Help with BW200 mods, 200x forks, ect.

[YBW]

Hey there. There seems to be a ton of good info on this site so I thought it may be worth getting some thoughts on my plan of action. If you don't care how I got the bike and just want to know what the deal is you can skip down to the second paragraph. For those of you who like the back story, read on. My dad gave me his BW200 we had growing up when I returned home to Colorado after a couple years in Arizona. I live in Virginia now and did not have room to bring it with me when I moved, but I'm shooting a moose in CO in October and will be getting it then. I am really stoked about the bike, I can remember my dad packing out an entire elk on it-- he would tie all the meat to our home-maid racks and go a hundred yards or so, then he would hit a rock or whatever and dump the bike, then he would untie all of the meat, stand the bike back up, and tie it all back on, and repeat. Another time we went to the dunes and that thing would go anywhere, he could stop halfway up a steep hill and start climbing again no problem. As you can see I have a lot of nostalgic memories about the bike and so I'm glad he hasn't junked it. That being said, here is the deal now.

I'm pretty sure its an 86 (it has electric start), when I get the bike in my possession I will know for sure. When I tinkered with it about 8 years ago I got it running, but about two years ago I checked in on it and the motor was frozen. So far I have picked up a set of 85' 200x forks and wheel (they look minty and were $120 shipped from California, was that a decent price?), but I am in need of all of the brake components. I know which calipers and master cylinders are compatible (except for anything difinitive about if a dual piston 250r will work) but I haven't found anything on rotors... Is there a place I can pick up a new one? Also, I am determined to get the bike street legal so I am considering tracking down an XT225 to cannibalize to meet the requirements of VA, in which case I may want to adjust my gearing on the jackshaft, any opinions on what would work well if I was running the XT motor? And final question, if my budget gets tight and my motor won't free up, will the TW200/XT225/TTR225 motors work with rest of the stock components? I know they are all direct bolt in but do I need the CDI and such with whatever motor I get?

Thanks for the imput!

[YBW]

OK, so I think I've decided that cost wise its going to be hard to beat just rebuilding my motor. Also I figured out that the dual piston 250R calipers are from a later year and won't fit the '85 200X forks. I still can't find a new rotor though, what is a good thickness on a used one? One more thing, are the progressive springs worth the $80.00 for the 200X forks?

Thanks

[schlepp29]

Progressive springs I think are worth the money, especially if you like to jump a little. If you just putt around then no. Just make sure seals are good.

[YBW]

Good to know. It's funny, I hear people say all the time that the '83-85 200x forks only have like 6 inches of travel and that the '86 and up has way more but I found an original dealership service manual that said the '83-85 traveled 7.3 inches. Makes me wonder what the '86 and up actually is.