Utah to Alaska - 6100 Miles on a TW200

[Knute Dunrvnyet]

Thank you! You are a Certified Wildboy. Just: nice, nice work, you have got it together. A true Advrider. I love my ['88!] TW, and wholly agree about a 350/400; I've posted thus, somewhere here. I'd say more, but it's late...


Great trip, great RR. Thanks again for sharing!

"seeyuh"

[Klay]

Those are great pictures, not just of the scenery, but of your rig. That's a really good setup. You're right, wouldn't a 350cc TW be an amazing machine?

[HighTechCoonass]

I went from a tw200 to a KLR250, then F650GS , then R1150gs, then to an F650GS Dakar (now). All I needed was the TW!!!!! you proved that you dont have to have a big bike to do a dream trip!

[davevv]

Great trip! I was in many of those same places this summer on my Ulysses. It's a beautiful place to ride. Glad you got to see it from the saddle, and kudos for doing it on the TW.

[Spicy McHaggis]

Excellent!!! My wife has a Tee-Dub, and is itching to do some touring in 2008 with me.

Thanks for proving what I've always known about that moto - it CAN do it all, just a little slower than the rest!

[Benjava]

Thanks for taking the time to post this great rr. And the packing list and pictures are very informative.

[The Cameraman]

good afternoon,

what a tremendous report.

Love the image of Bow Lake, that's a fine photograph.

I ride a 250cc Serow myself and most of my mates reckon I'm mad by covering 46,000kms in 22 months, but I agree with you that touring on a tiddler's bliss. OK I cruise along at 55mph, get around 85 to 90mpg and need to fill up every 2 1/2 hours but the journey's what makes the trip worth while.

Thanks for posting.

[BillMichaels]

Todd- This site's trip report turned out allot better than the TW Forum's. It was much easier to read and look at the pics. It makes me want to drop everything and take off on mine. Good Job.

Did you get my email from last week? Bill

[LoFlow]

WOW......You are the man!

[dEAdEyE]

Holy smokes,that's alot of stuff,on any bike much less aTW.What was your top speed?750+ miles on a TW in one day.....you are much more of a man than I.Great trip!

[TheMule]

Originally Posted by deadeye

Holy smokes,that's alot of stuff,on any bike much less aTW.What was your top speed?750+ miles on a TW in one day.....you are much more of a man than I.Great trip!

According to my GPS the top speed for the trip was 84.6 mph. This was downhill with a tailwind. I doubt I am any more of a man than anybody here, I've just learned that a little difficulty often results in the best memories. If you're careful planning every aspect of your trip, especially the route, any of the smaller bikes out there will do the job. Prior to my trip I read a story about a guy from Ontario who took his litte scooter to Inuvik one summer, that guy was tough, so were the bicyclists I ran into on the Stewart-Cassier Hwy who had riden thier pedal bikes all the way from TX. That's something way beyond me. Oh, by the way, the total weight of gear was about 90 lbs.

Bill, got your email trying to dig out a couple more patches and will get them in the mail.

Thanks everyone for the gracious comments, I appreciate it,

Todd

[hilslamer]

Wish I had the time to do what you're doing....fantastic.

Originally Posted by TheMule

I have to admit that I'd love to own a bigger bike. What I'd really like is the TW in 350 or 400cc. Low seat height, good fuel economy, enough hp to hold the speed limit under any conditions, and mechanically simple. I knew when I left that the TW was going to have difficulty maintaining speed limits in places...,

You might look at the Beta Alp 4.0:




It's a DR 350 engine(6 speed!) in a low-slung frame, with supposedly surprisingly good suspension and versatilty. The suspension will inevitably be better than the TW200, anyway. ANd if the DR350 isnt enough, you can get all sorts of go-fast goodies for them. I'd punch out and put a rowdy cam in it at the very least....but there goes your MPG downt he drain...

They aren't available in the US(SUzuki apparently has some sort of import ban on other manufacturers using their engines in bikes sold int he US) but I know there have been some greymarketed in.


Another one to consider: Yamaha BW350



...hard to find, but if you could get it liscensed(easy to do in AZ, not so sure abotu your neck of the woods)...

[Klay]

Originally Posted by hilslamer

[Mr. Cob]

Howdy Mule,

Good job on the report and photos. My wife occasionally rides a TW200, it is a great bike and I have a heck of a lot of fun taking it places my big bikes fear to tread. Thanks for taking the time to share your ride with us.

[SteverinoB]

Thanks for posting an inspirational and fascinating report. Happened across it late last night and returned today to finish the read, really enjoyed it. I've ridden and ride smaller bikes and though I've done a little lite smaller bike tripping, nothing like 6000 miles. I'm inspired. Thanks again.

Cheers Steve