[Revolverman]

I am concerned and need opinions from people who have had their TW200 for a while. I am having some pain in hips and legs while riding. I am 6'4" and about 270.

Any suggestions on how to make my bike more user friendly such as mods ?



Foot pegs, bars, seat etc. ?



I love this bike and want to keep it as long as I can.



Thanks,



Revolverman.



Note: I deleted long post, it was just too much. I will work this out some way.

 

[DRF64]

Sorry to hear that! You have been really excited about that bike and I'd hate to see you have to give it up.



I'm 6' 1", so you are a lot taller than me, but I found Rok risers really helped. They are pricey, but they elevate your bars AND you can rotate them slightly up. It made a huge difference in my posture.



Also, try rotating your shifter up a notch. That may make your left foot a little more comfortable anyway.



Good luck!



dan

 

[Revolverman]

Thanks Dan, I sure don't want to give it up. I want to try other adjustments first. I wondered about gearing to smooth out this jumpy throttle ?



Does anyone know if I changed something there if it would somehow smooth it out without losing my climbing ability ? I won't be climbing steep but would like to have enough in first to go where it should.



I figured the seat cover would help a lot, then maybe gearing.....then what ? I sure hate to lose my first gear low but it is impossible for me to use smoothly for some reason. I am beggining to wonder if this thing has been geared even lower...but I doubt it. It just looks to perfect and minty to have been messed with.



Revolverman.

 

[TundraManDan]

Hello Again,



I have not owned the TW very long but have owned other bikes and am starting to get a feel for the TW. My thoughts are:



1) My TW is very smooth - maybe you have old gas or the carb. needs a good cleaning or perhaps the bike came from a different elevation and the jetting is not right. There should not be lurching except sometimes with a rough downshift. Or perhaps your TW motor is not completely stock and some sort of mods were done that made it less smooth. Or, maybe you need a new spark plug.



2) The seat height could be increased by adding some dense foam padding under the existing and getting it recovered. I did this to my Reflex. You could probably get 4" of height this way.



3) I was looking at the pegs today and was seeing that it would be possible to modify them and move them back - I was thinking about that in order to shift a little weight off of the front. They could also be lowered - you would have to make some measurements determine where they should be cut and have a good welder do the job to your specs. You would take the peg brackets off to get the job done.



4) I concur with the handlebar riser idea - I did that to my Reflex also - much more comfortable.



5) Be sure to run the tire pressure low when riding off road - helps the traction and smooths out the ride. I have not figured out the ideal tire pressure yet but with 2-up, I've been running 14 in the front and 12 in the rear - thinking about 12 and 10 as that front tire is skittish.



6) Count the number of teeth on the back sprocket - stock is 50. Then reach in to the front with a marker and mark one of the teeth - rotate and count - should be 14. I don't know what the TW sounds or feels like at redline - have not been there yet with mine. I put a 55T sprocket on mine and still smooth - just slower in each gear. 1st is a big drop from 2nd so you have to rev a bit with the clutch in so the rpms meet the gear speed and then the downshift is smooth. Stock should do 55 at redline but riding at redline is a new concept (ha - to me as it feels smooth at 30 and I'm not yet used to this bike).



As far as the TW200 doing a wheelie I would not be too worried. I needed to get the front a foot and a half off of the ground the other day to set the bike on top of a log so that I could lift it over - ha, I finally decided to find a way around. But maybe just me as I'm used to the Reflex which has the pegs set back.



Anyway - just some thoughts.



Dan

 

[Polarpilot]

If your throttle is twitchy better check the teeth on your real sprocket. Sounds to me like someone has increased the size of the sprocket

You also can rotate the bars to give a better riding position.

I am 6'4" and do on hVe these issues

 

[bookm]

As a new rider, the TW was my first bike (recently added a cruiser as well). My attention was immediately drawn to the "touchy" first gear. Even wrote a post thinking I had a worn out gearbox or something.



Since then, I took a motorcycle class that focused heavily on slow-speed riding... slipping the clutch (friction zone).



