Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

The Yamaha VZ250 is an all-around good package, but the forks req uire some TLC. TM250MC Moto Exotica L OOking for a motocross bike that's a little out of the ordinary? Something that will stop people dead in their tracks SO they can get a closer look at it? Perhaps something built in Europe - better yet, made in Italy? Then look no further than your local TM dealer. What? You say you don't have a TM dealer near you? Well, don' t worry; give Pete Vetrano a call and he'll dial you in. You see, Vetrano is the sole importer of TM motorcycles. Like many of us, Vetrano is attracted to exotic machinery - the more unusual the better - and the Italian-made TMs caught Vetrano's interest a few years ago. One thing led to another and now he's importing these unique motorcycles into the United States. TM started out many years ago building cart racing motors (and still does) and de ided to c expand its operation into building off-road motorcycles - at the request of one of the company's owner's son. TM quickly started achieving success on Europe's enduro scene in the 125cc class. TM has since starte building motocross bikes and nearly won the l25cc World Champi· d onship last year; now, TM is working hard to produce competitive 250cc motocrossers, Vetrano loaned us a 1998 TM 250MC for our 250cc MX shootout, and we couldn't help but stop whatever it was we were doing at the time when we first laid eyes on this very trick-looking motorcycle. It need ed close r exa mina tion. The bike was returned to TM, wh ere the forks wer e removed and shi pped to Enzo Racing and had a thorou gh goingthrough. (Enzo s pecia lizes in Kayab a forks, and Paoili forks use Kayaba internals.) No obv io us problem was fo u nd with the forks, so Enzo revalved the forks to so ften the m iddle part of the stroke. Th e forks wer e reinstalled and the bi ke became ridable. Through it all, we were happy with the TM's rear sus pension and once we got the forks working correctly, as a whole, the TM's s uspension wo rked p retty good .· However, it took a little while to build up confidence on the bike because the TM' s sus pension jus t feels different than the rest, but other than a few kicks here and there, neither the front nor the rear suspension exhibit any really bad habits. HA NDU NG AND CORNERING While we're spea king of the TM, we'll start wit h the TM first w hen it comes to the handling department. Here's where th e TM feel s , w ell , really w eird, and much of th is weird feeling comes from the front of the motorcycle. The bike simply steers slowly and has a heavy feeling to it; it's almost as if the front end is raked out too far or has an overly dampened s teering damper attached to it. The TM just isn 't supe rrespo nsive to rid er input, which isn' t necessarily a good thing wh en you start getting out of sha pe. Getting the TM through the turns quickly requires a special knack: It's not what we'd call a good pivot-and-go turner, but it does slide around wide, sweeping turns quite well - yo u just have to work the thrott le carefu lly. It also likes to go deep into the turns and if there' s a berm anywhere in sigh t, use it. "The TM feels lon ger than the other bikes," said one tester, "and it just doesn't comer as well. But you can get used to it." All of the other bikes handle quite well and none of them have any huge advantage o ver th e other, but the Su zuki is withou t a doubt the most {m pro ved of the bunch . It' s gone from a skit ter ish, som e ti mes unpredictab le-handling machine to a solid and stable perfo rmer. It also cu ts through the turns like a knife. Overall, no one really complained about the RM's handlin g, though one pro rider said tha t the fron t end "still" feels a little light. "There's a li tt le lightness in the front end," he said . "You have to get close up on the handlebars out of the comers or else the front end will come up." The Yamah a is a good - ha n d li ng mach ine, too, and man y times the wo rd "solid" ca me u p when discu ssin g th e YZ's handling. It comers we ll, too, either tight on the inside o r o u t high in the berm; it steers well and goes w here it is pointed . But non e of th e bikes could to p th e Kawasa ki's handling traits. This bike is a co n fidence builder because it s imply doesn't d o an ything unexpected or surprising. Some felt that maybe the KX didn't tum as well as the Suzuki or the Yamaha , but it was no b ig deal, as it makes up for it in many other area s. Some of our testers feel that the harsh rid e of the CR has to do wi th the ultrarigid aluminum frame and not so much with the suspension. "I rea lly don't know if it's because of th e suspension or th e frame, but it wa s th e s uspension /frame that blew th e whole bike for m e," sa id one pro rider. " Fo r pros, the motor is a w eso me, bu t so methi ng about the fram e and sus pe nsion together is too rigid - I just can' t figure it out. I mean this bike tires me out more than the oth ers - I'd have to train a lot mo re if I raced this bike." How ever, o ne in te rmediate r id e r threw us a curve, saying he d idn 't mind the CR's handling; in fact, he liked it a lot. 'The bike just feels good to me," he said. . "It jumps good and overa ll feels very controllable, but it was the only bike that felt a little skitterish at speed - but I could get used to that." Even thou gh som e of our testers had a lo ve /ha te relationship with the KTM's rear sus pe nsion, all of them agreed th e SX25 0 handl ed ex t re mely well. Yo u • always know with th e KTM that you can slam into a hole, bump or rut a t speed and not have to worry abo u t th e bi ke responding with a giant kick or swap. It turns good, jumps good and do es all the right thin gs on the track, bu t something does need to be done about the shock's insensitivity over the small er bumps. The TM is definitely an attention-getter, as nearly every color of the rainbow is represente d on this machine, and it's hard not to ogle over the TM's aluminum-alloy gas tank and goldanodized, inverted forks. Basically, only the motor and frame are designed and built by TM, while the rest of the bike is made up of a variety of top-quality aftermarket components - such as the forks. The forks on the TM we tested were upside-down Paiolis, which are assembled using older-style Kayaba internals. If you don't want the Paioli forks, you can special-order the TM with conventional 50mm Marzocchis at no extra charge. The choice is yours. To help keep the overall cost down on this already expensive motorcycle, the triple clamps are now constructed out of cast aluminum rather than billet, like they were last year. In the back, a single, fully adjustable Ohlins shock is used and is connected to an aluminum swingarm. The European version of the TM comes with blue-anodized Takasago Excel rims, the American version with standard silver-colored rims (however, you can order the bike with blue rims), and bot h versions are fittcd with Michelin knobby tires. The TM also comes equipped with Brembodisc brakes - 270mmin the front, 220mmin the rear. The water-cooled, 249cc TM-manufactured motor features a 66.4 x 72mm bore and stroke and an exhaust power valve, and is fed by a 3Bmm Keihin carburetor. Spent gases are channeled through an unpainted HGSexhaust pipe and aluminum muffler. Power is transferred to the rear wheel via a five-speed gearbox and a gold-anodized D.LD • O-ring chain. The TM's clutch is hydraulically operated. Acerbissupplies all the plastic parts, and Tecnosel provides the seat cover. The price for being different isn't cheap. At a suggested retail price of $6350, the TM250MC is about $700 more than the average 250cc MXer. For more information about the 250MC or other TM motorcycles, write TM Competition Motorcycles at 8468 Lorna Place, Upland , CA 91786, or call 909/608 -002 or fax them at 909/982-6310. (Above) The TM 250MC has that · worXs look. (Below left) There 's no shortage of horsepower here. (Below right) An aluminum-alloy fuel tank holds just over two gallons. ft BRA KES Nowadays, good brakes are the rule, no t the exception on production bikes . In this case, only the TM's brakes were spoken of negatively thro ughout our testing, and that's because the TM 's back brake was far too se ns itive. Ju st tap th e rea r- 21

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