History of the Tri-Z

[Trikeaholic]

who knows the most? Why are there so many 85's and not so many 86? What colors were available?? what is the difference between the 85-86?

[plkmonster2]

86 was the year that ended production, so I'd think that they were cut short, and didn't sell near as many. Also, the 86 has a 6 speed tranny, and i was told that the front forks are larger in diameter. As far as the colors, I think over the years they had a black/yellow, red/black, and the last one was white, and im not sure on the other color.

[TRI-Zbrian]

yes id also like to know everything i can about them

in 86 the over flow tank was located differntly then the 85 version and the 86 had differnt tripples and forks but would bolt up to the 85 also in 85 the front tire was a 25 inch and in 86 the front tire was a 23 inch

[twgranger]

The 86 had 9 Inch rear rims.

[Dynofox]

Here's some stuff i'll add:

85's were 5 speed tranny, only offered in yellow/black or black/red, had a 25 inch front tire.


86's had larger forks 39mm vs 85's 35mm, had more suspension travel front and rear, larger air box tube (tube that connects air box to carb, not 100% positive on this, but am quite sure), 6 speed tranny, different coolant over flow bottle/location, only offered in white/red had 9 inch rims with 21 inch rear tires, 23 inch front tire.

If I rememeber any more i'll edit my post and add it.

[Darius1502]

Good Question.

I posted an exhastive list of the details some time ago. I'll check to see if I can find it. Basically everything has been covered.

I might add that the 86 has more travel up front about an inch and more travel in the rear. It also as a bigger intake boot area and differnet jetting (I suspect as a result). The carb is also slightly different as well.

You may also be interested to know that the levers on the 86 are black versus aluminum silver and the 86 has dust boots over the levers. There is also a sticker under the headlight.

Some say there is not much difference others, like Denn on this board say they ride very different...I don't know for sure.

the picture of the 86 is mine (as you know Holic) and it has 20 inch Banshee tires and hub so the original set up is higher profile.

Here is a pic of both:

[CHAINSAW]

The differences in the carbs are as follows.
Both are VM32SS Mikuni's

85 pilot jet was #45, 86 was #35
the jets were all different along with needle settings, and air screw settings.
The Reed valves were also different sizes
85 was .20 mm thick, and 86 was .42

There was also minor differences in the piston sizes.

The frames were also a bit different..
85s trail measurement was 35, and 86 was 26mm

the 85s were overall longer, but the 86s were higher, had more wheelbase, and more ground clearance.. along with the above mentioned suspension differences.



Thats what I found by looking at the specs sheets on both years owners manuals..

[yamaman]

the 85s were overall longer, but the 86s were higher

I think this is becouse the rake angle is different,

iv got a 85 and 86 and they are/ride very different!!

[AirManCam]

Am I the only one that has seen a gold YES GOLD Tri-Z before? I was at an atv/c show and that was there im like huh? They were stock fenders too that were not painted. Any info on this or what? ;) Makes me wonder if it was an 87 or a 84 test model?

[TRI-Zbrian]

lol gold fenders are u sure they were not painted very well making it look like it came that way stock.

[AirManCam]

lol gold fenders are u sure they were not painted very well making it look like it came that way stock.
Man...if you weren't such a post whore and actually read before you posted you would know that they were STOCK fenders...I have no idea who,what,where they were from but they wre STOCK AND GOLD :rolleyes:

[TimSr]

Why are there so many 85's and not so many 86?

My undocumented theory is that Yamaha either had later release dates for new models, or just plain saw the wiriting on the wall a little quicker and starting ratcheting down production during the 86 model year. What leads me to this is that the Tri-Zinger was never released in 86 but the Quad-Zinger was only made in 86. If you ever take the front plastic off of a Quad-Zinger youll see that the front plastic over the gas tank fits right over top of an intact one piece Tri-Zinger plastic. My theory is that the 86 Tri-Zingers were never released at all, and converted into Quad-Zingers to liquidate what was already in the pipeline. Being intelligent business people, they probably pulled the plug on the TriZ production line at the same time, and only sold what had already been produced. Ive never found a better explanation.

[Darius1502]

So how many 86's were produced?

When did they pull the plug....or more specifically when in 86 did they stop production?