my dream bike was a yamaha tw200 but i needed more power since i do a lot of traveling on the road and was thinking on getting a tw200 and putting in a bigger motor. but with very limited funds i thought why not make a tw out of the bike i already have, since i love the reliable rotax motor and its paid for already. finally got my wheel in the mail yesterday to finish my tw650 project.first i laced up the front 18 inch wheel a few weeks ago already so all i needed was the rear 14x4.5 tw wheel. it took a whole day to do the conversion because i had to do and make everything since i havent seen another one done like this. heres a pic of my 02 bmw dakar with the wheels on it.
heres a close up of the rear wheel.its really dirty and ugly but i have a new spoke kit coming so later on when i have a break i can powdercoat the rim and relace the rim.
heres a pic of the rear brake. yea i know its a drum brake, its what im going to have to run on the bike till i get a rear disc on it later on.
had to do some fab work to get the tire in there but ended up with a nice centered wheel and great chain to tire clearance. had to grind off the sprocket hub and move it inward about 5/8 of a inch then reweld it.
May I suggest a WR250X w/ MT-21 (knobbies) on both ends. This little FI, 6 spd, super moto is a super valve for the $ & no valve adjustment for 24,000 miles.
that would be a good setup but i had to use what i had already. i was going to use atc tires and wheels on my dakar but couldnt find any dot approved tires for road use. my luck i would do all that work and get pulled over for a violation and have to change it back to stock again.
heres a pic of the front wheel. i used a rear rim off a early xl250 and the yz hub then had spokes made to the right length and laced it up. the rim is a 2.15x18 with a 4.60x18 front tire.fresh powdercoat and some decals dressed it up nice.
thank you larryboy, i was worried it wasnt going to work but had to keep working at it till it was done. the yamaha tw chain is on the opposite side of the bmw so i had to flip the wheel over and the brake on the opposite side too. im glad its back on the road.i dont like when my bike is not ridable not even for a day!
wow looks great, can't wait for the ride report on how it handles etc... I've been thinking about a TW for a second woods bike, mud crawler...
Simply awesome! Congrats on the project - that flat rocks! I've often wondered about doing something similar - love the way a TW200 looks, but...ummm... yeah...there's that power issue... SOLVED! Kudos!
I love the idea.., and the fact that you did what you wanted But, what about the rear brakes??? you're not thinking of keeping the drum brakes are you???
i was going to convert to rear disc on the tw wheel but that will have to wait. the stock drum brake locks up the rear wheel so i think its good enough for now. i will have to see how it works on long down hills though. i dont really use my rear brake much since the bike has a lot of engine braking but i will see.
