TL 1000

[Stickman]

Okay......

I am in the process of finding a TL 1000. Try and convince me why I should or should not purchase said bike. Before you go there it will be 97 or newer and the steering damper and rotary shock are not an issue. I enjoy speeds less than 250km/ph usually a bit less so the hard arsed track rubbish is mute. I would love to hear any comments constructive or otherwise especially from other TL owners.

Cheers

SM

[Zed]

Okay......

I am in the process of finding a TL 1000. Try and convince me why I should or should not purchase said bike. Before you go there it will be 97 or newer and the steering damper and rotary shock are not an issue. I enjoy speeds less than 250km/ph usually a bit less so the hard arsed track rubbish is mute. I would love to hear any comments constructive or otherwise especially from other TL owners.

Cheers

SMSo, are you looking for a TL1000R or TL1000S? I personally favour the R model for it's looks and extras over the half naked S, but they are more pricey. Both bikes certainly sound great!

http://www.koups.com/sales/suzuki/images/1999_models/TL1000R-Yellow.jpg

http://www.striker.co.jp/jpn/item/image/tl1000s_slip.jpg

[bugjuice]

awesome wheelie machines
and I can vouch for their slowness (ay Speedy.. ;))

[loosebruce]

Hey Stickman, welcome mate.

And nice choice on the hopefully new ride soon. I've had a couple of TL1000S and it's fair to say i've put them through there paces.
I kept mine stock, apart from a few sets of pipes and a K&N.

Here goes, why you should buy a TL:

They are huge value for money, you can get a real good un for around $8K, some are getting high in K's these days, but the motors are strong, they are super easy to ride slow take a little bit of muscle to ride em fast though, i got along fairly well on mine. The rotary damper only really becomes a major issue under track use i found, on the road it's okay i set it quite soft on the damping side to give it more bite at the back. The front ends are wicked, one of the best i've had, just real planted and good, good tyres go a long way on them though.
They sound the bizzo with good pipes on em, or you can easily mod the stock pipes to be rather loud quite easily, be careful if it has carbon pipes on them, they fall apart rather easily, infact quite a few alloy pipes take a hammering from the twin, so check em over first.
They are in no way slow, although they tend to run out of puff higher in the speed range 220kph+, awesome bike to learn wheelies on, real easy if thats your thing? Take em for test rides though, and get the head bearings, fork seals and clutches checked.
All in all, they are a wicked bike and even though i have upgraded to a GSXR1000K3 i still love the TL to bits, i still have it, although i'm being forced to sell it :( by the missus. Ya cant go wrong i reckon with a S or R, some people say they handle shit, i reckon its just a bit of extra character, they aren't dangerous and people who say they are generally ride VTR's.
If you need help looking at one you might be interested in and it's near Akld or evendown Ngatea way i'm usually up for a ride, i head down that way a fair bit my uncles in Orongo, just outta Kopu and i'm quite partiail to the coromandel, i'd be more than happy to help ya out if you so needed.
If you're after something maybe a bit tamer and around the same money of newer TL's, early SV1000's are bloody great bikes and well worth a look.

All the best mate.

Bruce

[White trash]

Welcome Stickman.

I've got a real soft spot for TLs as they're regarded a bit of a hooligans bike. The "S" has questionable handling (from my point of view) on unfriendly surfaced roads. The absolute best one I've ever ridden (and I've speant some time on these things) had an Ohlins rear damper fitted and TL-R six pot callipers. The thing was fucken demon, well worth the expense.

They're a good strong motor but it's becoming common for heads and valve train to lunch themselves on bikes that are ridden particularly hard or not well cared for.

I reckon th"R" still looks horn, even after all these years even though they're now seen as a bit of a limo. Great bikes all in all, just try and find a low kay one that hasn't been stacked.

[unhingedlizard]

I know this doesnt help at all, but I really really want a TLS.

The engine seems to power half the bikes on the market these days.

[White trash]

The engine seems to power half the bikes on the market these days.

Really? Which ones?

[unhingedlizard]

cagiva vraptor, suzuki vstrom, SV1000 has a dirivitive (sp?) of the motor..

Lots of others have a dirivitive of the same motor.

Gosh i need a dictonary.

[White trash]

cagiva vraptor, suzuki vstrom, SV1000 has a dirivitive (sp?) of the motor..

Lots of others have a dirivitive of the same motor.

Gosh i need a dictonary.

Well DL1000 and SV1000 don't count, they're obviously Suzis.

I think Bimota made a Suzuki V-Twin powered bike too, wasn't that the one Anthony Gobert raced in WSBK for a season? Sexy bike.

