Lol, my 75 year old neighbor has one of these. He hops on it in the mornings with his fishing rod and metal detector and rides off to adventure. That’s the life! Great bike for it.
David I’m seventy seven and been riding mine for thirty one years and use it for fishing trips here West Virginia, mounted a PVC pipe on the rear frame to carry my fishing rod
Yup....that's gonna be me on my XT250 - essentially the same bike but slightly more capable in every respect. They put EFI on them in 2015 has front & rear discs, similar seat height and weight, and a very impressive 11in ground clearance. Suspension is meh....but I've had a ton of bikes from dirt to high HP street to sport, big heavy dual sport pigs, to an HD bagger - but the XT makes me smile more than any of them.......most of the time.....long highway travel is the only exclusion - but some people have taken them around the world.
It’s actually pretty good trail bike. I was hiking in Idaho in a fairly rough steep trail. And along came three old guys with chainsaws strapped to there TW’s doing trail maintances . I was impressed .
That’s one of the most Idaho stories I’ve ever seen on TH-cam lol. The ranger district I love on is 700000 acres and has a crew of five for trail maintenance. Citizen step up and do their duty to clear out their trails
I had a lot of bikes in my life so far, still owning 3 at the age of 59, but the TW is the one I will never sell!!! It can take you anywhere, no hassle, easy to maintain on your own, reliable, parts are cheap, funny to ride, not a bullet but doing good on every terrain! All the best from a TW rider in Romania, bike bought in France where only 68 TW 200s were imported. I have one of them!!! Ride long, Ride safe!
Every motorcycle accident can be prevented and in the event of such things, full gear is your seatbelt, your saftey line. To sit there and blame the machine is preposterous and silly.
These are brilliant for absolute noobs, people who live on farms and people who just want a point A - point B bike to ride. Had one for about 3 years, never failed me just kept on trucking away.
joe Vulcan heck yes they are good little bikes. I worked for a motorcycle training program, we had over 200 of them, they outlast most every other bike except our Honda Rebels
Your giggle/laughter when you went into the field from tarmac says everything about this bike! This is the bike I rode on when I undertook the BRC last year! Fell in ❤️ with it immediately!
I ve had more fun on my little '94 TW that was bought a few years ago than any other bike I ve ridden. Sure its goofy looking and not very fast. But like he said its bulletproof reliable, and can take you pretty much anywhere, just the other day I rode 20 miles of winding mountain highway, jumped off on logging roads that turned into miles more of single track mountain bike trails up the side of a craggy peak. played around on some pseudo track at an old quarry and was able to head back into to town for lunch all in the span of four hours. To top it off I know the old girl is truly tough as it was one of the only things that survived last year when our house burned in a forest fire that literally burned the entire city to the ground. Some of the plastics and the speedometer melted but its all still usable, left it on as a badge of honor.
We have a 94 as well, totally 90s ugly purple color too! Had it since 96, and it was locked up and trashed when we got it and it was only a couple years old. Rebuilt it preinternet when you just had to goto the dealership and pay whatever they charged for parts. Don't miss those days. We use it camping and hunting every year and it's never stranded us. Doesn't start quite as easy as our Honda FatCat, but it always starts. They're both a *ton* of fun in the snow too. Had people try and buy it, but I'll never sell it. People try and buy the FatCat *all* the damn time. They take pictures, sit on it without asking and the whole deal like it's a friggin' unicorn. For some reason people just love that thing. Had some absurdly high offers too, but I'll never sell that one either. I've been looking for the Yamaha copy, the Bigwheel, the model with the bigger engine. But I only ever see the smaller models for sale, and even those are few and far between.
@@ITS_AL1VE_Garage Yep! The BW 350! 👍 Very hard to find semi locally in reasonable condition. The few we’ve looked at have all had a bunch of frame rust/damage and just totally clapped out and still way overpriced. I don’t get why Honda or Yamaha hasn’t brought them back. They only made them for a couple years and people love them, I think they’d sell like crazy.
I had a tw125 at 16 and was killing it until I was 18, at the time I had no mechanical mercy, haven't done any maintenance that it needed, it was MY 1998 so 17 years old at the time after 30k km on road and offroad (just in my ownership) I absolutely adored it. Now thinking about it, it probably is the best engineered machine out there. Would recommend 100%
I finished and passed my MSF course over the weekend (as of typing this) and this was the bike I was assigned. As a 6'2 270 lb man riding this, I loved being on this thing, even with the quirks I had with it being the class bike. I'd happily buy one for myself to ride to work.
I grew up on a farm in rural Indiana and we had 2 of these. We also had a Honda Trail 70. It was literally a work machine. When we would relieve each other on the tractor one would ride out on the TW, hop on the tractor, the other would take the TW back to the farm. Rugged, durable, safe and reliable. One of them got crushed by a planter but the other is still going. They were bought new in 1980. Magnificent machine
Been thinking of downsizing from my 650 to one of these. I live on an island where the fastest speed limits are 55 mph, so this would actually work for me.
I didnt ride mine at all this year and I kid you not I waited for the shop to get if worked on a few months and he was busy as hell but he literally got it done the day AFTER i walked out of surgery for rotator cuff tear. We'll be on the road come march!!
I just took an MSF course on one of these bikes, it had over 3,000 miles on it, all from the same patch of asphalt at the course. Ran like a champ for me.
Love my TW! I've ridden it on the beach at Pismo, the rocky trails of the Sierra's, and everywhere in between. And it has handled everything amazing well. No, it's not fast, but for weekend adventures And exploring, there is no better bike!
I had a couple of these beauties - one for me and one for a 'buddy' to ride with me. They are a blast! Most at home off road but super great a commuting through city streets. Excellent gas mileage. And a great online community as well. Even though I have a faster, larger bike now, I regret selling my TW200s and will eventually buy another one.
