[BC4Lyphe]

I just got into the (seemingly) wonderful world of TW200s. I'll use this thread to document changes I made, keep photos, and ask questions regarding the bike.



A little background on myself. I used to race pedal bikes but just got my motorcycle license last September so Im SUPER new to motorcycling. I like to wrench on my cars and toys myself in my driveway. I can do pretty much anything if I have a guide or general idea of what to do so hopefully with all your help I'll fix this puppy up! I plan on driving a truck up to Alaska from the east coast with this bike in a trailer hitch mount. Once there I'll use it around town and to play on the trails on off days.



I just bought a 1987 TW200 with 1399.4 miles on it. I havent had much time to look over the whole bike in detail but I do know the following: speedo cover and indicator lights covers are missing. small rip in the seat. Battery is toast, PO says starter works. Front brake doesnt disengage as strongly as I'd like. Oil seems to be leaking from the kickstart shaft seal. Tires are almost bare. Mirror mounts on the levers are busted. Could use some paint.



I'd like to tare the whole thing down and rebuild it. I'd like to paint the frame, engine, and possibly plastic. Any ideas on paint? I saw some brake caliper paint at WallyWorld. Would that be ok to use on the engine? Would any old Rustoleum work for the frame, handlebars, and fork? I dont have a compression tester but the motor seems to run good. Aside from checking the valves and the kickstart seal I dont plan on take the motor apart.



I have a motorcycle junkyard somewhat near me so I'm wondering what bikes my bike is similar to. Is it the same engine as the XT225? What bikes have the same speedo/neutral light assembly, blinker/kill switch handle bar clamps?



I'm just starting to look through the Technical Help section. Lots of reading to do

 

[joeband]

welcome to this crazy new world!

i'll try and address the issues i know.



1. speedo, plastic and seat are all the same across the whole line of t-dubs. speedo, had a trip odometer added in 2001 or '02. for plastic, there are a myriad of colors to chose from, or you can paint them too. seats are easily recovered, there are several sellers on ebay, i paid under $20 for mine. many opt for seat concepts new pad and cover, but thats closer to $150.



2. paint, do a search for many threads on paint people have used for frame and engine. your black widow color scheme is a popular one.



3. there are some engine parts that are usable off of the xt225, but not many. lzrdbrth has done a list of parts from several bikes including the ttr225 that swap.



know that the '87 is a one off year for the cdi, they have been known to be problematic, and parts are near impossible to get.



enjoy the bike and there is a wealth of info on here to make your ride better, faster, stronger.... but like steve austin, it can cost 6 million+



ride on!

 

[Point37]

speedo, had a trip odometer added in 2001 or '02.

i have a 2000 with a tripometer...welcome!...i saw that bike up on craigslist somewhere in new england...i remember posting it in the CL thread...to search this forum easily go to google and do a site specific search...for example enter something like this into the google search bar: site:http://tw200forum.com battery

 

[BC4Lyphe]

Before the weather came thru today I tried starting the ol girl. When Id have the choke out it'd fire up and build revs like how a normal engine would but after a few seconds itd die as if I hit the kill switch. If I tried starting it again it wouldnt with choke or without it. It seems like its flooding out because if I wait for a bit and try again it'd do the same thing. Any ideas as to whats going on? Again I didnt really get much time to look at it or mess with it. Anyone experience this? I guess they changed carbs after 2001? Anyone know what this carb is called? Thanks.

 

[Point37]

you're probably going to need to go through the carb (clean/inspect)...maybe you're having some trouble with the float...



OEM parts can be found here...

http://www.ronayers.com/Fiche/TypeI...YearID/28/Year/1987/ModelID/9234/Model/TW_200



take a look at the pinned topics in the technical section here...there is a carb cleaning topic as well as other helpful info...

http://tw200forum.com/index.php?/forum/5-technical-help/

 

[BC4Lyphe]

Today I spent an hour playing with the bike. Looks like its running real rich. I put the pilot screw at 2.5 turns out and still seems rich. I'm not going to take it apart or anything because my motor was a little low on oil and I didnt want to run it too much with low oil. Once I get some oil in it and run it up to temp Ill start adjusting things or probably just take the carb off and go thru it.



