Kev250R
Well-known member
I can't speak to the newest TW's, though I am active on a TW Forum which rarely has anyone complaining about engine failures. The newest TW I've owned was a '10 which was ridden pretty hard both by my friend who bought it new and by my former wife after I bought it from him. At the time we were doing a lot of exploring in the Moab, Utah area and the bike was frequently seeing WOT for 30-60 minutes at a time as it was ridden between National and State Parks in the area, then on trails. The person who did most of the riding on that TW was over the weight limit of the bike by a fair amount. While I owned that bike it was problem-free. I later sold it to another friend of mine who after a year or so had the Cylinder Base Gasket fail (a common issue on certain years of TW's). Replacing it took us the better-part of an afternoon. We installed a new Base Gasket with an updated Yamaha Part Number and that bike has been problem-free ever since.
As engine's go, the TW is a very basic design which even at WOT isn't revving as high as many more modern-engines. Mine gets treated to annual oil changes with a high-quality semi-synthetic oil. It doesn't get ridden as often as my other bikes but when I do ride it I generally enjoy the experience. It's also the bike I generally lend to friends who want to go for a ride but don't have a bike or don't have a bike ready.
If Yamaha added FI and a Sixth gear to the TW I would buy a new one today. Also if mine were stolen or wrecked and needed to be replaced I wouldn't hesitate to buy a new one to replace it.
YMMV
As engine's go, the TW is a very basic design which even at WOT isn't revving as high as many more modern-engines. Mine gets treated to annual oil changes with a high-quality semi-synthetic oil. It doesn't get ridden as often as my other bikes but when I do ride it I generally enjoy the experience. It's also the bike I generally lend to friends who want to go for a ride but don't have a bike or don't have a bike ready.
If Yamaha added FI and a Sixth gear to the TW I would buy a new one today. Also if mine were stolen or wrecked and needed to be replaced I wouldn't hesitate to buy a new one to replace it.
YMMV