Now if I'm off-road and conditions warrant first gear, I'm slipping the clutch quite a bit and no longer have issues with lurching.

 

[Revolverman]

Thanks for all the advice and help. I'm not giving up by no means. I figure I will keep it for at least a few months and if by this time it is still wearing me down and hurting me, then I might consider a trade.



As I said, I love this bike, in time I might get used to it. I dont give up easily. Especially when I have such a nice, well liked bike. I will give it time, I just wanted some opinions in the mean time....boy am I sore this morning............

Each day I get up and think, oh boy ! I've got a cool bike to ride. That helps.



Revolverman.

 

[RockyTFS]

As I said, I love this bike, in time I might get used to it. I dont give up easily.

Revolverman.

Raising BOTH seat (by a nice soft Airhawk pad and maybe some extra foam) AND the handlebars by Rox pivoting risers may help a lot. Easy to test with a thick seat cushion. I put my bars up about 1.5 inch and forward about 1 inch and it really helped.....But I'm only 6' 0".



I still can't ride more than 4 hours without getting sore...maybe you need to build up to it....it never has been the most comfortable bike in the world.



Oh, and a good back belt really helps, too. I almost never ride without one and it doubles my endurance.

 

[Revolverman]

Fixed one major problem here,



http://tw200forum.com/index.php?/topic/4827-huge-find/



Revolverman

 

[TundraManDan]

Hi,



The handlebar risers also really help when standing up on the pegs so that you are not bent over so far. I added some 2.5" Rox Risers to my Reflex. I find that I get less tired if I stand up now and then. The TW can get you there sitting down but I still stand up by habit for the rough and tough spots. I noticed that for my height - 5 foot 10.5 that it feels pretty good standing up but for a 6 foot 4" frame risers would certainly make standing more comfortable. That is a good idea that Rocky had to simply try some thick foam by setting it on top of the seat to see what is the right height before paying to have it recovered. Or, maybe that Airhawk pad is designed to simply go over the seat as I'm not familiar with it.



Dan

 

[GapRunr]

I am concerned and need opinions from people who have had their TW200 for a while. I am having some pain in hips and legs while riding. I am 6'4" and about 270.

Others have mentioned a few good options like bar risers, seat pads, etc I'm curious though as to what you used to ride immediately prior to the TW? If you haven't ridden in a while or were on a bike with significantly different ergonomics like a cruiser or sport bike, then it may be a simple issue of developing the right muscle groups which will happen while riding it.



Bar risers or a taller bar will certainly help by putting you a little more upright and reducing the strain on your hips. A taller seat will do wonders for your hips and legs. We've got a guy through our shop who recovers seats for us. He can make them shorter, taller, wider, whatever... If you need your seat to be 3 inches taller and have a much firmer foam, he can do that. I've had my TW seat recovered, and I've got a DR650 and KLR650 seat in the shop if you want to see the workmanship.

 

[Revolverman]

Thanks guys, all the ideas are great. Especially the risers and seat. I will be looking into all of this and thanks for any suggestions.



Revolverman

 

[twjay]

+1 on the Airhawk and bar risers. I'm 6' 2" 260 and the Stearns pad just delayed the pain about 30 minutes for me. The Airhawk works much better, but it is pricey.



I'm also trying to work out some highway pegs so I can move a round a little more. Right now on longer rides I'll put my feet on the rear pegs and lean forward a bit and that helps too.

 

[operose]

For seat issues I am liking my current setup, but it has taken 3k miles to figure it out.



Started by adding a layer of foam to stock seat. Helped a bit but not a lot. Added a "stearns" seat cover and that added another half hour or 45 minutes.



Then I put this sucker on:

Last night I took the wife for a ride so she could give me her opinion. At this point all I could tell was that it was "better"... We took a route we have done before and made it about 2.5 times as far before her ass started to hurt and/or go numb. Sounds good to me, mine didn't hurt at all

 

[n2o2diver]

Is that road kill? So long as your comfortable!

