A secret TL1000

[Harold_Shand]

I was round a fellers house today, who I have never met before. My little boy was holding a toy bike and the feller says, "He likes bikes does he? And what about Daddy?" So I tells him what I ride and he says, "Come and have a look at this", so offs I went into his garage.

The first thing was a big Yamaha dirtbike, I don't know what model and I didn't ask as I was struck by what was lying under a sheet. Mmm. An R reg TL1000 in pure purest mint condition. He tells me "I've hardly ridden it in the last three years". A real cracker, and what a looker! Properly taken with it. How much would something like this fetch, private sale? I doubt very much he'd sell it, but I might just express an interest in it, for the future.
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BCF's 6th favourite poster 2009-2010

Harold_Shand's theory might be the best explanation.

[J.K.R]

According to Parkers, £1780.

Though i've heard they arent that accurate. Really need to get the newest glass guide book too, Our old one mysteriously dissapeared
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www.oldskoolsuzuki.info

[Dav1son]

firstly is this an R or S.
the R will carry a higher price but a 1998 TLS
absolute wheelie monster.
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Future: ....
Present: GSXR-750 L0
Past: ZX10R C2H, TL1000R, CBR400 NC29, GPR50RR/RS50

[Harold_Shand]

Shite, I dunno. I may be seeing him again soon, I'll have to ask.
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BCF's 6th favourite poster 2009-2010

Harold_Shand's theory might be the best explanation.

[St0rmer66]

'R' model has a full fairing, 'S' model has a half fairing. So which was it?

The TL1000S has crap rear suspension (not a standard shock) which resulted in the bike being dubbed "the widow maker". Lots of nasty highsides but I read a recent test in Bike magazine about them and apparently they aren't half as bad as people thought back then when you compare them to the flighty bikes we have these days.
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:: Honda XR 125 L ('53) => Kawasaki GPZ 500S ('02) => Suzuki SV650S ('00) => Aprilia RSV-R ('51) ::

[Dav1son]

[Phoenix]

There were quite a few recalls on the S too I think, not sure about the R, but if it's been standing around most of it's life, may well still need them doing, one is a replacement frame when the suspension mounting cracks....

[Harold_Shand]

It was half faired and had Ohlins front and rear. 6 pot brakes, so he told me... pmp or pmb?
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BCF's 6th favourite poster 2009-2010

Harold_Shand's theory might be the best explanation.

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[chris-red]

I'm trying to decide on a 675 916 or TLR as next bike, it all depends on the outcome of my claim. Next year I will have either 3 years NCB or 1, then it is new bike time.
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[TUG]

The widow maker was fitted with a rotary damper which when tested in japan was great but failed seriously on our roads and killed many riders, it was then recalled and fitted with a standard damper and i think there was a slight mod to the frame.

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[the grim reaper]

They didn't ever change the damper, although there is a direct bolt-in replacement, from Hagon, if I remember correctly.

The recall was to fit a seriously crap steering damper to the top yoke, most riders immediately replaced it with a better quality one. This was to prevent tank slappers, no more.

The rotary rear damper was a crap design, effectively seperating the pre-load and spring rate from the damper control. As previously mentioned, the heat from the exhaust turned th oil thin and the shock was vague.

Apart from that, the engine is excellent and the TL-R had few major problems. Do have a look at the frame where the spring part of the shock mounts though, as a few were known to crack at that point.

Cheers

Grim
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Adverts don't always work: Remember that advert, where the army are running across the desert and they have a wounded man on a stretcher. They get to a ravine, the bridge is down and a caption pops up that says, 'What are you thinking?'. I don't know about you but I was thinking, 'Christ, I'm glad I'm not in the f***ing army'.

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[stinkwheel]

The real reason the TL1000S was killing people is because it was an evil monster of a motorcycle with a massively powerful and torquey 1000cc v-twin in a short wheelbased, steeply raked frame. This was complimented by an agressive riding position and an overly wide rear tyre.

It was almost exclusively bought by 40-50 year old born-again bikers who last rode a third-hand BSA C15 when they were 17.

They were a fire-breathing, vicious monster of a motorcycle which needed to be treated with a bit of respect and ridden with a bit of experience (and fitted with a narrower rear tyre).

So, it wasn't really a design flaw. The bike was designed to be an utter hooligan, and that's what it was. What's strange is people appeared surprised when it started misbehaving and hurting people. Well, that's what hooligans do.

The early TL1000S is my number one selection for a future classic. Two other bikes have been termed 'widow maker' the first was the Kawasaki H1, the other was the fox-eye fireblade. You can still find the odd 'blade for a good price, try buying even a basket-case H1 for less than £2000.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]