The Yamaha TW200 Thread...

[kubiak]

Originally Posted by Lizrdbrth

The rear hub certainly looks as if it was made in a cave. You could be onto something.

Lest anyone should think that I'm capable of having an original thought, here's the prior art as done by TeeWee, if you wanna see where this is going:

http://tw200forum.com/forums/86422/ShowPost.aspx#86422

The only meaningful difficulties I'm gunna have to work out are modifying a domestically available backing plate. I have an XT350 plate that looks like a viable candidate. The TTR225 (not XT) may also be viable along with few others. Anything which shares the same axle hole and shoe sizes could probably be made to work. Just takes a lot of digging.

Unfortunately you cant just use the stock TW front backing plate for this conversion. The slot is too wide and there isn't tnough meat surrounding it to safely engage the swingarm tab. The axle hole is smaller as well. Redrilling it would be a no-brainer for a machinist, but keeping it perfectly centered could be bit iffy for the home caveman.

I'm sure most people can take it from here. Swallow hard, grind the swingarm brake tab to suit your backing plate, make a new right spacer. Done.

But I have two sets of wheels and MTWS. If I have to grind the brake tab too short then all my wheels and swingarms will have to be modified for bigger brakes since the tab will no longer safely engage the slot in a stock backing plate. I'm gunna investigate more choices in hopes of finding a backing plate which will permit deepening the slot rather than grinding the tab. No need to be as anal if you only have one TW.

do you need your old tw brake drum? mine is worn pretty bad and looking for a replacement.

[AKoffroader]

Originally Posted by MrBracket

Don't forget the Shorai battery.....

http://www.procycle.us/bikepages/tw200.html#electrical

Smaller, lighter, more power, and comes with the foam to take up the extra space in the battery box!!

Better then Shoria is Earth X. It has the balancing circuitry built right into the battery. No need for a special charger to balance the cells. I bought an Earth X. It really cranks and is feather light!

AK Greg

http://earthxmotorsports.com/

[frog13]

Originally Posted by AKoffroader

Better then Shoria is Earth X. It has the balancing circuitry built right into the battery. No need for a special charger to balance the cells. I bought an Earth X. It really cranks and is feather light!

AK Greg

http://earthxmotorsports.com/

Thought I read somewhere that Shorai also had this type of circuit?.

[Spud Rider]

Originally Posted by frog13

Thought I read somewhere that Shorai also had this type of circuit?.

You're correct. The Shorai batteries automatically balance the cell voltages. I have ridden over 30,000 miles with my Shorai LFX09A2-BS12 battery. I have never had to charge this battery, and it has always performed flawlessly.

Spud

[Keithert]

I'm considering getting a TW200. In the past I was a motorcycle safety instructor in Illinois. One of the types of bikes we used was the TW200. They are great bikes in this usage because they handle very well. The figure 8 test can easily be done on a TW200.

I also own a Jeep Wrangler and a Honda 4x4 ATV. I'm interested in a lightweight dual sport motorcycle to supplement my Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 for commuting duties and also to use for recreational offroad riding. I'm thinking that when my wife comes with my son and I on an offroad ride I'll ride a dual sport while she rides my ATV and my son rides his ATV. The type of trail riding we do is pretty tame.

My main concern is how comfortable the TW200 will be for a 45 minute commute. I find many motorcycles to have seats that are uncomfortable to me. The problem is with me rather than the bikes seats. I just have a hard time staying comfortable on a bike for long periods. My street bikes have had Corbin seats and they have been much better than stock but still not totally comfortable to me. My ATV actually has a pretty comfortable seat in that my body is upright and my weight gets spread onto my thighs as opposed to my cruisers where the weight is on the rear. If the TW has an upright seating position with a decently padded seat I think it should be okay.

[Old White Truck]

Originally Posted by Keithert

My main concern is how comfortable the TW200 will be for a 45 minute commute. I find many motorcycles to have seats that are uncomfortable to me. The problem is with me rather than the bikes seats. I just have a hard time staying comfortable on a bike for long periods. My street bikes have had Corbin seats and they have been much better than stock but still not totally comfortable to me. My ATV actually has a pretty comfortable seat in that my body is upright and my weight gets spread onto my thighs as opposed to my cruisers where the weight is on the rear. If the TW has an upright seating position with a decently padded seat I think it should be okay.

Hi Keithert,

If you find the TW seat is not adequate for your 45 minute commute you have two easy upgrade options that other Tdubbers have had great success with:

- The Stearns / Coleman seat cover (~$15) ... http://www.cabelas.com/product/Colem...h-All+Products
- A new Seat Concepts cover and pad (~$160 and you install it). ...http://www.seatconcepts.com/products...roduct=9361194

Hopefully your commute will not require a lot of time above 50MPH?