[unhingedlizard]

SB8R? something like that.

OK not literaly half the bikes on the market but it is no longer a suprise when a bike review reads "the V-twin 1000cc from the TL1000"

Mind you, Cagiva arnt making raptors, or much of anything at the moment...

[Funkyfly]

Dude,

Whats your riding style/experience like? I went from a Kwaka 250 to a 97 TL1000S, i read heaps of reports and jargon on the net and in older mags.

People said i would kill myself on the TL (often called "the widow maker" by UK bike mags) since i had only been riding 9 months, but i never had any problems, im not a hot rider like some of the guys here and i found the TL felt safer than the 250's i had been riding.

I had that bike for about a year, had plenty of good times and only sold it because the km's were getting higher.

Problems i had:

Clutch went just after i brought it, about $800 to replace all 10 plates.
Water pump seal started leaking, around $300 to fix.

I have spent a bit of time on a VTR Firestorm, they arent as cool or as fast as the TLS, and have sloppy handling IMHO.

TL1000S = Badass!

[TLDV8]

If my first one was anything to go by,they handle like crap,front fork springs to soft,lack of rebound..the rear end was the opposite,to hard,to much rebound..to the point it was not unusual to get 140kph 2 wheel drifts on open road sweepers in the wet if a small bump was hit mid corner.. even then it was a fine commuter bike....still have it but it got the chop SSSA GSXR frontend etc etc.......this is the commuter now. :whistle: ..take a test ride,you will know within 5 minutes if you want one.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/manurewa/Yellow1.jpg

[John]

If my first one was anything to go by,they handle like crap,front fork springs to soft,lack of rebound..the rear end was the opposite,to hard,to much rebound..to the point it was not unusual to get 140kph 2 wheel drifts on open road sweepers in the wet if a small bump was hit mid corner.. even then it was a fine commuter bike....still have it but it got the chop SSSA GSXR frontend etc etc.......this is the commuter now. :whistle: ..take a test ride,you will know within 5 minutes if you want one.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/manurewa/Yellow1.jpg
SHIT THATS A HORNY LITTLE BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[WRT]

I had a TLR for 2.5 years, and loved it. They may not be as fast or sharp handling as the 4's, but you just cant go past the sound. I'm now hooked on V-Twins, and not looking back. Very relaxed to ride, the power (and torque) is there when you want it, but that big lazy v-twin sound means you can ride it all day at sensible speeds without getting wound up tighter than a drum.

One thing about the TL's tho, is get them properly set up suspension wise. When I first got mine, it was owned by noobie who was about half as big again as me. After resetting to standard and then playing with the settings myself, I got a pretty good setup. However, after getting someone who knew what he was doing to look at it, man what a difference!

Also of note - your practically sitting on top of the rear cylinder, so during summer you can get a mighty hot rear end . . .

[simo]

A few things to be aware of in TL1000s
1:Get a 1999 onwards, most 1997/1998's are pretty rooted now, plus most have been binned a few times as well
2:Suspension - if you have the time you can muck around with the settings do it, or just throw an Ohlins in!
3:Make sure the sprockets and chain are setup well, as its a prick to ride slow in traffic -a sloppy chain makes it worse, due to the single injector on each throttle body, 1mm twist on the throttle can translate into the kangaroo ride, no fun (new SV1000s have multiple injectors lot smoother ride)
4:Cracks in the frame, take the bike to Suzuki dealer, they can check it out before you buy it, this TL had cracks around the rotary damper brackets!!
5: Some owners make outrageous claims about RWHP, put it on a dyno at AMPS solved the problem for me, showed 107BHP at rear wheel, this is OK for a TL1000s, TL1000R should be around 115-130BHP
Hope you find a minter, they are still around with low kms
PS :The TL1000S had the better styling, the TL1000R's had a bit of an aircraft carrier look unfortunately.
Good Website to visit for everything TL - www.tlplanet.com

[MOTOXXX]

only big bike i have owned.
getting the susp set up is a big deal on them. i still havent done mine yet.

when you compare them to the newer bikes they aint as fast (i make 126hp at the rear) and sparky bills 99 R1 makes 145hp and its 2 years older.
they also way 190kg dry.

fun to ride. good if you lazy as you dont have to change gears as much as a 4 and go ok on the track too.

[marty]

here's my 2001 tl1000s with extra fairing, yoshis, ohlins, braided lines. 38000ks. what sort of $$$ you spending?

[loosebruce]

2:Suspension - if you have the time you can muck around with the settings do it, or just throw an Ohlins in!


