Turning The TW200 Into A Street Bike (Mostly)
in [Tech]
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From: Bill Miller. on 9 Aug 2008 23:20 On Aug 9, 5:52 pm, "Susan \(CobbersMom\)" <dittohead1...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: "Bill Miller." wrote in message So I guess it just boilsdown to finding tires that fit the current wheels that are more"highway-friendly." > There is nothing "unhighway-'unfriendly" about the tires that come on the TW. Except for the fact that the tires I linked to would be "more friendly" on the highway than the straight knobbies of the stock TW200 and still remain somewhat friendly to off-road use. >If you want a street bike, why not just buy one and ride tha occasionally/seldom off road? I've done that with my VStar and would much rather have knobby tires on the highway than street tires off road. > Sue Because, as I stated, the TW200 provided me with the best fit and the 196cc motor with enough power to fit my needs. It's just too bad that Yamaha doesn't produce a street bike in the 150-200 cc category and this conversation wouldn't even be happening. And the tires I linked to are not straight "street tires," just more of an on-road style than the stock knobbies on the TW200. And I believe that most would agree that the front tire I linked to would provide better steering and handling than the stock TW200's fron tire, especially perhaps in wet weather. Here's that link again... http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/29/393/14780/ITEM/Bridgestone-TW203-Trail-Wing-Dual-Sport-Front-Tire.aspx I think if you compare the tread on this one with the stock TW200 you'll see how it is perhaps more highway-friendly while still functional for light off-road riding. Bill
From: The Older Gentleman on 10 Aug 2008 02:24 .. <yefelnagrom(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > On Aug 9, 3:33?pm, "Bill Miller." <jay-smith-1...(a)excite.com> wrote: > > > How about these two? ?They're purportedly 80% on-road and 20% off- > > road. > > Bridgestone's MC tire site might be helpful in researching those > tires. > > http://www.motorcycle-karttires.com/ > > > The tread pattern looks like it would be much better for pavement > riding. You will see similar tread patterns on big adventure tourers > like BMW. > > Those big heavy bikes will wear out a dual sport tire in a few > thousand miles, but it's hard to say what the tire life would be like > on the TW200... Tread patterna have surprisingly little effect on street riding (within reason - huge gaps and big blocks are a different matter). Their main function is water clearing. Actual dry weather tyre grip is much more a function of the type of rubber used.. -- BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Yamaha XT600E Honda CB400F & SH50 GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 The bells, the bells.....
From: Bill Miller. on 10 Aug 2008 03:27 I'm not saying that the stock knobbies on the TW200 are road unfriendly or that they're terrible. We're not talking about black or white here but about degrees. Anyone looking at the stock knobbies on the TW200 can clearly see that they are primarily designed for off-road (non-pavement) use. True or false? Then when you look at the two tires in the link I provided, anyone can clearly see that the tread on those tires leans more toward on-road (pavement_ use than off-road. That's all I was saying---that these two tires ... FRONT: http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/29/393/14780/ITEM/Bridgestone-TW203-Trail-Wing-Dual-Sport-Front-Tire.aspx and REAR: http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/29/393/14781/ITEM/Bridgestone-TW204-Trail-Wing-Dual-Sport-Rear-Tire.aspx ....are not "superior" to the stock tires but only that they appear to have a tread better suited for on-road (pavement) use. True or false? Nothing more! And if that's the case, and most (approximately 80%) of my riding will be on-road (pavement) then why wouldn't I replace the stock tires with these? No need to carry this discussion into any other areas. It's a rather simple selection...pick choice A (stock tires) or choice B (the tires shown in the links) for a bike that going to be driven on-road (pavement) at least 80% of the time and the other 20% of "off-road" use will be very light and easy trails and/or dirt/gravel secondary roads. If you truly think, based solely upon the planned uses I've described for my particular situation, that this idea has no merit, then please give me the facts and data to refute what I've just said regarding these two choices of tires. No generalizations needed about this or that but please just pick choice A or choice B and W-H-Y. Thank you. Bill
From: Blattus Slafaly on 10 Aug 2008 09:01 Bill Miller. wrote: > On Aug 9, 5:52 pm, "Susan \(CobbersMom\)" <dittohead1...(a)yahoo.com> > wrote: > > "Bill Miller." wrote in message So I guess it just boilsdown to > finding > tires that fit the current wheels that are more"highway-friendly." > >> There is nothing "unhighway-'unfriendly" about the tires that come on the TW. > > Except for the fact that the tires I linked to would be "more > friendly" on the highway than the straight knobbies of the stock TW200 > and still remain somewhat friendly to off-road use. > >> If you want a street bike, why not just buy one and ride tha occasionally/seldom off road? I've done that with my VStar and would much rather have knobby tires on the highway than street tires off road. >> Sue > > Because, as I stated, the TW200 provided me with the best fit and the > 196cc motor with enough power to fit my needs. It's just too bad that > Yamaha doesn't produce a street bike in the 150-200 cc category and > this conversation wouldn't even be happening. And the tires I linked > to are not straight "street tires," just more of an on-road style than > the stock knobbies on the TW200. And I believe that most would agree > that the front tire I linked to would provide better steering and > handling than the stock TW200's fron tire, especially perhaps in wet > weather. Here's that link again... > > http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/29/393/14780/ITEM/Bridgestone-TW203-Trail-Wing-Dual-Sport-Front-Tire.aspx > > I think if you compare the tread on this one with the stock TW200 > you'll see how it is perhaps more highway-friendly while still > functional for light off-road riding. > > Bill > > What kind of gas mileage does a 250 street get? -- Blattus Slafaly ? 3 :) 7/8
From: . on 10 Aug 2008 09:05
On Aug 10, 12:27�am, "Bill Miller." <jay-smith-1...(a)excite.com> wrote: > Anyone looking at the stock knobbies on the TW200 can clearly see that > they are primarily designed for off-road (non-pavement) use. �True or > false? TW200 was designed as a beach cruiser. If you go to ride the dunes at Pismo, you'd want a paddle tire. The knobbie tire is designed to dig into loose soil and find traction below. The height of the knobs depends upon how deep the loose soil is on top of the hard packed surface below. Radical knobbies have widely-spaced knobs that are an inch tall, less radical knobbie have lower knobs that are more closely spaced. The relative softness or hardness of a knobby depends on just how hard (or deep) the substrate is. > > Then when you look at the two tires in the link I provided, anyone can > clearly see that the tread on those tires leans more toward on-road > (pavement_ use than off-road. The more street-oriented tread relies more upon the pavement surface digging into the rubber and providing traction like a street tire does. |