OUR BIKES
First real outing in about 20 years. Quite possibly the TLR’s first competitive trial
I
have a Honda TLR250 trials bike. I know
it as a 1985 model. But I’ve also seen it
referred to as a 1982 unit. I really don’t
know which date is correct. You see,
Honda’s trials history seems to be both
well documented, yet still quite vague. Sure,
if you want to know what the works bikes
were from year to year, the enthusiasts will
tell you Rob Shepherd rode a TL300 in ’77,
while Eddy Lejeune competed on an RTL360
in ’82, and they’ll point to the detail
modifications made month by month. Oh,
and they’ll tell you Sammy Miller was the main
driver on development, starting back in 1974.
Plenty of history there. But is there any detail
on the humble TLR200/250 production bikes?
No. Your guess is as good as ours.
EXTREME HISTORY
I know some of this bike’s history, though. It’s
been mine since 1999 when I bought it from
Kiwi Rider colleague Dene Humphrey. He’d
had it for some years, used it as an extreme
bush trail weapon, where he would go riding
with KR editor John Nicholson and another
mate, all three on TLR250s, going places no
enduro bike could. The bikes had the odd
mod to suit that use which you might not see
on your average trials bike, like hand guards,
extended bash plates and ‘Humpster’ had
improvised a raised seat. It also must have
taken a few heavy blows along the way, for
this one has a mighty dent in the tank and
the rear guard was held together by a riveted
alloy plate.
34 KIWI RIDER