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

SM

So, 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!

[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. ..take a test ride,you will know within 5 minutes if you want one.

[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. ..take a test ride,you will know within 5 minutes if you want one.

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