85 vs 86 tri-z

[85200xrider]

im meetin up with a guy later who has a 86 tri-z in parts...he only wants 100 for it all....he said it needs a top and and rear plastics.....i plan on using it as a parts bike for my 85.....

i know the 86 forks are bigger...but will the trees fit the 85 frame? or will the 85 motor fit in the 86 frame?

what would and what wouldnt work for swapping from one to the other?

btw...im going to have alot of parts that im going to be selling...hit me up if u need some

[factoryX]

no the 85 trees are smaller than the 86 ones, does it have a running motor? the 86 motor is worth $500-$700 running.

[Mosh]

You can swap all the parts between the 2 years,except for the 86 coolant bottle wont fit the 85 frame.

The 85 trees and forks will fit the 86 frame, and vice versa.

The rake was changed in the trees.

The 85 was raked out more and the 86 trees were raked back.
The 85's had a tendency to push, in the corners and felt twitchy at high speeds.
So they raked the forks and tripples back in 86 and beefed up the fork tubes to help that twitching/pushing feeling out, and inprove the front suspension action..
The trottles were different in 86 too.
You have to use the 86 throttle cable with the 86 thumb throttle.

[85200xrider]

ok thank you mosh....and factory...unfortunatly no it doesnt....according to him it has no top end and the bottom end is junk too...if it had the motor id probably keep it as a whole

[factoryX]

well if the tranny is still there you could switch it over to your 85 hint hint...

[85200xrider]

thats what i was thinking....but reading up the 6 spd makes the gears too short...and mine seem short as it is

[factoryX]

lol, I had both 85 and 86 and the 6 gear comes in handy.

[lndy650]

i much prefer 5 gears! people think 6 gears makes it faster but in reality it dosent. if you have the power you can accelerate much faster with a 5 speed and 5th has about the same ratio as the 6th gear in a 6 speed.

[factoryX]

lol, I have had both and the 86 was way more fun to ride at the dunes/trails, woods riding was a blast. Also, why then are the 6-speeds so highly sought after then? example, I sold the 85 motor for $320, and I then sold my 86 motor for $620.

[lndy650]

ive had both also and the 85 accelerated faster. the 6 speeds are sought after because people think an extra gear makes it faster

now to prove my point that less gears accelerates faster if you have the power.
a 125 2 stroke has 6 gears. a 250 has 5. hmmmm....... could that be because the 125 has less power and needs closer gear ratios to stay in the power band??ya i think so. a 250 with 6 gears is useless because your always shifting. the 86 200x had 6 that was a good move4 because it didnt have the power to handle a 5 speed. oh and the early cr 480's and the rm480/500's had 4 gears. i had a aircooled rm500 4speed and it was the fastest thing ive ever rode it would smoke my cr500 that was 10 years newer and liquid.

[factoryX]

so your saying that 5 speeds are faster all around?

[lndy650]

if you have the power to pull the gear yes. obviously if your geared for 100mph a six speed is better unless you have a 600cc twin 2 stroke or something or if you have an engine with a very narrow powerband. but a 250 2stroke has plenty of power to pull 75-80 with 5 gears.

[lndy650]

i read in 2 stroke performance tuning that some old road racers had 15 gears due to thier narrow but explosive powerbands

[factoryX]

so then why was my 86 faster than my 85? also, the the 86 had 170psi and the 85 had 180psi and both ran stock carbs. both where jetted correctly . Okay here is the list so far on both motors:
85 tri-z motor:
1. the 85 accelerates faster
2. great for drag racing.

86 tri-z motor:
1. longer engine life with less stress on the motor.
2.great resale value
3. great for all around riding because of the 6 gears which spreads out the power load.
4. highly sought after along with the 86 forks.

oh yeah the 85 seems to me like it kills the 86 motor...

[Mosh]

The 6 speed Tri-Z engine is more sought after becuase, the limited parts for the trans.

You see, the 85/86 Z engine will accept, 83-86 YZ 250 trans components which ran the same 5 speed gears as the 85 Z did.
Those trans' are everywhere with a abundance of parts to repair the 85/86Z. You can jam 85 YZ trans 5 speed parts in the 86 Z cases. And 86 Z trans parts in 85 cases.(If you neede to just to keep the trike running) Of course, doing this to a 86 Z motor reverts it back to a 5 speed.
The 86 stuff is more sought after, specifically for resto enthusiast's, that have a 86 Z they want to keep stock with a 6 speed.That engine combo was only used for 1 year by Yamaha, so there are almost no parts for them.

Honestly, the Z engine 5 vs 6 speed debate is null.
They both run out at about the same top speed.
The 6 speed requires more rider input, becuase of the extra gear.(plus 2 more parts that can break)
On a MX track...The 5 speed is better. Less shifting.
Actually, for most riding conditions, 6th gears are hardly used..Most Banshee's and 250r's can barely pull 6th gear in sand, with decent engine mods.In the trails..there is almost nowhere to leg out a 6 speed,and on a MX track, I have yet to hit 6th gear on any track I have been on..
I would much rather deal with the 85 Z stuff, just becuase it is less work on me, the rider, and there are almost infinent trans parts for replacement.