TDM 900

Neil W

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Anyone had experience of the Yamaha TDM 900, for some perverse reason I have a hankering to buy one to play around with .

They are butt ugly enough to satisfy my r1150gs yearnings but also bigger than the Versys 650 I am selling

Like the idea of something else to do a bit of work on and customise it to my own tastes.

Anything to look out for , especially issues with age.
 
Brilliant bikes, absolutely loved my 850, the 900 was better they say.

Never thought they were ugly and certainly not on a par with any GS when it comes to ugly looks.
 
I know someone who's got a Tedium 900. It's seems a bit characterless for my liking but I'm sure
it's a compitent bike. I'd go for a Vstrom.
 
I love them but dont have long term ownership experience. Low revving parallel twin with the 270 degree crank, they are lovely and handle quite well given the relatively long travel suspension.

SWMBO felt queasy on the back so I never purchased one, but I'd have one in a heartbeat and have ridden a few. Have a look on http://www.carpe-tdm.net/ipb/index.php?act=idx .

RBW.

*I purchased a Fazer 1000 instead in 2002, which whilst was a brilliant bike, I still have a hankering for a TDM which is probably one of the reasons why I now have a Tiger900 T-plane crank.
 
Loads of them sold in Europe well before Ewan and Charlie kicked off the ‘Adventure’ bike desire in the then sports bike obsessed UK. I have never owned one but I am 99% sure I would like it as it is one of the non pretentious bikes that is not overloaded with unnecessary shite.
 
Yep, Toured Ireland on my 900 a good few years ago. Relatively light, nippy, economical, sound good with aftermarket pipes/pipe. Good wind protection, comfy two up as well. Prices keen as they aren’t massively popular. Some people saw the 900 Tracer as the follow on model. Earlier models had cam chain tensioner issues which was easily resolved with a later model tensioner. Same one as one of the jet ski motors as I recall.
 
Just missed out on a really nice 08 bike, but will keep looking .

Need to speak to an ex Yamaha main dealer mechanic next week , he owns one so will see what the score is regarding long term reliability and any issues to look out for.

I may also have a lead on a one local to me that has been sitting parked up for a couple of years.

Doing the versys up has whetted my appetite to maybe get a fixer upper
 
Super bikes ,great handling and brakes ,better than a GS by far ,early ones 2003 /2004 had jerky fuel injection , mine had a set of cans and a power commander , super machine
 
I did many miles on one - the only trouble I had was a cracked header - the only common fault I could find

Had mine welded - was still like it when I sold it
 
Spoke to an ex Yamaha main dealer mechanic yesterday who owns one as his only bike and swears by them , reckons that reliability wise the motor is one of Yamaha's best .
 
Had one for a few years and did some UK touring. It was a cracking wee bike just too physically small for me, otherwise I’d still have it.
 
I've had the 850 and the 900.

The 850 was more fun. In it's day. But it feels REALLY heavy now. And the engine braking was horrible.

I ran a 900 for a while too. It's one of those do everything okay bikes. But not exciting, inspiring or fun. But it's fairly quick, pretty comfortable and offers great economy and reliability. However, It's also dam heavy and has weird geometry. The handlebar grips are about six feet away from the wheel :) I don't know why people say it has great handling. It's very slow around the bends compared to all the other sports tourers I've had. But if you're comparing it to a GS then obviously, it exceeds.

It's not a bad bike. There are just better out there for the same money. Which is why it didn't sell in large numbers.
 
Thing is the only other bikes I fancy would be a nice r1200gsa lc and a decent late model f800gsa and I own both of them already, fancy something different to play with , apparently an R1 17" front wheel makes a huge difference and slots straight in .Plus tyres are cheaper.
 
Just spoken to a mate who can do this sticker kit .

Like the idea of this or a variation perhaps daytona yellow paint with black/ white graphics or a bright red paint scheme with black/white as per aircooled rd400.

We will have to see
 

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Went to look at one yesterday at a large used bike emporium in West Yorkshire descibed on the phone and the fuzzy video walkaround as excellent with a few smalk marks.

In the flesh it was far from excellent, tyres between 2/3 and 3/4 worn, a battery which barely managed to start it, dented right exhaust, very badly painted and repaired right side of fairing and rear right indicator bent.
Salesman argued the panel was as a result of either a brake fluid leak or an over aggresive polish. He said price was firm and the tyres and battery were fine and would not be changed ,then said that if I bought it I would have to wait four weeks for delivery as they were busy in the workshops.
May have peeved him when I asked why it would take so long as he had no obvious intention of replacing tyres, the battery or rectifying the accident damage.
Left very soon afterwards after but am going to look at what appears to be a nice one in a private sale near Carlisle today.

No wonder said motorcycle emporium has some of the most shocking and damning trustpilot and google reviews I have ever read
 
I think that early ones (may have been the 850s) had carbs, and quite a commmon problem was rough running that was usually traced back to damaged diaphragms. Easy fix.
 


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