Hilux 4x4 Forum

I enjoyed my biking days, but gave it up for 'family responsibility' some time after the kids came along. The itch was however always there to get another bike but I always managed to resist it. But as with so many things in life, circumstances, wants vs needs change and I found myself trying to rationalise a motivation for getting another bike.

Swambo enjoyed the bikes as well but her biking days are over I think, so I wasn't going to get much support there, unless ...... I could pitch it as a need, not a want!

I always had a preference for touring bikes or cruisers, was never a fan of scramblers and the like, but the unembellished fact is that my knees are starting to give me trouble and I have been finding it increasingly more difficult to walk long distances and rugged terrain, like our property in the mountains. It's steep - very steep, and in the last year or so I haven't gone all the way down to the mountain stream that borders our property, nor have I wandered about the slopes looking for mushrooms. FRESH MUSHROOMS! - Swanbo loves them! HA! One of Swabo's wants! And of course I have to be able to go about and inspect the fences etc., so, theres a need right there! But it would have to then be an off-road bike

Off-road? Hmmmm .... but that's what I got a 4x4 for, just that it can't go between the trees, nor can it handle the steep side slopes, so the bike can go places that the 4x4 can't, and it could compliment my off-road vehicle!

The same applies to the way I hunt - walk and stalk, sometimes covering 10 to 15 km's a day over some tough terrain - no longer easily doable with the years on my back and the rickety knees. So no venison. VENISON! Swambo has an addiction to the stuff! - Not to mention BILTONG!

HA! This is no longer so much about me, but also about her! (Love it when a plan comes together! )

Then of course I would also be saving fuel if I used it to 'run up to the shops' with a bike instead of a thirsty 4x4!

OK, so now I had to look around for a suitable steed and because of it's light weight, compact size, low seat height, easy ride-ability, durability, and versatility I decided on a dual sport Yamaha TW 200 (sometimes referred to as a 'farm bike'). I also liked the look of it. I battled to find a decent one on the 2nd hand market, narrowly missing out on 3 fairly good deals with low mileage in the 15k to 18k range - normally they go for 20k upwards.

Eventually I succumbed to desperation / impatience (not sure which), before Swambo changed her mind, and settled for a 20yr old model with 46000 km's on the clock that was running with papers. Not ideal, but these bikes are like the SFA Hilux of the bike world, they can take a hammering and just carry on going. The fact that they were introduced in 1987 and are still currently available with virtually no changes over the years except the colour schemes for the different year models, attests to the success and popularity of the machine.

The cost, including shipment from the Western Cape was a mere smidgen over 6k, so there's plenty budget left for a make-over. Actually in truth it's going to be more of a re-build, and this is where the "sucker for punishment" comes in. I've re-built bikes before, (one of them in my lounge), and in retrospect I should have waited it out for a unit in better condition, even if I had to cough up 3 times more than this unit. Spare time is something in very short supply these days.

The up-side is that by the time I'm done I will know every cm of the bike, and it will be an interesting project. Also, I'm not looking for a show-piece that will break my heart when it gets scratched in the bush or suffers a bit of 'abuse'. Oh, did I mention, it started with the first kick when it was delivered.

Yes, I know ..... pictures! :roll:

So here are some "before" pics ......

Very nice Andy... a bike(of some kind or another) is on my to-do list... one day!

Good luck with the project Andy. I think you did a good buy. for your purpose the air cooled motor is perfect. keep us posted

Awesome machine this

Good luck with the rebuild, Andy!

Nice Andy, Hope it will be stripped by Saturday...

Nice one Andy!

TW 200 = "Die Boer se twee wiel Jeep" - That's what they call them in the Karoo.

Nice Andy, those are very lekker bikes.
Doesn't look too bad on the pictures.

pietpetoors wrote:Nice Andy, those are very lekker bikes.
Doesn't look too bad on the pictures.

No, but up close you will see the need for some major TLC. There's some bits of rust, not bad, but it's there, electrical needs to be sorted properly, kick-start seal needs replacement, no chain guard, handle bars are slightly twisted (I'm getting a new bar and guard donated ) and the motor smokes a bit under acceleration so it needs rings / piston and maybe a re-bore. With that all done and a re-spray it should be cool.

Mr_B wrote:Very nice Andy... a bike(of some kind or another) is on my to-do list... one day!

