Mia Trx

MIA TRX

Yamaha’s TRX850 is a worldwide hit. So, when will we see it stateside?

HAVE YOU, FELLOW countrymen, had it up to here with tales of Yamahas You Can’t Buy? God knows Yamaha Motor Corp. USA has. Because with the exception of the made-for-America Royal Star, it seems that every new model the Japanese manufacturer has introduced recently has been offered overseas a full year before being brought here.

Pressed for explanation, Yamaha USA spokesmen trod out the tired EPA Certification Excuse, which, curiously enough, the other Japanese manufacturers seldom evoke. And while we can’t vouch for the credibility of the excuse as it pertains to the forthcoming YZF1000 and YZF600, internal grumblings suggest that it is true in the case of one particular Yamaha:

the TRX850. The sexy, Ducati 900-esque Twin, whose motor is borrowed from the confused (yet splendidly functional) TDM850, has been selling well overseas for almost two years, but still hasn’t found its way stateside. What gives?

According to the company’s national communications manager, Bob Starr, “All I can say officially is that the TRX850 will not be offered here as a 1997 model; however, we have full intentions of bringing it in for 1998. We look at the TRX as a new-generation sportbike, and we don’t want to introduce it before the market is ready.”

Meanwhile, the TRX will unfortunately be listed as missing in action. Brian Catterson