The Big Wheels from Yamaha started with the 1985 BW-200N, back in the day when 3-wheeled ATVs were all the rage.
A couple of years later, after the USCPSC ATV Consent Decree (where there were a lot of ambulance-chaser lawsuits being flung around and ATV dealers had to post 10 foot tall posters listing how many ways you could get killed by buying and riding an ATV), 3-wheeled ATVs went bye-bye because the manufacturers basically said, "F that shit".
The BWs went with them.
Now, it's just 4-wheeled ATVs with an acre of warning labels riveted to the fenders. :)
Honda only made a 200 called a TR-200 Fat Cat.
It had an automatic clutch with an engine from the 1986 TRX-200SX ATV.
It was here for 1986 and 1987.
It must have been a catchy name because even some guys with a Yamaha BW would call their machines a Fat Cat, which is kinda' like calling your Yamaha Tri-Moto an ATC. :)
Yamaha made BWs in 80, 200, and 350cc models, and I owned one of each size at one time or another.
The 1986 BW-80S was fun in the back yard or anywhere else you didn't need warp speed.
Very torquey engine based on the PW-80, which itself got it's engine from some ancient 2-stroke design in Yamaha's past.
3-speed transmission with automatic clutch.
Solid design.
It was here for 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1990.
The BW-200 was the first BW and came with kickstart-only and electric-and-kickstart models.
The engine design came from the 1981 SR-185H Exciter street bike, has been used in a whole lot of Yamaha off-road, dual-purpose, and ATV models since, and can still be seen in today's TT-R230.
Solid.
These were made for 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1988.
The BW-200s seemed popular enough in all of the ATV magazines (which are basically 100-page advertisements, anyway), but I though the bike was simply too heavy for the power output: Pretty weak when you twist the throttle.
Maybe with it hopped-up it would have felt good, but I kept mine stock (except for Works Performance shocks - yes, twin shocks) and sold it after not too many rides.
Like the BW-80, I really liked the 1987 BW-350T (and it was also around in 1988 as the BW-350U).
The engine in this one was not from the XT-350, but actually had a single cam, 2-valve top end based on the 1987 Warrior 350 ATV (which lives on today with the Raptor 350 ATV) with a bottom end made from 1980 XT-250, SR-250, and made-just-for-the-BW-350 parts.
The basic engine architecture can be seen in the 1976 TT-500C and XT-500C.
Sure, it was heavier than the BW-200, but it had something that felt like power and
torque when you twisted the throttle.
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