[demarko69]

Hello all,



Just picked up a 1987 TW200 with 6500 miles here in AZ. Found thi forum an thought coooool.

The reason I got the TW is the simplicity, (i hope) Air cooled, fat tires, carb, 4t, simple electroniscs.

With that said, What do I need to do to make sure its a reliable machine.

All I know is if I bump the starter it starts and i kick it a couple times it starts, all stock...

I will be riding at 2-4000 feet, 85-100 degress. mostly basic trails for fun.



Whats involved w/ a tune up with these- Just a plug a carb kit.

Oil change- std 20-40w sae, or motorcycle oil for wet clutch

Batt- i prefer AGM

SLIME in tires?

gas 87 89 91, add a filter?

Cables maint?



thx, looking fwd to this alot

 

[rm_hm]

Congrats on the new bike



Lots of posts are already here about your questions, way to many for me to list them all.



Adjusting Valves = http://www.google.co...f40f95b1b9c7c0d



Oil Change = http://tw200.wiki-si...d_Filter_Change



Oil Weight = http://www.google.co...f40f95b1b9c7c0d



Carb kits = http://www.google.co...f40f95b1b9c7c0d



Batteries http://www.google.co...f40f95b1b9c7c0d



Fuel Filter http://tw200forum.co...h__1#entry13012



Slime = http://www.google.co...f40f95b1b9c7c0d



Octane = http://www.google.co...f40f95b1b9c7c0d



Cable Lubing = http://www.google.co...f40f95b1b9c7c0d



If you can't find something enter the following into google.. Example ( site:tw200forum.com sprockets ) and it will pull up every thread on this board and the old tw board that matches.

 

[demarko69]

wow- thanks,

i am reading and will post pics very soon

 

[jonjon122]

hey! is the 87 the one with the red accents and seat?

 

[qwerty]

Whats involved w/ a tune up with these- Just a plug a carb kit.



Full maintenance schedule is listed in the in the downloadable service manual from the manual thread in the tech forum. Intervals tend to be 3,000, 6,000, and 12,000 miles. Lots of little maintenance jobs, but once you've done it a few times a complete service of all maintenance points only takes a couple hours, and they don't all have to be done every time. I use synthetic oil and change at 1,500, but only change the filter at 3,000. An o-ring chain on new sprockets will eliminate about 90% of the maintenance of a stock TW.



No carb kit necessary. If most of your riding will be in the 2,000 to 4,000 altitude range, consider one size bigger main jet, raising the needle with a small washer under the circlip, and opening the pilot screw to about 2.5 turns off the seat. That should rid the bike of any throttle response and lean surge issues, and will allow the engine to run cooler. Gernerally speaking, there is no scheduled carb maintenance necessary.



Oil change- std 20-40w sae, or motorcycle oil for wet clutch



Motorcycle oil for wet clutch and combined sump. Car oils labeled "energy conserving" can cause clutch problems. Car oils labeled "low polluting" lack key additives necessary to protect mechanical flat cam followers from wear. Some diesel oils no longer contain the additives to protect flat cam followers. Oils not specified for combined sumps generally lack the additives to resiste decomposition from shear forces in the transmission. If most of your riding will be 80*F and above, synthetic 10W40 or 20W40 will get the job done for you.



Batt- i prefer AGM



Chinese AGM off Ebay is under $40 shipped. Good value.



SLIME in tires?



RideOn is a much better product than Slime, for a variety of reasons. It takes some work to find, and it costs a bit more, but in this case you'll get exactly what you pay for.



gas 87 89 91, add a filter?



87 octane is fine. If it pings, either the carb is tuned too lean or you are lugging the engine and need to learn to ride. Higher octanes can cause poor throttle response and cooling inconsistencies in cold conditions.



Cleaning the screen in the petcock is a regular maintenance item. A 90* inline is cheap insurance if your local fuel supply tends to come with a regular dose of gunk.



Cables maint

?



SeaFoam Deep Creep works great. Pull the pivot screws and dab a little lithium grease on the wear point. at 12,000 mile intervals. Don't forget to lube the swingarm. too.

 

[demarko69]

hey! is the 87 the one with the red accents and seat?

yes, red and white

 

[demarko69]

thx for the replies,so far I:



greased swing arm

adjusted cables, lubed

found cut wire to kick stand switch, bypassed

found the rear valve stem has a slow leak.

New la batt. till agm shows up

checked all lights, good

New plug installed

New KN143 oil filter

15-40 oil

had to order new carb to airbox & carb to engine duct and foam filter. should get it next week. both were dry and cracked

todo: inline filter, clean tank & petcock





QUESTIONS

can you tell me more about the o-ring chain? brand/part#

PLUS my riding goal is old mine roads, mtn ST, & obsticles. speed is not a main concern, what rear sprocket or sprocket pair should I get. It has stock running gear. Also should I balance the tires

 

[elime]

I have an '87 and love it.



