My TW200: Purple Rain

When a nickname sticks there's not much you can do to unstick it. My bike picked up the nickname Purple Rain from some of my motocross buddies who thought that the little fairing and mirrors made it look like Prince's bike in his movie Purple Rain. I laugh even now when I think of the little singer cruising along on his purple Gold Wing - the nickname cracks me up and I even get a kick out of calling the bike by its new name. 

Purple Rain... nothing like my bike but don't tell that to my hardcore moto friends who get a kick out of calling my TW by it's nickname.

The TW200 really is a cool bike- I decided to check them out on a tip from my friend Mark. He told me how cool the big wheeled TW was and how nice and low to the ground it was for an offroad bike. Once I read more about the capabilities of the TW and learned how appropriate they are for beginners I decided that I'd start looking for one. 

The TW is a stout little bike- check this one out all set up for a 2000 mile journey around the back roads of the U.S. Read about about that trip here.

I was in for a surprise. These little 200cc bikes are in demand. Even the old ones are snapped right up and they can be expensive too! I had trouble locating any that were under two thousand dollars that didn't have high mileage, weird electrical problems (avoid the '87s with CDI box issues) or weren't beat to hell. Just when I was considering driving to Arizona to look at bike something popped up on Craigslist. It was meant to be: a '91 TW200 with just over three thousand miles, original owner for $1200 bucks. Wow. I jumped on it and immediately called the seller. I lucked out- the TW was still available and I could come over right now and check it out. 

The seller ended up being a great guy named Larry who lived out in North County San Diego in a killer ranch style home on a hill overlooking Temecula. He was an old desert rat and had been exploring the local deserts for close to forty years! His workshop was meticulously clean (a good sign) and his vehicles and tools were kept in tip top shape (another good sign). He had the TW200 parked out in the drive way and when I pulled up a giant smile crossed my face. What a cool looking bike! It was much larger than I thought it would be. I remember thinking to myself, "this is a legit motorcycle". The bike was super clean, the plastics looked new and the rims were all clean and shiny. Like I said, Larry was the type of guy who really took care of his stuff. 

I didn't know how to ride a motorcycle (other than my basic experience illegally jamming around on that little bike when I was a kid) so I had Larry start her up and ride her up and down the road in front of his house for me. I was sold- that bike sounded good and looked so great zipping up and down that road that I couldn't wait to learn to ride. I really liked the electric start (mine also comes with a back up kick start)I happily dropped $1200 bucks into his hand, loaded the bike on the back of my truck and took off for home. I was stoked- Purple Rain was mine.