Hello from new owner; 1993 TW200

[Leftlane]

Hello all,

This is a greeting I've wanted to make to this forum for a long time. Been lurking here for years and thinking about the T-dub longer than I care to admit (I will in the interest of full disclosure: wanted one of these since 2001, when I first became aware of them). Life, wife, mortgage, kids, lack of motivation, etc. all conspired to keep me TW-free, but today I've finally pulled the trigger. Recently, before purchasing a motorcycle, I took the California Motorcyclist Safety Program sponsored by the CHP. While I rode motorcycles sporadically in my late teens and early 20s, I was unsure of my skills on two wheels, so the course seemed like a good idea.

I showed up to the course, not owning a motorcycle or having been on one in 25 yrs. To my surprise they had a couple TWs in their fleet. I asked to be assigned to one and the instructor said "sure." I got 10 hours of seat time on a TW200 during the course and enjoyed every moment of it. I left the class wanting more.

For several months I've been shopping both new and used TWs. Dealers in California charge a hefty "assembly fee" for new TWs that is not listed as part of MSRP and _none_ of them would budge on that fee. I called all over the state and showed up to as many as I could locally to show my serious intent, but out-the-door costs ranged from $5000 to $6500 for a new TW200.

In the end I decided that I could get the same experience I sought with a used TW since the bike hasn't fundamentally changed some 32 years. This theory is about to be put to the test. I like to tinker, so the thought of a non-perfect used bike was palatable. Came close on one or two bikes that were pretty rough - both 87s. My search radius was about 400 miles. After a near miss on an 87, I took a couple weeks off and wondered if I'd ever land a TW.

Then a Craiglist search yielded a 1993 with 644 miles on it in nearly-new condition. Best of all, that bike was a couple miles away from my front door! The previous owner inherited it some years ago, but he has a DRZ-400, and consequently didn't put hardly any miles on the bike. His father purchased it to get into motorcycling, but didn't end up using it. And the original owner he purchased it from simply drove it around in the back of a toy hauler and never took it out - think escape pod that never got deployed. It's like a time-capsule from the first Clinton administration! The bike is totally stock with the exception of the Acerbis handle bar protectors, a nice feature I would've added anyway. Happily, I picked it up for nearly a third of a new one.

Enough of my banter, let's have pics!

image1.jpegimage2.jpegimage3.jpegimage4.jpgIMG_0066.JPG

I'd like to give a shout-out to a couple YouTubers that have given me plenty of content to watch that undoubtedly were the reason I finally committed: TdubsKid and Vaquero Kid. Simply superb content.

Next to figure out what I need for riding gear for about 90% trail, 10% road duty. Anyway, hello from Northern California.

[Badgerflorida]

Welcome to the forum. Nice lookin bike. Enjoy!

[Darth]

Hey, welcome to the forum and congrats on a very cool bike...you're gonna love it!

"...It's like a time-capsule from the first Clinton administration!..."
What!? BJ's under the desk?
Geeze, I thought I got a good deal on mine...

[Sthrnromr]

Welcome and congrats on a beautiful tdub. Hey and it’s even electric

[TW-Brian]

Congrats on the (nearly) new bike and welcome to (posting) on the forum!

Looks like you snagged a nice one, so you are now officially one of the local bunch of NorCal Nutjobs.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need some help,

Brian

[EatElk]

Congratulations and welcome! Nice bike!

[NVcowboy]

Welcome from east California...I mean northern Nevada. Pelosi's posse taking over in '19. UUGHH!
Anyway, great find! Enjoy your new addiction. May your smile be ear to ear from this day forward.

[GaryL]

That sure is a pretty one! Only missing the chain guard as far as I can see. I love the pre 2001 models the best and you found a real sweet one I think is as valuable as any of the newer models with the same mileage and overall condition. We call bikes like that Garage Queens and you are lucky member Placerload missed this one.

Enjoy and welcome to this addiction.

GaryL

[Crashtestdaniel]

Congrats on the new tdub! Good call on buying a used one.


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[TW Newb]

Very nice!