Diary of a custom TW 200 build
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markbvt posted up a few weeks back about a 1994 TW 200 for sale in our area. I wasn't in the market for another bike but have heard only good things about these "Tee Dubs" so I thought I'd check it out. It was pretty cheap... $600.
I ended up snapping it up and driving it around for the past month or so. I love this bike!
The day I bought the bike:
However, I also have a laundry list of things I'd like to change. The bike hit 10,000 miles on the nose and I decided that 10k miles is a good time for a complete rebuild.
- Replace street tires with knobby tires
- Replace bent handlebars with new upgraded aluminum bars
- Replace boxy headlight with single round or double round
- Get rid of plastics and grind down their mounting posts
- Remove and grind down passenger pegs
- Upgrade to a larger tank (the XT350 tank is a direct fit)
- Recover the red seat or find a used black seat
- Repaint the frame and swingarm black
I'm not going to go as crazy as some of these examples, but here are some custom TW 200s that I'm taking ideas from:
So the other night I fired up my air ratchet and started tearing this thing apart. As of last night, I'm down to the bare frame.
I'm going to keep this post updated with the build. Suggestions and comments are welcome!
Before:
Starting to strip the bike down:
My new rubber came in!
Stock rear knobby (180/80-14) and Maxxis 6006 (130/80-18) front.
Air tools and Sam Adams help keep the ball rolling:
In-progress in my "other bay"... exhaust valve re-shim on Speed Triple:
The only running bike... 1978 CB 125:
Okay, now the engine is out. Easily lifted by one guy. Nice.
The jug looks nearly new but I'm going to paint the crank case black and replace the japanese-style bolts with hex head bolts.
Getting close!
Carnage. Some of these parts will go back on the bike, many will go on eBay.
Stay tuned for more updates as work continues...
April 18th, 2010
Mark came over and helped me mount up my knobbies. Thanks Mark!
That is a Maxxis 6006 front and a TW34 rear.
April 20th, 2010
I'm going minimal on this bike... no plastics. In order to prep the frame, I'm grinding down the plastic mounting posts and tabs for the airbox.
April 23rd, 2010
Home-style sandblasting. A few hours in the driveway with a 40 pound sandblaster, a 100 pound bag of "black beauty" and a compressor working overtime.
It is seriously amazing what air pressure can do for you.
Frame and swingarm ready for paint!
April 25th, 2010
Back from the powdercoater! I think he did an excellent job. Bob at Vermont Powdercoating did the work and really gave me a great deal.
May 3rd, 2010
The engine was originally gray in color. It was also heavily scratched. I decided to clean it up and use some black enamel engine paint on it.
May 6th, 2010
Someone on the TW200 forums found that the shock from a Yamaha Blaster is a direct fit for the TW, but 2 inches taller.
This will really jack the rear end of the bike up once mounted. The only problem was that the bushing was far too lose. I had a machinist friend bore me the perfect bushing and press it in for me.
The shock was $8 on eBay and the machining work cost me a case of Miller High Life (hey, his choice!).
Current status:
Stay tuned for sprockets, chain and wheels!
No more dates as they're all blending together on me...
Had to get rid of all of those nasty stripped JIS head bolts. Ordered up a set of SS hex head bolts. Of course a few were missing.
So much bling! I'm ballin.
Sprocket time. I'm a fan of having more teeth to spread the load. Upping from the stock 14t to a 15t up front.
The rear goes from stock 50t to a new 55t. The overall gear difference is slightly lower than stock.
I've heard good things about this vinyl spray so I'll give a shot. Original tired red seat...
Looks new about an hour later:
The original steering bearings were loose ball bearings and the feel was notchy. I decided to upgrade to some tapered bearings. Packed 'em with grease and punched 'em on.
Also decided to powder coat the triple trees. They were looking a little ragged, so why not?
Now that I've got trees, I can mount my forks and bars!
Still so much more to go, but any progress is good progress.
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Originally Posted by Kitt
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Then i read on and discovered the truth....