Ohlins = money, if money you dont have, you can look at modding the rotary damper, they are floating around and going pretty cheap, prolly pick one up for 30-50bucks, you can enlarge the veins that allow the oil to pass through or some shit like that, cant remember exactly, should be on TL planet somewhere. Those who've done reckon it's just as good as an ohlins.
But if fast riding aint your thing the stock bike will do the bizzo alright.

[SPman]

here's my 2001 tl1000s with extra fairing, yoshis, ohlins, braided lines. 38000ks. what sort of $$$ you spending?
Thats not Marks (Grumpe) old bike, is it?

[marty]

yup. still goes very well too

[dss3]

Mate! I have just the bike for you... check this one out... :whistle:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Sports-tourer/auction-30126216.htm

[John]

Mate! I have just the bike for you... check this one out... :whistle:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Sports-tourer/auction-30126216.htm
looks like its fresh from skid fest....

[nsrpaul]

I have a tl in my garage from a mate who has lost his licience and the courts ordered him to have no intrest in a motor vehicle for a year
I never ride it , it is yuk!
-to bloody heavy
-crap brakes compared to the gsxr , prob cause to bloody heavy
-wobles
-unless ya get ya revs spot on round town it surges something terible
-to hard in rear despit adjustment
-chews tyres , prob cause to bloody heavy
rubish bike really , cant understant why they sold so many

[TLDV8]

I have a tl in my garage from a mate who has lost his licience and the courts ordered him to have no intrest in a motor vehicle for a year
I never ride it , it is yuk!
-to bloody heavy
-crap brakes compared to the gsxr , prob cause to bloody heavy
-wobles
-unless ya get ya revs spot on round town it surges something terible
-to hard in rear despit adjustment
-chews tyres , prob cause to bloody heavy
rubish bike really , cant understant why they sold so many

What are you trying to say ?.. The TL is probably a little to much for a Newbie :rofl:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/manurewa/CandyLimeYellow.jpg

[nsrpaul]

[QUOTE=TLDV8]What are you trying to say ?.. The TL is probably a little to much for a Newbie :rofl:


no , I am saying they are puss , big heavy puss

[unhingedlizard]

must be something wrong with your mates. The two I have ridden were monsters.

[nsrpaul]

possible its a bad one , but it is fast , just no where near as capable as the gsxr 600/750 you could have for the same money , but none of them are anywhere near as much fun as the nsr250 you could have for half that!

[scroter]

get one. set it up, you wont regret it. very addictive motorbike. loved it. someone said $800 for clutch, i did the whole pack for about 300 including pressure plate springs. its a piss easy job. i found the rotary damper only bothered me at the track.

[pritch]

I can't find the relevant text right now but from memory the "Bike" magazine summary went something like, "Tank slappers, cracked frames, tons of fun."

[marty]

Mate! I have just the bike for you... check this one out... :whistle:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Sports-tourer/auction-30126216.htm

if that's the TL from a particular side street opposite claudlands showgrounds, then it has the HELL exhaust on it. friends of mine lived near to the house, and the owner had a remote start on it - would let it warm up before riding in the mornings, and it made the neighbours windows rattle at 6.30am!!!

[marty]

and having had both an aprilia RS250 (pffft the nsr) and a TL, i would rather ride the TL. the RS was fun, but it has to be pedalled. the TL loves sweeping !))mph country roads, with the booming yoshis bouncing off the hills :)

[slob]

I've owned a '98 TL1000S and currently own a '96 GSX-R750. Since the two have a fair bit in common it might be useful to compare them:

Handling: GSX-R750 beats the TL1000S hands down! The GSX-R is more flickable, stable and track-worthy. Mind you, despite what the mags say the TL isn't especially slap-happy. You'd have to be accelerating flat-out over some pretty bumpy roads to get the wobbles (this is without a steering damper).

Engine: TL1000S wins here - effortless grunt (capable of pulling away with the choke on and no throttle!). V-twin rumble beats inline-4 growl too (well, most of the time anyway).

TL1000S downsides:
- quick rear tyre wear (thanks to grunt + dodgy damping)
- regular clutch slippage
- heavy steering (although VTR is heavier)

[marty]

I've owned a '98 TL1000S and currently own a '96 GSX-R750. Since the two have a fair bit in common it might be useful to compare them:

)

what, apart from the badge and 2 wheels do these bikes have in common?

[shadow]

i had a tls great bike 4 money, great for wheel stands and i think it is an under rated ROAD bike heaps of fun go for it

[Wellyman]

Hey Stickman, welcome mate.

And nice choice on the hopefully new ride soon. I've had a couple of TL1000S and it's fair to say i've put them through there paces.
I kept mine stock, apart from a few sets of pipes and a K&N.