I also had a chance to look over the whole bike. Overall I think its in decent shape for the year and price I paid. Need a few things though.



My "dash" is all smashed. The indicator lights and speedo are missing their cover but both work. Theyre zip tied to whats left of the meter bracket. Does anyone have the whole shebang for a decent price? It's an 87 with no trip meter. Dont know if that matters. If I can get the OEM one cheap enough I'd like to go that route, if not I may look into the TrailTech Vapor Stealth and get rid of all the busted stuff. Can I cut the wires off the indicator lights and splice them right onto the Vapor unit?



Does anyone know the dimensions of the kickstart shaft oil seal? I'd like to get one at the local hydraulic/oring type store because I think thats the only one I need and I dont want to wait for shipping.

 

[BC4Lyphe]

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[Point37]

here is one vapor install...

http://tw200forum.com/index.php?/topic/4189-trailtech-vapor-on-a-drum-brake-pre-2001-bike/

 

[BC4Lyphe]

Ended up ordering the kickstart seal, filter, throttle tube, spare key, annnnnd some other things I cant remember at my local Yamaha dealer. They said theyll be here in a week. Got some Valvoline Motorcycle 10w40 oil at WalMart along with a Silverstar Ultra headlight. Excited to tear into this bike! Tomorrow I'm going to go to the junkyard and see if I can get the OEM speedo and bracket. I'd rather have the oem dash if I can get them at a decent price. If not, looks like the Vapor will take the cake. Thanks for your input guys.



Tonights task will be researching engine and frame paints. Trying to figure out what matches up best with the factory paint, what will hold up to rust and scratches, and most importantly what will hold up to the engine temps. Also I'm going to look thru my pedal bike junk and see if I have a pair of old brake levers I can use. My mirror studs are all busted up.





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[BC4Lyphe]

Has anyone tried taking apart the left handle switch? My high beam button busted off and I was wondering if its replaceable.



The microfiche online shows 2 throttle cables for the '87. Is there really supposed to be 2? If so is the 2nd one totally necessary?



Another thing. This is my "helmet hanger assembly". I'm assuming theres supposed to be an arm that pivots from below the torx screw up into the hole just below the key slot?





Untitled by BC4Lyphe, on Flickr

 

[BC4Lyphe]

Yesterday I tore apart the carb. Both the carb boots are very hard, deformed, and dont fit well around the throat of the carb. Maybe replace with stock or may get a pod filter. Kind of reluctant to run a pod filter in whats basically the rainforest of Kodiak. Might look into fabbing up an airbox/shield of sorts, who knows. Carb was reasonably clean inside. One of the posts holding the float pivot pin had the top snapped off but the pin itself was solidly in the remaining upright. It has the stock 114 and 40 size jets in it. The bowl gasket was pretty flat and the intake/cylinder oring was toast. I just made new gasket for it with some fiber gasket maker. I plan on picking up the actual oring when I get some other items at the dealer. Put the cleaned carb back on the bike with the pilot screw 2.0 turns out. Started and ran well. Held the idle better than it had. One thing I noted was before I'd use full choke to start it and after it started the engine would rev up and up and up until I pushed the choke back in and then it'd die. After cleaning the carb I started it on full choke and it revved up a little and then sat at slightly above idle. Is that a good or bad sign?



I started stripping the bike tonight. I took off both sets of foot pegs, shifter, kickstart, rear frame section, all plastics, headlight and headlight frame, tank, and handlebars. Got some VHT black for the engine, Krylon rust tough enamel in radiant red (hope it sorta matches the frame) and the Rust Tough in flat black for the other bits. Began sanding down the pegs and other small pieces. Hit them with brake cleaner and then sprayed them. Initial thought was "i cant wait to see this thing back together!" We'll see how the paint holds up to the rigors of being an adventure bike. Tomorrow I have class but I hope to finish up the rest of the small flat black parts and move on to the plastics.

 

[tw200sgp]

Has anyone tried taking apart the left handle switch? My high beam button busted off and I was wondering if its replaceable.



The microfiche online shows 2 throttle cables for the '87. Is there really supposed to be 2? If so is the 2nd one totally necessary?



Another thing. This is my "helmet hanger assembly". I'm assuming theres supposed to be an arm that pivots from below the torx screw up into the hole just below the key slot?





