Gear Ratio Chart: GO FASTer or Creep SLOWer – TW200

Go faster or have more low-end torque for your TW200 – All with gearing!

BASELINE

First, let’s establish the base. The Yamaha TW200 comes stock with a 14-tooth front countershaft sprocket and a 50-tooth rear sprocket. According to the gear ratio chart above, that net’s us a gear ratio of 3.57.

With the stock “14/50 – 3.57” and say for example you want a little more top speed you could simply change the rear sprocket to a 45-tooth (4.21 gear ration) that would increase your overall top-end speed. Think of your multi-speed bicycle, when you shift to a smaller sprocket on the rear, you go faster, but too, it is also harder to pedal. It’s all a sliding scale with trade-offs and sacrifices for every choice you make, thus you may change your gear ratio a few times in search of what is perfect for you. There is no one perfect combination for every TW200 rider.

TOO MUCH GEAR
vs
NOT ENOUGH PONY

The TW200 is a mere 196cc engine that does not subscribe to thunderous power with is 26-horsepower at 11.06 ft/lbs of torque to pull the 278-pound fat-tired moto with its 5-speed gearbox. Its balance of finding the right ratio that works for you. Both your riding terrain, of which could be mountains or flat city streets. Also to take into consideration is the overall payload of the bike, which also includes you on the bike and fuel in the tank!

Am I saying the TW200 is underpowered? Well, let’s just say it’s not a sports bike or a big thumper. It is what it is and you just have to find “yourself” “in” the bike. Is it capable? Why yes! Heck, Even the Honda C90 is capable of BIG ADVENTURE as Ed March of C90Adventures as demonstrated with his many long-distance adventures! After you watch any of those videos, NO MORE EXCUSES – SO PLEASE THINK BEFORE YOU HIT THAT LINK! NO MORE EXCUSES!!! The TW200 is VERY CAPABLE! So, you just have to figure out what you want to do on your TW200 and what the priorities are?

CREEPY CRAWLER

Maybe you want to creep like a Toyota 4X4 with a Marlin Crawl Box, so you could slap a 62-tooth rear sprocket on the rear. While this would be awesome for the most technical of trails, but most bicyclists may be passing you as you make your way to those trails. While your pinned in 5th-gear, granny might pass you in her stroller as well. I will say it again, it’s all a sliding scale with trade-offs and sacrifices for every choice you make, thus you may change your gear ratio a few times in search of what is perfect for you. There is no one perfect combination for every TW200 rider. The stock gearing on the TW200 is a 14-tooth front counter sprocket with a 50-tooth rear sprocket outback. Read on!

GCRad1 Spec

For me personally, I weight 180-lbs, so maybe 185 -190 pounds fully loaded with all my riding gear. Also to take into consideration is camp gear as my bike will be considerably heavier with all the camping gear loaded on the bike. Check out the “How I packed for 3-Day Moto Camping” post with the weight noted for items carried. Now you have to take into consideration your local riding area as well. How far do you have to ride to get to the trails? is your tarmac transit to trails on a sub 35mph road or do you have some 55mph roads with locals driving 70+ on them? Are your trails flowing gravel mountain roads or flat but technical wooded singletrack? See where this is all going? You may own a few sprockets in the process of dialing in your perfect overall gear ratio.

I live here in Southern California where my transit to dirt is 28-miles on paved public roads. Everyone drives fast here and the roads I use are mostly 50-MPH roads with one section that is 55-MPH and I am getting passed like I am standing still!!! My local trail turns to dirt at 1,562ft of elevation and rises 4,127ft of elevation within 24-miles at the summit of Santiago Peak an elevation of 5,689-feet. Not a lot of elevation compared to our friends in the PNW and other mountainous regions. Some of you may not even pull this much elevation, thus your gearing can be much faster, yet torquey enough for your tight wooded singletrack.

STOCK: 14/50 VS GCRad1’s 15/49

My gear ratio was changed from the stock 14/50 3.57 (blue circle)
to a 15/49 3.27 (red circle). As you can see the ratio I chose raised my top-end speed. It was not a dramatic speed increase, but too, I did not want to lose all my low-end capability.

COMPARISON

In comparison to my buddy Jason’s TDUB, he does pull me on the big grades, like when we are going up the tarmac to Big Bear and I will downshift before he does. Same in comparison to Nick of TillDeathDualUsSport on the long climbs. But, I feel that overall, my engine is not rev’ing as hard on the 75-85% other parts of the ride. That was apart of my goal, to not rev out as much overall to preserve my engine for as long as possible. This lends to the longevity of the engine for my long-travel long-ride use of the TW200. I feel this ratio is best for me.

Make your ratio decision or roll with my sprocket choices:
• Sunstar 21315 15-Teeth 428 Chain Size Front Countershaft Sprocket
• JT Sprockets JTR1842.49 49T Steel Rear Sprocket

All those teeth, lets talk CHAIN LINKS!

When changing your sprockets, depending on how many miles you have on the chain and sprockets, it might be a good idea to change the chain at the same time. I’m currently running what is the best chain possible in the DID Chain VX-428.

With the stock 14/50 gearing, the stock chain has 124 links. PAY CLOSE ATTENTION WHEN PURCHASING A NEW CHAIN on SIZE and LINKS!!!

If you are simply replacing your chain, don’t mess up and buy the proper “428” size with 120-links because it is cheaper as it will be too short! BUT, if you change to “street” gearing and run a 45 tooth rear, you can get away with the 120 link chain.

Same time, on Amazon, the D.I.D. 128-link VX-428 is about the best price. Maybe they have a lot of stock in the 128-link vs a 120-link or 126-link? If your not apposed to grinding a link to remove the excess chain (as most motorcycles shops will do) the 128-link VX 428 DID Chain might be the way to go. See it here.

Give one / take one. Each link covers two teeth, so if you go from the 14-tooth to 15-tooth sprocket upfront, your chain will need an additional link. But if you also drop the rear from the 50-tooth to the 49-tooth, then you drop the additional link and get can use the stock 124-link chain.

PLEASE SHARE WHAT YOUR SPROCKET COMBO + your weight!

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