Dance with the red zone
Tom, the Yamaha Toulon salesman, told me that I could try it when I wanted this TDM which has intrigued me for a long time. It must be said that she has a funny face anyway this bike, half trail and half sporty road…
It took me at noon: Tom, the salesman of Yamaha Toulon, told me that I could try it when I wanted this TDM which has intrigued me for a long time. It must be said that it has a funny face anyway this bike: half trail by its general appearance, half sporty road if we look at its tires and its frame (Deltabox), well in short a unique hybrid on the market. The Macadam90s that fit it don’t inspire me more confidence than that but hey we’ll see.
The Twin is on the way, the sound is nice, I switch on the 1st and launch myself into the traffic jams in the city center. The saddle height suits me perfectly, the 2 feet touch the ground, the turning radius is not as small as on my F650GS but it goes well anyway. The handlebars are narrower than I thought and much closer to a classic road than a trail, I will have to adapt.
When leaving Toulon I take the motorway and the twin quickly takes me at prohibited speeds. No big sensations, not a big torque at the bottom, but the efficiency is there. The Ollioules gorges are quickly but carefully crossed: braking does not seem straightforward to me and I prefer to wait for the climb up Castellet to really open up. Each vehicle overtaking is done quietly, just by turning the right handle.
Arrive the 1st hairpin at the bottom of the climb, we will see what it has in the stomach, I open wide. At the 1st corner I am reassured about the braking, it does not have a terrible bite but it brakes. At the exit of the turn I send the sauce and the engine goes up in the turns. What? Already in the red zone? Yes, at Yamaha we think that a twin should not go beyond 8000 rpm apparently. I would be curious if someone explains to me why and this, for at least 2 reasons: my little 650 cc mono is in the red zone at 7,500 rpm, an 850 cc bi should be a tone above, no ? In addition on the SV650 the maximum torque is at 7,400rpm, the maximum power at 9,000rpm and the red zone at … 10,500rpm while the maximum torque of the TDM is at 6,500rpm and its maximum power at 7,500rpm or barely 500rpm before the red zone … Clearly, the power arrives between 6,500 and 7,000tr and we cannot take advantage of the extension of the bi if we want to respect a a little bit the mechanics. Unless Yamaha has really taken too much safety margin and entering the red zone (say up to 8,500 rpm) is no problem on a TDM.
I follow the turns without worries, the acceleration is nice, the braking is efficient, life is good … In a right turn the footrest reminds me to order, showing me that the Mac90 are not so bad as their reputation suggests and this bike is very easy to handle.
Arrived in front of the circuit, U-turn and direction Toulon. I feel like I’m on a bike more and more and I like this bike more and more. On the highway, the 160 is very quickly reached, and we find ourselves shortly after at 190. No problem, the handling remains very good, and the protection is even surprising..
In short, Miss TDM is an excellent bike which I really like. If I can say that I would not change my current mount for other bikes, I am not so sure when talking about the CT … Oh sure I will have to watch the red zone very closely and that I reduce the gearbox output gear by one tooth, just to find a bit of sensations at the bottom, but I think I will have to take a serious look at his case…
Related articles
-
All Drive Tests – Test of the new Fazer on the Moto Tour road – Used YAMAHA
Testing the new Fazer on the Moto Tour route Presented at the Paris Motor Show, the new Yamaha FZ6 Fazer 600 faces a heavy challenge after the success of…
-
All Tests – The first civilized supermotard – Used YAMAHA
The first civilized supermotard In accordance with the initial trail philosophy, the Yamaha XT 660 wants to offer sensations and fun without the fuss,…
-
All Reader Tests – A VB1 in Montlhery – Used VOXAN
A VB1 in Montlhery On the occasion of the Twin Trophies, head to the legendary circuit of Montlhery for a test unlike any other: the Voxan VB1 by Boxer…
-
All Tests – The Fazer 1000 goes off its hinges! – Used YAMAHA
The Fazer 1000 goes off its hinges ! With its new Fazer, Yamaha seeks to retain its customers but also launches in the pursuit of more sporty motorcycles…
-
All Tests – The scooter that scares motorcycles … – Used YAMAHA
The scooter that scares motorcycles… No offense to die-hard bikers who have often never tried it, TMax invades our cities … and our roads! Fashion…
-
All Tests – The diva becomes divine – Used YAMAHA
The diva becomes divine In 1998, the first Yamaha YZF R1 laid the groundwork for contemporary hypersport: more performance, less weight and above all an…
-
All Tests – An African among the Bretons – Used YAMAHA
An African among the Bretons The tracks in Africa being very far away, we set off to test the new T n r – from Yamaha of course – on the lush green roads…
-
WSBK – WSBK 2019 tests in Jerez: Johnny’s show continues! – Used DUCATI KAWASAKI YAMAHA
WSBK 2019 tests in Jerez: Johnny’s show continues ! First of the tests in Aragon two weeks ago, Jonathan Rea had been eclipsed by the first turns of the…
-
Offseason tests – Rossi and Viñales do not explain their downturn in Sepang … – Used YAMAHA
Rossi and Viñales do not explain their decline in Sepang… Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales are among the few riders whose times fell on the last…
-
Bol d’Or – Yamaha dominates the first tests of the Bol d’Or 2019 – Used YAMAHA
Yamaha dominates the first tests of the Bol d’Or 2019 After two days of pre-Bol d’Or testing at Le Castellet, the official Yamaha Austria Racing Team…