 

[JagLite]

I like the handlebar risers AND ProTaper SE (seven eigths) ATV high bars on my bikes.

I have a Seat Concepts seat and it is great for the few hours at a time I ride.

But if I were to plan longer rides I would send my seat to Seat Concepts for a custom taller seat.

I would have them take all the dip out of it to raise it about 6" or so along with the rear being taller.

I am also 6'-4" and my legs are bent quite a bit.

It doesn't bother me on smooth trails and dirt roads.

But when I am on rough trails and start transitioning a lot from seated to standing my knees start aching.

A taller seat would make it much less work and easier on my knees.



There are several highly recommended seat makers that could help should you go that way.

 

[operose]

n2o2: it is an old dirty sheepskin that came with some other stuff I bought at an auction. Trimmed two small pieces off the right side and the back, and it fits the bike awesome. Somehow it even matches the lines of the clarke xt225 tank, and feels real sweet on my banged up knees when knocking around in the nasty offroad stuff.



There is a company called Alaska something that sells sheepskins for motorcycle seats but I'm broke

 

[qwerty]

I recently took a big fellow through the personal preferences of fitting a TW to himself. This particular bike will be used for putting about the man's woods and fields, with the occasional fair weather ride to town.



1) Handlebars. At least 2 inches taller, and being broad-shouldered, 2 inches wider. This is about as high and wide as the stock cables/hoses will fit. This will provide a comfortable hand position for the stock seat, but is still a little low for offroad. The angles of the stock bend are very good, but for big people, to low and too narrow. We ended up matching up or buying longer cables and hoses for a total of 4 inches additional lift, with slightly less sweep than stock to maintain a comfortable wrist angle, which goes to crap when bars are rotated excessively. 4 inches is too high for highway use with the stock seat.



2) Seat. Hand carved (electric carving knife) very hard upholstery foam three inches higher than stock, in the middle, tapering on the bottom to match the stock seat pan. The new foam is actually 2 inches wider than stock, too. Once affixed to the seat pan, the stock cover pattern was modified to fit, and a local upholstery shop stiched up a new cover. At 6 feet tall, I find the seat edges biting, but at 6-5, the owner has no problem.



Note that the densest foam available was used for this seat. Soft foam has too much give for a long ride. The thickness of the foam increases the preceived softness, and a heavy person can easily use up the travel in a soft foam, rendering the additional unladen seat height useless as far as opening up the angle of the knees--critical to comfort.



3) Shifter. Longer. Matched up to one with a folding tip. No idea what it is supposed to fit.



4) Footpegs. Larger footpegs were tried, but the stock pegs were preferred by this rider. He always wears work boots with steel toes and shanks.

 

[JagLite]

Ah, the shifter!

Thanks for the reminder Qwerty.

I cut off the stock shifter tip and welded on the folding tip shifter from a parts bike (YZ250).

I cut the YZ shifter in the middle so I could make the stock shifter longer.

I don't remember now but it seems like I added 2" in length.

Whatever it is, I experimented before welding and the end result works great.



With the stock shifter I had to upshift with the heel of my boot as there was no way it would go under the shifter no matter where I rotated the shifter on the shaft.

With the longer length I can easily shift with my mx boots on.



I am using some eBay fat foot pegs and they work great.

The first seller I bought from sold worthless junk that weighed next to nothing and shattered the first ride.

The second seller assured me they were steel and they are very good and still quite affordable.

I am trying to find similar pegs form my wife's XR80 but so far, no success.



I just ordered an oil cooler adapter for the TW (Thanks Lizard!) and want to get the XT225 4 gallon gas tank soon.

The little TW hits reserve way too early for my exploring.



And for the sheepskin crowd:

http://www.alaskaleatheronline.com/servlet/StoreFront



I shop there regularly and they are super nice.

I just don't care for the looks of a skin on a bike.

If I was traveling long distances though I would not be so picky.

Those who use the covers love 'em.