FZR 250 suitability for A2

[Reynolds99]

Hi guys,

As you can probably see I'm new to the forum.

I've recently turned 19 and have had my eye on a 1990 Yamaha FZR 250RR EX-UP. The only problem being I can't find any solid information on the bikes spec as there are plenty of websites with the specs, but they all have contradicting numbers. E.g Wikipedia says 145kg while motorcyclespecs.co.za and totalmotorcyle.com say 146kg. I understand these are old bikes and are imports. But I would have thought maybe after this amount of time there would be some resources for enthusiasts to help clear up the inconsistencies.

To get to the point, I can't seem to find out whether this bike is producing more or less than 0.2 kw/kg. Which is the set guideline for any A2 bike. If anyone has any information about being able to ride a FZR250RR on an A2 license or whether I would be better served speaking with the DVLA/DVSA I would be very grateful.

Thanks in Advance

[u33db]

Cant answer your question but FYI my dad is restoring a late 90s CB two fifty at the moment and its a bloody nightmare finding bits...like if you see anything on ebay its usually the last one available and expensive, and some parts are even NLA.

Even if the FZR did meet A2 requirements I would not be buying it to use frequently;

If something breaks you run the risk of owning a paperweight due to not being able to replace/repair stuff economically or even at all!

[talkToTheHat]

[Reynolds99]

Thanks for the response guys. It seems I looked over the most vital parts of the bike. The PARTS . It seems until there's a consistent method of buying spare parts I'll look for something else and keep the FZR as my bike to work towards. Any ideas for a 4 cylinder bike in the A2 bracket that doesn't need restricting? Or should I start a new thread for that question?

Thanks again for the feedback guys

[M.C]

This should help you: https://a2bikes.co.uk/

Most of the bikes I can think of that don't need restricting are singles or twins.

[P.]

Most 4 cylinders will need restricting.

Something easily restricted would be an XJ6 or something, relatively new and probably has a dealer method of restricting.

I'd love an older 4 cylinder high revving beast.

[Teflon-Mike]

Have you taken tests to get an A2 licence? Have you taken tests for an A1, even?
Do you already own an FZR250RR? or have you found one for sale? If so.... does it work!!!

There's little point fantasising about a bike, that may or may not be able to ride, on a licence you have yet to obtain!!!

And practically, the availability of data on these things is probably better than the availability of the bikes themselves, and the bits to make one road-worthy and keep it that way....

Yeah.... its a nice looking 90's sports bike; it has an astranomical red-line, its its its..... well, to be frank NOT a bike I would recommend a 19 year-old! If any-one TBH.

These bikes were not official UK imports; they were Japan market models, built in an era when Japanese domestic licence regs essentially denied the Japanese the big-bikes the makers showed every year at the Tokyo show, and were plastered on all the magazines, cos they were too big. So, they made scaled down versions, specifically for the home market, which had some rather protectionist regulations to keep annual sales high, that put punitive taxes on older bikes.

Consequently, when these bikes reached around 5-years old, it was cheaper to scrap them than keep them... and truck-loads of the things were crated up, shipped half way round the world, and sold to folk, here in the UK that really wanted an FZR1000, but couldn't afford one, or afford the insurance on one....

These folk, didn't really want a 'little' 250 or 400, but it was as close to the bike they really wanted as they could get.... this did not bode well for them, before they went wrong.... they were going to get thrashed and trashed by owners more want to fit go-fast stickers than new brake pads.... chuck in typical use, abuse and neglect, and it didn't take much to turn any of these grey-imports into perpetual project bikes, returning rapidly into the scrap they were imported as....

If you are struggling , now, with an internet connection, to find the specs to work out whether one is or may be made A2 licence complaint.... ponder how gard it will be to find out what the spark-plug gaps, or tappet clearances should be.....

These are rarities, even on their home market now; they are not an every-day motorcycle. The few that survive, here, and might be for sale, are either basket case project bikes you'd need a heck of a lot of enthusiasm, dedication, know-how and money to restore, or they are pampered garage trophy collectors bikes, that are likely to be incredibly over valued, and really only good for very occasional rides and shows.

And from what I remember, the FZR250 was one of the least common of the least common....

Worrying whether one may or may not be or could be made A2 licence complaint, I think, is a pretty futile fret.... especially if you don't even have an A2 licence! There are far bigger fish to stick in the frying pan!

If you must persevere with the fantasy, though, bottom-line, sod what MCN or Wiki or Bike-Specs nz may say; the 'authority' that a court of law, in this country, would take is the manufacturers brochure specs...... what did they say?
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[MarJay]

[-]

I think I looked into this for an ex years ago and they were slightly over the power to weight limit.

Another issue is that even though they sound great, you have to thrash the tits off it everywhere to get any power. They have next to zero torque and a very high rev limit. It sounds like you're doing a ton everywhere, even when you're doing legal speeds.

For this reason, they tend to wear bores too.
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[Kentol750]

There's no issue with the fzr, it's not an a2 bike. Whether it's 145 or 146 kg is irrelevant, it makes way too much power.

Anything over 30bhp and under 150kg is out (maths).

Do your test, get a cbr500r (other a2 bikes are available). Spend 2 years on it, do upgrade to full licence. Get whatever you want.
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Some bikes.

[Reynolds99]

Thanks for the reply Teflon-Mike.

It seems I failed to mention I have got my A2 and passed this December. I've ridden a 1990 CBR250RR on a track when I was 17 and that's what made me like the FZR and those style of bikes. Obviously the 4 cylinder high revving engine was the selling point for me. But I wouldn't intend to use a FZR for daily commuting, just some weekend riding every now and then.

I completely understand and agree with you about how these sorts of bikes are and have been misused and abused. But I'm not looking to score a bargain of a nearly 30 year old bike. I was looking for more of an investment which I could enjoy once in a while.

Now, like you say I might be a naive 19 year old going into this blindly. But I have tried my best to research this bike and have so far found very few answers. Like I mentioned previously I don't mind buying a differnt bike; newer, older, slower, faster. I don't mind. But this would be my first choice. I understand the complexity of getting parts from Japan, but that is already sorted as I've got a family friend who have a surplus from years ago. My point is, I could easily maintain this bike and probably keep it running with the parts said family friend has but that would be pointless, because I would like to ride it on my A2 license. If I can't that's fine, if I can great. Unless you have a link to the factory specs why bother complaining about somebody else's aims.

[Kentol750]

Motorcyclespecs.za give it 45bhp, where's the issue? Even if they are 50% over, it's still too powerful for a2 on power to weight.
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Some bikes.

[bhinso]

Only a very light Teffing there I noticed...

[redeem ouzzer]

Teffers is a boring cunt. I’ve yet to come across an “exotic” 250 or 400 I couldn’t repair or get bits for. If you have a parts book and the Internet it’s a piece of fucking piss.

As to being A2 compliant, I couldn’t even tell you what that is...
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[Bhud]

Unless you have money to burn, you really haven't thought this through.

No parts available on Partzilla for that classic bike:
https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/yamaha/motorcycle/1990

Wemoto has 2 engine parts available: an alternator cover and a woodruff key. What would you do for a worn out cam chain, CCT, valve shim? No replacement exhaust either, so when yours has rotted through what will you do? Stone cracks the headlight and you can't get that headlight anymore, so you'll junk the headlight and that beautiful fairing..

So let's say you're doing it properly, you're going to split the cases, order and replace big end bearings, gears with worn and broken teeth, etc. Let's look at Ebay for some spare parts. Oh look, can't even get a full gasket set direct from Japan, just a valve cover and head gasket, and that's more than £100 total:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FZR250-2KR-3HX-FZR250R-3LN-EXUP-TOP-GASKET-SET-1HX-11193-00-3LN-11181-00/201608687505?epid=1222813181&hash=item2ef0d06f91:g:~nIAAOSwHjNV8YJf:rk:1:pf:0
Np, since you've got the head off, you're going to measure the bores and look for wear. Piston ring broken or bent or just worn? Now where are you going to get that??

Np, go direct to Yamaha Japan, order the parts by number that you need to rebuild that high-revving masterpiece. That's gonna sting you unless you're a rich kid... Even after you add shipping, there's up to a month to wait for the parts, perhaps more, and once it gets here it gets seized by HMRC who send you a tax bill..

That's why the FZR250R is a classic beauty but it belongs in the hands of the rich old guys in the VJMC. Put it out of your head.

[pepperami]

There’s a couple for sale on thief-bay.
However as people have said in this thread, maybe a FZR250 exup might not be the best choice unless you have time, mechanical ability, and money.
If you are looking for a 250 pocket rocket, there are plenty of other choices out there with much better support and availability of spares.
For example the good old RD 250 LC

As for license compatibility? Sorry I can’t help you with that as I have no idea.
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