Suzuki's Answer to the TW200

[Frulk_imp]

"Suzuki's Answer to the TW200". Suzuki provided an answer to a question that to my knowledge wasn't asked. The TW200 has a sterling reputation in the reliability department. It's somewhat of a niche bike, filling a portion of the void that the contemporary Yamaha 350 BW left behind after it was discontinued while adding pavement capability. It's fans are loyal to a fault. Its detractors can only mention the desire for a larger tank and maybe a little more power. If there was an option for a TW350 it would already be sitting in my garage. The only real advancement I see is that the Zuk has fuel injection. With that in mind I see nothing the Zuk brings to the table that would pull appreciable numbers of TW riders off their mounts. At least the TW has a smattering of aftermarket parts available, one of which is a Clark 3.8 gallon aftermarket tank. Used they are plentiful around these parts (Utah) looking on a local sales site there are over a doz used available right now with the cheapest being a well presenting 1992 version with 3300 miles at $1500. I think the Zuk would have caused a lot of folks to look at it very hard if the tank was closer to 3+ gallons and bumped the motor to around 300 or even 350cc. I do like the retro look of the Zuk, it has more appeal to me than the plastic on the TW200.

This marketing spiel from their Corp Web site:

Introducing the 2017 VanVan 200; the bike that puts the FUN in FUNKY. With its distinctive retro look, this baby is classic cool and ready to groove whenever and wherever you are. Whether you’re looking to cruise down to the beach, bop around campus, venture outside of your campsite, or go anywhere else in between, unleash your funk in whatever way your heart desires with the VanVan 200.

They had me at "Funky"