Been saying that for 15 years...and ONE DAY I turned 40....well...that itch just had to be scratched, cause you realise you might only have another 15 left! And that's what I did Not a moment's worth of regret

Andy, I see even your Hilux is sticking his nose out to have a peek

Looks good, enjoy

Thanks guys, but sjoe! .... lotsa work ahead!

An interesting snippet of info about these bikes that again remind me of the SFA Hilux .....

The Yamaha TW200 was the first motorcycle to be ridden to the North Pole, by Shinji Kazama in 1987.

Very good bikes, we have two of them on the farm and they give very good service for us.

Awesome bike and I'm sure the restoration work required is part of the fun. Can't wait to see her restored to her former glory

With my recent trip up north, I was surprised to see a couple touring our country (and possibly neighbouring countries) with two TW200. They may be slow on the long stretches, but you won't have to worry when you encounter more technical terrain. So you may even have a replacement for the big Hilux

smokintyres wrote:Awesome bike and I'm sure the restoration work required is part of the fun. Can't wait to see her restored to her former glory

With my recent trip up north, I was surprised to see a couple touring our country (and possibly neighbouring countries) with two TW200. They may be slow on the long stretches, but you won't have to worry when you encounter more technical terrain. So you may even have a replacement for the big Hilux

There again is another analogy to the SFA .... sure-footed in the bush, but slow on the open road.
I think the given top speed at a push is 130 km/h - I'm also sure that you won't achieve that with a head-wind!

Apparently it's not uncommon to tour with these things (one up of course), the guys in the US do it all the time, travelling over great distances and typically having a 'his' and 'hers' bike for each. As said many times before, a slower pace allows you to enjoy the passing scenery more.

With it being fairly compact and light (only 126 KG dry), it can be easily carted on a rack at the back (or front) of the bakkie.

Something like this ....


This is almost exactly the idea I had before seeing this, but I think mine will be better and unless I see something more suitable I'll stick to mine when I get that far. I don't like the single mounting bar for one.

When I did my diving courses I saw a few of these at Sodwana, pretty capabale on the beach

Definitely more than on mounting bar needed, and in the back , not in front of the vehicle...just in case it comes off

I'm looking more to convert my little 4 ft trailer into a 1 bike trailer
similar to this

Those TW200's are ysters... Hulle is soos n dikwiel poskantoor fiets... Hou verewig....

Baie nice!! Eks bly jy kon darem een rondte wen. Ek weet presies van daai jeuk wat jy praat. Bike verkoop toe 2e kleinding hier aankom en ek kon niog nie weer een op die erf kry nie. Ek baaaiie spyt eks ingepraat on daai een te laat gaan. En ek travel elke dag 50km werk toe, so ek kan baie petrol spaar!!! Maar nou isndit te gevaarlik op die (baie stil r59) snelweg....
Gee my weer hoop om aan te hou try. Tot my 5jarige girl vra v my hoekom het ek nou dat daai ander oom ons motorfiets vat... Wanneer bring hy hom nou terug want dis darem al lank.

Hou die draad op hoogte met al die vordering.

Ja, Stef, definitely in the back, not the front. I like the ideas used on that trailer, a normal trailer will want to tip up in the front if it's not hitched and that one you can do it one up with the trailer standing free. I however don't want to be pulling a trailer around with me unnecessarily. I might incorporate an "extended hitch" on the bike carrier for the occasions where I want to take the bike along as well as a trailer, but that will add quite a bit of weight to the carrier. Another option is to put identical mountings on the trailer as on the bakkie so that the bike can go on the back of the trailer instead, There are issues with both options, will just have to give it a lot more thought.

My ZX10R a bit heavy for a carrier , it weighs 198kg dry, hence the trailer idea...

I think that small carrier in your last post could be incorporated on the A-frame of a trailer, and then you have a seperate one for the bakkie...

You could use something like this as well, saw some nice ones locally

The trailer's A-fame position could work well - thanks, I hadn't thought of that (my spare sits there, but I could always re-locate that). Will give it some consideration. The idea of a front wheel hitch up didn't appeal to me at all, OK for short distances I guess but those poor rear wheel bearings on longer trips! Also not gonna work on some of the off-road trails.

Don't fancy them too much either, OK on tar I guess but I wouldn't take it offroad no.

The carrier on the rear bumper would pose some challenges with the loading/offloading, maybe a swing arm to hoist the bike up like on a skip truck could work... or a winch setup that lowers the platform to the ground maybe.

