[junk munk]

Hello All!





I'm new to te group and looking for TW advise. I'm looking to buy a TW200 for the use of daily driver and to be able to go out and camp with it. I live in Denver Colorado and plan on doing the camping in the mountains. My question is with the TW200 packed for a two day camping trip is it going to have a hard time getting 1) to the mountains? (I'm looking to be able to run 50-60mph to not get ran over), 2)Will it be able to pull the weight at my altitude with extra weight?



I have been told by some friends here to get the XT250 for the extra power to haul gear and to be able to run the highway (65mph) safely.



I plan on trying to ride whichever bike year round as much as possible in all kinds of weather, including some snow. Would the TW200 be a good choice or would the XT250 for daily in town driving?



I have 18 years of riding experience and I have vintage yamahas to a 2003 Buell, and grew up on dirt bikes, but I have never had a dual sport and really want to make the right choice.



I appologise for the XT questions, but I'l like to hear from the TW pro's on your ideas or experience.





Thanks for your time,

Tim

 

[turborob]

Hello All!





I'm new to te group and looking for TW advise. I'm looking to buy a TW200 for the use of daily driver and to be able to go out and camp with it. I live in Denver Colorado and plan on doing the camping in the mountains. My question is with the TW200 packed for a two day camping trip is it going to have a hard time getting 1) to the mountains? (I'm looking to be able to run 50-60mph to not get ran over), 2)Will it be able to pull the weight at my altitude with extra weight?



I have been told by some friends here to get the XT250 for the extra power to haul gear and to be able to run the highway (65mph) safely.



I plan on trying to ride whichever bike year round as much as possible in all kinds of weather, including some snow. Would the TW200 be a good choice or would the XT250 for daily in town driving?



I have 18 years of riding experience and I have vintage yamahas to a 2003 Buell, and grew up on dirt bikes, but I have never had a dual sport and really want to make the right choice.



I appologise for the XT questions, but I'l like to hear from the TW pro's on your ideas or experience.





Thanks for your time,

Tim

Firstly, there's two XT250's. There's the old ones (6 speed and a square headlight) and the new ones; (round headlight, 5 speed). The 6 speeds have a better spread of power (plus 25 more cc - they're a 225cc) so they can cruise the highway slightly better.



The TW will take a larger load and be more stable off road; especially in snow and the like. A TW can sit on 55 ok, for extended periods of time pending wind/hills etc. The XT, may manage 5mph more on the highway.



Would come down to your budget and what's around. They're both good bikes in their own rights.

 

[srs713]

You can jet the carburetor for power at higher altitudes, and let it run leaner down in town.



You can also drill vent holes in the air filter housing and cover or uncover them for a bit of change in fuel/air mix.

 

[qwerty]

The 49-state jet will be about right at high altitude.



hp loss = (elevation x 0.03 x hp @ sea level) / 1000

hp loss = (9000 x 0.03 x 13) / 1000

hp loss = 3.5



How fast are you going to go with less than 10hp when loaded up with gear? I've seen days when the bike would barely touch 50mph on level ground. If you want to run 65 no matter what you'll need a 650.

 

[Woofhound]

In my opinion it's give and take either way you go, the 250 will be better on the highway, but the TW will haul a heavier load, do better in the snow, have more traction offroad. I've had my TW up to around 7000' and the power loss is minimal. Maintaining 65 mph with a load of gear is probably asking a bit much of a TW though, 50-55 is more realistic

 

[dalsco]

I think the TW will work great for you. You may want to change the sprockets from the 14-50 to 15-50 for a little more speed around town. I live in Provo, UT which is fairly similar altitude and terrain as denver and I run a stock bike other than the 15-50 sprocket combo. I've ridden with my wife up in the mountains no problem with that set up. up the canyons it can hold 50 pretty well. i've hit the freeway and can hold 65mph no problems all with the wife (which unless you are packing a microwave for camping should be more weight than you need for 2 days of camping ( i usually have about 60 lbs or so for camping) you will loose a little low end grunt with the 15-50 set up but unless you are planning on doing some super steep rocky single track trails you will be fine. if you wanted to do that you better grab a 70 tooth rear sprocket.... thats just my 2 cents take it for what its worth...