I like the way the headlight goes out when the engine stops and how it gets brighter when you rev it. Reminds me of the cars I had in my youth. I think it is the only year that does that.

 

[qwerty]

thx for the replies,so far I:



greased swing arm

adjusted cables, lubed

found cut wire to kick stand switch, bypassed

found the rear valve stem has a slow leak.

New la batt. till agm shows up

checked all lights, good

New plug installed

New KN143 oil filter

15-40 oil

had to order new carb to airbox & carb to engine duct and foam filter. should get it next week. both were dry and cracked

todo: inline filter, clean tank & petcock





QUESTIONS

can you tell me more about the o-ring chain? brand/part#

PLUS my riding goal is old mine roads, mtn ST, & obsticles. speed is not a main concern, what rear sprocket or sprocket pair should I get. It has stock running gear. Also should I balance the tires

O-ring chain size 423, 122 links fits the stock sprockets. RK, EK, and DID are the most common brsnds--all good.



Stock sprocket set is 14/50. OEM sprockets are cheap as any online and good quality. I've gone everywhere I could get traction with 14/54 sprockets, and the Tdub will still cruise 55mph all day. 122 links will probably still fit. Most chains online come 130 links. Buy yourself a chain breaker and a couple extra master links and use the extras for repair links in your havingabadday kit.



Might want to rethink your choice of oil. Many oils have been reformulated over the past few years. Oils are becoming more and more specialized to reduce emissions and increase feul economy. 15W-40 is diesel engine oil or aircraft oil. Some of the newer blends are "low polluting" and lack the ZDDP additive package necessary to protect flat tappets and cam lobes. I recommend a motorcycle oil formulated specificslly for motorcycles with wet clutches. Avoid the "V-twin" oils as some lack the shear resistance to survive in a combined sump. Avoid any oil marked "low polluting" or "fuel saving" as both additve packages used to attain those ratings for cars will screw up a TW.

 

[jonjon122]

I have an '87 and love it.



I like the way the headlight goes out when the engine stops and how it gets brighter when you rev it. Reminds me of the cars I had in my youth. I think it is the only year that does that.

no i have the 1999 and the headlight gets brighter when i speed up and rev the engine.

the headlight stays active when the engine is cut though.

 

[demarko69]

O-ring chain size 423, 122 links fits the stock sprockets. RK, EK, and DID are the most common brsnds--all good.



Stock sprocket set is 14/50. OEM sprockets are cheap as any online and good quality. I've gone everywhere I could get traction with 14/54 sprockets, and the Tdub will still cruise 55mph all day. 122 links will probably still fit. Most chains online come 130 links. Buy yourself a chain breaker and a couple extra master links and use the extras for repair links in your havingabadday kit.



Might want to rethink your choice of oil. Many oils have been reformulated over the past few years. Oils are becoming more and more specialized to reduce emissions and increase feul economy. 15W-40 is diesel engine oil or aircraft oil. Some of the newer blends are "low polluting" and lack the ZDDP additive package necessary to protect flat tappets and cam lobes. I recommend a motorcycle oil formulated specificslly for motorcycles with wet clutches. Avoid the "V-twin" oils as some lack the shear resistance to survive in a combined sump. Avoid any oil marked "low polluting" or "fuel saving" as both additve packages used to attain those ratings for cars will screw up a TW.

Great info thanks, i put in 15-40w with sea foam and plan to run it as a rinse cycle, the bike has sat for a long time. Will change to a MC oil. I think I gotthe tank clean using gas and sea foam. added a filter inline. New chain is installed'

 

[qwerty]

Wet clutches don't usually like oil additives. Be carefull.

 

[doghouse]

so you DO NOT recommend adding ZDDP?

I use it in my cars with flat tappet lifters,

thanks

 

[qwerty]

If you use an oil intended for motorcycles with wet clutches there is no need to add anything else. I'd presume the chemical engineers who design oil know a bit more about what should be in it than any of us. It's a pain in the butt when motorcycles use one oil, power equipment another, a third oil in the minivan, and yet another in the outboard, but each engine has different needs. There is no magic in home-brewed lubricants, except for the ability to make the money in your pocket disappear.

 

[demarko69]

Wet clutches don't usually like oil additives. Be carefull.

ok

drained & refiled

mc oil

thx, learning alot

 

[TWrider]

all TW's are vintage....they've changed very little since 1987

plus with 87's you can get the cool red/white color combo