It did way better than I was expecting. I wasn’t sure how well the dual sport tread of the rear tire would bite. There will definitely be some snow tests! I’m not going to put it in storage this winter. I want to ride it in different snow conditions to see how it does. 😄👍
Nice to meet you. I have watched some of your videos. You enjoy nature very much. It's wonderful 😀. I am an old guy living in rural BC. I have ridden about 6 on-road bikes in my youth, but I am new to off-road vehicles, so I have a question for you. I am trying to decide between a TW200, a KLX230 or an XL150. Each has its own advantages. I know it's all about usage and personal preference, but I'm not sure. I am not looking for speed, I want to enjoy the backroads like in your video. I also want to enjoy fishing in the creeks we encounter on the backroads. I feel that the larger tires on the TW are more effective for downhill riding, as well as for climbing hills. I feel that I will be able to descend more safely. Would the TW be easier to ride in these backroad conditions compared to the typical dual sport vehicle I mentioned above?
Thanks for checking out my channel! 😄 I’ve not ridden or even sat on either the Kawasaki 230 or Honda 150. I’ll relate those two bikes to the ‘13 Suzuki DR 200 we have and knowing how the DR compares to my TW. The biggest difference is the tires. Basically the TW does much better off road and is more comfortable and confidence inspiring to ride off road than a regular tire dual sport bike. The TW also has the lowest seat height which is a huge benefit for riding off road. I’ve not found the TW to be lacking in ground clearance due to its smaller and lower dimensions. From the sounds of your desired use, the TW would be the most enjoyable bike as it’ll more easily access creeks in remote areas and it much easier to ride over rocks. There are rear racks available for the TW that make it easier to carry things on the back. But, if your riding will involve a lot of highway riding to get to your destination than the Kawasaki would be the better choice since it has a 6th gear, bigger motor and will be able to keep up with traffic at higher than 55 mph speeds. At 55 the TW is revving out pretty good with stock gearing. I’ve read that guys will gear them up but then that’ll sacrifice from power and torque at low speed in 1st gear. Put simply the TW is not great at highway speeds. On secondary paved roads with lower speed limits it does fine. The engine doesn’t sound like it’s revving out so much at 45 mph. The Honda is really attractive for price and that it’s a Honda but I think a 150 is too small of a displacement to ride at highway speeds. It’s as heavy as the the bikes so it’ll be even slower and underpowered. Our DR200 does a bit better than the TW on the highway I think primarily because the tires/wheels have less wind and rolling resistance. But off road the TW is much better. The Kawasaki has a rear disc brake which is very nice and the fuel injection is easier to live with day to day as you don’t have to choke it. But, if it does start having issues, it’s likely you won’t be able to repair it yourself. A carb’d Japanese air cooled motorcycle is really the epitome of reliability in my mind. That said, I don’t have ethanol in my area and it’s my understanding that fuel can gum up carburetors in storage. However, turning a screw to drain the float bowl for the winter months is very, very easy so I don’t know if it’s as big of a deal as some make it out be.
Feel free if you’ve got more questions. I like talking motorcycles. A good channel to check out is Mobstreet. He’s got several TW’s and also a Kawasaki 230 and had some comparisons between the bikes. As I recall he was trying to sell his 230 as he ended up not like it as much as he thought he would. It also had some mechanical or electrical issue with the bike. Cheers!
