[weather_man]

I bought my first Tdub in 2008- and sold it in 2010 (traded for an Er6n), since then I have moved to San Diego and Japan. The Er6n did awesome in San Diego, but I got shifted to Japan and unfortunately, Japan wants too much money to get the Kawi registered. Anyway, I have been eyeballing this little TW225 in a shop out here in Japan. I stopped by yesterday to talk to the gentleman mechanic. He was surprisingly pretty good with English so I asked him how much he wanted for the little gem. He didn't want to give me a quote, he told me that when he is finished "working" on it he'd give me a call. There was nothing obviously wrong with the bike- he just said he had to do an oil change, install a new battery and replace the torn seat. I couldn't explain to him that I wanted to buy it and work on it myself. He said something about "my Shop" and "I fix bike good before sell". So we exchanged phone numbers and agreed that he would call me as soon as he is done with it. I'm hoping not to pay much more than 3K USD, but we'll see.



So wish me luck guys, If I get to buy this bike I'll post it here to show it off. And I will immediately start researching whether I can export the bike back to the states when I go back. I have 3 years till I get back.



Pablo

 

[weather_man]

Here are a few shots of the TW that I have been looking at:

Now that I have had a good look at it, I don't think I would want to pay much more than 1200 USD for it. What do you guys think?

 

[Tirebiter]

Looks nice. What year is it?

 

[summerman]

Here are a few shots of the TW that I have been looking at:

Now that I have had a good look at it, I don't think I would want to pay much more than 1200 USD for it. What do you guys think?

 

[summerman]

Looks great. 1200?? seems like a steal.

 

[phelonius]

TW225?



You can't even find those in this country. Would you be allowed to bring it back?



Phelonius

 

[weather_man]

The gentleman could not tell me what year it was, and I could not figure it out by looking at it. Any idea from you guys on how I could find out? Keep in mind this one is all Japanese.



I still don't know how much I will end up paying for it but from what I have seen, used bikes do not have much value in Japan.



I also don't know if I will be able to export out of Japan and in to the US, but if I end up buying it, I will try to.





The weirdest thing just happened- I just found my first TW 200 for sale on E-bay here:



My link



This is not my ad, I was just browsing and coincidentally found some one else selling my old bike. I wish I could buy it back and have someone store it for me. I always regretted getting rid of it in the first place.

 

[Fishman393]

The gentleman could not tell me what year it was, and I could not figure it out by looking at it. Any idea from you guys on how I could find out? Keep in mind this one is all Japanese.



I still don't know how much I will end up paying for it but from what I have seen, used bikes do not have much value in Japan.



I also don't know if I will be able to export out of Japan and in to the US, but if I end up buying it, I will try to.





The weirdest thing just happened- I just found my first TW 200 for sale on E-bay here:



My link



This is not my ad, I was just browsing and coincidentally found some one else selling my old bike. I wish I could buy it back and have someone store it for me. I always regretted getting rid of it in the first place.

 

[Fishman393]

I was at the dealer the other day and they stated the 10th number in the VIN is the year.

 

[qwerty]

The 10th number or letter of the VIN denoting the year is only in the U. S. of A. that I know of.

1981 (

1982 (C)

1983 (D)

1984 (E)

1985 (F)

1986 (G)

1987 (H)

1988 (J)

1989 (K)

1990 (L)

1991 (M)

1992 (N)

1993 (P)

1994 (R )

1995 (S)

1996 (T)

1997 (V)

1998 (W)

1999 (X)

2000 (Y)

2001 (1)

2002 (2)

2003 (3)

2004 (4)

2005 (5)

2006 (6)

2007 (7)

2008 (8)

2009 (9)

2010 (A)

2011 (B )



This system was not mandated until 1981. (A) was reserved for 1980, but the system didn't go into effect until 1981. There are no letters I, O or Q, or U in VINs, to avoid confusion with the digits 1, 0, and V, respectively.

