YAMAHA GOES
BIG WHEEL,
OLD SCHOOL
hile New Zealand’s most popular
bike overall in terms of sales may be
a 200cc farm bike, Yamaha is looking
to get in on the same action by introducing
the TW200 to the New Zealand market this
year, with the cooky little AG bike having just
arrived in dealers.
The TW200 has been in production since
1987 making it one of the oldest new bikes
on sale in New Zealand, but don’t think this
is a throwaway sub-200cc bike to ditch on
the nearest back block. The TW200 has some
history and a no-nonsense build sheet to
back it up.
On debut, Yamaha needed to set some buzz
off about the little TW200. With its huge rear
wheel making for an excellent tractor tyre -
providing traction to keep the little Yamaha
out of the muddiest bog, the bike was
chosen by Shinji Kazama to famously ride
to the North Pole (Kazama being one of the
only people in the world to ride a motorcycle
to both poles).
Available in the rather interesting colour
of “beige black” and priced from $6500, the
TW200 features rather unique fat tyres with
a 130/80-18 front and a huge 180/80-14 out
back. Ground clearance is generous, and on
top of the massive bump soaking tyres, the
TW200 boasts up to 160mm of suspension
travel.
KIWI RIDER 21