Large Goals: A customized Yamaha TW200 from Taiwan

What motorbike did you dream of proudly owning whenever you had been younger? For Mike Chen, it was the mighty Yamaha TW200—and who may blame him? Liked by a number of generations of followers, the TW200 is the best farm bike on the planet.

Mike’s dream stayed out of attain for some time although. He got here shut when he was eighteen—type of. Unable to afford an imported TW200 (Mike lives in Taiwan), he purchased a locally-made Kymco KTR, and modified it to look as much like the Tee-Dub as potential.

At present, Mike runs the customized store Mike’s Storage, primarily based in Taipei, the place he focuses on sub-400 cc customs. He’s lastly obtained his arms on a Yamaha TW200, which he’s personalized to nice impact as his private avenue tracker.

Mike discovered the 1987-model donor bike in a scrapyard, in precisely the type of situation you’d anticipate. “Not solely was the body twisted and damaged, however the piston was caught, the wheels had been rusted and the wiring harness was incomplete,” says Mike’s good pal, Barry Lim.

“Mike nonetheless insisted on bringing it residence, regardless of how excessive the price was, as a result of it was form of significant to him to personal a motorbike with the identical 12 months of manufacture as his delivery 12 months.”

The bike was so mangled, that Mike nearly couldn’t get began on it. Between the TW’s inherent asymmetrical body design, and a few welding ‘fixes’ completed by the earlier proprietor, he couldn’t even discover the middle line of the body to straighten it. So he scrapped it, and imported a used body from Japan to interchange it.

From there, the body mods had been minor; Mike merely rebuilt the subframe to refine the bike’s silhouette, and to accommodate a shorter seat. The entrance forks had been refurbished and stiffened, whereas the rear shock was swapped out for a shortened Benelli Leoncino 250 unit. The mods have shaved just a few inches off the seat top too.

Mike’s Storage truly focuses on wheel constructing, so naturally the TW200 rolls on recent hoops. Mike stored the inventory 18F/14R sizes, becoming a Kenda motocross tire up entrance and a Duro ATV tire out again.

The engine was absolutely rebuilt in and out, and now seems to be clear sufficient to eat off. Mike put in a Yoshimura MJN26 carb, and a brand new exhaust header and muffler. All of the wiring gremlins had been taken care of too.

The TW’s new gasoline tank seems to be prefer it was scalped from a classic motocross bike, however it’s truly a customized half. Mike constructed it, and the rear fender, out of fiberglass. And should you’re questioning the place the fender’s distinctive form got here from, it was impressed by the aftermarket elements that Mike noticed in Japanese magazines when he was younger.

A customized saddle from Hoffman Bygone sits up prime, with customized facet covers ending off the bodywork.

A set of flat track-style handlebars sit up prime, adorned with translucent cherry crimson grips and a single classic change block. The speedo is a regular aftermarket half, however it’s been mounted low down on the left facet of the bike, to go away the cockpit as sparse as potential. A customized drilled bracket holds the headlight—and performs host to a single warning mild.

The ignition and begin button are each built-in into the Yamaha’s lefthand facet cowl. Off-the-shelf flip alerts do obligation at each ends, with a primary spherical taillight built-in neatly into the rear fender, simply above the place the license plate often sits.

We’d by no means consider placing scorching rod flames on a TW200—however Mike has, and it seems to be spectacular. A few smaller crimson particulars, like the material spark plug lead, present simply how a lot thought has gone into this charmingly quirky customized.

“The TW was my dream bike since I used to be younger,” Mike tells us. “At 18, the primary time I noticed it, I mentioned ‘I’ll personal you at some point and switch you into the model I like.’”

Mike’s Storage Instagram | With particular due to Barry Lim