[Keithert]

Thanks for the reply. My commute can either be 2/3 expressway or I can take surface streets with a 2 mile stretch of 55 mph with the rest being slower. When taking the bike I'd take the back route. I would most likely add the Seat Concepts cover and pad. The Cabella pad is interesting. I usually find seat covers to be uncomfortable. But for $15 I'd give it a try.

[Solomoriah]

The pad isn't a Cabela, it's from Stearns. Wal-Mart has them, sometimes. It does help, but honestly, if I had the cash on hand I'd get the Seat Concepts seat. They'll put it on for you if you send them the pan, for a small extra fee.

I have two seats; I had one redone locally (mistake, but not a big one) and since I didn't want to be without a seat while I waited, I got one used off of eBay. So I have the original, mostly unmodified seat on the shelf. I'm sorely tempted to send it off...

[xaman]

Seat concepts is money well spent

And it's not that hard to install it yourself, especially if you can borrow a stapler.

[Lizrdbrth]

Originally Posted by kubiak

do you need your old tw brake drum? mine is worn pretty bad and looking for a replacement.

Can't help you out if you're in desperate immediate need of one. Could take awhile, depending on how this goes. I'm working it out on a spare hub and swingarm so my bikes stay up during the process.

Thought I'd illustrate the backing plate problem in hopes someone had one of the alternatives and could provide a pic. Here's how the stock backing plate engages the swingarm tab. The bottom of the slot is really close to the edge of the drum:


Here's an early XT350 backing plate. I knew it wouldn't fit just by looking at it, but since all the potential backing plates are for skinny-wheeled bikes I kinda expect to run into the same issues. The axle holes and brake shoe sizes are right but the bottom of the slot stands slot about 9/16" prouder than the stocker. The casting beneath it is hollow, so you can't deepen it and it's too bulky on the outside to clear the swingarm tab even after grinding:



If anyone out there has a TTR225 or 230 and could take a pic of the slot depth I'd be truly grateful.

[kubiak]

Originally Posted by Lizrdbrth

Can't help you out if you're in desperate immediate need of one. Could take awhile, depending on how this goes. I'm working it out on a spare hub and swingarm so my bikes stay up during the process.

Thought I'd illustrate the backing plate problem in hopes someone had one of the alternatives and could provide a pic. Here's how the stock backing plate engages the swingarm tab. The bottom of the slot is really close to the edge of the drum:


Here's an early XT350 backing plate. I knew it wouldn't fit just by looking at it, but since all the potential backing plates are for skinny-wheeled bikes I kinda expect to run into the same issues. The axle holes and brake shoe sizes are right but the bottom of the slot stands slot about 9/16" prouder than the stocker. The casting beneath it is hollow, so you can't deepen it and it's too bulky on the outside to clear the swingarm tab even after grinding:



If anyone out there has a TTR225 or 230 and could take a pic of the slot depth I'd be truly grateful.

no worries, my drum is ok for now but looking for a replacement in the future. im watching how your brake upgrade is going and its looking great!

[Lizrdbrth]

Getting closer to finding the right backing plate. It's all process of elimination but by keeping it in the family we could end up with a near bolt-on.

Here again is the XT350 plate, which has the right axle hole diameter and carries the 130mm shoes but the slot height interferes with the inside of the swingarm:



Ronnydog sent me a comparison of the slot height of a stock TW backing plate vs. a TTR230 plate. We can work with the height of the TTR slot by slimming down the swingarm brake holding tab to match, but the axle hole is too small, requiring machining and installing a new bushing. Not a real biggy but why bother when there may be an even better option with a bit of digging:



Still have a few more family members to investigate. The SR250 plate is SUPPOSED to share our axle diameter but according to the internet that was also SUPPOSED to be true of the TTR. But if it is true and the slot height is shorter or at least the same as the TTR there will be less surgery involved.

I don't reckon anyone has an SR250 sitting around, either. So back to scrounging through brake shoe and axle part numbers.

[kubiak]

cheap rear brake upgrade for the tw200, on my tw650 i got a 5 dollar used brake arm off a 1975 yamaha dt250 which is about 1 inch longer for more leverage on the brakes. works great on my bike and stops a lot faster but now i overheat the shoes too quick lol! oh well might work out better on the tw200.

[kubiak]

heres a pic on my bike, on my bike the wheel is flipped over so the brake is on the left side but i think it might work on the stock tw200.since it is the same wheel and everything.

[Lizrdbrth]

Tons of options for longer arms will probably follow. Mine is the alloy version from an XT600.

You gotta be careful with the length. The longer it is the more pedal travel it takes to operate it. There'a limit.: