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TDM 850 or 900 as a Travel bike - Discuss !
After selling my arse numbing but wonderfully reliable and capable XT600E in Colombia, im looking for something for some European road bashing..
Now, I work in a large Motorcycle dealership and I have the opportunity to buy a lovely Yamaha TDM 850 for not a lot of money. Now, i know this is an underated bike and apart from that, I dont really know much about it apart that its a large parrallel twin with a 18/17 inch wheels and pretty good handling and comfort.. So, anyone done any serious travelling on one ??? Whats it like in rougher stuff ? (worse than an Africa twin ?) Tyre choice ? Reliabilty ? Luggage options ? Thanks all. |
If the price is right then go for it.
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Cheers for the info on the "tedium" LOL ... Yer, I sold my XT to a fellow Liverpudlian who lives in Bogota. It was going to cost me way too much to get it back to the UK and I really needed the money. I was sad to see her go but it was only right that she continued her true purpose ! :) |
Ted,
There was a similar question away back in this forum which got a small response at the time - it will be lost somewhere in the pile of issues with XTs, unless you fancy searching! IIRC, there were no bad points. There is supposed to be a "Super Tenere" on the way for 09: 1200cc to match/beat the Beemer boxers at their game - do you know anything about that? |
From memory one of the big things they chased when designing the TDM900 was to get the weight down the 850 to 190kgs. I've spoken to a few riders and they a supposed to be real sippers when it comes to fuel
have a look at this review comparing the DL1000 and the TDM900; Suzuki V-Strom vs Yamaha TDM900 - Motorbike Review - BikePoint |
Not sure I agree with some of that.... I have owned a TDM and several Super Tens. There is no doubt that on the road a TDM is a better handling, better braked bike than any of the offroad based bikes mentioned above. It certainly is not top heavy if you are comparing it to a Super Ten or an AT - quite the opposite !
Bits I do agree with - both TDM and Super Ten gearboxes can be very notchy. Reliable, but can need a good prod - not all are bad though, and you just get used to it. Stock exhaust is a bit boring. And of course the reason it is so much better than a Super Ten on the road is.... it is a road bike. It will not match up to an S10 or a V Strom type bike in the dirt. But - an excellent allrounder. Recommended :). |
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The people I ask who own them say they are FANTASTIC on MPG (the FI 900 anyway).. Averaging 65-70mpg !! :) |
I had my '91 TDM 850 (360 deg crank) for 14 years and it was as reliable as a rock. I had a voltage regulator cook a battery early on but nothing else. Tyre choice for the front is limited but if black and round is good enough for you it's not an issue. It was smooth and regularly got 50+ mpg. You can get a Givi wing rack for it and load it up no probs. I found the handling pretty good. The front is pretty well planted, it does dive a bit but you get used to it. As a cheap reliable bike that will tour and handle gravel and dirt roads in it's stride I wouldn't hesitate if the price is right.
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Another couple of cents
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I got hold of one quite a few years ago and rode it around an airfield at various illegal, for the road, speeds. I recall it being tall in the saddle - sitting on it, rather than in it - but not unpleasantly so and it did not seem top heavy to me at the time. Later I owned a 900cc Yam Divy shaft drive and the fork dive was much the same - you can learn to live with it, or get better springs. |
I know it is a little late to post on this thread, but anyway...
I did on my TDM 850 year99 40000Km, two up all the time. If there is no off road involved, it is a perfect tourer. I had 3 x 50L Givi Maxia, a tanckbag and some other stuff, two up and the bike was doing great. The widith with the two 50L Givis was something more than 90cm, which is not wide for such big cases. The engine is like an electromotor, withought vibes, and very powerfull and torque. At highways I was touring full loaded two up at 150Km/h withought any problem. The consumption at this speed was arround 6,5l, but at crusing speeds on regular roads, the consumption was always below 5l. I didn't have any mechanical problems at all and the second owner did another 20000km with no problem and is still going. The 99 model had some minor changes over the 96/97/98 model, different gear ratios, different clutch, fuel gague, better mirrors, different carb which lead to reduced consumptions. In comparison to the AT, which I had later, the TDM had a lot more power, more confy on the road (we did in one day 1550km), much more stabel in curves, especcialy loaded up, much less vibrations, much better seat, consumption for me was equal on both bikes, worse wind protecion, much more confy for the passenger. The bigest advantege in my opinion for the 900 over the 850 is the reduced weight for 10Kg and lower center of gravity which was achieved by lowering the engine down where previously was the mufler. Off road the TDM just can't go. It is no comparison to the AT. I took the AT offroad where the TDM just cant go (Tunisia desert and other stuff). But is a strange thing, aldo it has many advantages over the AT on road, I would never change the TDM over an AT eaven for a pure onroad trip. |
TDMs are great global tourers
My wife and I spent 20 months riding overland from Uk to New Zealand on a TDM850.
Awesome bike :thumbup1: Throw on a Michelin Sirac up front & an Anakee on the rear & it works well on gravel/hard pack dirt. Hard work in sand or mud though - 200kg dry, a damn sight more when loaded up for long distance 2 up. |
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