TLR200 tip-Don't cut/rake your frame till you try this first

[valvesrule]

With all the experienced TLR people insisting that the frame has to have 1 1/2 degrees steeper geometry to be proper for a "real" trials bike I was determined to find a less extreme method to achieve the equivalent result. Turns out if you remove the fork springs and bottom the forks you have apprx 11/16" clearance from the fender brace to the major face of the lower triple clamp. Saw or grind off the headlight/instrument mounting lug in the middle of the triple clamp and you can raise the fork tubes up 9/16", still have clearance and correct rake very close to 2 full degrees. Admittedly this doesn't shorten the wheelbase or change the weight bias significantly but it should make enough difference at 24 degrees to decide if you want to go the hacksaw route on your backbone tubes. Ground clearance does drop about 1/4" and the whole thing is still pretty much reversible if you don't like the results. Cost? 1 hacksaw blade and a couple hours of tinkering. While at it I changed the fork oil from fish gizzard squeazins' to synthetic atf and got a fork that's a bunch more compliant to ground irregularities. Bunny hops over rocks or logs just got a whole lot easier. Frontend feels much lighter too. Also removed the fork spring spacers and liked it even better but it was far too easy to bottom them so back in they went. Shortening the springs by removing the soft part of the dual rate and longer spacers will be next. I already did the rear springs and am very happy with the results there. Very rare bottoming compared to the way too soft dual rate stock. The rear end doesn't kick up nearly as often since it can absorb more of a bump now. I bought this bike with 699 original miles on it last year for $400. Added $100 for 11/53 PBI sprockets, another $100 roughly for a reworked engine, used Pirelli mt43 and bar risers. This thing is worth every cent so far. It's hell fun at 201 lbs with a half tank of gas. Makes a great change of pace from my XR600/650s and it's a super beginner/pit bike.

[Chuck.]

I've always disliked the feel of the two rate springs that Honda and other use, I can feel the transition to the high rate and find it annoying.  You can do several things to reduce the abrupt transition:

Make the preloads between the two forks different, this provides two smaller transitions instead of one.

use  different springs in each leg that have different transition points.

use one constant rate spring.

etc.

[valvesrule]

Just shortening the rear springs by removing the close spaced coils did the trick. Effectively they are straight rate now. I still have to play with the spacer length for preload a bit. They're too soft to be any use at all anyway, nearly complete coilbound even unloaded. as soon as you turn up the adjusters coil spacing was less than 1/8". Stand on the pegs and they went solid. Plenty off free space in the front coils to make them straight rate too.