@@thatalaskaguy Thank you for all your kind explanations. I am an immigrant from Japan to Canada and I am very impressed that dirt bikes are selling well in North America. After all, we have the vast wilderness so close at hand! The Suzuki DR200 is also a nice bike ! The TW is probably the best for my purposes, but sometimes I will want to go long distances on the pavement, so that is a problem. I wish I could own more than one motorcycle like you guys do😅. I was also concerned about the fuel ethanol/carburetor issue, but I'm easily thinking that if I'm careful and maintain it on a regular basis, it should be fine. My son also owns two motorcycles with carburetors from the 80's, but he also says he wants a FI motorcycle next. I was also looking at your recommendation of MobStreet. He too was very kind to give me a review and I appreciate it very much. Thank you once again. Please keep showing us the wonderful nature of Alaska.😃
@vlogfuji Right on, glad I could help! Draining a single carb is generally really easy to do. But a guy can also use a fuel stabilizer and just pour it into the tank and run the engine (better yet, go for a short ride) to get the stabilizer into the carb. Then that’s it. I use Stabil fuel stabilizer in my snowmachines every spring and have no carb clogging issues. EFI is really nice until it has an issue. But, if you have easy access to a dealer for repairs then not a huge deal. But for me my closest dealer is a 500+ mile round trip away so I don’t want fuel injection on my summer machines. I can easily diagnose and fix any carb issues at home. All that said, we’ve got a 9 year old Yamaha SxS with fuel injection and it runs perfectly and has never had an issue but it also has less than 2000 miles on it. I think you might look at the Honda CRF300LS. It’s got a 32” seat height so good for off-road and would have more power and speed for highway riding. Kawasaki also has a 300cc bike. The speed limit on our highway is 65 mph so everyone does 70 and the TW just sucks in that situation with stock gearing. The engine sounds like it’s revving it’s guts out, it doesn’t have enough speed or power to climb hills and keep that speed so cars stack behind you and it’s nerve wracking. A 300cc bike should be able to cruise at those speeds with a bit of power and speed in reserve. Ideally though a 650 dual sport can more easily lope along at lower revs but still have plenty of power and speed available in reserve. But they are big, heavy pigs off-road. I’ll take my TW places I wouldn’t even try with my DR 650. Yeah, ultimately two different dual sport bikes is the best solution. It’ll probably be a pros and cons list on a sheet of paper for you to help make a decision. I just ended up buying different bikes for the past 10 years and kept them, riding whichever one is best suited for where I was going that day. But riding is my main hobby so I don’t mind “collecting” bikes. 😁
@@thatalaskaguy Hi there, Thank you very much for your very kind explanation. First of all, I am not an extreamer like you, just an old guy😅, so I am proud to say that CFL300, KLX300, etc. are not suitable for my capabilities. So my choices are TW200, XT250 and KLX230. These bikes are more than enough for me.😄 And the weight of the motorcycle is also taken into account. The best thing is to be able to ride easily. But I am sure that if I buy one motorcycle, I will want another one...😁 Thank you again for your kindness.
The little bike that can. Snow tests next for the lil guy?
It did way better than I was expecting. I wasn’t sure how well the dual sport tread of the rear tire would bite.
There will definitely be some snow tests! I’m not going to put it in storage this winter. I want to ride it in different snow conditions to see how it does. 😄👍
Nice to meet you. I have watched some of your videos. You enjoy nature very much. It's wonderful 😀.
I am an old guy living in rural BC. I have ridden about 6 on-road bikes in my youth, but I am new to off-road vehicles, so I have a question for you.
I am trying to decide between a TW200, a KLX230 or an XL150. Each has its own advantages. I know it's all about usage and personal preference, but I'm not sure. I am not looking for speed, I want to enjoy the backroads like in your video. I also want to enjoy fishing in the creeks we encounter on the backroads.
I feel that the larger tires on the TW are more effective for downhill riding, as well as for climbing hills. I feel that I will be able to descend more safely.
Would the TW be easier to ride in these backroad conditions compared to the typical dual sport vehicle I mentioned above?
Thanks for checking out my channel! 😄 I’ve not ridden or even sat on either the Kawasaki 230 or Honda 150. I’ll relate those two bikes to the ‘13 Suzuki DR 200 we have and knowing how the DR compares to my TW. The biggest difference is the tires. Basically the TW does much better off road and is more comfortable and confidence inspiring to ride off road than a regular tire dual sport bike. The TW also has the lowest seat height which is a huge benefit for riding off road. I’ve not found the TW to be lacking in ground clearance due to its smaller and lower dimensions. From the sounds of your desired use, the TW would be the most enjoyable bike as it’ll more easily access creeks in remote areas and it much easier to ride over rocks. There are rear racks available for the TW that make it easier to carry things on the back.
But, if your riding will involve a lot of highway riding to get to your destination than the Kawasaki would be the better choice since it has a 6th gear, bigger motor and will be able to keep up with traffic at higher than 55 mph speeds. At 55 the TW is revving out pretty good with stock gearing. I’ve read that guys will gear them up but then that’ll sacrifice from power and torque at low speed in 1st gear. Put simply the TW is not great at highway speeds. On secondary paved roads with lower speed limits it does fine. The engine doesn’t sound like it’s revving out so much at 45 mph.
