I Gained 128 Pounds in 5 Minutes

This is the 2010 Yamaha TW-200Z.

It's a dual-purpose bike that shows it's intended purpose pretty clearly:

Slow trail riding.

The suspension is short, and the engine is torquey-but-not-powerful, but it's excellent at going through the woods at a snail's pace, just as you would when blazing your own trail where none existed before you got there.

...........................................................

I've owned two other TWs in the past:

A 1987 model (first model year) and a 2000 model.

I'm actually considering buying the 2010 model shown in the near future.

In fact, as of yesterday morning, I put an ad up on Craigslist for my 2008 WR-250R (the dual-purpose bike I ride on the street), and there's a guy who is supposed to come check it out this afternoon.

Hopefully, he buys it this afternoon. :)

.............................................................

Why am I selling the WR-250R?

Same ol' reason I've eventually sold every other bike I've ever owned:

I came to the point that I suddenly felt like I was getting a bit bored with it.

I've ridden it fairly regularly since the last week of June, 2009, so that's long enough for me, I suppose.

As I've pointed out, it's a good dual-purpose bike, although it feels much better on the street as a light-weight sporty bike than it feels acting like a purpose-built dirt bike (like my firebreather WR-250FY is) out there on the trails, especially in the Pachaug rock pile.

.............................................................

The TW-200Z is meant for picking your way along, not ripping across rough terrain at speed.

Where the WR-250FY lets you ride over rough stuff as fast as you know how (and enjoy doing it), the TW would rather negotiate those same obstacles slowly, or simply steer around them altogether.

It's like a motorized hike across the wooded ground, save the hiking boots, granola bars, and save the snotty this-is-my-outdoors-and-it's-not-yours attitude.

You don't negotiate the terrain with speed, but instead, you go so slow that you calculate your path as you approach any obstacles, crawling over or around them.

The TW-200 is a bike tailored for turning tight circles around trees, stone walls, big rocks, etc., and it is well-suited for carving your way through the woods, way off the regular path.

Where the WR-250FY is made for speed through the rock pile, the TW-200Z is made for anti-speed.

Two ends of the dirt bike riding spectrum, really.

......................................................

And, to be honest, I feel the TW-200 does it's intended dirt usage a bit better than the WR-250R does at it's intended dirt usage.

The WR-250R, to me, basically feels like it's impersonating a real dirt bike.

It could be soooooooooo much better it it had the front forks and rear shock revalved and serviced by a dirt bike suspension pro.

But, to get that treatment, it's a $900 task.

To me, I'd rather sell the bike, mainly because I've got the firebreather WR-250FY for my real dirt bike performance riding, and, really, the WR-250R would never be as good, no matter how much money I tried to spend.

.............................................

So, I've had my fun with it.

..............................................

Off to jerk for another freebie Saturday half-day,

-John