Loosely based on Yamaha’s TZ250 racer, the TZR was a 2 stroke sportbike built between ’86 and ’99 – in 1986 it was the first production 250cc motorcycle to lap Isle of Man’s TT course at over 100 miles per hour.
The base model (2MA) had a 249cc two-stroke reed valve engine which produced 50 horsepower at 10,000 rpm (the Japanese market model was the 1KT and it was capped to 45 horsepower). Period reviews suggest it was the slowest steering and the most “practical” (if such a word can be used with a 2-stroke 250cc sportbike) of the Japanese 250s.
This example (VIN: 1KT017975) is a JDM-spec bike so it’s limited to 45 hp. Per the seller it was imported to the US last summer and it was shown at the 2024 Garage Brewed Motorcycle Show at Rhinegeist Brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio. It has just 6,524 miles and it has a few recent parts: battery, tires, air filter, plugs, fuse box, rectifier, fluids, etc. “The oil pump and YPVS are adjusted as per manual specification and everything is in good working order. The bike starts with just 1-2 kicks every time. 3 small dents in tank covered with enamel paint to prevent rust.”
Find this TZR for sale in Cincinnati, Ohio with bidding up to $4,050 and the reserve not yet met here on eBay.
With that said, if you’re on the hunt for a collector-grade 1KT, one of my clients in Japan is about to ship me a never-started example with 7 push kilometers that we’ll be selling over at Iconic, so drop me a line if you’d be interested in that:
