Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Left) The TM has the po we r, to c lea r the trip le s and the s uspens ion to so ak up the landings. (Right and below) The triple clamps and the hu bs ar e nicely machined from billet aluminum. . (Below) Brembo disc brakes provide plenty of sto pping power. (Above) A large 38mm Kelhln carburetor feeds the cylinder through a case-reed Induction system. TMalso builds shifter-kart motors. (Left)The non-slip s eat cover Is sturdy and extremely coarse, not to mention hard to clean . The TM sou nds like any othe r 125cc . nd doesn't feel unusu ally differen t once board, e ither. We h ad li t tl e t im e to .d ap t to the TM before entering it in a ocal GP. In fact, the only time we spent m the bike befo re the race was riding it he 50 ya rds fro m th e pits to th e sta rt ine, and I had tha t hon or. Pete Vetrano, :he man responsib le for importing TMs mto the U.S., assu red me th at th e bike had been properly "broken in" and w as read y to be wrung out. My first real experience wi th the bike was being tapped out down a long semipaved straigh t an d was glad Vetra no h ad geare d th e bi ke up for t he r ace, which was nothing more than returning t o the o rigina l gea ri ng by goi ng one tooth up on th e countershaft sprocket. Vetrano feels the stock gearing is slightly too high for tighter tracks, and I' d have to agree. I found it difficult getting out of tight turns quickly with the stock gearin g, but once yo u find the re vs to pull th e gearing, the TM sim ply roo sts. Mak e a mistake and you'll pay. On the fast straights, the TM flies on top and wastes little time getting there; I. never worried about getting' passed by another 125 d own the long, fast sections. On ce the course bec ame tighter and ro u gh er, the TM took a little getting used to. Being slightly ov er six feet tall, I fou nd it uncomfortable to stand up on the bike, and by the en d of the first lap, m y b ack w as fee ling a little stra ined . The handlebars ha ve a low sweep, an d the back of the bike sits slig ht ly low , as well - kin d of like last year's Su zu ki RM125. I felt a little cramped on the TM, but then again, I feel that way on most 125s. I w as very impressed wi th the TM's suspensio n, thou gh the back end felt jus t a tad soft for my 160-pound frame. Otherwise, I had comp lete confidence in the TM's suspension before the first lap was over. Eventuallv I could hold the th rott le wide op en, in 'fifth gear, and keep th e fro n t en d lig h t over the whoops and roller-coasters. The bike felt very stable, tracked straight, and I knew it wou ldn't play any tricks on me. I had no complaints with the Marzocch i forks, whatsoe ver. Turning the TM takes little effort, especially on the wide, sweepi ng tu rns. The bike slides well and predictab ly. It a lso turns fa irly qui ckl y but is m os t happy out in the berms, or flat-tr ackin g it on a smooth su rface. The six-speed transmission was a lit" tIe reluctant to shift under a heavy load, usuall y whil e power in g out of t ight, tractionless tum. Very Yamaha YZ-ish. Everywher e else, the TM shifted fine . . The hydraulic clutch had good feel and you couldn't ask for a lighter pull. Th is was nice over th ewh oop s and ro ugh ter rain , because you can easily opera te the 'clutch with one finger when ins tan t power is needed to bail you out of troubl e. The bike is next to im possible to start in gea r, so for those dead-enginestart races, the TM's tranny must be in neutral. Both front an d rear disc br akes wor k well, offer in g mor e than enou gh stop ping power, whil e also providing excellent feel. The h ighl y p erforated sea t o ffe rs plenty of traction, perh aps to o much. More than once, I found my self making a conscious effort to slide from one end of the seat to the other. But for grip ping th e sea t w ith yo u r kne es, th e "sticky" cover does the trick. Right ou t of the crate , the TM turns hea ds, but after a few rid es, it loses its luster. The sand-cast side cases are hard to clean , as dirt an d grime tend to make themselves right at home in the porous metal. Exhaust oil leaked from where the exha us t pipe and the tail pipe connect, forming an ugly black puddle o n th e alu minu m swingarm. Th e se a t, too, is hard to clean, and the u nfinis h ed exh aus t pipe requires constant attention, or rust will take over. Un fortu na tely, the TM 125 'arrfved too late to be included in our 1996 125cc shoo tou t (january 3, issu e #50), but from what w e can tell, th e scream in g pink machine would ha ve held its own quite wel l. No, it w ould n ot ha ve w on th e shootou t, but th er e is a go od chance it wou ld not ha ve finished last, either. The TM 125 is certainly a capab le motorcycle. It is certainly fast eno ugh to win, and has the handling and the suspension to han g with ~e others. rx While Cycle News believes theforegoing test reliable, it is the opinion of the reviewers only and should not be relied upon in determining the per. formance or safetyof the vehicle The reader should . makehis or her 0IL'7I investigation. 1M 125 Cross Specifications E"lline type . . . . . . . . . .liquid·cooled. case-reed, . sing le·cylinder two-stroke Displ_ _ ' 123cc Bore Strok a , Compression ratio .. " Cerburetion 54mm 54.4mm , .15.7:1 , 38mm Keihin , Transmission Clutch Front suspension Reer sus pension Raar shock Front braka Rear braka Front tira Raar tira Claimed dry wiagh! MSRP , ' .5-speed Hydraulic .I elescopic. Marzocchl Magnum Single shock. swingarm Ohlins 260mm disc. Bremba 220mm esc, Brem ba 3.00x 21 in, Pirelll .4.00x 19in. Pirelll 196Ibs. $6100 Distributor .. TM Motorcycles P.O. Box 10 Chino. CA 91708 ' 909/391 ·3275 37. 13

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