2009 Yamaha TT-R50
Nowadays, kids don’t even need to learn how to ride a bicycle before jumping on a pair of motorized wheels as 50cc four-stroke minibikes stand as more tempting alternatives with infinite more excitement to them. And if those bikes happen to ride on dirt too, it is very likely that half of them bear the Yamaha TT-R50E name.
Riding on the minibike track is clearly destined to miniature people as well as the motorcycle model in question so for this review, I consulted some fairly demanding first timers before getting my own impressions from the bike. They all agreed on the fact that push button starting is a time saving feature in the process of learning and that the engine feels torquey, but not at all intimidating. The first gear is also considered to be fairly short and the majority of kids prefer riding in second gear as it allows them to seriously work the throttle before initiating the third gear of the semi automatic transmission. All gears go up and the clutch is smooth, just as should.
Also, the little fellows made sure to mention that the TT-R50E is very playful and comfy (for them, I guess), but from what I can understand, they’ve all had enough of the throttle limiter.
It was now my turn to torture the old bones and noticed how accurate my consultants actually were. The engine is indeed potent even for those who have late outgrown 50cc bikes and the bike doesn’t jerk at all. It doesn’t manage to get you bored and the constant fear of scrapping the knees keeps a rider alert at all times.
The smallest TT-R handles very easy due to a low center of gravity and the 10-inch wheels deal properly with harsh bumps thanks to 3.8 inches of travel front and 2.8 inches of travel rear. It feels just like a miniature YZ model a stronger twist of the throttle won’t result into a wheelie, your feet can always help.
This bike is guaranteed to suffer out on the track so Yamaha made it basically bulletproof and it shows. It withstood a severe treatment of jumps and the implicit hard landings without complains and wheels were still on so that’s got to say something good about it.
Braking performance comes from the 80 mm drum brakes and is more than sufficient even for adult riders so the parents surely won’t complain about this aspect and agree to remove the throttle limiter after their children would have gathered enough experience. Nice bike, although my back doesn’t recommend it to old timers.
Price
A very small advantage in the highly-disputed 50cc class is the $1,299 suggested retail price of the Yamaha TT-R50E. Why an advantage? Simply because Honda will sell the CRF50F for $1,349 and the Yamaha is still a relatively new introduction. And we all know that people are keen on having the latest especially in this domain.
Conclusion
Yamaha knew how to choose its moment very well and by the time the public was bored of their only choice, there was the TT-R50E to make an awesome impression. Things have stood the same ever since and now, for 2009 both bikes feature the same technologically performances, looks, seating positions, making you thing they’re the same, only that colored differently. It’s a good thing that they have logos though!
Posted on
09.29.2010 @ 22:58