Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

nately, there's no odometer to be had for us American-rules enduro junkies. When it came time to ride the bike, I ended up hooking up with Dirt Bike editor (and longtime friend) Ron Lawson, who was busy working on a project for his magazine, and he promised to lead me on a "good" trail ride on one of "Ty Davis' new loops." Now, I've ridden with Ron long enough to know that I was in for gnarly ride, so I wasn't the least bit surprised when he took me down some of the tightest, twistiest and rockiest trails that I've been on in a long time, trails that certainly put the TM (and me) to the test. Since we actually finished a "Ron Ride" before dark (and on the same day that we started), I came away feeling pretty good about the ride and myself, which I think actually had more to do with the TM's performance than it did with mine. I quickly discovered that the TM has a motor that's capable of handling just about anything thrown its way, from tight, woodstype riding to the wideopen stuff, though we didn't see much of the latter on this particular ride. The bike doesn't seem overly powerful off the bottom, but it does chug nicely when the going gets tough, like when tackling a steep, rutted-out climb, or while trials-riding over big boulders and zigzagging through thick bushes. I never did stall the bike, but I did purposefully kill the engine a couple of times when we had to bulldog down some of the hills. Thankfully, I had no qualms about killing the motor, because I never had any problems starting the bike. (I did hear that the TM can be a little finicky when cold, but on this day - my one and only stint on the bike - it started on the second kick.) What the TM's motor might lack off the bottom, is certainly made up for on top, where the bike revs out nicely and moves along quite well, much like the KTM 400 EXC. The TM also handles well, but I did have mixed feelings about the way the 400 steered - a little too squirrelIy for me. At slower speeds, I had a difficult time keeping the TM traveling in a straight line, the bike instead wanting to veer off to the sides with the slightest amount of input from me, and the bike also seemed to deflect sharply off even the smallest rock or rut. The front end just felt like it was always moving around. At speeds, however, the TM would lose this busy and nervous feeling, leaving me to believe that the fork might've just been set up maybe a little too stiff for my 165 pounds, but the fork felt fine over whoops and bumps. Hmm. I had no complaints with the TM's back end, which felt plush and very stable. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the TM 400E. Even though this bike might not win any popularity contests, it should be able to win enduros. It's a good performer and ranks right up there with the KTM 400 EXC and the Yamaha WR426F, and it appears to be quite tough, too. The TM survived its fair share of bumps and bruises, including a couple of excusable boil-overs, on this day. After its passing this test, I wouldn't hesitate at all to ride the TM 400E in any enduro. After all, if it can survive a "Ron Ride," then it should be able to survive anything. eN 1:00 PM 2:00 PM 3:00 PM 3:30 PM 4:00 PM S:OO PM S:3O PM 7:00AM 1:00 PM 8:00AA1 9:00AM 10:30 AM 12:30 PM 1:00 PM 12:00 AM 12:30 AM 1:00AM 2:00AM 3:00AM 12:00 PM 1:00 PM 2:00 PM 6:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:30 PM 8:00 PM 9:00 PM AA1A Superbil

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