THE BIGWHEEL THREAD!!! Yamaha BW350, BW200

Mr. Bigwheel, did you go on your ride? The heavy wet snow that we had which is now frozen, should be great for Bigwheels. Where did you go for your ride? Hope you had fun. I am jones'n to go for a ride myself.

Mr. Big Wheel, I am also curious what kind of studs you used for your tires? I was originally thinking of using car type studs, but they looked too small. It looks as if you used a car type stud, but the studs look much larger than normal. I also considered going to Go-Pro off of Dowling st. and buying some "double cut" ice racing screws. What do you think?

Cliff,

I did indeed get out on the trails last week. It was glorious. It was maybe fifty miles and the BigWheel worked rather well.

There was about six inches of powder on top of a reasonable base. I'm working on a headlamp so the fun doesn't have to end when the sun goes down.

http://www.brunowessel.com/catalog/index.asp?display=all&categoryid=2

I use these studs from Bruno Wessel. I use shorter on the front and the longest on the rear and they are all much longer that car studs. They have carbide centers that make them last on almost any surface.

Ice racing studs are for ice racing. They work a million times better than studs on pure ice, but if you take them onto gravel or dirt, they will be dulled in seconds. I find that the studs, while ridiculously expensive, provide the best all around performance for general riding in the winter.

Regards,

Mr. BigWheel

That's what I am looking for. Something that will not get torn up on the mixed type of riding that I expect to do. If you happen to have any left over, I would be willing to purchase some from you. I have the stock tires on my bigwheel now and hope to keep them on for the time being. I am glad that you got out for a ride. How have the trails been? With the temps that we have had today, I wonder if the snow is too soft? If you are comfortable, please PM me your contact info if you would like to go on a ride sometime. I would be honored to go on a ride with you.

Cliff.

For some odd reason I look at these bikes and think I can do a conversion on a KLR and have a really fun ride!

Cliff,

The original front tire works great when studded. I'm not too sure about the original rear. it doesn't have terribly tall knobs and is as rare as hens teeth.

I usually try to stud new tires since you have a lot of time and dollars wrapped up in the process. They do last many seasons, if you don't do big, sparkly burnouts on pavement all the time. A second set of wheels is a really worthwhile investment for swapping tires out with the seasons. As usual, Ebay is the place to source spare rims.

The rear tire is the sticking point for the studs. Tire selection in the 9" size is abysmal in comparison to other sizes.

My favorite, the Goodyear Rawhide ATT has been discontinued and I can't find anybody with leftover stock.

Discontinued, unavailable and overpriced parts are all part of the BW ownership experience.

Regards,

Mr. BigWheel

"For some odd reason I look at these bikes and think I can do a conversion on a KLR and have a really fun ride! "

chuggins143,

You are the perfect candidate for a Fat Tired KLR

.http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=645424&highlight=woodschick+knobbies

Scroll down the page to see the green machine. Looks cool. Floats like a butterfly. And avoids the whole jackshaft thing.

Regards,

Mr. BIgWheel

closing in on 40,000 miles on my fat tire klr... i prefer it over the skinny 21". air it down and it handles rocks very well and also better in sand. i hate that damn sand!





i seen a bw350 at a swap meet here locally last year... i thought about it very long n hard. but i already have a ktm 300 and a kx250, so i passed. but man it looked fun!

Mr. BIgWheel,

Why does Yamaha make the tw200 with skinnier wheels then the older 350? And could the newer TW200 ride just as good in the snow as you were doing in your earlier video? I am looking at the TW200 but want to be able to ride some powder.

boulder

tpar1220,

You are an obvious candidate for BW ownership. Between you fat-tire treatment on your duallie and the fact that you are operating a fleet already, I think you are a natural. One more bike in the garage can't hurt anything and there are other BWs out there besides the swap-meet bike. Sounds like fate.

bouldertag,

I am sometimes tempted to try a TW project for the snow. The TW runs on the narrower tires but weighs less than the BW. Since most riding in the snow depends on staying on top of the surface, weight is critical. Some TW guys put some outrageous tires on their Trailways, as seen on the TW200 forum: http://tw200forum.com

But they obviously will not match the contact patch provided by the BW's two ATV tires. However, a BW front end will bolt right onto the TW. Combined with an oversize rear tire and the TW's lighter weight, I think you could have most if not all of the snow capabilities of the BW and have a license plate.