The Honda is really attractive for price and that it’s a Honda but I think a 150 is too small of a displacement to ride at highway speeds. It’s as heavy as the the bikes so it’ll be even slower and underpowered. Our DR200 does a bit better than the TW on the highway I think primarily because the tires/wheels have less wind and rolling resistance. But off road the TW is much better. The Kawasaki has a rear disc brake which is very nice and the fuel injection is easier to live with day to day as you don’t have to choke it. But, if it does start having issues, it’s likely you won’t be able to repair it yourself. A carb’d Japanese air cooled motorcycle is really the epitome of reliability in my mind. That said, I don’t have ethanol in my area and it’s my understanding that fuel can gum up carburetors in storage. However, turning a screw to drain the float bowl for the winter months is very, very easy so I don’t know if it’s as big of a deal as some make it out be.
Feel free if you’ve got more questions. I like talking motorcycles. A good channel to check out is Mobstreet. He’s got several TW’s and also a Kawasaki 230 and had some comparisons between the bikes. As I recall he was trying to sell his 230 as he ended up not like it as much as he thought he would. It also had some mechanical or electrical issue with the bike.
Cheers!
@@thatalaskaguy
Thank you for all your kind explanations.
I am an immigrant from Japan to Canada and I am very impressed that dirt bikes are selling well in North America. After all, we have the vast wilderness so close at hand!
The Suzuki DR200 is also a nice bike ! The TW is probably the best for my purposes, but sometimes I will want to go long distances on the pavement, so that is a problem. I wish I could own more than one motorcycle like you guys do😅.
I was also concerned about the fuel ethanol/carburetor issue, but I'm easily thinking that if I'm careful and maintain it on a regular basis, it should be fine. My son also owns two motorcycles with carburetors from the 80's, but he also says he wants a FI motorcycle next.
I was also looking at your recommendation of MobStreet. He too was very kind to give me a review and I appreciate it very much.
Thank you once again. Please keep showing us the wonderful nature of Alaska.😃
@vlogfuji Right on, glad I could help!
Draining a single carb is generally really easy to do. But a guy can also use a fuel stabilizer and just pour it into the tank and run the engine (better yet, go for a short ride) to get the stabilizer into the carb. Then that’s it. I use Stabil fuel stabilizer in my snowmachines every spring and have no carb clogging issues.
EFI is really nice until it has an issue. But, if you have easy access to a dealer for repairs then not a huge deal. But for me my closest dealer is a 500+ mile round trip away so I don’t want fuel injection on my summer machines. I can easily diagnose and fix any carb issues at home. All that said, we’ve got a 9 year old Yamaha SxS with fuel injection and it runs perfectly and has never had an issue but it also has less than 2000 miles on it.
I think you might look at the Honda CRF300LS. It’s got a 32” seat height so good for off-road and would have more power and speed for highway riding. Kawasaki also has a 300cc bike. The speed limit on our highway is 65 mph so everyone does 70 and the TW just sucks in that situation with stock gearing. The engine sounds like it’s revving it’s guts out, it doesn’t have enough speed or power to climb hills and keep that speed so cars stack behind you and it’s nerve wracking. A 300cc bike should be able to cruise at those speeds with a bit of power and speed in reserve. Ideally though a 650 dual sport can more easily lope along at lower revs but still have plenty of power and speed available in reserve. But they are big, heavy pigs off-road. I’ll take my TW places I wouldn’t even try with my DR 650.
Yeah, ultimately two different dual sport bikes is the best solution. It’ll probably be a pros and cons list on a sheet of paper for you to help make a decision. I just ended up buying different bikes for the past 10 years and kept them, riding whichever one is best suited for where I was going that day. But riding is my main hobby so I don’t mind “collecting” bikes. 😁
@@thatalaskaguy
Hi there,
Thank you very much for your very kind explanation.
First of all, I am not an extreamer like you, just an old guy😅, so I am proud to say that CFL300, KLX300, etc. are not suitable for my capabilities. So my choices are TW200, XT250 and KLX230. These bikes are more than enough for me.😄
And the weight of the motorcycle is also taken into account. The best thing is to be able to ride easily. But I am sure that if I buy one motorcycle, I will want another one...😁
Thank you again for your kindness.
Where is this? I’m in Palmer and love to hit a trail like this.
This is in Valdez on the other side of the bay. The video is of riding on the pipeline right of way. It’s a really pretty place to ride. 👍
👍🏼