yamaha big wheel 200 thoughts?

[keggs17]

what do you guys think of em? i rode one today and was thinking of getting it? pros cons???

[TheBlueWale]

what do you guys think of em? i rode one today and was thinking of getting it? pros cons???

The year makes a difference with the 200's, I think some only had kickstart, some only electric start, some had both, etc

The 350 is the way to go with the yamaha's, I haven't heard of any real problems with any of the bw 80's 200's or 350's, I have a Honda Fatcat and I like it a lot

[Vealmonkey]

85 bw200 is kickstart only. Can't tell you much about the other years, except engine cases and alot of parts are not compatable with the 85, because of the kick start vs electric start. I enjoy my 85. It will go almost anywhere and through streams and snow, it just doesn't go there real fast. Rear tires on the 200 or 350 can be a pain to find. Nos parts are getting hard to find. Electric start bw200s often suffer starter solenoid problems. Bw200s are known to have electrical issues at times, but it usually seems hit or miss. Sort of like a bw200 either has alot of electrical problems or it has none kind of deal. There are a few aftermarket parts and a couple accessories from yamaha. Front and Rear Racks and headlight guards and hand guards were yamaha accessories. Exhausts and aftermarket front and rear racks are available as well. You can replace the front drum brake set up with a tri z set of triples and forks for disc brake or you can ream out the stock triples to fit the tri z fork tubes. With the tri z triples, you have to use the tri z headlight and start switch, with the stock triples, you can use your stock headlight and starter switch. 350s are nice, but tend to be pricey. Finding a beater 200 or 350 will cost you just as much to fix up in the long run as it is to pay the money up front for a nice machine. Adjusting the slack on the front chain is impossible without the correct tool from the yamaha tool kit. Pay close attention to the front and rear wheel bearings and also the condition of your brake shoes. The brake shoes can peel the linings off of them and then you have no brakes, very bad! LOL You want to pull apart your brake drums once a year to keep an eye on wear and to make sure the drums stay cleaned out or things in there can get really nasty real quick, very bad. The more deep water crossings, water up to your brake drums, the more you want to keep an eye on and open up your brake drums for inspections. They are neat bikes if you can remember that they weren't meant to be speed demons. If casual trail riding is for you, then so is a bw200 or 350. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I've enjoyed mine.

[jb2wheels]

I had an 85 for a while. Tough as nails. Geared very low - felt like it would climb a tree.

Veal covered the important stuff I remember. Some unique parts, some shared with other Yamahas.

Mine came with a chain hole in the crankcase and a stuck piston. JB weld te hole, WD40 in the spark plug, and 250# on the kicker fixed all those issues and it ran great after that. Smoked some but ran great,

I sold it when houses replaced the trails near my house.

[keggs17]

thanks for the info vealmonkey. i got mine for 1000 its in pretty good shape, been in a tralor at my work locked away for ten years, no broken plastics everything is original except i need to find the manual and the tool kit for it, but yes i believe it is a kickstart, but is has the option for electric start. i will take some pics for you so you can tell me what you think

[tri-shee]

Great find on the BW 200 . I have the whole collection .

[keggs17]

here she is fellas, good afternoon of ridin at the workplace lol

[just ben]

Great find on the BW 200 . I have the whole collection .

any 2cate's in the stable? J/k. I love the fat tire bikes but are hard to come by. I had to build my own since I couldn't find one.