I bought one new in May. Mine was $4900 with tax, and all those BS freight fees. Has a 1 year engine warranty, but I'm not quite sure it's possible to blow one up. Hands down my favorite thing is being able to go everywhere and getting almost 70mpg. I commute on mine in the summer and I maybe put $5 in it a week. Put a bigger Clarke tank on mine and added a backup fuel canister, I have over 200 miles of range on mine. Go get lost in the woods and never have to worry about running out of fuel. Great little bikes, everyone smiles and waves at you, and everyone wants to ride it.
Have one hanging off the back of my RV. Perfect for that. Trips to the store, and trips to the top of the mountain, it is equally comfortable. Respect the fatty.
I did my MSF training and testing on this bike. The MSF people had an array of bikes which included one TW which nobody wanted to ride. I decided to give it a try and after a short time absolutely loved the bike!
A jack of all trades, a master of none. Better to be capable of all, instead of just one. Edit: this was my first bike and I absolutely love it, this bike is a dream in western Canada, you can go anywhere through the mountains on one of these.
Get one you'll love it! Look for a well cared for used one and save a considerable amount of money and you'll be getting the same bike as a new one. Aside from one major change around 2002(give or take a year or two) which was the addition of a front disc brake in place of the old front drum brake they really haven't changed anything but the color and the decals from year to year!
I live with mine on black diamond trails out here in Idaho and Montana and it's done them all and never failed me. It truly is my go anywhere mountain goat of a bike and I'll never sell it!
I've thinking about one of these for a year or two now.... so watched quite a few reviews on them. This review was my favorite , laid it out in layman's terms with a little humor along the way, and pretty much finalized my decision.
Please continue the words of wisdom otherwise known as biblical principles and encouragement. There just as important, if not more so than the whole video. Great content, keep your faith and the rest will come to be. :John ; 2:05 AM....
Oh yea, if I remember correctly, this WAS the bike I did my MSF class on. I had to pay to get in with a private school, LRN2RYD in Barrington, IL (I believe that's where he was). Larry, the Instructor, was GREAT. Actually, 6 of the students in my 8 person class dropped out, leaving only 2 of us. We 2 ended up with LOADS of time in the saddle, TONS of individual attention, & were able to endlessly pick Larry's brain. 😁 Both of us ended up w/no points, passed with flying colors. Like the video's Presenter, I'm 6'2" & I fit on that small bike just fine. It had enough power to do what we were gonna do, but it WAS kinda "squirrelly" in the handling. I think that just made you work harder for the class. Just my thought.
I love this video. Hilarious when you said, "You and your buddies can be racing and redlining through the gears having lots of fun. Then you go by the cops and they say ' well, they're doing 10 under the speed limit so...' " 'And also "You can wreck this bike and not even get hurt because of your speed. Classic
I've had my 03 model for well over 10 years and I have ridden that thing through some of the most insane single track mountain terrain in Idaho and Montana and have seen some of the the most spectacular views and scenery ever on board my TW. It's the best little mountain goat freedom machine I could have ever bought and I'll never get rid of it! By far the best $1700 I ever spent on a motorcycle! I bought it with less than 2000 miles on it and have tripled that amount with zero issues! Still on the original set of tires to but I might get a fresh set this spring. You can't go wrong with the Yamaha TW 200!
I had one of these for a couple of years. Great little tractor of a bike. Me and some buddies who were all on TDubs hauled them over to ride the Tail of the Dragon and the spend the rest of the weekend explore every dirt road and things that used to be roads, fire breaks, and game trail we could find. It was a blast. Went back the following year with DRZs. The extra 200cc really didn't make anymore fun and in some cases almost got us in trouble. I wouldn't mind owning one again.
I sold my TW200 a couple of months ago. Best bike ever unless you want to go 60 mph for more than 10 minutes. It can climb any hill ever, and go through ATV type mud pits, it is just absolutely so slow 😂
? why ? my Chinese taotao powermax vip 150cc runs 55+ and sometimes i've run it wot for over an hour on some stretches . maybe you needed to get rid of that emissions crap and get a bigger carb and jet and open that pipe
Sounds like what Im looking for, but I'm 6'2 and 270 lbs. Might be a bit small , though it fits my criteria. Great video. Looking for something durable in the extra long term.
I have two TW200s. One, mine, is HEAVILY modified (jets, intake, exhaust, cam, gearing, EFM semi-auto clutch, kickstart, bars, Cyclerack, the ‘Jimbo’ shield, Clarke XT350 tank, stiffer fork springs with cartridge emulators, stiffer rear shock, and much more) and I love it. It now has the ability to do well over 80 with me and my light camping gear on it, and will go absolutely anywhere effortlessly, and is extremely comfortable at 45-60 on the secondary roads I ride it on (I wouldn’t ride anything on the highway, too much weight moving too fast at the hands of too distracted drivers for my taste) while being the easiest bike I’ve ever ridden to ride. The other one, the girlfriend/loaner bike is almost stock, just the semi-auto clutch, jets (something they all benefit immensely from), and bars (again, they could all use them, they’re too low for almost anyone to comfortably stand on the bike). I can’t imagine a better all-purpose motorcycle for someone like me who likes to trail ride, camp, and ride around out on country roads and doesn’t care about being fast or taking long interstate trips. I hope they make them forever. I do kinda wish that a SLIGHTLY larger, fuel injected, 350-ish cc variant could exist, but I know it never will and my hot-rodded 200 does everything I really want it to just fine.
look at Pro Cycle they have the new 3.4 gal tank and it fits like a dream and all the upgrade parts you could ever want. I just installed one on my 1989 TW200.
A guy on a adventure forum road a TW 200 from Utah to Alaska. He posted about his adventure it was hilarious. He ran out of gas many times. The TW 200 is the living cult classic of motorcycles.
