Hey guys as some of you already know I went to Oregon and picked up a couple of bikes on Sunday. One of them is the 2004 Yamaha TW 200, yes I know this is the Kawasaki forum, but no where on the Internet is there a better bunch of guys with more knowledge than a library, with personalities that just seem to offer the best information out there.........Was that enough buttering up? Good, because I was starting to feel sick[][]. And yes I did join a XT 225 forum, but it never notifies me of any answers, so there you go. OK to the question at hand. Both bikes are really great, both are flawless, however the TW 200 is the one with the smaller fatter tires, and the rear shock spring is really stiff. I mean stiff like my fat butt can barely get it to drop the seat height. There is no adjustment on it like our bikes, any ideas on how to make it more user friendly for a friends mom who is vertically challenged? I don't really want to lower the bike, maybe it need a lighter spring? They usually refer to these bikes as trail and hunting bikes, I wonder if the spring is so stiff so that when you're packing out a deer the thing won't bottom out.

 

Deej, what do you mean by more user friendly? If you are talking about the seat height, they do sell lowering links for that bike.

I can't think of a bike other than a mini cruiser that is less intimidating than the TW200. I have ridden that bike and it has no power whatsoever. It makes the KLX250S feel like an Hayabusa!

 

Well let me re-phrase it. The lady that bought the bike needs to have the suspension softer, and yes lower, but not at the hassle of lowering the bike.

 

According to the bike's description the suspension is described as "plush":

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/pr.../features.aspx

Looking at the photos on that web site it appears to have a single spring mono like the KLX. I'd check to first see if it has a preload adjustment like ours, and if that doesn't get a more desireable ride, then check on a spring replacement for a softer spring.

Another thing to check is if it has adjustments like ours - it could be adjust very tight resulting in a highly damped compression. But that doesn't sound like the problem since you said it doesn't hardly even compress when you sit on it. If that were the case, it would deflect, just slowly, but if it is not deflecting at all or very little, then the spring is too stiff.

Just my "non-expert" $.02.

 

Another possibility is that if it does have a preload adjustment, the preload might be set so tight that there is just not much suspension travel left. This bike only has a few inches of travel. I think that is especially a possibility if the rider is short and was trying to shorten it up a bit by using the preload at the cost of stiffness and travel.

Another $.02. I guess I have $.04 in the pot now.

 

Thanks Brian, I can actually get the back to drop like 4 inches, and the website says it only has 5.5 inches of travel, so maybe this is just the way the bike sits. It just feel so stiff, and because of that it actually sits higher than the 225 and it's not supposed to do that. I'll get into in soon, but this weekend I have to choose between the drag races here in Forks, or the Pro Flat Track races in Castle Rock 3 hours away. I guess its the first time they have been there in 20 years, I might just have to go, plus my mom lives 7 miles from the track, so we'll see.

 

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or are they to dirty to show just yet.

 

Deej, this is off your subject, but for your future info, i say future because you havent had the bike long enough to experience the not starting part of the tw200. if you let this bike set for more than a week or two without starting it, it probably wont start. same with some other Yamahas in the smaller cc. if you have this unpleasant experience, drain some gas from the bottom drain on carb, and it should start. my dad has one that he doesnt ride very often, so every time he wants to ride it, we have to do the drain the gas thing. Yamaha has no solution for this problem. they blame it on bad gas. same gas in honda and kawi starts no problem. good luck, hope this helps.

 

Deej, I've seen a few posts on ADVrider about TW200's. You may want to post there, it seems that the TW200 crowd really loves them. I know Marty mentioned to me that they have one at his MSF class and it's a favorite. I would like to try one here in the Florida sand.

 

Well I only have the pictures when I pulled into the driveway, but yesterday we completely detailed the XT 225, and every stain, and grease-oil mark came off, I even straightened the sub frame out a little, and all the blinkers are now back to the original position. The bike looks brand new. I'll post more as we get them both looking deej clean.