 

[weather_man]

I stopped to ask the gentleman if the bike was ready and he said, "almost". He wants 160,000 Japanese yen = 1 979.2 U.S. dollars. He threw a new seat on it, the gentleman kick started it on the first try and I heard it run, it sounds pretty good to me for a 2003. Keep in mind that this is a TW225 (Japanese specs). What do you guys think?

 

[RodneyReed]

I stopped to ask the gentleman if the bike was ready and he said, "almost". He wants 160,000 Japanese yen = 1 979.2 U.S. dollars. He threw a new seat on it, the gentleman kick started it on the first try and I heard it run, it sounds pretty good to me for a 2003. Keep in mind that this is a TW225 (Japanese specs). What do you guys think?

I see some signs of neglect on the bike. Rusted bolts, faded plastic, cracked fork boots. These are signs that the bike has been stored outside, which can really wreak havoc on a motorcycle. If I were looking to buy this bike in the U.S. market, I would probably keep shopping.

 

[PJungnitsch]

All depends what price they go for there.



In the US it seems they give TW's away for nothing, but that price in Canada would be cheap.

 

[weather_man]

I see some signs of neglect on the bike. Rusted bolts, faded plastic, cracked fork boots. These are signs that the bike has been stored outside, which can really wreak havoc on a motorcycle. If I were looking to buy this bike in the U.S. market, I would probably keep shopping.

Noted. I think I can get past the rusty bolts, but I don't really know the consequences that the cracked fork boots will present. Please advise. I agree that it has seen a lot of outdoor storage and I maintain that the engine sounded really well tuned. Maybe I can try to explain this to the shop keeper, I don' want to offend him though. I don't even know if it is acceptable to barter in Japan.

 

[RodneyReed]

Noted. I think I can get past the rusty bolts, but I don't really know the consequences that the cracked fork boots will present. Please advise. I agree that it has seen a lot of outdoor storage and I maintain that the engine sounded really well tuned. Maybe I can try to explain this to the shop keeper, I don' want to offend him though. I don't even know if it is acceptable to barter in Japan.

If you're not worried about looks, and just want to ride, then the rusted bolts you see are typically not a huge deal. If you want to make it look sharp, and you start replacing those bolts, you'll get into spending a lot of time and money.



Make sure the forks don't have any nicks in them from rocks, also make sure there is no rust on the forks, especially in the area underneath the boots. Also, look for leakage from the forks.



Also, you have to factor in that the same weathering has occurred in other areas. For example, the inside of the muffler could be rusted. The bolts on the case covers could be rusted and/or the aluminum threads could be corroded. Then you may end up breaking a bolt off when trying to change the sprocket, and have to drill and heli-coil the hole. Little things can add up to alot when you're dealing with rust and corrosion.



The plastic parts are now very brittle from the weathering. You might end up having to replace the instrument cluster, etc. Your electrical system could have corrosion issues as well.



Of course, if you can bring that thing back home, the coolness factor of a Japanese TW225 may outweigh all of the potential issues I've talked about, and it may be better than it appears in the pictures.

 

[weather_man]

If you're not worried about looks, and just want to ride, then the rusted bolts you see are typically not a huge deal. If you want to make it look sharp, and you start replacing those bolts, you'll get into spending a lot of time and money.



Make sure the forks don't have any nicks in them from rocks, also make sure there is no rust on the forks, especially in the area underneath the boots. Also, look for leakage from the forks.



Also, you have to factor in that the same weathering has occurred in other areas. For example, the inside of the muffler could be rusted. The bolts on the case covers could be rusted and/or the aluminum threads could be corroded. Then you may end up breaking a bolt off when trying to change the sprocket, and have to drill and heli-coil the hole. Little things can add up to alot when you're dealing with rust and corrosion.



The plastic parts are now very brittle from the weathering. You might end up having to replace the instrument cluster, etc. Your electrical system could have corrosion issues as well.



Of course, if you can bring that thing back home, the coolness factor of a Japanese TW225 may outweigh all of the potential issues I've talked about, and it may be better than it appears in the pictures.

Thanks for all the info Rodney! I still haven't been able to find another TW out here, I think I'll just buy this one and work on getting it ready to take back to the states.