I bought a new XTZ750 just before the TDM850 was rumoured. When I later saw one I immediately wanted to buy a TDM. I couldn’t complain, the dealer had given me such a huge trade in on a knackered Superdream. I love vertical twins, the bigger the better, so the XTZ seemed a natural place to put my hard earned dosh.
However, I was a bit dubious about the trail pose. From certain angles it looked the business from others like some huge deformed teapot. It was certainly a conversation stopper and a likely target for stone throwing youths in the nearby council estate. These maniacs had gained national fame by uprooting paving stones and hurling them on to police cars from several storeys high. If they had put the same initiative, energy and enterprise into some worthwhile venture, they would be millionaires rather than prison detainees by now. It's all a question of perspective.
And that’s how you have to approach the weird but wonderful Yamaha. This ten valve vertical twin is an inheritor of all the FZR series has to offer. Inclined forward at a radical angle to improve weight distribution and induction path, the engine both revs well and boots out the torque like some old British twin. This combination of rapid fire revving and massive torque are immediately intoxicating. So much so that I forgot all about running the engine in properly!
I was soon hurtling along with a ton on the clock, spreadeagled over the weird GRP of the Super Tenere like I wanted to become a hunchback, the only way to get the speedo to budge past the ton. The only intrusion into my peace of mind was a stiff gearchange action that lacked any kind of precision... when I complained to the dealer he said run it in, boy. He kept saying that until the warranty had expired and I had, anyway, become so used to the need to stick it in a tall gear to let the torque slog it out of trouble that it didn't seem to matter any more. If you're trying a secondhand one don’t be put off by a gearbox that acts like it's done 100000 miles they’re all like that, mate!
The other problem with the Super Ten was the brakes. Some moron had specified, on a 430lb, 70hp, 115mph bike, twin front discs and a single rear. Oh, straight out of the crate they worked brilliantly but after the initial 5000 miles they started seizing up, working intermittently and even, sin of sins, lagging in the wet. The dealer said, run them in, son, despite the fact that they had got worse. His mechanics looked like gorillas so I thought twice about demanding the rightful attention the machine undoubtedly deserved.
I stripped the calipers myself. The rear was so corroded I just stuck it back on with no pads and swore that I would never use it again. The fronts were salvageable but only after a weekend’s worth of remedial work... the pads were already down to the metal. Incredible! They subsequently needed attention every 3000 miles. Pathetic. If you think that's bad, by the time I'd scored 22000 miles of generally pleasurable riding the discs were so thin the brakes were unsafe to use... I obtained a nearly new set off the local breaker. There are an awful lot of Super Tens in breakers!
I know why, you can put such a dose of torque down on the back wheel that in the wet the rear end loses all grip and likes to swing around. The first few times this happened it froze me into inaction (although not my sphincter muscle which vibrated ominously) but after a while I began to get the hang of it and go with the flow. It's possible to snap the machine back in line or put a boot down speedway style. Either way I turned what was terror inspiring into great fun and never decked the Tenere in the wet. But I have been around a long time on bikes. Novices watch out!
Handling was great through town. What with the long travel suspension and upright riding position. It was OK up to about 90mph on the motorway. Thereafter, things tuned nasty. Very nasty. Whether it was bad aerodynamics or the cushy suspension giving up the ghost I could not tell you. Whatever, some very nasty weaves were experienced with the approach of the ton. By the time a ton-ten was up it was necessary to back off or risk permanent meshing with the tarmac.
Country roads and the narrower A roads were a deal of fun. Incredible angles of lean were possible, the bike was easy to flick every which way and could be braked late into bends like nothing else I've ridden. It would bob around disconcertingly on the suspension but it didn't seem to matter for the tyres stuck like shit to the road. These composite road/trial tyres were more blended towards the tarmac than dirt. They also lasted well, over 7500 miles, considering the thrashing they were given.
I did try a bit of mild off road work but found the bike a hell of a handful. Even the torque didn't help as it tended to make the back wheel dig a huge hole in the ground in an attempt to bury the machine and cover myself in layers of dank mud. The one time I went straight across a roundabout, the bike handled the huge thump to the front wheel and skidded only slightly on the grass. Brilliant. The cops were most perplexed that I was still alive and well when they finally caught up with me!
Wheelies could be performed with absolute ease, often inadvertently. However, the effect on the rear chain was awful, stretching at such an horrendous rate that I always tried to curtail the madness within me on take-offs. Even used gently you'd be very lucky to obtain more than 5000 miles out of a drive chain.
Other excitement during my ownership came from running head-on into the side of a bloody Volvo. Possibly the worst kind of car to hit. The owner, some old bag, leapt out from behind her wheel, noted the scratch marks on her once gleaming pride and joy, went into a frenzied screaming session completely oblivious to the fact that my forks were bent, the GRP shattered and myself staggering around clutching what was left of my knee. I heard afterwards that she had to be sedated. Thank god for fully comp insurance which sorted out the two grand’s worth of damage in a record six weeks. My knee took a lot longer to heal.
I was disappointed with the economy - 35 to 40mpg. Worse than a Commando which was faster but did not have the power sapping balance shafts to worry over. They didn’t entirely remove the vibration, either, but subdued it to a level that was tolerable. Nothing fell off and in 33000 miles in 30 months the engine has not needed any attention other than a carb balance... the valves did not need any adjustment. Brilliant on longevity, then.
Not so brilliant was the way the rear shock lost all its damping after about two years and the fact that the swinging arm, rear wheel and steering head bearings have all needed replacement at one time or another. You would not believe how twitchy the bike becomes on shot bearings. General finish has been OK, with a few patches of rust breaking through the paint but nothing serious.
The trip of a lifetime was a cruise down through Europe to Turkey. God, Istanbul was a revelation. I never wanted to leave and had to be coerced back on to the bike. The XTZ took whatever was thrown at it in its stride. From French motorways to dirt tracks. My companions were on proper motorcycles - FZR600 and CBR600 - and at the end of each day’s hard but ever so exhilarating grind they had to be prised off their machines, spending a good hour cursing, getting their bodies back into a proper upright stance. Myself, I was fresh as a daisy, ready to ride through the night if need be. The Super Ten proved itself very comfortable for 1000 mile daily dashes.
My overall impressions are hugely favourable despite the few aforementioned hassles. However, it was only a question of time, money and an exhilarating test ride until it was the right moment to trade in for a TDM850. A machine better still in every imaginable way.
The sailings are already booked for another continental dash to Turkey. Guess what my mates are riding this time - yes, TDM850s! They had a quick blast on mine (this time I actually ran in it for 500 miles) and were instantly converted to its easy going nature, fabulous torque and ultra comfortable riding position. See you in Turkey?
Stitch