Yamaha TW200 - my secondary transport

I have been looking for a small bike that I could easily maneuver and also load onto a trailer.  Everything is a compromise and I think this little bike is a good compromise. This 5 speed carburetor fueled 275lb bike hasn’t changed much in 30 years which speaks to the success of the TW200. It’s a great combo beach and trail bike. The seat height is only 31” so it is easy to mount and dismount. Extra wide knobby tires keep me upright in beach sand and gravel. They really dig into the dirt trails too. During the course of my beach travels the front and rear tires have both slipped to the side in deep sand and gravel. It took me a while to be comfortable with it. I was concerned that the tires would slip out from under me and I would go down but it didn’t happen. 

This bike has a real granny gear and I found that with some practice I could balance the bike at 3mph. It enabled me to go along the beach at a speed slow enough to spot larger fossils and fishing tackle over long distances. 

I also use a motorcycle when solo kayaking.  I trailer the bike to the egress point and then travel back to the point of entry. Then kayaking to the bike, beaching the kayak and taking the bike back to the trailer where I load it and return to the egress point to pick up the kayak.

These are the limitations that I have found with the bike:

1. Maximum speed in my opinion is 55mph.
2. The fuel tank capacity is only 1.75 gallons but it’s plenty for my  use.
3. There is only electric start which concerns me a bit as I am sometimes only traveling for a minute or two and then I stop. The older bikes had both kick and electric start.