 

[sinophilia]

Pre-2001 TW's have a mixture adjuster (I don't know the exact name) on the carb for riding at high altitude, but the carb itself is not as good as the new one (so they tell me), plus these bikes have a front drum brake.



My TW gets to 70+ mph very easily with 14/45 gearing, I guess 60-65 mph should be pretty comfortable with 14/50. These bikes are just begging to be loaded with camping stuff and the like, no worries about that! Some members of this forum equipped it with aluminum cases like a miniature 1200GS...

 

[sinophilia]

I swear I only hit the Reply button once... and now there's 3 identical posts!

 

[sinophilia]

.

 

[qwerty]

Take the advice to change sprockets to a higher ratio with a grain of salt. Higher gearing simply means less engine speed at a certain road speed, but in no way guarantees the engine has the power to run any faster. In certain ideal conditions gearing up may increase speed potential, but in even more conditions those same higher ratio sprockets will decrease speed potential. 15/42 sprockets means you could wind out a TW to about 95mph before hitting redline, but the bike will never do it unless riding down a cliff.



For example, Tdub has carted my fat butt down the highway at 84mph a time or two, wide open throttle, down hill, with a tailwind, drafting a semi. Uphill, headwind, no semi to draft, those same hills, wide open throttle were 50mph wound tight in 3rd. 15/47 sprockets.



I've run several different ratios and I keep coming back to 15/54 (about the same as stock) or 15/50 for 95% of my riding. I've found 15/50 about as much as a TW will pull and still be able to maintain 60mph most of the time on the highway. I've done many 400 to 700-mile days with 15/54 sprockets running 60-65mph all day, won't hurt the bike. I'd avoid anything taller than 15/50 (14/47) for all-around use because of the poor uphll and headwind performance.



Keep in mind that unlike other bikes in this engine family, the TW200 only has a 4-plate clutch instead of a 5-plate clutch. Taller gears are tougher on clutches, especially from a stop.

 

[TWrider]

Keep in mind that unlike other bikes in this engine family, the TW200 only has a 4-plate clutch instead of a 5-plate clutch. Taller gears are tougher on clutches, especially from a stop.

This is surprising to me, I guess I never bothered to check a TW clutch....I always assumed 125/185cc = 4 disk, 200cc = 5 disk, 225cc = 6 disk (necessitates an alternate extended clutch cover from the 125/200's). Are you sure that the TW uses the 4 disk?

 

[qwerty]

This is surprising to me, I guess I never bothered to check a TW clutch....I always assumed 125/185cc = 4 disk, 200cc = 5 disk, 225cc = 6 disk (necessitates an alternate extended clutch cover from the 125/200's). Are you sure that the TW uses the 4 disk?

I could be wrong about the exact number, but it's one short of the 225s. It's been a few years since I put the XT clutch in Tdub.

 

[junk munk]

Hey all,



Thanks for the great input. After reading your posts I feel the TW is what I'm looking for, and I found one. The question is the one I found is a 1987 (really clean) 3500miles it seems it has a bad CDI. Is $600 too much to pay since I'll have to get a CDI?



Thanks

 

[lizrdbrth]

Check it out closely. If it's also in need of a chain and sprockets and the tires are cracked you could fairly quickly rack up almost as much as you'd spend on an '88-00.



IMO the munny spent on an '87 CDI would better be spent on eBay parts to upgrade it to '88-up status.



The way I turn '87's into an ABSOLUTE bargain is to get them cheap, then buy a complete later parts bike for a few hundred bucks. Swap the wiring harness, sidecover, rotor, regulator and associated stuff to the '87 and have plenty of spare parts to keep a bike going indefinitely. If you get lucky and score a complete wrecked or blown up '01+ parts bike you can get an essentially new-spec bike for less than a grand.

 

[junk munk]

Well, I passed on the 87 for $600 and went for a brand new 2009 the dealer had. It was $4100 out the door the best price I could find here in Denver. I found a better price $200 less but it is over 2 hour drive so I went with a local dealer. I colsed the deal tonight and I'll pick it up this saturday since I dont have the time to get down there before then. Thanks for the info guys!

 

[qwerty]

Welcome to the family.