Coop's Corner: Yamaha TW200 .....the little mule

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Yamaha TW200 .....the little mule

Maybe it was the time I was spending on the ADVrider forum, possibly the acknowledgement that my riding was slowing down and dwelling on quieter, slower roads, but whatever it was, I became very interested in Yamaha's odd and 'small' TW200. Again, after a winter of online discovery back in '08-'09, I was caught up in a TDub frenzy. It was a frenzy that hasn't worn off; she still gives me grins every time I ride her.

Compared to many owners, I've added a minimum of 'farkles' (Functional Sparkles) to mine. Besides the relatively low purchase price, I was drawn to this particular one because of the already installed windshield. Many TW200 riders spend the majority of their time off road, trail and fire-road riding. I expected and it has proven to be true that the majority of my miles have been on back roads with lots of gravel, not as much 'dirt', with highway miles to connect the good stuff.

The stock luggage rack was replaced with a much larger Cyclerack from the brothers in Idaho and the rack has proven to be perfectly suited for my use. I bought the front one as well only because I liked the look and expected questions and more than a few comments about it. Due to the small-ish OEM gas tank on the Tdubs, I added a Kolpin gas container w/mount, mounted solidly on the rear of the Cyclerack tubes. In common with all of my bikes, I added a Powerlet SAE power plug as well as a Ram Mount ball for my GPS. A small tankbag (I'd use a tankbag on the Helix if I could.....I use them on everything else) and then recently, Clarke Manufacturing finally produced a larger gas tank, so that was installed to increase my riding range.

The Brule River outlet into Lake Superior.......

Pictured here on the south shore of Lake Superior, my south to north ride of the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail (another future Post) almost over. The cool, wet day really brought out the bike's patina, larger, white plastic after-market tank not yet installed.......

These outriggers were installed to temporarily use for holding soft saddlebags out and away from the rear wheel and exhaust pipe. I say "temporarily" because that was my intention, though they've never been off the bike since. Once I built the 'tripod' device below, I had these and it black anodized.

Since the bike has no centerstand, lubricating the chain proved to be more trouble than it needed to be. I machined a folding bracket to act as a third leg (the front wheel and sidestand the other two), able to hold the rear wheel an inch above ground so spinning the wheel became easy.

10 comments:

Mario RJ CorbinSeptember 2, 2013 at 8:36 PM
Hi, nice write up and pictures. Is that a new Clarke plastic tank fitted to your t-dub? If so, does the stock seat fit nicely on it or did you have to make subtle changes to it? Nice blog!
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Coop a.k.a. CoopdwaySeptember 3, 2013 at 7:14 AM
Thanks Mario, the tank was new a couple of years ago; I assume this is still Clark's only TW200 tank. No seat modifications were made, the plastic 'sidecovers' didn't fit quite right, otherwise it was an easy swap.
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AnonymousOctober 5, 2014 at 11:18 PM
Well, it's been a while since you posted this great blog, but if you're still out there... I'm interested in your windshield. You wouldn't happen to know who the manufacturer is. How do you like it? Thanks, Scotty
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redlegsridesJanuary 27, 2019 at 10:45 PM
I see one of these in my future Doug! The third leg you fabricated is interesting, there's also apparently some gadget you place the rear wheel on that allows you to spin it for chain maintenance....kind of like portable roller.
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UnknownMay 1, 2019 at 4:21 PM
Where did you you get your windshield from, what brand and model is it
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The Man straightened stiffly above the block of salt fixed to the stake and looked at the young cattle ringed about him. The pasture was holding out well and the stock was looking good. This bunch would be ready to sell in another month, maybe sooner if the market was right.

A stir among the cattle down near the river brought him round to face the swinging bridge he'd built years before. Someone was coming toward him from the bridge. Someone in breeches, but it didn't look like a man, somehow. What was a woman doing in his pasture this time of night?

He bent over the salt again; maybe if he paid her no heed she'd go on past and let him mind his own business. He heard her footsteps come nearer and stop. "Good evening," she said.

Her voice was smooth with book learning but friendlier than most, and somehow almost shy. When he made no answer she went on, "I've been sitting on your swinging bridge....I thought I'd like to say thank-you...." Her voice stumbled a little, then she tried once more.

"You are Mr. ____". His name sounded strange in her voice, but she went on to tell her own.

"That's what they've called me the last sixty-eight years," he said, looking past her face to the hills fast darkening under a single star. "I reckon the woods are free for those that like to walk there."

The unfamiliar voice laughed a little. "That's what Emerson said: the grove belongs to the man who walks in it with an open heart....On that basis I guess I've owned part of your woods for a good many years.....". She made a final effort. "I've always wanted to thank you....."

Something deeply hidden stirred in him. "There's a stump up there, in the notch of the woods", he said slowly, "that before the timber grew so tall you could stand on it and see all over this country."

He kept still a minute, remembering, then, "I used to stand up there an' look at things, an' wonder how they come to be like they was, an' how the hills was created, an' all the things in Nature.... I told my wife I guessed all the religion I ever had I got standin' on that old stump, a-wonderin'..." He turned his face away from her.

She helped him out. "I know about that, a little. This afternoon I saw......." Her account of a thing she had really taken time to look at eased him, and he answered with telling of the badger den at the foot of the swinging bridge.

When she had gone, he turned to watch her. After a moment she stood clear and unmoving against the sky. You could hear the sounds of the river where she stood. She was one that could stand still long enough, he thought, really to hear what a body was saying, or a river.

Then she walked down the farther side of the slope and was gone. ------Margaret Snyder from A Chosen Valley

Fall was the end of harvest, end of the growing season, a burst of color and sun-warmth before killing frost turned the land gray and cold. Fall was a moody time, full of both life and death, a time when we were reminded of the power outside of us, reminded that the seasons happen to us. We do not invite the change to come.-------Ben Logan, from The Land Remembers

When you get those rare moments of clarity, those flashes when the universe makes sense, you try desperately to hold onto them. They are the lifeboats for the darker times, when the vastness of it all, the incomprehensible nature of life is completely elusive. So the question becomes or should have been all along, what would you do if you knew you only had one day, or one week, or one month to live. What lifeboat would you grab onto? What secret would you tell? What band would you see? What person would you declare your love to? What wish would you fulfill? What exotic locale would you fly to for coffee? What book would you write? ------- Ben Tyler

We were also cautioned about journeying far from home. As an example of the dangers, the town had a badly crippled lady named Lucy, who as a girl had traveled to New York City. As she traveled along a sidewalk, sightseeing, she was struck by the outstretched hand of a suicide who had leapt from high above. Her spine had been shattered and for the rest of her life, she was to walk bent forward at the waist, tapping the sidewalk with two black canes. Whenever the subject of travel to a big city was raised, someone would say, "Just remember what happened to Miss Tripp." ---- Ted Kooser, from Local Wonders

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"It's not about having lots of money, it's about having lots of options......." -----Chris Rock

As the very proud father of three former ponytail wearers, hopefully I can get away with this....."For the past few years it's been fashionable for young women to wear ball caps and to snap the strap on the back under their ponytails. I like the looks of that, their shiny ponytails jauntily swinging, but it's hard not to think of the rear ends of horses. There's a piece of harness called the crupper that goes just under a horse's tail to keep its nose down. If the horse lifts its head to look for a way out of whatever predicament it's in, the crupper tightens and hurts the horse. But it's foolish for parents to think that a ball cap might keep a young woman from running away. Anybody can see they're made for running." ------Ted Kooser, Local Wonders

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