[Gerry]

I read many of the questions and answers posted here. Lots of the questions have been asked and answered many times. Some folks seem to resist spending much time looking, others expend the energy but find the results lacking.



We now have a forum that enables us to "sticky". In my mind, it would be silly to sticky "how to air-up a tire" but likely of more value, "how to change a tire" which would include the airing-up process.



There is soooo much that can be gathered then CONDENSED to form a sticky that could really help alot of folks. In doing this, you help others as much as others have helped you. Pulling information from this forum's many posts regarding carburetor adjustment, then condensing it into a "very helpfull" sticky makes future search's by others much easier and as well, makes this forum even BETTER.



I realize, some of you are here for a moment, and some of you are very busy. Might I be so bold as to suggest; some of you are, demanding and lazy...



Might I be so bold as to extend a personal point of view; Nothing on this planet works with out someone willing to expend some (above and beyond) energy.



If you have benefited from this (or any other) forum, give something back... Adventure pictures, a 1,2,3 on a mod, compile lots of 'random' tech information into a 'sticky'.



In my opinion; to take, take, take, and then leave with out giving back (somewhere) is selfish and nets 'US' nothing.



Gerry

 

[biglefti]

Good words Gerry. I must say that you have been more than helpful to me on more than one occasion, sometimes without you even knowing that you were helping out. Thanks

 

[polski ogorki]

I agree. Too many people are living in a fast drive through world. Just go out and buy a coffee at the drive through then throw your cup in the garbage or out the window! Lazy is right.



I have been searching for a thread on the tire change thing for a few days now. I did not find much info yet but I have not been everywhere yet. My 2011 TW arrived today I will be picking it up on Saturday and my biggest concern is a flat in the middle of nowhere. I will be commuting to work Monday till Friday on a gnarly gravel rd and there are lots of Cougars out that way! When I do work to any of my Datsun's I like to document it and then post over on ratsun.net with lots of pictures. There are so many great stickies over there that have helped me and those alike big time.



If I have any useful info that could benefit others I will post for sure. Like the tire change thing.



I'm stoked on this forum! I never realized how many people were into these cool bikes! When I searched tw200 and saw the trailway forum I was excited to say the least. There is already a ton of good tech on here and I have been learning allot.



So to all those who have contributed I thank you for all your time and effort they are very much appreciated.



Rich

 

[peruano]

Hey Polski, Welcome and congrats on buying a good bike. Lets just reassure you that you are not likely to have many flats. The tires are pretty robust, might even ride gently with little to no air pressure, and certainly could be managed under most situations (get a flat, insert some green slime, and inflate/rotate and you will probably be able to get to the destination (maybe having to air a time or two more depending on how things seal). Instead of planning on popping a bead, I'd carry a bottle of slime and a mini- 12 v air compressor if I was worried about flats. There are other products that should be inserted before you have a flat (rollon or ??) which will tend to seal over punctures as the occur. The bottom line is don't worry about flats unless you just insist on running over every bottle, yucca plant, or old steel plate that you encounter. I've got more than 5000 miles on some might rough rocky, littered roads, trails, and boondocks and so far no flats. Cross my fingers. Tom

 

[polski ogorki]

Hey Polski, Welcome and congrats on buying a good bike. Lets just reassure you that you are not likely to have many flats. The tires are pretty robust, might even ride gently with little to no air pressure, and certainly could be managed under most situations (get a flat, insert some green slime, and inflate/rotate and you will probably be able to get to the destination (maybe having to air a time or two more depending on how things seal). Instead of planning on popping a bead, I'd carry a bottle of slime and a mini- 12 v air compressor if I was worried about flats. There are other products that should be inserted before you have a flat (rollon or ??) which will tend to seal over punctures as the occur. The bottom line is don't worry about flats unless you just insist on running over every bottle, yucca plant, or old steel plate that you encounter. I've got more than 5000 miles on some might rough rocky, littered roads, trails, and boondocks and so far no flats. Cross my fingers. Tom

Ah thats reassuring!

Thanks Tom.

My boss says I should carry a ball of yarn in my pocket in case I see a Cougar lol

He figures if I roll the yarn down the rd the Cougar will chase it and play with it!Meow!

 

[hoofhearted]

this is a great place for useful information and great photos/videos of members bikes and rides. iv learned allot from this site.

 

[qwerty]

I'll be changing a tire this weekend. I'll pretend it's a trailside thing and use my little tools. I'll get my son to take pictures.



Slime sucks. It corrodes steel and aluminum. Use RideOn or nothing.

