Where’s my tw200 owners???

whats up alright I’m a Yamaha husky tech at the local dealership I’ve always ridden bikes since I was 17. I’ve had supermotos and sport bikes and always dirt bikes.... right now I have a ktm 300xc that I’ve got all the stuff to make street legal dual sport... but I’m thinking about just selling and buying a tw200!! I’ve always wanted one and working at the dealership gives me a decent price on a new one!! If I get it it will get cam, carb and full exhaust before it ever leaves the shop.. what do y’all think anybody on here have a tw what’s the opinion on riding on the road?

 

Nobody has one that they love?

 

I figured I would atleast get a couple hits!!

 

I have one, and it's great so long as your expectations are reasonable. My 2004 is a blast to ride around town (the old saying sometimes it's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than it is to ride a fast bike slow)... you have to thrash it to keep up with normal traffic. Mine's geared a bit higher than stock (42 on the rear) so it can keep 55-60 so long as it's not uphill. That said i'll *never* take it on the highway, as that's super dangerous.

As for your modifications : You, working for a shop, probably know more than I , but I personally can't imagine it'd be worth much to invest in "performance" on a 16hp engine. You'll get it up to what. 17?

My Modifications :
Jimbo Shield (makes a big difference at "high" speed. worth it!)
Cycle Rack
Jumbo Tool Tube
Seat Concepts kit (MUST HAVE. stock seat is unpleasant after a while. this seat is super comfy now!)

Sadly mine's been out of commission this year because i'm lazy and need to pull the carb and clean the idle jet.

I really should consider picking up one of those trailer hitch carriers sometime.

 

Hey man I was dead set on a tw.... by ended up with a 14 xt250 instead.... is fuel injected and just all around a better bike... I still want a tw when I run across one for a deal( if you wanna let yours go) but the xt is great for me a commuter!! I’ve riden it to work 3 days this week at 31 miles one way and it does awesome I take back roads and got 77.5mpgs last tank!!

 

Good choice! I have a weird relationship with my TW. When I love it I love it, but then my feelings subside to "meh who cares" probably because I don't do much offroading. If I could go back in time there's a very good chance I'd look closer at something like the XT250. I get a slight bit of anxiety if i'm going "exploring" on the TW when I know that highways are not an option. I've gone out for a few hours and found myself a bit from home, and I'm ready to be home. So : I notice that I could pop on the highway and be home in 20 minutes, but NOPE i'd die so i guess I'll take an hour and a half to get there instead. I'm hanging on to it though for a few reasons. 1) emergency backup vehicle. If for some reason my trucks are out of commission and it's a blizzard and my kid needs medicine or I run out of scotch, I can pop on that TW and get to where's necessary (eventually) even in the apocalypse. 2) Portability. long term goals include family vacations where we trailer hitch mount the TW to whatever we're driving, for fun and flexibility. 3) It's a combination of bulletproof and beginner friendly that make it a PERFECT first bike for a lot of riders. My little girl will learn to ride on it, should she desire. I see a lot of similar experiences and sentiments with TW200s and Tacomas. Last forever, heavily moddable, dedicated enthusiastic community. The folks over at tw200forum.com are amazing. I'm here for it.

Edit : with the high gearing on the TW I pull in the 90's for MPG

 

Yeah if they would update the tw with the xt fuel injected motor it would win hands down!! I’m still going to do exhaust and programmer in the xt.... and smog delete just to open and clean it up a little!!

 

I've got one. Intended on taking it camping with me but as of yet it hasn't happened. I even made my own Jimboshield for it. Making the shield was a fun project. It took me a while to get it figured out but when I did I made a few of them.

 

I have a t-dub, I had to after buying one for the wife and discovering how much fun they are.
Recently took it to the Oregon dunes and it was a blast. Easily rode the dunes and beaches, this bike works great off road. Find myself riding it the most, it is just so easy going low and slow and taking in the sights, almost like learning to ride again.

 

I got the xt out the other day!! I plan to sell it in the spring and save the cash for a down payment on the new tenere 700!!

 

I have been amazed at what the TW could really do with 10hp. Whatcha gonna do with the 700 that you aren’t already doing with the 250?
Beware of great big heavy dirt bikes, they’re a handful

 

Longer adventure trips... weekends and some rides that I can take my wife on.... the xt does great but we would like to be able to jump on the highway and get places a little quicker!!

 

You nailed it, dirt bikes don’t do well on the street and just gets worse riding double.
I have an 1190 for riding double on the street and it does really good off road for a 500lb bike on street tires. So now I load up the TW every time I go camping and if there is any tarmac travel, the 1190 gets to go.
The real solution is to not ride double and teach your passenger to ride, its much more fun to ride together than riding double.

 

I think @vrod671 has one.

 

She has no interest at all in riding on the road....she will ride a pit bike in the yard with me and the kids or if we go camping or to a race or something she’ll ride my ruckuslol

 

The ruckus is a great bike to learn on, started the wife on a Zuma. Builds skills below 40mph and with no clutch/ shift the twist & go let’s you learn riding first and clutch and shifting later when you step up.

I also really like mini-bikes and think they could bring new blood into the sport. They could be a low cost way to learn to fab, weld and wrench on the cheap. Gotta lose the image issue first, most teens don’t want to be seen on a mini bike, Need to make them cool again.

 

Most rider safety courses use Rebels and TW200s AFAIK. Great way to learn the basics.

 

That thing is sweet! As a kid I learned to ride on an old 70's era Sears minibike, looked exactly like the one pictured below. It was sketchy as hell but so much fun lol

 

I had a Rupp/ Hodaka mini bike and everyone who rode it got hurt. It was really fast and had no suspension or brakes. ( not mine) My sister has never ridden again after her crash, but now I’m teaching her daughter to ride.

 

Nice! I think I could have fun on anything with two wheels. That's cool you're teaching your niece and I saw your wife rides too, awesome. My wife enjoys being a passenger but I'd love to start her out in the dirt or on a scooter.

You should stop by the Motorcycle BS thread, lots of riders here talking bikes and sharing pics and riding stories.