Other bikes?

Hiya,

I'm wondering what people think of other makes in general. I find myself lusting after TM Racing bikes - if I'm lucky I'll scoop up an old TM 2-stroke MX bike someday. There are a few around here on my island and a pretty solid importer.

TM seem to use quite high-end components and thoughtful design - take one of the everyday makes and swap out most of the bolt-ons for nice blingy stuff and you've gotten closer to a TM out of the box. (Öhlins, Brembo, etc.) Haven't ridden one and not a lot of knowledgeable in-depth reviews out there so don't know about "personality" - handling character, motor character, maintenance need.

It's fun to compare those bikes I know. The DR-Z400 has a lot of pork on it - the motor can be built up to 470cc or so with only bolt-ons, and seems to retain relability. But you can't add a 6th gear to it :/ It's cushy and comfy and feels safe in some ways, but floppy and kinda dangerous in other ways ... It's a strange mix of good components and design and terribly stupid setup. Cockpit ergonomics are ridiculous as stock, and the suspension valving and springs are well suited for absolutely nothing But it's very easy to work on and a lot of potential can be brought out. And they take a passenger!

Then the 70-degree 'Bergs are imo powerful with a very linear and smooth motor character and just feel so nice to drive, very agile - the handling really does work on them - and the consensus is that they're very reliable for what they are, albeit given some occasional gremlins. Quite nice components!

And then the mid-2000s Husabergs are strong!, and very responsive yet very linear power. Knife edge. VERY addictive motor character. Lovely super stable handling, could ride them endlessly on fast rocky gravel. Look so cool too.

I'll never forget any of the rides I've had on a 'Berg. 570, 450, 550, 650 - all were very strong and intense experiences.

'Bergs seem to have pretty racy cockpit setup, which is interesting to compare with the DR-Z. The DR-Z is just illogically cramped, but the 'Berg setup feels racy and tight.

Anyone have thoughts on TM? Sherco? Beta? The WR450? Husky 610? Even KTMs in comparison?

incidentally, I'm a big fan of the Gas Gas FSE 450 as it was up until 2008. (Don't know about the models after that as they weren't imported to here afaik. Went to a Yamaha-designed motor then I think?) Until 2008 they had the DR-Z motor, bored out 450cc (and de-stroked actually I believe!), plus EFI and a 6th gear, in a good modern chassis. Very nice and subtle and strong bike, feels quite similar in spirit and personality to the 70-degree Husabergs. They're not that common so it's hard to get a picture of the reliability, but if they retained the DR-Z's robustness they can't be that bad.

Tourist, I nearly bought a TM back in 2002. The local importer was a mate of mine. The bike, a 300 2 stroke was an incredibly fast bike, very harsh suspension, and for me, the power delivery was abrupt and extremely difficult to ride. A great race bike, not a trail riding weekend bike.

I absolutely love the new Sherco's, they look the part, good components, reliable and nicely designed package, a rare bike in South Africa....just like Husaberg!

The new Husqvarna(white Husaberg) is probably my choice if I ever changed from my FE 570, mainly due to dealer support and resale values, and because it is just such a great package. I have ridden the new Husqvarna FE350 a lot........awesome bike!

I have some experience working on TM's and a little bit of racing them, mostly the 2 strokes. Awesome bikes, very fast, very powerful, very expensive. I wasn't too fond of the marzocci forks, I had raced one older steel frame model which had Ohlins forks, that one was awesome. Some interesting design I liked on the smaller bikes, 85, 100, 125 & 144 engines which had the water jacket running all the way from the base of the cylinder to the bottom of the crankcase, also the reed block is mounted vertically in the crankcase as opposed to the normal vertical position, and these smaller engines also have two main bearings on the primary drive gear side, with the crank seal sitting between the two bearings. Also, the 85/100cc engines fit exactly into the 125/144 frame, in which case some 'Big Frame' 85cc bikes could be made with very little effort.

The fourstrokes have a down draught intake with a very odd looking carburettor with a horizontal float bowl, but the rest of the carb is bent at an angle for the down draught intake. It was curious that they had the airfilter box in the 'normal' position behind the rear shock, as there is enough space to have made a HusaberG-style airfilter under the front part of the seat, which I see they have done with (some?) of the fourstrokes from 2014 onwards. The 450 I rode had 5spd gearbox but with a very tall 5th gear, which I liked. Also the fourstrokes have an oil sump under the crank case/gearbox of the engine case.

All the bikes had the oil filler caps in strange difficult-to-fill positions which didn't really make sense to me.

Hope this helps.

Regards

very interesting actually!

Some TM`s in action here,
Video

Was looking at the 660 specs a while ago Large bore short stroke 104mm x 77.4

anyone know the internal diameter of that downdraft carb ?

FCRD 41 from 09

190 main jet!

lusting after this one atm

'02 400 with full Öhlins, should be in good condition, asking price $2400 and will probably go for less

looks cccooooooolllll

side view

I'd love to try a TM.

I saw the new ones at the last bike show. They seem really nice. But I do remember this same story along time ago.

I was always wanting a KTM as they were tricked bikes right out of the box, best of everything.

The Yamaha that I bought in the early 80's was under 2000.00 and the KTM was over 5000.00. Thus the reason I got the Yamaha.

At this time and day each of the manufactures are keeping consistent to each other to be competitive. I think that mostly all manufactures have equal quality, I do know that TM does seem to be a all around custom machine as they fit you to it. But is the quality any better than the competitors? I am sure that any KTM or Husky etc. will perform equally if not better if personally set up as the TM is.

I am not knocking TM as I do think it is cool and a great product, Just a thought.

TM candy

Hello Tourist. My fave quote re. TMs; Don`t bother buying cool parts for it, it already has them! Yes we have a Husaberg here at home. I almost bought a very nice TM 250 enduro though. Finally decided a fast 2 stroke wasn't what was needed. You can see it at Cascade Motorcycles in Mission BC Canada. Can not imagine TM makes money on the bikes, everything is the best they could find. Would love to visit Iceland someday. Good luck. L