I DO believe this WAS the bike I did my MSF Class on! I remember thinking I'd be too tall for it, but I ended up fitting fine. The darn thing WAS a bit "squirrelly" with the handling, but that just made you work harder & concentrate on what you were doing(?). LRN2RYD in Barrington, IL (I believe) was who's class I took. The Instructor, Larry, let the 2 of us that showed up that we were IT. the other 6-7 students dropped(!?). Consequently, we got LOADS of ride time, TONS of individual attention, & picked Larry's brain endlessly. Great experience, both of us tested out (on those little Yams) w/no points, & had a good time too. Thanks, Larry!
Everything you said about these bikes I why I want to buy one for my exploring adventures. It'll go most everyplace I'd want to go. It's light and nimble. I could ride it to town and pick up more supplies vs having to tear apart my campsite to use my truck. It really seems like a good all around choice.
Years ago that bike made me want a dual sport after looking around at new bikes I decided to get a DRZ 400s...that was in 2001 and she is still a reliable bike
i bought a klx 250 over this for street use, but man I still loved this bike exists. I hope it just stays like this forever. It's perfect, it ages even better. It has become less a joke and more and more just pure respect. Truely the Jeep of motorcycles.
I bought one new in 1987 and rode it over 5K miles before upgrading to an XT-600. I regret selling it. It goes fast enough to get hurt, it goes through everything and made everyone who rode it smile. Avoid roads with a 50+ mph speed limit and your fine. Keep it in its zone and will never fail and it will never let you down. When it was first introduced it had the largest street legal tire ever made....
I was riding my tw200 on some rough and steep trails this past weekend. I dumped it twice. I blame my lack of riding ability. A more experienced rider would have fared better. The only damage was a few scratches on the plastic. It was great going up the steep hills with loose rock. The thing is like a tractor. I never stalled it, nor did I have to really get on the throttle. It just plugged away up the hills. It fared better than the other bikes in the group in the loose pea gravel as well.
It’s a damn nice bike, but I wonder how much better it’d be with 50cc more. It’s incredible that it’ll do highway speeds, and looks like it’s more than capable of small town/city surface road commuting. Might try finding one.
I rode a TW200 with racks front and back surveying off-road trails for erosion for for years. It will hunt pretty hard in dry desert sand, but other than that it was the ideal bike. And it would take you down the highway between trail heads to the store for a snack or back to camp :)
I hope you rejetted it for wot... lol I bought a 2015 dr200s in '16 and I'll hold it at 90 for miles but I have doubled up on the slide springs, drilled out the vacuum holes slightly in the slide to prevent shudder on lift, then had to drill out one of the baffles of the exhaust and take the lid off the airbox and it runs like a full on race bike that puts stock 300s to shame lol
Back in 2014 my friends and I rode from Duluth MN to Kansas and picked up the Trans American Trail there. We then rode the trail to Port Orford OR. I was extremely loaded with gear. It was fine but obviously underpowered. Bottomed out constantly and one of the high passes in CO I had to turn around and go around the mountain. I wasn’t jetted and it ran terrible like at 13000 feet. Anything over a mile up it would kinda spitter and sputter. But she made it. I’d hold it wide open almost all of the 6000 miles. It would burn oil at that high of rpm. On the way back in mountain home Idaho, she finally blew. The piston was cracked all the way across the face. I don’t know if I starved it of oil or what. Had it rebuilt in mountain home and rode it the rest of the way back to Duluth. I had been operating under the assumption it didn’t have the power to redline in top gear so I just gave her the beans the whole time. (Not after the rebuild though. ).
Haters gonna hate. This is a friggin GREAT camp bike. Good on trails. Easy to maneuver. Great fuel mileage. For the money, a good serviceable machine for its purpose.
The one thing to watch out for as a learner is that first gear is so low it will easily power wheelie. First timers may want to use second gear to avoid that if whiskey throttle is a concern. Amazing MSF bike, though, probably the best all around choice for all of the tests. Groms are good for the non-timed stuff, but struggle during the timed portions.
When I test drove the one I bought I let out the clutch a little too quick and she came right up on me. The current owner at the time then said "yea I forgot to warn you about that" lol
My best friend in the Air force had a TW200 when we were stationed in Japan. That bike was so cool, so unique. He blacked it all out. To this day I get all excited if I happen to see someone riding one lol.
I learned on a TW 200. It’s basically a perfect beginner bike. If you cut a corner too close and end up on the grass? You’ll probably be fine. It’s a little quicker than you might expect a 200 to go. It’s not an H2 or anything but you don’t feel horribly slow.
This bike reminds me of my first ride. 1976 XL 100cc I bought brand new for $615.00. Top end 60 mph going down hill with the wind at my back. but I could go anywhere with that little 4 stroke. It had lights, blinkers and I loved her. Took me to my girlfriends house a hundred plus times. Those where the days, night rides with a full moon in the summer, she got me hooked on bikes. Sold her to go to college, regret.
It's not only slow and lacking suspension, but it's super capable, reliable, and simple. It can go through the hard stuff easier than the tough bikes but without the ego. They are great bikes for most people, but not everyone. In the sand and trails, very confident.
Reason # 1. They are FUN! I keep one at my cabin where everything is loose sand. Nothing else will handle sand to easily. Reminds me of bikes I began on, 50+ yrs ago. There are guys taking these things across the United States.
Never rode one of these but thinking of picking up a good used one in the next week. Have only heard good things about them from owners. One guy said he was hauling full speed down a dark highway at night and there was a road killed deer right on the road and he had no time to miss it. The bike literally hit the deer and went air borne, jumped the deer, came back down and continued on safely like it was no big deal. That guy said he would expect nothing less from his TW200!
this is what i took my safety training on in Newark, CA. they asked what my current bike was, told them 1500 vulcan so they stuck me on this which was their biggest bike. id say its a great first bike for someone 16yrs or older. younger if theyre more experienced at riding. it has a good seat height as well. im 5'6" and didnt mind the ride height.
Did mine through harley davidson riding Academy, we road their harley davidson street 500s. Weird I'm 5'6 as well, bought myself an HD iron 1200. Nice bike man
I was going to say the same thing. In the videos there's a warehouse bikes. But when I search there's only 1.5 pages of bikes for sale. A couple cruisers, couple sport bikes and a couple Harleys.
saw this video and brought back fond memories. I took the MSF course here in Illinois, and this is the bike that was predominantly used in class, loved the darn thing. Fast forward a few bikes and years later, and I still want to buy one. I may just do that, have to convince the wife first. Great video and even though it was last year, it's new to me.
i bought mine in 2018, it was a year old with 12 miles on it, the kid just didnt like it, but i got it for a 1200 less than brand new, its a fantastic bike and makes an awesome beginner bike.
I havea tw200 and love it! I bought it two months ago and have ridden it over 1000miles already. I use it for my daily commute and get between 50-100miles per week on dirt as well. It's a fantastic bike, reliable, and super capable even with only 11hp. I would recommend this bike to anyone looking for an affordable mini dual sport bike.
@@nast3282 cafe runs around town are a blast. Not really great for highway use though as top speed on my ‘01 is about 65mph. I don’t generally like to run it that fast, especially for extended periods of time. But for an in town commuter and giggle inducing trail bike, it’s awesome.
I started riding one, it was my first bike after I got my license. It was red and white, I think it was a 1988 and I got it new. I would love to get another one now but budget doesn't alow for that. God bless, stay safe.
The way you were laughing when you were riding that, says it all . these things take you back to when riding was fun and not a status symbol. My 89 still makes me smile when riding and thats what its all about.
Lol, my 75 year old neighbor has one of these. He hops on it in the mornings with his fishing rod and metal detector and rides off to adventure. That’s the life! Great bike for it.
David I’m seventy seven and been riding mine for thirty one years and use it for fishing trips here West Virginia, mounted a PVC pipe on the rear frame to carry my fishing rod
I'm 16 this how I wanna be when I'm that age ride safe boys
I have a new dream for retirement. That's living right.
Yup....that's gonna be me on my XT250 - essentially the same bike but slightly more capable in every respect. They put EFI on them in 2015 has front & rear discs, similar seat height and weight, and a very impressive 11in ground clearance. Suspension is meh....but I've had a ton of bikes from dirt to high HP street to sport, big heavy dual sport pigs, to an HD bagger - but the XT makes me smile more than any of them.......most of the time.....long highway travel is the only exclusion - but some people have taken them around the world.
I'm in my 20s and that seems like a good life goal.
Had an 89' since 93'. It's like a big, dopey, friendly dog. I'll never sell it.
Hahahaha, funniest and most perfect comment for this bike! Spot on.
I want one of these big goofy dogs!
@@joshpalma2797 yes you do they are a blast poor suspension tractor like no trail needed log hopping goat lol
It’s actually pretty good trail bike. I was hiking in Idaho in a fairly rough steep trail. And along came three old guys with chainsaws strapped to there TW’s doing trail maintances . I was impressed .
That’s one of the most Idaho stories I’ve ever seen on TH-cam lol. The ranger district I love on is 700000 acres and has a crew of five for trail maintenance. Citizen step up and do their duty to clear out their trails
When u need a trail frame on a crappy 200cc touring bike emgine but u tune it on touring enduro
This was my first bike, still got it, thousands and thousands of miles later and still running strong. It has its place.
It actually looks really good from my point of view
Right
suzuki van van 125 look-alike
I had a lot of bikes in my life so far, still owning 3 at the age of 59, but the TW is the one I will never sell!!!
It can take you anywhere, no hassle, easy to maintain on your own, reliable, parts are cheap, funny to ride, not a bullet but doing good on every terrain!
All the best from a TW rider in Romania, bike bought in France where only 68 TW 200s were imported.
I have one of them!!!
Ride long, Ride safe!
I was hoping your channel would have some sick content of TW's in eastern europe!
"A sport bike will take you to meet you Creator", another pearl of wisdom from Sean!
he's wrong tho
Hahaha..
Every motorcycle accident can be prevented and in the event of such things, full gear is your seatbelt, your saftey line. To sit there and blame the machine is preposterous and silly.
Yeah, if you ride like him.
That was pretty funny!
Being a short woman this bike is by far my favorite. I love it so much, this thing is the toughest little stinker. Even if it's slow I love it.
Reliable, easy maintence, and can do everything poorly. But it can still do everything
These are brilliant for absolute noobs, people who live on farms and people who just want a point A - point B bike to ride. Had one for about 3 years, never failed me just kept on trucking away.
This bike isn't a race horse it's a mule. Which is why it's on nearly every farm in the midwest.
John Roe wow had no,idea, but makes sense, like a WW2 jeep
Like an old small block v8: it may run like crap, but it'll run like that for way longer than a newer vehicle will run at all.
Tw200’s are awesome.
I love your bike that's why I went to this video
OMG if it has Andrews approval that says a lot! Andrew you are the man and hopefully I seal the deal on a TW200 tm!
@matthew diederichs I sure hope you did get a new one!
Yes we have a word wide forum take a look TW200 forum
I bought a 2020 Tdub 2 months ago, My first bike, no regrets choosing the Tdub.
AbyssFlight I don’t know why he thinks they suck, they are great little utilitarian machines, true workhorses
joe Vulcan heck yes they are good little bikes. I worked for a motorcycle training program, we had over 200 of them, they outlast most every other bike except our Honda Rebels
Still have it Abyss? If not, what did you get? I bought a Kaw Z125 for my first bike but I’m thinking this would be better.
@@michelleseguin3863 yup, still have it still ride it regularly, planning a camping trip on it soon.
Took my riding class on one of these and I loved it! Instructor told me I was cheating because the bike was so nimble compared to the others.
Sean: "I'm actually pretty comfortable"
Bike: "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Your giggle/laughter when you went into the field from tarmac says everything about this bike! This is the bike I rode on when I undertook the BRC last year! Fell in ❤️ with it immediately!
I ve had more fun on my little '94 TW that was bought a few years ago than any other bike I ve ridden. Sure its goofy looking and not very fast. But like he said its bulletproof reliable, and can take you pretty much anywhere, just the other day I rode 20 miles of winding mountain highway, jumped off on logging roads that turned into miles more of single track mountain bike trails up the side of a craggy peak. played around on some pseudo track at an old quarry and was able to head back into to town for lunch all in the span of four hours.
To top it off I know the old girl is truly tough as it was one of the only things that survived last year when our house burned in a forest fire that literally burned the entire city to the ground. Some of the plastics and the speedometer melted but its all still usable, left it on as a badge of honor.
We have a 94 as well, totally 90s ugly purple color too! Had it since 96, and it was locked up and trashed when we got it and it was only a couple years old. Rebuilt it preinternet when you just had to goto the dealership and pay whatever they charged for parts. Don't miss those days.
We use it camping and hunting every year and it's never stranded us. Doesn't start quite as easy as our Honda FatCat, but it always starts. They're both a *ton* of fun in the snow too. Had people try and buy it, but I'll never sell it. People try and buy the FatCat *all* the damn time. They take pictures, sit on it without asking and the whole deal like it's a friggin' unicorn. For some reason people just love that thing. Had some absurdly high offers too, but I'll never sell that one either.
I've been looking for the Yamaha copy, the Bigwheel, the model with the bigger engine. But I only ever see the smaller models for sale, and even those are few and far between.
@@jdisdetermined the BW 350?!? Always wanted one they look so dang cool with the fat knobby RAZOR 2 atv tire on the back 😂
@@ITS_AL1VE_Garage Yep! The BW 350! 👍 Very hard to find semi locally in reasonable condition. The few we’ve looked at have all had a bunch of frame rust/damage and just totally clapped out and still way overpriced. I don’t get why Honda or Yamaha hasn’t brought them back. They only made them for a couple years and people love them, I think they’d sell like crazy.
I had a tw125 at 16 and was killing it until I was 18, at the time I had no mechanical mercy, haven't done any maintenance that it needed, it was MY 1998 so 17 years old at the time after 30k km on road and offroad (just in my ownership) I absolutely adored it. Now thinking about it, it probably is the best engineered machine out there. Would recommend 100%
I finished and passed my MSF course over the weekend (as of typing this) and this was the bike I was assigned. As a 6'2 270 lb man riding this, I loved being on this thing, even with the quirks I had with it being the class bike. I'd happily buy one for myself to ride to work.
I grew up on a farm in rural Indiana and we had 2 of these. We also had a Honda Trail 70. It was literally a work machine. When we would relieve each other on the tractor one would ride out on the TW, hop on the tractor, the other would take the TW back to the farm. Rugged, durable, safe and reliable. One of them got crushed by a planter but the other is still going. They were bought new in 1980. Magnificent machine
Been thinking of downsizing from my 650 to one of these. I live on an island where the fastest speed limits are 55 mph, so this would actually work for me.
Lighter weight, more mpg. I don’t see why not
I put 9k miles on mine last year.
@@bobbymorgan2236 i have slowed down since I dont wanna wear it out yet :)
Bobby Morgan Been driving mine for thirty one years and only have fourteen thousand miles on it
I didnt ride mine at all this year and I kid you not I waited for the shop to get if worked on a few months and he was busy as hell but he literally got it done the day AFTER i walked out of surgery for rotator cuff tear. We'll be on the road come march!!
Just bought my 2nd one at 59yrs old...should be my last:)
@@johnballentine3458 they're cheap and life goes by too fast....ride it.
..the aliens that discover our civilization thousands of years from now will love riding it.
HOLY💩‼️
I just took an MSF course on one of these bikes, it had over 3,000 miles on it, all from the same patch of asphalt at the course. Ran like a champ for me.
Loved the one my nephew had. Everyone of us had a ball riding it for years in a huge field. Couldnt tear it up.
Love my TW! I've ridden it on the beach at Pismo, the rocky trails of the Sierra's, and everywhere in between. And it has handled everything amazing well. No, it's not fast, but for weekend adventures And exploring, there is no better bike!
Not fast but it always gets you there!
I had a couple of these beauties - one for me and one for a 'buddy' to ride with me. They are a blast! Most at home off road but super great a commuting through city streets. Excellent gas mileage. And a great online community as well. Even though I have a faster, larger bike now, I regret selling my TW200s and will eventually buy another one.
I bought one new in May. Mine was $4900 with tax, and all those BS freight fees. Has a 1 year engine warranty, but I'm not quite sure it's possible to blow one up.
Hands down my favorite thing is being able to go everywhere and getting almost 70mpg.
I commute on mine in the summer and I maybe put $5 in it a week.
Put a bigger Clarke tank on mine and added a backup fuel canister, I have over 200 miles of range on mine. Go get lost in the woods and never have to worry about running out of fuel.
Great little bikes, everyone smiles and waves at you, and everyone wants to ride it.
Have one hanging off the back of my RV. Perfect for that. Trips to the store, and trips to the top of the mountain, it is equally comfortable. Respect the fatty.
I did my MSF training and testing on this bike. The MSF people had an array of bikes which included one TW which nobody wanted to ride. I decided to give it a try and after a short time absolutely loved the bike!
I’ve always wanted to swap a 250 2stroke in to one of these it would be a trail monster
A jack of all trades, a master of none. Better to be capable of all, instead of just one.
Edit: this was my first bike and I absolutely love it, this bike is a dream in western Canada, you can go anywhere through the mountains on one of these.
perfect little cabin /farm /local commuter bike
I commute daily on mine. It is so easy to ride.
Been in love with this bike since I was a little boy. One of my many dream dirtbikes in those days. I'm 36 now and would still love to have one.
I got one this past summer. I have the TW and a Yamaha FZ8. The FZ almost never gets ridden anymore. It is such a pleasure to ride.
Get one you'll love it! Look for a well cared for used one and save a considerable amount of money and you'll be getting the same bike as a new one. Aside from one major change around 2002(give or take a year or two) which was the addition of a front disc brake in place of the old front drum brake they really haven't changed anything but the color and the decals from year to year!
I bought a 2017 TW200 today. Can’t wait to ride it
What do you think? Worth it? Should I be looking for one?
@@MultiSpencerc I bought a 2016 new. I love the bike, great for town errands and can go basically anywhere. I'll never get rid of it
Absolute favorite motorcycle for off-road in the groves. It’s a narrow 3 wheeler.
I've had my 2019 TW on black diamond trails with no problems. That 2.8:1 first gear makes it almost unstoppable.
I live with mine on black diamond trails out here in Idaho and Montana and it's done them all and never failed me. It truly is my go anywhere mountain goat of a bike and I'll never sell it!
I've thinking about one of these for a year or two now.... so watched quite a few reviews on them. This review was my favorite , laid it out in layman's terms with a little humor along the way, and pretty much finalized my decision.
i did my motorcycle class on one of these
as did I.. didn't get a point either, 100% pass.
Please continue the words of wisdom otherwise known as biblical principles and encouragement. There just as important, if not more so than the whole video.
Great content, keep your faith and the rest will come to be.
:John ; 2:05 AM....
Did mine through harley davidson riding academy and we rode their HD street 500s
Same here. Fell in love w/ the bike during MSF!
Oh yea, if I remember correctly, this WAS the bike I did my MSF class on.
I had to pay to get in with a private school, LRN2RYD in Barrington, IL (I believe that's where he was). Larry, the Instructor, was GREAT. Actually, 6 of the students in my 8 person class dropped out, leaving only 2 of us. We 2 ended up with LOADS of time in the saddle, TONS of individual attention, & were able to endlessly pick Larry's brain. 😁 Both of us ended up w/no points, passed with flying colors.
Like the video's Presenter, I'm 6'2" & I fit on that small bike just fine. It had enough power to do what we were gonna do, but it WAS kinda "squirrelly" in the handling. I think that just made you work harder for the class. Just my thought.
Greatest kid's toy ! My 1st bike was a 67 HD 250ss Sprint followed by a 73 Honda cl125s. Nice toys for a 14 year old!
I've sorta wanted one of these for about 25 years. Everything you said about it is true.
One of several reasons I love my ktm 390 Duke is smashing threw the gears and barely go over speed limit. So much fun to ride!!
It will do 80 if you draft someone.
That is a lie. 80.1
That farmer was probably ready to get his shotgun out with you blasting through his field.......
Corn was off would be pissed if it wasn't though and he would have lumps from the ears hear it from a friend lol
@Powerflinch Why'd the helicopter chase you?? 😲
I love this video. Hilarious when you said, "You and your buddies can be racing and redlining through the gears having lots of fun. Then you go by the cops and they say ' well, they're doing 10 under the speed limit so...' " 'And also "You can wreck this bike and not even get hurt because of your speed. Classic
A buddy of mine had one back in highschool. He rode that thing everywhere. It was awesome!
I've had my 03 model for well over 10 years and I have ridden that thing through some of the most insane single track mountain terrain in Idaho and Montana and have seen some of the the most spectacular views and scenery ever on board my TW. It's the best little mountain goat freedom machine I could have ever bought and I'll never get rid of it! By far the best $1700 I ever spent on a motorcycle! I bought it with less than 2000 miles on it and have tripled that amount with zero issues! Still on the original set of tires to but I might get a fresh set this spring. You can't go wrong with the Yamaha TW 200!
I bought a 2014 today with 132 miles on it .
I had one of these for a couple of years. Great little tractor of a bike. Me and some buddies who were all on TDubs hauled them over to ride the Tail of the Dragon and the spend the rest of the weekend explore every dirt road and things that used to be roads, fire breaks, and game trail we could find. It was a blast. Went back the following year with DRZs. The extra 200cc really didn't make anymore fun and in some cases almost got us in trouble. I wouldn't mind owning one again.
J Potts great point about the extra hp doesn’t change the fun factor.
I ride a dr200 as my daily driver and love every second of it. We need a tw200 and dr200 comparison already!
I love the guy that pulled over and moved that piece of metal. What a stand-up guy.
I sold my TW200 a couple of months ago. Best bike ever unless you want to go 60 mph for more than 10 minutes. It can climb any hill ever, and go through ATV type mud pits, it is just absolutely so slow 😂
? why ? my Chinese taotao powermax vip 150cc runs 55+ and sometimes i've run it wot for over an hour on some stretches . maybe you needed to get rid of that emissions crap and get a bigger carb and jet and open that pipe
Sounds like what Im looking for, but I'm 6'2 and 270 lbs. Might be a bit small , though it fits my criteria. Great video. Looking for something durable in the extra long term.
Not quite your size but I'm 6'1 and 230 and ride mine everywhere FWIW
Fun factor is definitely greater on smaller bikes!
I’m 69 years old and had bikes all my life.This is what I ride now and I love it!
Me: Thats a pretty sweet looking bike. I like its ruggedness.
Guy in the video: "its goofy looking"
Its looked the same the whole time they've made it and I agree it looks cool to me.
Learning to ride on my dad's 2014 TW. Tops out around 63mph, but I love the thing. It's a great starter bike, and it's super easy to work on (so far).
i got a mint 1987 model with 500 miles for $1400 a couple years ago
I have two TW200s. One, mine, is HEAVILY modified (jets, intake, exhaust, cam, gearing, EFM semi-auto clutch, kickstart, bars, Cyclerack, the ‘Jimbo’ shield, Clarke XT350 tank, stiffer fork springs with cartridge emulators, stiffer rear shock, and much more) and I love it. It now has the ability to do well over 80 with me and my light camping gear on it, and will go absolutely anywhere effortlessly, and is extremely comfortable at 45-60 on the secondary roads I ride it on (I wouldn’t ride anything on the highway, too much weight moving too fast at the hands of too distracted drivers for my taste) while being the easiest bike I’ve ever ridden to ride. The other one, the girlfriend/loaner bike is almost stock, just the semi-auto clutch, jets (something they all benefit immensely from), and bars (again, they could all use them, they’re too low for almost anyone to comfortably stand on the bike). I can’t imagine a better all-purpose motorcycle for someone like me who likes to trail ride, camp, and ride around out on country roads and doesn’t care about being fast or taking long interstate trips. I hope they make them forever. I do kinda wish that a SLIGHTLY larger, fuel injected, 350-ish cc variant could exist, but I know it never will and my hot-rodded 200 does everything I really want it to just fine.
Do you have a page with more detail on your mods?
look at Pro Cycle they have the new 3.4 gal tank and it fits like a dream and all the upgrade parts you could ever want. I just installed one on my 1989 TW200.
1v1 two tw’s are raceing going max speed extremely intense
Cop: eh their going 10 under
Hahaahah
A guy on a adventure forum road a TW 200 from Utah to Alaska. He posted about his adventure it was hilarious. He ran out of gas many times. The TW 200 is the living cult classic of motorcycles.
I want to make by TW200 an adventure Dubs
I DO believe this WAS the bike I did my MSF Class on! I remember thinking I'd be too tall for it, but I ended up fitting fine. The darn thing WAS a bit "squirrelly" with the handling, but that just made you work harder & concentrate on what you were doing(?).
LRN2RYD in Barrington, IL (I believe) was who's class I took. The Instructor, Larry, let the 2 of us that showed up that we were IT. the other 6-7 students dropped(!?).
Consequently, we got LOADS of ride time, TONS of individual attention, & picked Larry's brain endlessly. Great experience, both of us tested out (on those little Yams) w/no points, & had a good time too. Thanks, Larry!
Everything you said about these bikes I why I want to buy one for my exploring adventures. It'll go most everyplace I'd want to go. It's light and nimble. I could ride it to town and pick up more supplies vs having to tear apart my campsite to use my truck. It really seems like a good all around choice.
If it had a larger fuel tank on it, that thing would be right up my alley: To go play in the woods of Arkansas/Mo.
Gets about 80 miles per gallon with a 2 gallon tank.
Larger tanks are easy to install. I had a 2.8 gallon Clark tank on mine and got about 70 miles to the gallon. Never really worried about fuel.
That's where the DR200 comes into play. 3 gallon tank
They sell external gas tanks that mount onto the rear rack and work in conjunction with your normal tank.
Years ago that bike made me want a dual sport after looking around at new bikes I decided to get a DRZ 400s...that was in 2001 and she is still a reliable bike
"For sure! It's not gonna get there fast,
but it's always gettin there"
- RyanF9 2018 -
:-)
"I've had farts with higher compression"
Also RyanF9
i bought a klx 250 over this for street use, but man I still loved this bike exists. I hope it just stays like this forever. It's perfect, it ages even better. It has become less a joke and more and more just pure respect. Truely the Jeep of motorcycles.
I had a 87 BW200 loved that bike it could do anything... even tried to do my taxes once but I declined
I bought one new in 1987 and rode it over 5K miles before upgrading to an XT-600. I regret selling it. It goes fast enough to get hurt, it goes through everything and made everyone who rode it smile. Avoid roads with a 50+ mph speed limit and your fine. Keep it in its zone and will never fail and it will never let you down. When it was first introduced it had the largest street legal tire ever made....
I was riding my tw200 on some rough and steep trails this past weekend. I dumped it twice. I blame my lack of riding ability. A more experienced rider would have fared better. The only damage was a few scratches on the plastic. It was great going up the steep hills with loose rock. The thing is like a tractor. I never stalled it, nor did I have to really get on the throttle. It just plugged away up the hills. It fared better than the other bikes in the group in the loose pea gravel as well.
It’s a damn nice bike, but I wonder how much better it’d be with 50cc more. It’s incredible that it’ll do highway speeds, and looks like it’s more than capable of small town/city surface road commuting. Might try finding one.
The farm down the road from me growing up had a small fleet of these for scouting the crops
I have one I throw a Motorcycle Trailer Hitch when I go Overlanding in my truck and camping, it's perfect for it.
I rode a TW200 with racks front and back surveying off-road trails for erosion for for years. It will hunt pretty hard in dry desert sand, but other than that it was the ideal bike. And it would take you down the highway between trail heads to the store for a snack or back to camp :)
So true. It's not about what it can do, but where it can get you. Like Ryan F9 said, it won't get you there quickly, but it will always get you there.
I love my tw, it makes me laugh every time I ride it in a field, too. (If you hold it at 75, you'll blow the motor up xD).
I hope you rejetted it for wot... lol I bought a 2015 dr200s in '16 and I'll hold it at 90 for miles but I have doubled up on the slide springs, drilled out the vacuum holes slightly in the slide to prevent shudder on lift, then had to drill out one of the baffles of the exhaust and take the lid off the airbox and it runs like a full on race bike that puts stock 300s to shame lol
@@benson4u215 luv hot rodders
tw will blow instantly over 9000 rpm
Back in 2014 my friends and I rode from Duluth MN to Kansas and picked up the Trans American Trail there. We then rode the trail to Port Orford OR. I was extremely loaded with gear. It was fine but obviously underpowered. Bottomed out constantly and one of the high passes in CO I had to turn around and go around the mountain. I wasn’t jetted and it ran terrible like at 13000 feet. Anything over a mile up it would kinda spitter and sputter. But she made it. I’d hold it wide open almost all of the 6000 miles. It would burn oil at that high of rpm. On the way back in mountain home Idaho, she finally blew. The piston was cracked all the way across the face. I don’t know if I starved it of oil or what. Had it rebuilt in mountain home and rode it the rest of the way back to Duluth. I had been operating under the assumption it didn’t have the power to redline in top gear so I just gave her the beans the whole time. (Not after the rebuild though. ).
Haters gonna hate. This is a friggin GREAT camp bike. Good on trails. Easy to maneuver. Great fuel mileage. For the money, a good serviceable machine for its purpose.
The one thing to watch out for as a learner is that first gear is so low it will easily power wheelie. First timers may want to use second gear to avoid that if whiskey throttle is a concern. Amazing MSF bike, though, probably the best all around choice for all of the tests. Groms are good for the non-timed stuff, but struggle during the timed portions.
When I test drove the one I bought I let out the clutch a little too quick and she came right up on me. The current owner at the time then said "yea I forgot to warn you about that" lol
My MSF Instructor actually told the students who were riding this bike to do the figure 8 box maneuver in 2nd gear.
My best friend in the Air force had a TW200 when we were stationed in Japan. That bike was so cool, so unique. He blacked it all out. To this day I get all excited if I happen to see someone riding one lol.
I love how you said it was a apocalypse bike, then added if it can survive a emp...I have a whole new respect for your awareness and preparedness:)
I learned on a TW 200. It’s basically a perfect beginner bike. If you cut a corner too close and end up on the grass? You’ll probably be fine. It’s a little quicker than you might expect a 200 to go. It’s not an H2 or anything but you don’t feel horribly slow.
A allround bike, perfect for the cartell.
This bike reminds me of my first ride. 1976 XL 100cc I bought brand new for $615.00. Top end 60 mph going down hill with the wind at my back. but I could go anywhere with that little 4 stroke. It had lights, blinkers and I loved her. Took me to my girlfriends house a hundred plus times. Those where the days, night rides with a full moon in the summer, she got me hooked on bikes. Sold her to go to college, regret.
I love my TW200. It's a sweet little machine.
As I am looking through the comments I hoped I would run into some friends from the facebook group.
haha.. we're everywhere!
This bike is an absolute little beast! There are several videos documenting how rugged and reliable it is. It'll be my next bike. The xt250.
Great review. Thanks. This is a great compact machine for the big city that can survive the abuse. NYC is all off-road, anyway.
It's not only slow and lacking suspension, but it's super capable, reliable, and simple. It can go through the hard stuff easier than the tough bikes but without the ego. They are great bikes for most people, but not everyone. In the sand and trails, very confident.
My friend has an 87 one of these and it's still runs to this day
Reason # 1. They are FUN! I keep one at my cabin where everything is loose sand. Nothing else will handle sand to easily. Reminds me of bikes I began on, 50+ yrs ago. There are guys taking these things across the United States.
Took my msf on a tw 200 and it was a great bike for doing the tight slow speed maneuvers
Never rode one of these but thinking of picking up a good used one in the next week. Have only heard good things about them from owners. One guy said he was hauling full speed down a dark highway at night and there was a road killed deer right on the road and he had no time to miss it. The bike literally hit the deer and went air borne, jumped the deer, came back down and continued on safely like it was no big deal. That guy said he would expect nothing less from his TW200!
this is what i took my safety training on in Newark, CA. they asked what my current bike was, told them 1500 vulcan so they stuck me on this which was their biggest bike.
id say its a great first bike for someone 16yrs or older. younger if theyre more experienced at riding. it has a good seat height as well. im 5'6" and didnt mind the ride height.
Did mine through harley davidson riding Academy, we road their harley davidson street 500s. Weird I'm 5'6 as well, bought myself an HD iron 1200. Nice bike man
I bought one of these new in 1998 and sold three years later, and I still don't miss it.
Wherever I check their inventory it seems like they have the same 37 bikes for sale.
I was going to say the same thing. In the videos there's a warehouse bikes. But when I search there's only 1.5 pages of bikes for sale. A couple cruisers, couple sport bikes and a couple Harleys.
$1700 in 1987 is worth about $4000 today. So it is not an investment. But still for 30 years, it maintained it's value quite nicely.
saw this video and brought back fond memories. I took the MSF course here in Illinois, and this is the bike that was predominantly used in class, loved the darn thing. Fast forward a few bikes and years later, and I still want to buy one. I may just do that, have to convince the wife first. Great video and even though it was last year, it's new to me.
i bought mine in 2018, it was a year old with 12 miles on it, the kid just didnt like it, but i got it for a 1200 less than brand new, its a fantastic bike and makes an awesome beginner bike.
I clicked on because I couldnt BELIEVE this is still beimg made. Astonishing!
The XT250 as well. All is right in the world so long as those two are still being made.
I havea tw200 and love it! I bought it two months ago and have ridden it over 1000miles already. I use it for my daily commute and get between 50-100miles per week on dirt as well. It's a fantastic bike, reliable, and super capable even with only 11hp. I would recommend this bike to anyone looking for an affordable mini dual sport bike.
How does it work going to restaurants and that Kinda stuff and how does it work on the highway
@@nast3282 cafe runs around town are a blast. Not really great for highway use though as top speed on my ‘01 is about 65mph. I don’t generally like to run it that fast, especially for extended periods of time. But for an in town commuter and giggle inducing trail bike, it’s awesome.
@@pbourdon231 thanks brotha 🙏🏻🙏🏻
This is my first bike, I went anywhere with her. I regret so much selling it
Buy one back :) & start your new adventure
I started riding one, it was my first bike after I got my license. It was red and white, I think it was a 1988 and I got it new. I would love to get another one now but budget doesn't alow for that. God bless, stay safe.
Watching this makes regret selling my klr 250 even more than I already do...
The way you were laughing when you were riding that, says it all . these things take you back to when riding was fun and not a status symbol. My 89 still makes me smile when riding and thats what its all about.