New TL in the stable

[Carter Turk]

I picked this up in November for $1700. It has high miles 44,000. I've put about 1500 miles on it since then. It was laid down on the right side, but rides straight. Similar riding position to my Kat, but more aggressive. Twin power is a hoot! I removed all the emissions stuff, bought a fork seal, and tires. The FI has some issues at steady throttle, but pulls well everywhere else. 6 speed is a nice bonus. Fork springs are too soft, and rotary damper is a bag, but still lots of fun to ride. Thought I'd share.

[Carter Turk]

A shot with wheels

[safarijack]

These bikes make an awsome base to turn into a streetfighter!

[Octain]

Those bikes sound AWESOME!
I almost bought a new leftover TL a while back.

Still think about that one.

[steve murdoch]

Nice bike, Carter.
I have liked the look from day one. An aquaintance had a '97 with the throttle control problem and cured it with a Power Commander. Some even got factory recalls.
A bit of info here...

http://micapeak.com/TL1000S/faq/p3.html

[Nessism]

These bikes make an awsome base to turn into a streetfighter!

I'd wait until the factory bodywork gets thrashed before doing that.

[Carter Turk]

The body work is pretty thrashed. I'm trying to refrain from spending money on cosmetics and just riding the thing. I'd do suspension, before any cosmetic stuff. However, I would like to learn how to repair plastic fairings though. I have an 1150ES fairing taking up space in the shed that needs a little TLC

[safarijack]

Yeah, Looks like there is a mark on the front faring, tail, and the midpipe, but it doesn't even matter cause that is such a cool bike. Vary capable in the right hands too! That big 1000 sounds sweet with thos Yosh pipes on there.

[midnightcafe]

great price for that bike, any major plans down the road?

[Carter Turk]

They make a shock called a Bitubo that eliminates the Rotary damper for about $600 and it needs 1.0 kg or stiffer fork springs. Maybe a full system pipe, but then I'll need a power commander. All that will add up to the price of the bike. I saw a TL with all these goodies for less than I paid for this one. Ofcourse, that was after I bought this one. So I guess my plans are to refrain from spending, maybe buy some fork springs and call it good for awhile.

[salty_monk]

There is a good review on those in this month's "Visor Down". I picked up a copy on my flight back at the weekend.

Dan

[Rundle]

Those TLs's are seriously fun and highly underrated bikes. There was much European moto-media sensationalism when they came out in '97 about it being a killer bike, which caused the public to stay away from them, and for no good reason. There were very few instances of instability; only two or three that I remember reading about (although my memory ain't what it used to be) and they were all in the UK or Europe. There was one death as I recall; a UK rider suffered an unexplained tankslapper, was thrown off, and was killed. Blame was placed on poor design, the oddball rotary damper rear suspension, and at one point, underweight riders. One British bike mag even suggested that to be safe on the TL, you should be fat enough (I forget the recommended weight) to keep the front end from getting too light. Pure hysteria. Some of the US magazines were purposely trying to get the TL to mis-handle, and never found any problems. Basically, they confirmed what they had originally thought: it was a great-handling, high-powered (for its day) bike with sporty steering geometry. Naturally, when you grab a big handful of gas, those 70-ish V-twin lb-ft and 128 ponies are going to lighten the front end, and it'll get a bit loose. Respect it, and be aware if its capabilities, and it's highly rewarding... First-year bikes were recalled to retro-fit a steering damper, and subsequent years came with them stock.

Something to note: check the rotary damper frame mounts. Specifically, the upper left-hand-side mount. Instead of passing through the main body of the inner frame spar like the lower bolt, the upper bolt mounts to a small protruding boss on top of the spar, and is subjected to a lot of weight, suspension loads, and frame-twisting from cornering loads. A little preventative reinforcement in this area may save you a lot of headache down the road. This can be sidestepped by swapping the damper for an Ohlins unit, or a Lindemann Engineering-tuned Penske damper. The Bitubo unit you mentioned is a three-way shock which bolts in place of the stock spring unit, and removes the rotary damper altogether. There's other choices too, but I can't think of what they are right now.

Check out "Randy's TL1000 page" http://homepage.mac.com/rg500delta/T...0S%20page.html. There's some good info; he's tried a bunch of mods for street and track, and has shared his knowledge of what works and what doesn't. He's got photos of different frame issues, and offers suggestions for replacing the rear suspension.

I've heard of people having clutch slippage issues. I never had any problems; keeping the clutch cable clean and well lubed seemed to work for me. Other than the rotary damper/frame issue, mine only ever needed basic maintenance, and has been a blast to ride for the past ten years. I even used to go touring on it, and have done a few 1000+ km days.

Anyway, enjoy the bike, and don't be afraid to send us a clip of that V-twin Yosh-pipe music. Pure aural beauty!

Cheers
-chris

[Carter Turk]

I'm currently running without a steering damper on a 00 TLS. I have one in a box but have felt no need for it. I don't have a 1/5 throttle insert installed so it takes a deliberate coaxing
to loft the front wheel in 1st with my 215 lbs. I got on it hard in second the other day and felt the front wiggle off the ground a bit. Its interesting hopping on the Kat today and going for a spin. The Kat feels lower, like I'm sitting in it, where the TL feels like I'm sitting on it.

As the two bikes currently sit, the Kat has better suspension compliance with an 80' front end and springs and Works out back, 1/2 longer than stock (13.5"). The TL bottoms over bumps and hard braking with a.74kg spring and the back end takes awhile to absorb bumps and then bucks you out the seat long after hitting said bump. The Kat gets through turns fine, but rather truckish, in comparison, a little more effort is required, but its what makes it enjoyable to ride. You have to work at it.

[thijones]

Nice find, a TLS is going to be my first liter bike when I have a few more seasons under my belt and save up the money.