Well what a surprise this bike is in power, handling and finish.
Youtube Vid https://youtu.be/syVTQ1joo5U
A ride through 5 sections https://youtu.be/k7EcC985iEo
I normally ride a Honda 1985 TLR 250 as I love my four strokes being a Honda mechanic in the 70s and 80s. I have also owned a 2013 Beta 3004T and a 2006 Gas Gas 250, and a 1990 Beta 250 as my first trials bike 10 years ago.
I am a clubman rider with reasonable skills enough to take the Clubman Twinshock Masters Trophy a few years ago, (now in my early 60s) to give you an idea of my background in the sport.
A look over the bike reveals that this is not your typical Chinese rubbish on wheels bike. The use of CNC machined rear swing arm, head stem & Handle bar mounts give you a clue that great thought has gone into producing this bike.
Well, how did it perform.
I was very impressed with how I was comfortable on the bike straight away, if you have owned a Beta you know what I am talking about. When standing on the bike you do not have to find the right place to hold your body to balance the bike as you are naturally in the correct position.
The suspension when blasting through the bush just soaks up the terrain and creates a very confident ride experience. Lofting the front of mounds to mono down the track, not having to feel for the rear brake as it is just where you need it to bring the front end down.
In sections the suspension worked very well at absorbing the uneven creek bed terrain and rock steps in the sections. I did note on one jump up that I did bottom out, but a little extra preload on the rear spring would sort that out.
One of my weak areas is the off camber uphill turn, balancing the bike while leaned over in the turn, controlling the forward momentum with the clutch proved to be so easy on the TWC200.
We had some reasonable size drops down creek banks and wet exits which worked the suspension and brakes. The brakes were another great surprise with the front having great stopping power but did not shudder, grab or lock up. The rear brake had great feel through the foot pedal, so I never locked the wheel in a section on a steep bank, I did have some fun locking up the rear drifting into some between section corners.
Well you ask what about that EFI electric start motor?
Initially the motor was running on when the throttle was blipped causing some excitement I did not need in sections, but once I did some tuning of the EFI mixture it was a great preforming engine. I would say that the initial punch from the motor up banks was better than the Beta 300 4T I owned (I did gear it down and put a slow throttle on so that would take the punch out of the 300). For new riders to the sport the throttle tube should be swapped out for a slower response throttle tube to tame the beast.
Stainless steel exhaust pipe with alloy muffler produces a wonderful 4 stroke burble at 98db, the new model has a redesigned muffler bringing the noise level down to 92db.
Did I like the electric start? I only went to find a kick start lever once out of habit. The starter worked with no issues at all. It was a joy to use, rolling up to a section in 1stgear and hitting the kill switch to park the bike and check out a section, returning to just relocate the lanyard and push a button. No need to find neutral and kick the bike over - just clutch and push a button. Zinc Nickel batteries form a 12v 2.8 amp battery pack hiding away in the air box along with a regulator which is a nice protected spot for them.
Air cleaner is a flat section of filter foam meaning no costly air filter element replacement, as it can be sourced from any local bike shop.
I found the gearing worked well with no gaps between rations like the gap between 4th & 5th on Gas Gas models. Best of all the gear change was very precise and efficient.
I never once found a false neutral or missed a gear during the trial. Making a change in gear selection during a section has caused me a few fives on the Honda when the drum does not fully turn into the new gear position, so I gave this gear box a work out to see how it performed. Gear lever gave excellent feedback that the new gear had been selected.
When I did look for neutral if was found with ease both moving and stopped so top marks on the gearbox and clutch.
Clutch operation was nice and light requiring only one finger to perform some very tricky uphill off camber turns. Never experienced any drag or slipping.
Fuel tank on the TWC200 is clear so you can see the fuel level of 2.2 litres. Four large laps of 10 sections did not drop the fuel level by half so I would guess that less than a litre was used for the trial.
Some extra nice touches are the alloy fold back gear and brake levers. As mentioned earlier the rear brake pedal is in a great location, never having to look for the lever as it was placed perfectly under my foot. Gear lever looks to be in an easily damaged spot and cannot be moved to a more vertical position due to its shape and side cover clearance. That being said I found the gear lever never got caught in any sections and the position made for easy toe gear selection, and did I mention gear and brake levers are spring loaded fold back type making it an even harder-to-damage item.
To sum the bike up I wound say it is a perfect bike for Clubman T5 to C Grade T4 riders and an excellent low-cost bike for the new person coming into trials wanting a new bike. O and I placed third at the trial showwing just how comfortable i was on the bike in case you were wondering.
At a retail cost of $7260 (5 due in australia late June) it takes a big swing at the Beta 300 and Montessa makes in the 11-14K bracket. Yes these models are tried and tested by time but they too had humble beginnings.
Now we have all had some experience with motorcycles from China predominantly pit bikes extremely cheap and do not last long in chassis or brakes.
Not so with the Tenaci-Wong TWC200. A close up look at the bike reveals CNC machined, wheel hubs, head stem, handle bar mounts and rear swing arm. A High tensile steel frame, clear composite 2.2 litre fuel tank. Specially designed chain to reduce weight and maintain strength.
Suspension:
Front 40mm dia fork tubes with multistage adjustable dampening
Rear Hydraulic multi-stage adjustable dampening mono shock
Disk brakes front and rear
Wheels are of highest grade aluminium
Aluminium foot pegs
Handle bars are variable diameter, Ultra light alloy (Fat Bars)
High Quality Stainless Steel fasteners over the bike.
Air cleaner is accessible by removing rear guard with just 4 screws
Engine is a High-torque, liquid cooled, EFI 4 Stroke of 198cc, with 1000ml oil capacity.
Stainless steel exhaust pipe with alloy muffler
Electric start powered by Zinc Nickel batteries stored well away from harm in the air box along with some electrics
Imported into Australia by
Owen Norton
Email: tenaci-wongaustralia@outlook.com
Website https://tenaciwong.com (Aussie site coming)
Phone: 0490131660