Stef wrote:Don't fancy them too much either, OK on tar I guess but I wouldn't take it offroad no.

The carrier on the rear bumper would pose some challenges with the loading/offloading, maybe a swing arm to hoist the bike up like on a skip truck could work... or a winch setup that lowers the platform to the ground maybe.

That is exactly what I had in mind, using a small boat winch and locking pins to keep it up instead of depending on the winch and cable.

Stef wrote:

Mr_B wrote:Very nice Andy... a bike(of some kind or another) is on my to-do list... one day!

Been saying that for 15 years...and ONE DAY I turned 40....well...that itch just had to be scratched, cause you realise you might only have another 15 left! And that's what I did Not a moment's worth of regret

I'm on seven years now

Enjoy the rebuild oom Andy.

Tumelo wrote:Enjoy the rebuild oom Andy.

Sjoe, when I get that far! Just haven't got the time right now, but I'm planning it! I've just pottered about a bit when I've had the odd hour or so here and there, having already repaired quite a few things. I want to get all the "bending straight" and welding done while the bike is still together, just to be sure that everything fits / matches. Don't want any surprises after I re-sprayed everything.

This vid just makes me want to rearrange my priorities and get the re-build done asap!!! :roll:

Note that the guy with the helmet cam is on a TW200 .... no stopping him except for some water that's too deep, and stopping to help the others.


View Original

I'm still not ready to tackle the project full on - time just hasn't been on my side, but I found a couple of hours in bits and pieces here and there.

What I've done so far .....

The helmet lock wasn't working, so took it off and opened it up. Turns out that it was just badly gunged up ... removed the gunge, cleaned and lubed it - works just fine. Attended to the bent passenger foot-peg bracket. Removed it, bent it straight and re-fitted - it's now in line with the frame and the foot-peg sits nicely at 90°. Removed the very 'wobbly' side stand that also wouldn't tuck all the way up and would bounce about when going over bumps. The mounting plate on the frame was worn, but not so much to be of any great concern .... that's not where most of the free play was - the "U" piece at the upper end of the stand itself was badly worn away internally at the end on one side. The welder came out, built it up with welding and machined it down for a tighter fit. It was also obvious that the stand had broken off at some point and was shoddily welded back, so I cleaned up the shoddy welding at the same time, gave it a lick of a phosphoric acid rust inhibitor and re-fitted it - works like a charm and tucks all the way up.

I ordered a whole bunch of parts, cost more than what I paid for the bike, but I plan on doing it once only. New wheel bearings / brake pads / O-ring chain and 16:50 sprocket set / chain guard / lower rear sprocket guard / complete set of swing-arm bushes, spacers and swing-arm bolt / new rear tyre / new levers and lever brake light switch / mirrors / various seals / left side engine cover / fork covers / speedo cable, battery and a few other bits and bobs. Also got a set of LED indicators with replacement flasher unit and a tail light. ( Bloody stuff is pricey!!! )

Fitted the rear indicators / brake light. First problem was that there were no mounts left on the bike for these items (all broken off, .....

..... so had to do some fabrication. Got out some light gauge steel plate, welded extensions onto the broken off indicator mounts, shaped them and drilled the holes. Welded a bracket to the tail end of the sub-frame for the tail light / number plate mount to bolt onto. Treated all affected areas with a phosphoric based rust inhibitor and gave it a temporary coating. It's a rough paint finish but that's just a temp protection (the underlying steel is polished smooth) - remember that it's all still going to be torn down and sand-blasted before final spraying.

(Indicators already mounted ..... didn't take any pics of the process).

There was no template supplied with the tail light, so made my own, marked and drill holes in a measured and cut steel plate. Guestimated the desired angle for the number plate and bent it up. Gave it the same temporary protective coatings as the welding work.

Fitted the tail light .....

.... and bolted it on with brass bolts / nuts. (Don't want rust marks from steel bolts 3 or 4 years down the line).

Nicely tucked in under the rear "wing".

I had a look at the rear brake. The pedal was so high it was chafing against the motor.

and because of the pedal angle, the link was touching the swing arm. Battled a bit with the pedal 'stop' adjustment because the bolt and locking nut were both very stiff and also there was no adjustment left at the arm on the drum. I had to release the link to adjust the pedal and that wing-nut was also stiff as hell and wouldn't even turn up further than the position it was at, so I got out the taps and dyes and cleaned up the threads. Also did the chain adjustment at the same time before I completed sorting the brake .....
Went back to the brakes and moved the arm at the drum inwards by 3 splines so that I could get enough adjustment. The pedal was now nice an level and the link was no longer in contact with the swing-arm either.

I also noticed that the rear (passenger) RHS foot-rest was badly skew, so I removed the bracket and straightened it out.
Looked at the other side and although not appearing to be skew it was fouling against the swing-arm, .....
..... so straightened that out as well at the same time.



More on the rest later ...... tbc.

lekker ... :)

Andy
I'm following the thread with great interest
I have 1 of these on the farm but I haven't mastered the skill to navigate it through thick sand yet :wth:
I enjoy it very much though

chopper wrote:Andy
I'm following the thread with great interest
I have 1 of these on the farm but I haven't mastered the skill to navigate it through thick sand yet :wth:
I enjoy it very much though

Thinus, I'm by no means an expert, but what I found works for me is to shift your weight onto the rear wheel and keep the power on. Airing down the tyres helps a little too, but on two wheels I prefer to do this conservatively if at all.

Some weekends back I decided to fit the front LED indicator lamps and have a look at the electrical issues. There were no lamps at all before except for the headlight and even that didn't work. Stripped off the seat, plastic covers, tank and headlamp. The headlamp was blown so replaced that with one I had lying loose and it works but it's very dim - not sure why but I'll see if it makes a difference once the new battery is fitted.

It also makes me wonder if the magneto is working properly - surely even with a fubar battery it should provide enough juice to run the headlamp?

There was a real bird's nest of disconnected (and even truncated) wiring behind the headlamp. Traced it all and sorted it out - what a mission! After a long search I found the wires for the indicator relay truncated at the harness (there was no indicator relay). Sorted that and fitted a flasher relay that can handle LED's - all works now as well. There is still one set of truncated wires who's function I have no idea of .... think it could perhaps be the clutch switch. Neither the clutch nor side stand switches are working, but that's fine, I'd rather leave them non functional. The rear brake was missing the linkage between the switch and the brake lever, so I made one up and that works now as well.

The remaining electrical issues to be sorted are the front brake lever switch (it was missing but I found the truncated wiring for that too - just have to fit the new brake lever assembly and connect it), the starter motor isn't working (the relay clicks now, so next will be to strip the starter itself) and the horn is still not working.

So even though I managed to get a fair bit done, there was still a lot left to do on the electrical side.

MD, the more I read the more I understand your choice of title. Keep up the good work. Its going to be a fantastic machine once its done.

I found a bit of time to progress a bit further. The problem with the starter motor is with the motor itself - the starter relay is fine and the juice is getting there. Will have to pull the starter and strip it.

I replaced the brake lever assembly which was not stock (replaced with OEM) and fitted a new switch - front brakes now activate the brake light as well.

Fitted the new mirrors, not OEM, but they are made to fit the Yamaha (one LH thread and one RH thread). They're rectangular instead of the stock round ones, but it doesn't look odd.

Fitted the speedo and warning light assemblies which were loose in a box when I got the bike. Speedo cable is fubar - will have to get a new one. I'm not even sure if the mechanism in the front hub that drives the speedo is working. Will have to check that out as well.

I got a new battery and fitted it. However I noticed that it was not being re-charged. The voltage across the battery was less when the motor was running than when all was switched off.
I also found that when I disconnect the rectifier / regulator unit, the headlight comes up bright and gets even brighter when on increases the revs, so at least I know that the magneto / stator coils are OK. Obviously the regulator is blown - I've ordered a new one.

Will see what happens when I fit it.

Sjoe Johan! Going in I knew that this wasn't going to be a cake walk, especially not when you buy a farm bike that's already 20 years old with almost 50K on the clock with known issues. I think I just overestimated my appetite for it a little. Even so, she will rise again ... maybe I should dub her "Phoenix".

Putting her up for sale afterwards Andy? Hehe

Not even an option, Thinus! Not after the time and resources that will have been poured into it!

Something else about these bikes, they're not noisy .... doesn't even remotely have the sound of a 'thumper'. 200cc is not technically a 'thumper' in my book but this sounds more like a delivery bike. It's not a negative, more like a positive trait - especially in the bush for hunting.

I happened to cup my hand over the exhaust outlet and the difference in the exhaust note was huge, much louder and 'thumperish'.
Then, looking at rear end of the TW ....... particularly at the muffler. Here you have this squat bike with a fat tyre that's very easy on the eyes, but the little pee-hole exhaust from the back of the muffler looks sort of pathetic, ....well, to me anyway.

