front forks that i ride in modern competition

[paulmcleod2003]

Also my 1983 Montesa cota200 that i found in a shed brand new last year.
Photo is from the oceania trial in April.

[paulmcleod2003]

Here's a close up of the Majesty and my 1963 Sprite 32A Villiers.

[David Lahey]

This wild-looking Queensland Twinshock is one of Dan Gollagher’s Honda TL125s. Dan has two which are almost identical. Dan’s intention with the two-bike concept is to provide a mobile spare parts supply that can be accessed at short notice during an event. This paid off at a recent round of the Queensland Titles.
Development of the bike is all Dan’s work and includes the obvious things in the photo like the rear suspension as well as extensive motor performance mods and a hand-made hydraulic clutch. The fork sliders and triple clamps are either CR125 or MR175 (memory fade) to provide improved geometry. There are probably lots of other improvements that I don’t remember for now.
I know one thing and that is that the bike works beautifully. The steering is simply amazing and the motor has lots of go (nothing like a normal TL125). The only problem I had riding it was that the motor was so fierce in throttle response that it made it difficult to ride smoothly in places like low traction turns where a gentle throttle response aids control. The steering was every bit as nice as a modern bike and the bike feels very light overall for a Twinshock and has good ergos.
The photo is at the 2005 Western Districts Trials Club Classic and Twinshock Masters Trial at Green Park, Conondale

[David Lahey]

It took a while but I finally found a photo of Cedric Van Heerden's Cota 348.
Taken at Golding's Property, Calliope, Central Queensland, it doesn't really do justice to the quality of the restoration.
Cedric's 348 is no show pony though, having been ridden at a high standard by Cedric and son Frank in many Trials over the past few years and is well known to Central and South East Queensland Twinshock riders.
I don't remember brand new Cota 348s looking as well finished as Cedrics does 30 years later. It runs like a dream too.
I'll post a high quality photo in a few weeks (unless someone else does it first)

[David Lahey]

A nice story goes with this photo.
Twenty something years ago, John Sophios acquired a very well used M92 Sherpa T (1974 model 325cc) in boxes from a local (Central Queensland) trials rider. John reverently made it look and go like Sr Bulto intended including making a replica triangle end muffler, moving the footpegs back to the right spot, lots of cosmetic work and motor work etc etc you know the usual story. The bike got ridden in local trials by John with Angela riding her Sherpa M198.
About nine years ago John and Angela moved house and there was no longer any room for those old motorbikes. Out went the OSSAs and the Bultaco Metralla, Frontera and the M92 Sherpa T. Most of us have a similar story to tell.
A few years ago the Twinshock Trials bug bit the Sophios household and it bit hard. They still had the M198 and had acquired the usual TY175s and TY80 but there was always the "If only we hadn't sold the 325 Sherpa!" This started off the thought in Angela's mind that she might be able to buy a 325 slimline Sherpa T like John's old one as a surprise for him.
This is where I came into the picture. I was to check out any slimline 325s that were advertised to see if they were OK to buy. One looked OK and Angela and I secretly inspected it in the flesh in Brisbane at a trial we were riding without John. It went well and looked OK but was top dollar and I thought it was the wrong model 325 from what John had said about it. We kept looking and after a few weeks Angela decided to confess her plan to John and showed him the photos of that 325. Aparrently he went quiet for a while while it was dawning on him that this was not only the right model 325 Sherpa, it was the very same bike from nine years before.
So there it is in a backyard shed in Brisbane, at the moment the bike was reunited with it's owner of many years. We brought it home on the way back from the Denman MCC Trial last weekend.
Isn't that a nice bike story?