Untitled by BC4Lyphe, on Flickr

That helmet holder is missing it's hook. I really hate seeing mistreated bikes - I'm glad you're rescuing this one.

 

[jontow]

Just a quick data point: I'm having a *really* *really* hard time believing that bike has 1400 miles on it, and bald tires

I put around 3000 miles on mine last season, and the tires don't look appreciably worn. I'm guessing you can distrust the reading on the odometer.



[EDIT: missed a post when reading above.. removed an irrelevant section]



If the rubber carb boots are hard/deformed and don't fit well, I suggest the bike is probably running very *lean*, not rich. If this is the case, the pilot screw isn't going to have a lot of effect on how it runs. Also notable: if you're replacing rubber parts like that, do the one on the other side of the carb (the "manifold") that bolts to the cylinder assembly, and don't forget to replace the o-ring thats hidden under it, too. The best advice I ever got: first thing is to get any lean condition corrected before messing with jets, because you can't fix a mechanical issue by dumping more fuel at it, you can at most just mask it.



Good luck!

 

[BC4Lyphe]

I agree on both of your points. At first I thought it was legit because the speeo was cracked and the cowling had been repaired but I think the PO said the cowling was off an XT which makes me think so was the speedo and maybe they were replaced, then got wrecked, then got repaired.



The rear tires has worn in what I think is an odd way. The center treads have an angle to them. Not a side to side angle like as if the tire was on a bit crooked but the angle is front to back. Example: Standing beside the bike, looking at the top of the rear tire, the side of the block closer to the engine is wore all the way down yet the left side of the block, towards the brake light, has a pretty good amount of height to it. A (>) if you will. Anyways when I noticed that I just thought it was a bit odd.



The oring sealing the manifold to the block was toast. I used a fiber gasket for now. Plan on getting the right oring sometime this week. If I were to use a pod filter would I have to change jet sizes?

 

[BC4Lyphe]

Its been awhile and I've done some work to the bike. Put an order in, waited for shipping, realized I needed more things, waited for shipping again...now I'm waiting for shipping on 2 more orders. In my magic kingdom shipping would be instant

The bike was pretty much all there. Had some broken, misadjusted, worn out, and ugly parts.





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I decided to strip it down to the frame, sand, paint, and put it back together.





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I ended up painting the rear of the frame after taping off the shock, swingarm and wheel. When putting the airbox, etc back in I noticed the middle of the frame wasnt up to snuff.





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I then taped off the headtube/fork area and painted the middle part of the frame. As I would fix/paint/tidy up one area I would notice something else that needed help. The whole project ended up going this way. In hindsight it would have been a lot easier to just completely strip the frame down and do the whole job the right way from the get go. Oh well, lesson learned.





IMG_3686 by BC4Lyphe, on Flickr



The paint I used on the frame was Krylon Rust Tough Enamel in Radient Red. The color was slightly darker than stock. The Napa had Cherry Red, not sure if that would have been a better choice. I sprayed the frame outside at ~45 degrees. The paint was very light and see through. Not sure if it was just because it was cold out. I ended up putting about 5 coats on. I also used Krylon Rust Tough Enamel in Flat Black for the smaller parts like the footpegs, kickstand, shifter and kickstarter. The black went on very nice, of course I was indoors to paint those parts which might have helped.





IMG_3689 by BC4Lyphe, on Flickr

 

[BC4Lyphe]

For the motor I used VHT Flat Black paint. I used this VHT paint on a marine turbo in the past and didnt get very good results. We ran the boat like the directions said but because there was no load on the engine I dont think our temps got high enough to cure the paint. Also it was in just about the saltiest, wettest place on earth. Anyways I shot the motor, exhaust and guards, and the top mount with this paint. I was able to get everything except the motor in an oven for curing. The can said if it wasnt baked it would cure in 7 days. I'm waiting on intake boots, etc so I couldnt get elevated temp on the motor paint. Oh well.





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IMG_3592 by BC4Lyphe, on Flickr



My painting process was simple enough. Spray the part down with Simple Green. Use a toothbrush or wirebrush to scrub all the gunk away. Repeat. Spray the part down with water to rinse it. Use a rag to dry it off. Sand the part if needed. Wipe. Spray down with water. Finally spray it down with brake cleaner and give it a final wipe with a paper towel.