 

[biglefti]

I'll be changing a tire this weekend. I'll pretend it's a trailside thing and use my little tools. I'll get my son to take pictures.



Slime sucks. It corrodes steel and aluminum. Use RideOn or nothing.

I'll be looking forward to this post as I only carry my little tools with me on the bike and I'm not sure I can break the bead with them. The bead sits in a recess are of the rim and looks to be hard to get over without the right equipment. At home, I just use the bead breaker on my Harbor Freight changer.

 

[polski ogorki]

I'll be changing a tire this weekend. I'll pretend it's a trailside thing and use my little tools. I'll get my son to take pictures.



Slime sucks. It corrodes steel and aluminum. Use RideOn or nothing.

http://www.ride-on.com/bike-on-bicycle-formula.html



Right on thanks qwerty I look forward to your new sticky!

 

[bend42]

I've been lurking for a few months and finally had to post something.



After only 150 mi on my new '10 TW I got a front flat while riding the washes and hills So of Quartzsite AZ, probably due to a very pesky cactus spine I could not even see.



Took a whole day to find a new tube and had to have a shop do the change as breaking the bead was quite an effort. Next time I might try driving over the tire/bead with a vehicle since I now have an extra tube for both front and rear.



Any recommendations for field repairs?



How about a sticky once someone posts a good solution?



J

 

[Hobopoet]

I was a cyclist, on and off road, in Tucson for a number of years. Thorns, especially goat heads, were a common problem. Many of us used Slime in our tubes. That helped although we still got flats. Maybe that would work in the TW. Just a thought...

 

[99FormulaM6r]

I got a flat after picking up a piece of an old farm implement during a ride on our land (new to us). Luckily, a truck and trailer were near by and I didn't have to push it any further than a 1/4 mile when it was about 80 degrees (and pretty buggy) out. After changing a tube and being very grateful I was withing about 15 miles of my house, I'm hoping someone has a solution if you're outside of that kind of radius from a tow.



If anybody can post a sticky involving a field fix that'd be great!

 

[Gerry]

Seems flat repair is near the top in terms of interest. I think Toms approach is the most practical and hopefully, Qwerty will be able put together a how-to on roadside tube patching. As mentioned above, some questions are asked and answered many times, but end up lost in alot of 'clutter'. Stickies are great, and are always easy to get to.



On the old forum, the flat question was asked as well. At that time my bike was new, I had some time and decided to see if I could simulate a road-side 'take-down'. I used my "crutch jack" which was an idea presented by another forum member. With the back wheel held up with the jack, I was able to use a block of wood that I made (now carry) to force the tire bead off the rim. This was done by positioning the block between the swing arm and tire at different angles and rotating the wheel by hand to force the bead off. Given my bike was fairly new, not sure how well this would work with a old tire and rusted rim. Once the bead had dropped on the one side, I used the standard tire irons in my tool kit to pry the right side of the tire off. With the wheel still on the bike, I reached into the tire and pulled out the tube. At this point, knowing where the puncture might be would help alot.



Given the low pressure requirements of our tires, my thought is; in an emergency, you "may" be able to get by with a duct tape patch. The area of the tube around the hole would need to be cleaned pretty well. Gerry

 

[rm_hm]

This advice came out on another board I belong to that was overwhelmed by one post wonders...



This is a place to talk about history, specs, parts, repairs, trading bikes and whatnot, all about this excellent bike.

This is NOT just a place you can bop in and get free repair help, then bop out. You should be contacting your Yamaha dealer for that. Please search to see if your question has been asked before. If you're only going to sign up, ask one question, then disappear, don't bother.

 

[RodneyReed]

This advice came out on another board I belong to that was overwhelmed by one post wonders...



This is a place to talk about history, specs, parts, repairs, trading bikes and whatnot, all about this excellent bike.

This is NOT just a place you can bop in and get free repair help, then bop out. You should be contacting your Yamaha dealer for that. Please search to see if your question has been asked before. If you're only going to sign up, ask one question, then disappear, don't bother.

I'm not getting any spark. Do you think I've got electrical issues?



There's no fuel in the carburetor bowl. Do you think I've got a fuel problem?



There's a big hole in the side of my cylinder. I'm not sure why my compression is so low.

 

[pgilles]

The site isn't very search friendly, especially for the computer un-savvy. Plus, when someone has an "emergency" there is a tendency to just ask and get pointed in the right direction than to try to get the search function to work properly. I can navigate around pretty well, but if I were to think of my dad trying to navigate, it just wouldn't happen as efficiently.



In my opinion, it would be nice to have a locked forum dedicated to How-To's: Oil change, carb cleaning, re-jetting, setting chain tension, LED light upgrades, handguard installation, exhaust installation, rear rack installation, dual sprocket mods, sprocket changing, kickstart installation, rear shock recall info, tire options, extended swingarm fabrication, big wheel front mod, big bore options, valve clearancing, headlight mods, taillight customization, rear shock upgrades, cam installation, finding TDC, removing safety relays, changing a tire/tube, airbox mods, silencer/spark arrestor mods, large capacity tank installations, how to repair holes in my cylinder to restore compression, etc etc etc.



THEN, if there is a question related to one of these, it can be asked in the other forums.



The hard part, who can do this? Are they willing? Do they have enough time in their day to attempt it? I understand we have jobs and this is a hobby so time is hard to come by, but there are many existing How-To's that could be thrown into one forum. I think it'd be nice, in theory, to have such a dedicated forum...even for me, a one-stop-shop so to speak. Last suggestion, if this dedicated How-To forum were to happen I'd make it the first forum on this list so newbies would see it as their first 'clickable' option, in hopes of preventing repetitive questions.



I admit, I'm guilty for not taking pictures as I'm working on something and putting a How-To together.

 

[Gerry]

Interesting dilemma. Helping strangers out and asking nothing in return VS expecting adults to take responsibility for solving their own problems or at least giving something in return for what they receive. At least this is how I am inclined to word it this evening.



When the forum was having issues a couple of years ago, at first, I had the feeling Charles was not sure what was to come of the forum. I believe he was inclined to move ahead and make major improvements because this forum had a very loyal, hardworking core group that made it a valuable resource. As well, a few were not only willing to dedicate lots of time, but also cash.



Like any social structure, more needs to be put in than taken out... If this burden is placed on the backs of the minority, in my opinion, it will likely collapse.



Fortunately we have been lucky in finding new people willing to 'work' at keeping "Yamaha TW200 Trailway Forum" a fun and informative place to be.



How many of us ever sent Tracy a "PM" thanking him for his efforts as a moderator. Wes is holding the reigns now keeping things civil and productive. What have we done for Wes?



All things come at a cost. When is the last time you 'old timers' visited and posted something to keep 'Hodaka guys' forum alive ( http://tw200.forumotion.com/forum.htm ). He went out of his way to give us someplace to call home when things here were getting ugly, now it languishes, but certainly (could) offers value.



Summer is comming and most of us want to ride. Should you have some down time, remember, you have a 'family' to support; Those that sleep under your roof, and the folks here that helped you solve a problem or inspired you towards adventure..



Pgilles gave us some great ideas for "How-To's". Lets us see what we can "Pay-Forward"



My thoughts anyway. Gerry

 

[craig0ry]

I use the search function, but I'll admit that sometimes I'm "demanding and lazy" and just throw out a question when I don't find any results. I just have so little time, I have to squeeze in my TW projects wherever I can. That being said, I always like to donate to forums that I find helpful.

Do we have a donation function here to help cover hosting costs? I'd gladly chip in on something like that. I try to help when I can, but I usually don't produce tutorials or walkthroughs. I'm eternally grateful to those who do though. I always try to acknowledge their time and effort.

Anyway, back to the topic: donation function to appease the guilt of the partially demanding or lazy? Yes / no?

 

[GaryL]

I am pretty sure that most of the technical info I need when working on my bike is already here. Learning how to use the search function to your/my best benefit might be a valuable sticky. Having tried with a number of small issues I did get a bit frustrated.

We also must always keep in mind that the opinions stated here are that of the poster and certainly not what should be considered Gospel in the grand scheme. Some are very knowledgable while others might be passing along bad info. Buyer beware!

Most important, as in any public forum, is to take any advice found here with a grain of salt and possibly only worth the cost of admission, if that!
i can't say how many times I have done things right because I did things twice. Good knowledge from those who have gone before us is the reason for being here and I would strongly implore any mods and all members to jump right on when ever they see bad info being touted. What works for me on my bike may not be what is acceptable for you on yours.

One very nice feature of this forum is you get to choose the threads that interest you and avoid the others. You also get to choose the posters you respect for their valued opinions and knowledge and those you think or know are complete loons. Once you learn some of the navigation techniques and who to respect you will in fact love this forum. I sure do!

GaryL

 

[Bucknutz]

I usually find the most direct route to the answers for my questions is by using Google search to bring me right back here to the thread that contains my answer. Often, it works quite well.