While I fully understand that the little Asian guys with the white lab coats and coke-bottle glasses designed it that way with a purpose of better performance (back-pressure and all that), I couldn't help thinking that they could have improved on the appearance. Maybe containing production costs was the reason they didn't.

Anyway, with a bee in the bonnet I started looking about my workshop for a suitable diameter pipe to make a tail-pipe. I have something better in mind, but just for testing purposes, I found that a food can fitted fairly well

So I thought I'd have a bit of fun and did a "KOO Conversion" with a food can.

Actually I like the look of it, the fat tail-piece suits the fat tyre. I might just do something like a screw-on / screw-off tail pipe so that I can be quieter in the bush but still look "bad-ass" on the road. Of course I'll use something more substantial than a food can!

Took it for a spin around the neighbourhood like that and it did get a few dogs barking!

Hehe...you're like a school boy with a 50....

We used to build our own expansion pipes..think I still have the formulae somewhere. Sometimes from big coffee tins to reduce weight..

2 - stroke engines allow for more experimentation I think, but a good polish of the in/outlet ports as well as the carb could give your 4 stroker a bit more zest

Stef wrote:Hehe...you're like a school boy with a 50....

Maybe, but you gotta admit, that big pipe looks good!

Stef wrote:..., but a good polish of the in/outlet ports as well as the carb could give your 4 stroker a bit more zest

Might just do that when I do the motor.

Andy
If you did a "KOO Beans in Tomato Sauce" tin conversion it would explain why the dogs were upset with the noise the TW200 was making :wth:

Stef wrote:Hehe...you're like a school boy with a 50....

We used to build our own expansion pipes..think I still have the formulae somewhere. Sometimes from big coffee tins to reduce weight..

2 - stroke engines allow for more experimentation I think, but a good polish of the in/outlet ports as well as the carb could give your 4 stroker a bit more zest

and every so often one would remove the complete exhuast pipe - to get access to the exhaust port .... liberally apply brake fluid, then ride the dinges out of it and pop out the carbon deposits from the exhaust ports



adding some brake fluid into the exhaust would also clean it out - but leave a smoke trail that would make a diesel truck dissapear in the smoke ....

Looks like the 'old girl' has got some cousins that have moved in to stay .......

It's funny that when you look for something, you don't find it, but suddenly when you're not looking .......
This XJ happened to be looking for a home a few weeks ago, who was I to refuse!! Swambo loves the sound of a 4 into 1 exhaust, so there was very little objection when the XJ suddenly moved in.

The yard is starting to look like a Yamaha used bike dealership. The XT belongs to future SIL, but they all look happy with each other's company.

Future SIL was covering his bike with a sheet of black plastic and a piece of old bedspread ..... just couldn't have that :roll: , so bought him a matching cover for his old girl.

Well done ANDY.A very wise purchase indeed.That 2 wheeler is very comparable to the sfa,very hardy and without any gadgets.You can go from Cape to Cairo with that TW no problem.

I am expecting to see a few biker badges on your jacket on our next get-together

Nah. I've never been a big biker rally enthusiast, there's always a few that take it too far and sometimes spoil it for the rest. In the days of my street biking I much preferred small meets like breakfast runs with riders I knew. With the TW I'll probably be alone on a farm, trail or back-road somewhere.

Nice one Andy We should call you Biker_Dog.

I am sommer going to start my Suzuki now

Mine's been standing on the stoep; time to dust it off and take it for a spin again?!
Andy really got us going this time!

Took them both out for a spin today. Got to admit, as slow as what it is, that TW is such an effortless pleasure to ride ... it might just become my favourite.

I wrote:I got a new battery and fitted it. However I noticed that it was not being re-charged. The voltage across the battery was less when the motor was running than when all was switched off.
I also found that when I disconnect the rectifier / regulator unit, the headlight comes up bright and gets even brighter when on increases the revs, so at least I know that the magneto / stator coils are OK. Obviously the regulator is blown - I've ordered a new one.

Will see what happens when I fit it.

I fitted the new regulator today and I still have the same problem .... although the voltage across the battery is better now when the motor runs, the headlamp is still dull with the regulator connected. Either there is indeed a problem with the stator coils or I have some kind of a short / voltage drain. I have no idea where to look, so will go study the wiring diagram. :roll: