Yamaha TW200.. the swamp donkey

I've literally made 3 separate trips to Menards for insulated pipe clamps for this bike.. but better clamps than ugg boots...
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Hurco550 said:
I've literally made 3 separate trips to Menards for insulated pipe clamps for this bike.. but better clamps than ugg boots...

Goddamn it. I should've known that would come back and bite me. HAHA
 
Today was the day, the tw200 made it around the yard under its own power. The carb needs some tweaking/ jetting, the fork seals still need replaced and the clutch won't disengage. The engine supposedly sat for some time before I got it and had some milky looking oil, so I'm guessing the plates are seized together. I have another clutch pack on order in case a few heat cycles don't break it loose.

Lenny likes it too, so there's that ;)


https://youtu.be/Zl6WIGa8sHY
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Looks great, Levi! Kinna reminds me of the Rokon Trail Breaker I put lots of hours on when I was a teen. You don't have the AWD, but it sure looks like it could. Lenny looks happy, did you promise him that "someday this will be yours?"
 
ridesolo said:
Looks great, Levi! Kinna reminds me of the Rokon Trail Breaker I put lots of hours on when I was a teen. You don't have the AWD, but it sure looks like it could. Lenny looks happy, did you promise him that "someday this will be yours?"

I've always wanted a rokon, and it's funny because I just mentioned to a couple buddies recently that this is likely the closest to a rokon ill ever be able to afford lol

Lenny already has a list of "his someday bikes".. gt250, xr200 and yes now someday this lol

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Pretty awsome. I suspect others on the trails will either be trying to buy it from you or get you to build one for them.
 
Hurco550 said:
I've always wanted a rokon, and it's funny because I just mentioned to a couple buddies recently that this is likely the closest to a rokon ill ever be able to afford lol

The things are strange. Lots of power through gearing and you'll run out of nerve long before it does, but at a max of 25mph (thought I'm not sure I'd want to go much faster on one of the things) they have a pretty specific use; hunters, people who work outdoors, etc. Hovever for that use the four wheeler and the side by side have kind of rendered them obsolete.

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pidjones said:
Pretty awsome. I suspect others on the trails will either be trying to buy it from you or get you to build one for them.
Thanks man, I'm pretty excited to see how it handles the trails. Just based on hot laps around the yard I actually like this a bit better than the xr200, and it grips better too. I think the tw200 "feels" like it has a bit more power too, because it has all the traction and will not spin the back tire. All the power (the whooping 16hp of it) makes it to the ground.

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ridesolo said:
The things are strange. Lots of power through gearing and you'll run out of nerve long before it does, but at a max of 25mph (thought I'm not sure I'd want to go much faster on one of the things) they have a pretty specific use; hunters, people who work outdoors, etc. Hovever for that use the four wheeler and the side by side have kind of rendered them obsolete.

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A co worker of mine still keeps his in service for use during deer season. He swears that it is the best vehicle made for dragging a deer out of the woods. It will fit between alot of trees that an atv or sxs won't. If I ever find a deal on one, ill buy it.

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The tw200 rode me victoriously through mud-ohio 2019. I have a few things that will need addressed to complete it's transformation into its final iteration of an off-road beast, the most important being a bigger rear fender too keep the mud off my back a little better. Also replacing the pod filter with a airbox, and possibly a bit of jetting. Mr.E and I tackled the hare scramble course here, I on the tw200 and he on the xr200, and while I will not be competitive on the bike, the fact that it completed the course gave me a large amount of respect for this machine.
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Hurco550 said:
The tw200 rode me victoriously through mud-ohio 2019. I have a few things that will need addressed to complete it's transformation into its final iteration of an off-road beast, the most important being a bigger rear fender too keep the mud off my back a little better. Also replacing the pod filter with a airbox, and possibly a bit of jetting.

Don't forget the fork seals.
 
CCRider said:
Don't forget the fork seals.
Of course. Between the oil from those ands the oil leaking out of the xr200, the trailer deck is well preserved lol

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The Donkey has been under my care for a few months now. It’s the perfect bike for what I needed. I live at the beach and traditional dirtbikes aren’t very good at traveling through soft sand. This thing is a blast. I use it for riding to our beach access which is a sand trail and for some trail riding along the peninsula I live on.
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I did put a new muffler on, still a supertrapp, but with a larger diameter opening. I shimmed it with cut up beer cans.
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After easing it around for a while down here I decided it was time to put her into the shop for a light refresh. The fork seals need to be done and the beer can shims didn’t hold for very long. Hurco was kind enough to include all sorts of parts when we swapped bikes so I had most of the stuff I’ll need. I ordered the rest
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My first order of business was to make a legit shim to secure the muffler to the pipe. I cut a strip of 3/16 inch aluminum and started beating and bending it.
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Then I ground it down until it was the right size.
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I left a spot for a wedge to help smush it all together at final assembly.
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It all went together well for a test fit
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Here’s where I may have started to go overboard...
Since the exhaust is stainless steel I may as well clean and brighten that up right? Also the top end is looking a little crusty, may as well give that a repaint since I’ll have the exhaust off...
To brighten up the exhaust I used a toilet bowl cleaner containing hydrochloride acid. I rubbed it down (gloves) and let it sit a few minutes.
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So far so good. Next was the top end.
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I gave it a good scrub with some degreaser then dried it off and wiped it down with denatured alcohol.
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Then I masked everything off.
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And painted it with some Duplicolor engine enamel I had laying around.
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And then I got the exhaust put back on.
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The shim worked nicely.
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Up next will be recovering the seat and painting the swingarm. The salt air here found every nick in the paint and I need to get it all sealed back up before real rust starts. Also to come this round will be a further tank sticker bombing and fork seals.
 
I love how you wear gloves to save your hands, but you still have flip flops on. You will always be you.
 
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