Here goes, why you should buy a TL:

They are huge value for money, you can get a real good un for around $8K, some are getting high in K's these days, but the motors are strong, they are super easy to ride slow take a little bit of muscle to ride em fast though, i got along fairly well on mine. The rotary damper only really becomes a major issue under track use i found, on the road it's okay i set it quite soft on the damping side to give it more bite at the back. The front ends are wicked, one of the best i've had, just real planted and good, good tyres go a long way on them though.
They sound the bizzo with good pipes on em, or you can easily mod the stock pipes to be rather loud quite easily, be careful if it has carbon pipes on them, they fall apart rather easily, infact quite a few alloy pipes take a hammering from the twin, so check em over first.
They are in no way slow, although they tend to run out of puff higher in the speed range 220kph+, awesome bike to learn wheelies on, real easy if thats your thing? Take em for test rides though, and get the head bearings, fork seals and clutches checked.
All in all, they are a wicked bike and even though i have upgraded to a GSXR1000K3 i still love the TL to bits, i still have it, although i'm being forced to sell it :( by the missus. Ya cant go wrong i reckon with a S or R, some people say they handle shit, i reckon its just a bit of extra character, they aren't dangerous and people who say they are generally ride VTR's.
If you need help looking at one you might be interested in and it's near Akld or evendown Ngatea way i'm usually up for a ride, i head down that way a fair bit my uncles in Orongo, just outta Kopu and i'm quite partiail to the coromandel, i'd be more than happy to help ya out if you so needed.
If you're after something maybe a bit tamer and around the same money of newer TL's, early SV1000's are bloody great bikes and well worth a look.

All the best mate.

Bruce

So you can remember what your bike looks like? I know that Two Smoker has been up to no good with yours and dosen't want to give it back to you. It will take a bit of force to drag it off him

[saul]

Ohlins = money, if money you dont have, you can look at modding the rotary damper, they are floating around and going pretty cheap, prolly pick one up for 30-50bucks, you can enlarge the veins that allow the oil to pass through or some shit like that, cant remember exactly, should be on TL planet somewhere. Those who've done reckon it's just as good as an ohlins.
But if fast riding aint your thing the stock bike will do the bizzo alright.

I happen to have one (rotary damper) . :whistle:

All the work has been done to it, just needs the oil to be put in.

I have had two 97 TL1000s and they were both fantastic bikes.

They are great fun, sort of easy to ride and a little bitchy :motu: brilliant.

There is also heaps of mods that can be done for not a lot of cash.

I also have screeds of info on cd including the manual, how to set your tps and lots of cool stuff.

Drop me a line if you get one and I will put one in the post for you :yes:

[loosebruce]

Buy one, you'd be foolish not too.

[murhf3]

Theres a good 98-99 model on trade me at the moment. :Punk:

[dss3]

if that's the TL from a particular side street opposite claudlands showgrounds, then it has the HELL exhaust on it. friends of mine lived near to the house, and the owner had a remote start on it - would let it warm up before riding in the mornings, and it made the neighbours windows rattle at 6.30am!!!

...guilty...

[marty]

didn't that house burn down?

[dss3]

didn't that house burn down?

Sure did, was pretty lucky to make it out actually... Got to the road as the flames blew out my bedroom window. Lost everything I owned except fot the one pair of boxers I was wearing!!

Has been rebuilt now though so back in there again.

[marty]

obviously the TL was high on the 'save at all costs' list...

[dss3]

obviously the TL was high on the 'save at all costs' list...

fortunately it was at the shop being serviced (see it has been well looked after... someone buy my bike!) but all the riding gear was toast. in saying that the stylemaartin boots and cordura gear did pretty well compared to a lot of other stuff that was just molten blobs on the floor

[festus]

possible its a bad one , but it is fast , just no where near as capable as the gsxr 600/750 you could have for the same money , but none of them are anywhere near as much fun as the nsr250 you could have for half that!

Also your other comments

Ya don't know what your talking about mate, if you jump on a TLS from a light 250 2 smoker, of course it's gonna be heavy, your talking about a big V-twin 996cc bike with ball tearing power that's tipping the scales at 191kg dry mate!.
Take it for some more rides, ya might like it!.

[marty]

Also your other comments

Ya don't know what your talking about mate, if you jump on a TLS from a light 250 2 smoker, of course it's gonna be heavy, your talking about a big V-twin 996cc bike with ball tearing power that's tipping the scales at 191kg dry mate!.
Take it for some more rides, ya might like it!.

i reckon he's just scared of it

[slob]

what, apart from the badge and 2 wheels do these bikes have in common?