IMG_3598 by BC4Lyphe, on Flickr



When I took out those little rubber snubbers I made a simple diagram of where they went, along with many pictures. I soaked them in Simple Green which turned them from rock hard to somewhat more rubbery.





IMG_3619 by BC4Lyphe, on Flickr



I did all the work either outside or in my utility room. I hung an old bed sheet around the parts that needed cleaning/painting. Worked good aside from all the fumes

IMG_3634 by BC4Lyphe, on Flickr





IMG_3636 by BC4Lyphe, on Flickr





IMG_3668 by BC4Lyphe, on Flickr





IMG_3680 by BC4Lyphe, on Flickr

 

[BC4Lyphe]

Before painting the swingarm I had a look at the rear axle bearings. OH. MY. GOD. The PO said he drove it around town, on the highway, etc. YIKES! I think it had half the BBs there were supposed to be. The BB carrier was all mangled and twisted up. It was a sad sight. I ordered up some All Balls. Front and rear. Later I looked at the front bearings. All Balls.... Oh well.





IMG_3656 by BC4Lyphe, on Flickr



After I let the paint sit for a few days while I cleaned the airbox and components I began putting the wire harness back in. On the bullet connections I cleaned the rubber see through boots, which at this point were no longer see through. I also gave the male bullet connectors a light sanding and shot each one with dielectric grease before snapping them back together. Also on every ground I sanded the ground point, both sides of the ring terminal and hit all the mating surfaces with dielectric grease. Once the screw was tightened down I globbed some liquid electrical tape over the whole shebang to try and keep it clean. I think it will work good. Another note, each screw/bolt/nut got either blue loctite or neverseize.



I routed all the wires in somewhat of a neat and orderly fashion. Love nicely routed wires

IMG_3649 by BC4Lyphe, on Flickr





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Before heading out the door to the local battery shop I decided to cruise Craigslist for a bit. SCORE. Picked up a sealed SLA5-12 battery for $5. Its 5ah, about half the size of the stock battery, and didnt cost ~$50. It has male spade connectors on it so I just made up a short wire to tie into the stock wires.



In this pic I was using the battery out of my ATV which didnt fit in the battery box.





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I found a speedo assembly on eBay from a Zongshen. Waiting on shipping. If it works, great, if not I figure I might be able to just take the working parts from my speedo and swap them over. Well see.





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This is my front tire. Rear is the same way. As you can see the center tread have worn in sort of an angle fashion. Is that normal? I know I know, dry rot. I'm dirving up to Alaska and before I leave I'm going to get new tires. Still not sure between the 244, 700, or 270. Also 4.60 vs 5.10. Not sure about rear tire though. eBay has a Trailfinder 26x9x14 that looks like a good on/off road compromise.





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[mrbracket]

Wow! You are making excellent progress on this bike. Nice work!

 

[BC4Lyphe]

One question I posted somewhere on this website was if anyone had used the truck bed liner on their plastics. Above the exhaust pipe is all scratched up so I wanted to spray some rhino liner on but wasnt sure how it'd stick to plastic. Anyone have an experience with this?

 

[jontow]

Great progress on the bike! Coming together pretty well!



A wise old feller once told me that if your tire tread blocks are wearing that way, you're doing it wrong. When asked to elaborate, he said: CHECK YOUR TIRE PRESSURE!



Mind you, neither you nor I caused the condition, my 97 had an original tire on it that looked exactly the same on the front. Tube leaked down slowly, and it wouldn't hold its pressure for more than 2-3 days before needing another few psi. But, keep your eyes on the pressure before hitting pavement especially: they're a bit happier with less in the dirt, but the pavement will chew 'em up, and low pressure means more friction, and more heat: meaning higher likelihood of blowouts. At the speeds the TW sees on pavement, even that is fairly unlikely. Full disclosure, though, "Anything Is Possible(tm)."



At any rate, I'm not sure which way the tread blocks wear because of low pressure vs. anything else, so I just suggest watching it. My Kenda K270 (5.10, btw) front hasn't worn seemingly at all in about 3500 miles, and I haven't really looked back at the stock treads.