10,000 miles in six months, resulted in some very interesting observations on Yamaha's unique TDM900. Perhaps the most surprising, the parallel twin turned in 60mpg when ridden with a modicum of restraint but still keeping ahead of every caged civilian in sight. It required a peculiar kind of highway depravity, as well as plenty of money in kickbacks for speeding, to get worse than 50mpg.
The 2003 machine had only done 2800 miles before it fell into my hands, absolutely prime and seemed to sing with joy at its very existence. The old owner reckoned it was a bit too heavy and awkward for him - hilarious, as he was a lot taller and wider than me.
My delight in ownership readily inspired by the excellent riding position, nicely upright, comfortable saddle with plenty of room to move about - coupled with the easy going nature of the fuel injected twin cylinder engine, the bike was as at home doing short-hop commutes as it was cruising the open highway for hours on end.
Unfortunately, the suspension was set up towards the comfort end of the spectrum, giving a slightly loose feel through fast sweepers, though this was never dangerous and something that became less annoying as time went by. Replacement rear shocks were hopelessly overpriced so rather than spend any hard earned dosh I didn't upgrade it. In fact, all the aftermarket bits and bobs available for the TDM were way overpriced and the bike came and stayed stock. Bear in mind, I mostly rode solo and didn't weigh much more than ten stone, heavier mortals might not get away with such miserly behavior.
Though the bike couldn't be called constipated, it did start to decline in forward motion once 115mph was on the clock and it required a degree of low cunning and favourable external conditions to pull more than 125mph. The bike rode higher than most roadsters and that front fairing probably had the aerodynamics of a brick wall - it did keep most of the rain off my upper body, though.
Vibration was never particularly intrusive, the balancer system quelling most of the oddly spaced firing interval 270 degree crankshaft's lack of primary balance. The exhaust note was supposed to be like a vee-twin's but it didn't really inspire me in the same way as an old Brit twin or even a Jap middleweight (on gutted pipes). Did sound neat on the overrun, though.
Not an easy beast to clean but given half an hour every other day it didn't lose its shine, though my six months was during the Spring and Summer, not that it was any guarantee of a lack of wet weather. Given 3000 miles of wear, the Dunlops became very edgy on damp roads even though there was more than 3mm of tread left. A new set of Pirellis totally transformed wet weather riding though don't expect more than 4000 miles from them.
Didn't do any engine maintenance, nor even an oil change - the bike just didn't seem to need them, so leave well alone. This didn't go down too well with a couple of wannabe purchasers but I still sold the bike without any trouble, for about 300 notes less than I paid for it. Could probably have broken even if I had been a touch more hardcore but I had a new machine lined up and wanted a quick sale. And the bike needed new rubber, brake pads and chain.
I would have liked a slightly harder edge to the machine - 20hp extra and much firmer suspension; perhaps 50lbs less mass. Ah well, there's always another model year to look forward to. Given the right price and condition, I can recommend them, though.
Mike Ensleigh