I'd say they have about 40% parts in common. The front end (except the calipers), the tank, controls, rearsets, wheels etc. The seating is identical too (if you were blindfolded and the engine wasn't running, you couldn't tell the two apart).

[marty]

what? a TL from a GSXR600? the 600 must be an overweight porky thing then...(for a 600)

[festus]

I've gotta add the following:
Clutch slippage - yes a problem if ridden hard, several sotutions available from Barnett clutch and springs, trying different oils (like full synthetic). I got around this with inserting 2 washers in each of the 6 clutch bolts, never had the problem since (done this with 2 TLS I've owned).

Tank slapping - never had this problem, early model TLS suffered from this problem because of lack of steering damper. However this subject got well & truly flogged by bike mag writers when one of them got tossed off (and killed??) when testing an early model TLS. Retro fitted damper sorted that.

Rear rotary shock - yes, agree can limit the bikes handling, but the average rider would never know the difference. I have Ohlins front and rear, transformed the bikes handling immensely. Tyre wear greatly improved also.

Frame cracking - yep happened to me hence the Ohlins rear, same happened to my brothers TLS, luck of the draw. As for the front steering head, heard this can be an issue, due normally to constant hard landings from wheelies, think this could happen to any bike with that kind of treatment. Such an easy bike to wheelie the TLS, can happen when learning.

Stumbles - early TL1000SV model suffered from this, again not a biggie, there are fixes that can improve this, visit TLPanet for solutions.

There are lots of other improvements/enhancements that will make the TLS even better, like the 'Air Box mod' (good mod for more power that costs nothing), tre (questionable) and so on as above.

In a nutshell, as its been said, of all the bikes out there, the TLS is one of the best bikes for your buck!. reliable, awesome motor great looks!....... :Punk:

[slob]

what? a TL from a GSXR600? the 600 must be an overweight porky thing then...(for a 600)

Dude, I was comparing my '96 GSX-R750 with my old '98 TL1000S. Have you actually ridden the TL1000S? It's one of the lightest litre v-twins around. The only time you notice the weight is (a) cornering (b) picking it up from the ground.

Besides, the main contributor to the most v-twin's slowness in steering is the crankshaft mass, not the weight of the bike itself.

[marty]

Have you actually ridden the TL1000S? It's one of the lightest litre v-twins around.

Besides, the main contributor to the most v-twin's slowness in steering is the crankshaft mass, not the weight of the bike itself.

once or twice. and it's not as light as: any litre aprillia, any litre duke, an SV1000, any SP honda, to name a few. and yes i've ridden all of the above.

and, as mass is constant, with your argument it should be the same 'heavyness' at any speed, which it isn't. try taking the damper off, or running thinner oil in it - that'll speed it up.

[loosebruce]

I'd say they have about 40% parts in common. The front end (except the calipers), the tank, controls, rearsets, wheels etc. The seating is identical too (if you were blindfolded and the engine wasn't running, you couldn't tell the two apart).

Bet ya i could tell em apart, the tanks are way different to each other, take a look at an SRAD 750 and a TLS and you'll see straight away, the seating is also different, the GSXR clipons are lower than the TL's, controls are almost the same on all Suzuki's, rearsets although simallar are still different, the TLR and TLS rear sets are the same though! The TL feels taller when sitting on it as well.

[justsomeguy]

Isn't the TL noticeably shorter than the SRAD??? I thought that would make some diff....

[festus]

once or twice. and it's not as light as: any litre aprillia, any litre duke, an SV1000, any SP honda, to name a few. and yes i've ridden all of the above.

Here's some figures re weights that I quickly got off the net, so could be slightly out since you get different spins on specs:

SP1 194kg
RSV Mille (2002) 187kg
Duc 996 (2001) 198kg
VTR firestorm 192kg
TLS 191kg

It appears the TLS is one of the lighter litre V-Twins........

[nsrpaul]

Also your other comments

Ya don't know what your talking about mate, if you jump on a TLS from a light 250 2 smoker, of course it's gonna be heavy, your talking about a big V-twin 996cc bike with ball tearing power that's tipping the scales at 191kg dry mate!.
Take it for some more rides, ya might like it!.

nsr is not the only bike in the shed , its just the best one , it also shares sleeping quarters with a k2gsxr750 which like the nsr is a far better bike than the tl , which is to heavy and eats tyres

[nsrpaul]

i reckon he's just scared of it

I am scared of it , scared it might squash me cause its so heavy

[marty]

hmm hmm and hmmmmm. i'm looking forward to seeing pix of all these bikes you own.

and apparantley the TL is one of the lightest of the v2 1000cc bikes!

bored with this pissing match now. see ya.