Happiness of the Oddball Kind

HAPPINESS OF THE ODDBALL KIND

CW RIDING IMPRESSION

LIFE ABOARD YAMAHA'S TDM850

DOES THE GILERA NORDWEST look to you like the best thing to come along since horsepower was invented? Bummed that you can’t buy it here in the U.S.? Well, never fear. There is an alternative. Its name is the Yamaha TDM850, and it is a motorcycle as closely related to the Nordwest as you’re going to find in America. Now, trust us on this: TDM doesn’t mean “Tricky Do-everything Motorcycle.” But it might as well. The TDM is a little bit standard, a little bit sportbike, a little bit dual-purpose, and not really any of those things. The TDM doesn’t fit neatly into any of motorcycling’s well-known cat-

egories, and that’s just a little confusing, especially for those looking to buy into an accepted style of riding. But the TDM850, straight from Yamaha’s European division, where it was designed and developed, sets its own style, and that is part of its charm. Anyone brave enough to adopt it as the alternative motorcycle it is will be in for a heck of a ride.

Superficially, what’s most obviously different about the TDM is its highpockets, bug-eyed look, which seems to borrow from the rally bikes so beloved by European enthusiasts. It gets that look from its high, tubular handlebar, its minimalist fairing and its long-travel suspension-Yamaha claims

6.3 inches of travel for the fork and 5.5 inches of travel for the swingarm.

Fork and swingarm are bolted to a rigid perimeter frame of pressed steel, very sportbike-like in appearance. The fork is adjustable for preload and rebound damping, and the rear shock provides similar adjustments, plus a “Soft-Hard” crossover lever to help tailor the rate of the shock’s double springs to load and conditions. Because of the travel available, spring and shock rates can remain relatively soft, even when set for performance riding. This means that the TDM’s ride borders on plush, its suspension sopping up pavement irregularities like big, well-damped mechanical sponges. There’s nothing spongy about the TDM’s handling, though, or about its response to steering inputs. It flicks instantly into corners, thanks to its quick-steering 25 degrees of rake and 4.1 inches of trail.

Then there’s that 849cc engine, a parallel-Twin that wears a short, 67.5mm stroke and a wide, 89.5mm bore. Parallel-Twins are notorious for vibration, and this one is no exception. The worst of the vibes are tamed by a pair of counterrotating balance shafts, but there’s enough left over, from about 6000 rpm on up, to fuzz the mirrors and put a rider’s fingers to sleep after extended high-speed jaunts.

Numb fingers and fuzzy mirrors are small prices to pay for the spanking performance delivered by this engine, however. Working through a notchyshifting five-speed transmission, the engine is making big, fat waves of torque by 3500 rpm, and comes into the meaty part of its horsepower curve by about 6000 rpm. Anywhere from 3500 rpm to well beyond the engine’s 8000rpm redline, it will pull like a draught horse. Make a mistake, exit a comer or start a pass in the wrong gear, and it just doesn’t matter much. Crank open the bike’s twin 38mm Mikunis, and as

long as the engine is turning at least 3500 rpm, the TDM instantly leaps forward. How brisk a leap? Our testbike turned a 12.19-second quarter-mile at 109.75 mph, and reached a 125 mph top speed. Fun stuff.

If all this is sounding pretty good, just wait: The best part is that the TDM850 is a very comfortable motorcycle to ride, with a fairly comfortable seat that’s only a little too narrow, a fairing that keeps the worst of the wind blast off the rider’s chest, and an open, spacious handlebar-seat-footpeg relationship.

The truth of the TDM is that it can be just about whatever its rider wants it to be. We started out blitzing backroads on it, but before long, found ourselves smiling and slowing down. We went for long, lazy rides, using the bike to explore sideroads, paved and otherwise, that we previously had just blasted past. Think about it: Any bike that can tempt you into doing that has something good going for it.

The TDM may not be a Güera Nordwest, but it has that certain something, and in keeping with the bike’s enigmatic personality, that something can’t be specified. Whatever it is, we think it will enable a lot of riders to

find happiness.

Jon F. Thompson