I predict that it will have some of the most atrocious handling on pavement ever before experienced on a motorcycle. That is the main reason that the TW runs the narrow tires.

Regards,

Mr. BigWheel

I've ridden my BW down the street and would have to second the poor handling characteristics.

i have this rear for my tw, it is an atv tire... traction is pretty good!







never thought to much about a larger front though. i don't ride it that much... maybe i should look for a bw front end. that would look like a beast!

tpar1220,

It's pictures like yours that get me all hot and bothered, which results in days wasted online considering the possibilities. I love that rear. How hard was it to get that chunk of rubber to seat the bead?

If you were seriously considering swapping fronts, I would suggest going with a Tri-Z. Since you have a disc on your TW, the drum on the BW might be a BIG turnoff for street riding. The Tri-Z triple clamp bolts right up to the BW and should do the same to the TW.

The biggest downside to the Tri-Z swap would have to be the hellacious amount of underhang the forks have. If you don't ride in rutted out terrain too often, it's not a huge factor, but it is quite noticeable.

In addition, the Z forks raise the front considerably. With your atv tire raising the rear a bit, maybe it wouldn't be so drastic.

Try it. Please, please, please.

Regards,

Mr. BigWheel

DUDES!!!!!! Im amped that i found this thread, im a bw nutcase. i there are 2 1985 BW200's in my man cave right now, hopefully a 350 or kit bike one day, i'll get pics up later. this is awesome!!!!!

Question for those who have a "yellowed" fuel tank on their bigwheel, how did you make it white again? My tank had a fair amount of yellowing, and I washed the bike with carwash soap and a wash mitt to minor success, but I would like the tank to be a bit whiter. Any suggestions (without buying a new old stock fuel tank for $300)? I had new bigwheel graphics made at a graphic design shop to replace my peeling stickers.

Pics of my Bigwheel:


Woods canyon:





Sutton:

Girl on Bigwheel (My 5yr. old Daughter)

Man I really want a 350.

Matt,

Let's see those pictures. The BW200s still rock. I'm just stuck on the bigger is better philosophy.

Cliff,

Those are awesome Copper River pictures. The bike looks good too. Nice and stock, just the way you want it.

The number 1 modification I would make to ANY BigWheel is new footpegs. The stock ones are straight off the YZ80 minibike and are minipegs. Larger pegs make a world of difference when you are standing up, which we seem to do a lot on the BWs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-PW50-PW80-PW-50-80-TW200-TW-200-FOOT-PEGS-/390376435062?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=auc5ae43fad76#ht_605wt_1189

This is a link to an ebay auction for some TW200 footpegs. If you drill one hole in them for the springs, they fit the BW mounts. These are cheap Chinese pegs, but in my experience, they are pretty durable. IMS make a set that are certainly better, but quite spendy. The cheap pegs can be found for less, if you are willing to shop a little bit.

Regards,

Mr. BIgWheel

I want a BW350 too. And as soon as I find one in this area for the right price I'll get one. I'll never get rid of my 1985 BW200 though. It's the lightest year at 256 lbs. with oil and gas. Every pound feels like a ton, when you have to pick up a bike that you dropped somewhere it's to steep to stand. You can get the front end up but you don't have to worry about flipping it over in the steep sections. Plus if i remove the passenger seat I can load the BW200 in my 1969 FJ40. If I find a BW350 I'll figure out how to load that in there too.