TWs in the US

[kooganani]

Hello,
I'm sorry, I don't speak French.  It is very cool to see that there is a website devoted to my favorite kind of bike.  I just finished doing some customization on my TW200, and a lot of people are intrigued because there are almost no TWs in New York City.  A few days ago a guy on a Ducati M900 chased me down to ask me about it.  He said the TW looked like a perfect city bike, and he regretted spending so much money on his Ducati.  He really liked the back tire.  I was in Paris last year and was excited to see so many TWs; they are so rare in the US.
-Aaron
http://www.couts.org/photos/tw200

[selletrico]

Welcome in France,the Big Wheels country :-)

[kooganani]

Merci!  :-)

[Hog]

Hi there kooganani,

It's nice to have some newyorkers around here. You said you saw many TWs in Paris ... Did you know that this bike is merely available in 125 cc in France ? I bought a TW 200 in 2005 but they are pretty rare in france. I've been told that only 65 bikes like this one  were sold from 1989 to late 1998. It's such a shame that this bike is no longer imported in france ... anyway I'm actually overjoyed when I ride it.

I'm glad to welcome you. Stay in touch.

 ;-)

[Komook]

Hi kooganani
Welcome on the Big Whell Addicts forum! :-D
Even if I'm a member of that forum, i don't drive a TW... to be more exact, i don't drive a motorbike... (yes... it may look stupid, but i'm scared by the idea of driving or being passenger of a motorbike)...
However, I spent last week end in Auvergne with some members of this forum, and must say the atmosphere was really nice...
I'm sure that you'll envoy coming here from time to time...
Take care ;-)

[kooganani]

Thanks, everyone for the warm welcome!  "Le non-motard" -- I can understand your fears regarding motorcycles.  I definitely plan on renting a bike (hopefully a TW) next time I travel to France, but I am apprehensive about it because the driving in Paris is fairly aggressive.  It is aggressive in NYC also, but there are far fewer motorcycles.  Also the signs are in English. :-)  "Le sage" -- I didn't realize that most of the TWs I saw in Paris were 125s.  The 200 is the only model available in the states.  The TW's lack of popularity here is strange to me.  Until recently, small urban motorcycles have not had much of a market.  But Vespa has re-invented itself, and there are now a ton of them here in NYC.  The TW, however, is still seen as basically useless -- bad at dirt and bad at street.  And not trendy enough or easy enough to drive for the Vespa crowd.  On the other hand,  for the people in the US who own TWs, they *love* them.  And it really is a perfect city bike, although I do sort of wish they made a TW400...
-Aaron

[yan]

Hi Kooganami,

Go to this page and follow the links: http://www.bigwheels.fr/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=3379&forum=22&title=%5BBWD%233%5D+Les+photos

You will have pictures for our annual meeting. If you like TWs, you should arrange to go in France during the event, and rent a TW  :-D

Just joking... but after seeing the pics, I'm sure it won't seem that stupid  ;-)

[Hog]

Aaron,

I often dream about a TW 400 ... but the awakening is quite rude. This bike is yet to come. I dig your words when you point out the "bad at dirt and bad at street" thing. But even when I drive more powerful motorbikes I'm still fond of this 200 which provides tons of pure fun. It's the ultimate weapon for any city ride.

Vespas are for Yuppies.

 ;-)

[kooganani]

It really is the perfect city bike.  My brother has an Intruder 700, and my brother-in-law has a Ninja 250.  But they call my bike "the fun machine."  I took about 4cm off my handlebars, and I love buzzing past bigger bikes that are stuck in traffic.  Also, I have had bigger bikes, and I tend to drive like a real asshole when I have basically unlimited power.  So my TW keeps me a lot safer despite myself.

So... When and where is the next annual meeting?  Somehow I think I might be able to convince my wife that we need to go back to France.  :-)

[selletrico]

La force de persuasion soit avec toi Aaron ! :-)
Après tout il y a des traducteurs en ligne... :-D

[kooganani]

Merci beaucoup!  Les traducteurs sont très utiles.  Cependant, les articles techniques sont un défi, même pour Google. :-D

[Hog]

kooganani a écrit :
Merci beaucoup!  Les traducteurs sont très utiles.  Cependant, les articles techniques sont un défi, même pour Google. :-D

I could help you to go through. The translation is part of my job and the robotic translators aren't able to dig the inferences nor the double-meanings.

If you had the chance to visit our country again you would be warmly welcomed. And I'm pretty sure that we could manage to get you one of those wonderful bikes. So that you'd test its all purpose abilities for a ride through our countryside.

Eric

[yan]

kooganani a écrit :
So... When and where is the next annual meeting?  Somehow I think I might be able to convince my wife that we need to go back to France.  :-)

We just came back from our 2006 edition... I think it will be early june 2007, somewhere in the center of France...  ;-)

[Anonyme]

Hi, Aaron

Welcome on board....we are ride TW in Hong Kong
and many people like this....you can see our homepage!!!

http://groups.msn.com/TWFansClub

[Anonyme]

Hi, Aaron

This is our member list......

http://groups.msn.com/TWFansClub/tw.msnw

Chris