TDM 850

[user 6393]

All I have seen are pictures, but :wub:

pic

 

[lnewlf]

One of my ridings buds got one-he loves it. Kind of tall seat tho. Momaha was [as usual] way ahead of BMW with their F800. Fast, good handling, reliable and his sounds great albiet loud- he put two tiny 12 inch turn down mufflers from JC whitney on the exhaust pipes directly under the engine..Wonder how that would sound on the FJR?? just kidding.

 

[Fred W]

I kind of like the idea of this bike as well. A better BMW F800. But the TDM, which is now a 900, seems to be unavailable in North America (either Canada or US). :angry:

 

[user 6393]

I kind of like the idea of this bike as well. A better BMW F800. But the TDM, which is now a 900, seems to be unavailable in North America (either Canada or US). :angry:

nope, we seldom get any of the really cool models...

They only brought this model to NA in '93 and '94. Would be insane to bring in a good used 2000-01 from somewhere offshore. sigh

*adds to the list of things to do when I win the lottery*

 

[Mike-H]

I kind of like the idea of this bike as well. A better BMW F800. But the TDM, which is now a 900, seems to be unavailable in North America (either Canada or US). :angry:

nope, we seldom get any of the really cool models...

They only brought this model to NA in '93 and '94. Would be insane to bring in a good used 2000-01 from somewhere offshore. sigh

*adds to the list of things to do when I win the lottery*

Now you know what to ask santa for next year ......

 

[Dragan]

TDM900 was my last bike. That was a great bike as FJR.

Have been riding TDM900 for 2 years and make around 20.000 miles. Never had any issues.

There is not big difference between TDM900 and TDM850. Just few horses, 50 ccm and cosmetics.

I wend from TDM to FJR due to shaft drive and more power.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

I hate to 'throw a snake' into the TDM party -- but: I had a dark blue one (like in the pic, posted) and bought it new from a local dealer for a song -- it was going into its 3rd season on the same spot on the showroom floor. There's a reason they didn't sell well.... Still, I put 34K miles on mine.

I had no love for the engine: maintenance intensive, not very well designed (IMO), low power output, thirsty, (need I go on...?). The chassis, tho, was up-to-date -- with the steel delta-box (you could build a bridge out of it) -- and it had no handling 'warts' that I could find.

Maybe the newer 900s are better? Certainly, the 90/270 crank the Euros get would be better than the 180 degree one we got (no personality). F.I. would be a plus (get more mpg).

And..., although it has the looks -- it doesn't do "off road" -- IOW, it's far from a dual-sport.

Yet, if it's an itch you gotta scratch? Well, good luck.

[edit]: 360* crank, not 180. (as per 'MotorToad')

 

[MotorToad]

I thought the older one was a 360º crank. I would expect the 270º crank to have more character, most of which exposing itself as vibration, though.

 

[exskibum]

F.I. would be a plus (get more mpg).

Not sure I agree with that statement (more MPG from F.I. than carb), though that was something I once thought, and which intuitively appeals to me by virtue of FI's ability to more precisely monitor air/fuel mixture. Here's my reason:

I had a 1997 Honda Blackbird (carbureted 1137 cc) and now have a 2003 Blackbird (fuel injected 1137 cc). Not much of significance different in terms of aerodynamics, rolling friction or engine, other than fuel delivery systems, the existence of ram air induction into the air box on the FI, and a different pairing of the downtubes in the OEM header (aftermarkets typically use the same pairing for both). For about 6 months, I owned both at the same time.

The FI birds (1999 - 2007) are generally known to get lower fuel mileage than the carbed birds (1997 - 1998), and Honda actually increased the fuel tank size by .3 gal with the introduction of the FI models, purportedly to yield the same range. Before I started adding pipe and powercommander, etc, I noticed the OEM version of the carbed '97 did get better mileage than the FI '03. Obviously, there are variables between the bikes like odometer calibration and state of tune, but my observations of a couple mpg difference did parallel the claims I've read that carbed Birds get better fuel mileage. If I'm not mistaken, the reason is stated to be (did I read this from Kevin Cameron?) that they do a better job of atomizing all the fuel in the intake tract. Having said that, I believe that in the last few model years, state of the art FI often utilizes finer mist injectors, and in some bikes, multiple shower head arrangements. So, maybe what I saw in the Blackbirds has changed.

As always, any further education on the subject that anyone might give me benefit of is appreciated.

Sorry for the partial hijack.

 

[Fred W]

I thought the older one was a 360º crank. I would expect the 270º crank to have more character, most of which exposing itself as vibration, though.

:lol:

Love the avatar Toad!

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

I thought the older one was a 360º crank. I would expect the 270º crank to have more character, most of which exposing itself as vibration, though.

Yes... You're correct (my 'brain-fart' ).

Still, some vibration (if present?) may be preferrable to the 'dud' that was there...?

The staggered crank TRX seemed to be accepted well (in Europe and other markets)?

Of the bikes I've owned, I think I rode the TDM with the throttle in (or near) the stops more than any I can remember -- never seemed to have enough motor.

No problem with that with the FJR, tho....

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

F.I. would be a plus (get more mpg).

Not sure I agree with that statement (more MPG from F.I. than carb), Here's my reason:

I had a 1997 Honda Blackbird (carbureted 1137 cc) and now have a 2003 Blackbird (fuel injected 1137 cc). Not much of significance different in terms of aerodynamics, rolling friction or engine, other than fuel delivery systems, the existence of ram air induction into the air box on the FI, and a different pairing of the downtubes in the OEM header (aftermarkets typically use the same pairing for both). For about 6 months, I owned both at the same time.

The FI birds (1999 - 2007) are generally known to get lower fuel mileage than the carbed birds (1997 - 1998), As always, any further education on the subject that anyone might give me benefit of is appreciated.

Can't argue with any of that. And certainly don't know (and probaly never will...?) about F.I.'d TDMs. But, mine was thirsty -- high 30s~low 40s (poor for a modest twin, IME). Probably because I had to twist it so hard to get anywhere...?

It was great, tho, for my S.O./riding partner -- she actually ran me out of gas for once (and, enjoyed it too much -- I thought).

Your engineering academia is spot-on, off course -- X dead dinosaurs = X power.

(Still, some designs prove to be more efficient/better than others.....)

Sorry for the partial hijack.

No problem.

Looks-like -- OP, 'barb' may have already done-the-deed (by virtue of her avatar)?

Must try not to go too negative....

[edit]: maybe not -- avatar may be an FZ-6...? :questionmark: :secret: