1992 Yamaha TDM 850
Miles: 5,531
Clean Title
Listing Price: $6,400
Listing Ends: August 25th, 2024
This 1992 Yamaha TDM 850 isn’t really a sportbike in the traditional sense. It’s much more road-focused and versatile, a bit like Ducati’s original Multistrada, except a good bit older and slightly less weird-looking. It was powered by Yamaha’s dry-sump, 849cc parallel twin that featured the company’s signature five-valve per cylinder setup and a 360° crank, although an update in 1996 saw the introduction of a 270° crank that gave the engine a more v-twin-like character than a traditional 360° or 180° crank. That engine was suspended from a steel frame and backed by a five-speed gearbox. Much like many of today’s modern adventure-touring bikes, it had quasi-trailie looks, but wasn’t really intended for any serious off-road use. The suspension was of decent quality, handling was very good, and the upright ergos made for a comfortable riding position, although the saddle itself wasn’t the most plush. It was a very effective machine, although it generally didn’t sell well when new, as the buying public didn’t seem to know what to do with it at the time.
You may never find one of these in this condition again, super low miles on this 1-owner 1992 Yamaha TDM850
We just went through the bike completely, has new fuel pump, complete carburetor rebuild, new fuel petcock, complete brake bleed, fresh oil and filter, fully serviced, tires still have the hairs on them! Ready to ride or collect. Or both! This was one of the first 500 TDMs off the production line, these bikes were only brought to the USA for two years, 1992 and 1993, they were sold in Europe for many more years, parts are still plentiful, and these bikes have a cult following and ride amazingly well even by today’s standards!
The Yamaha TDM 850 was imported to the US for just two years, and I’ve only ever seen a couple come up for sale. I’d prefer one with the updated 270° engine, but this is still a very cool, very rare motorcycle with excellent real-world performance. The $6,400 being asked for this example seems like strong money for such a weird, largely forgotten motorcycle, but would provide real do-it-all classic motorcycling with good reliability. It definitely is collectible, although I can’t imagine it ever going for big money, but that’s hardly the point of this quirky machine, and the TDM 850 certainly has a strong cult following.
-tad
TDM is a great little bike. It’s comfortable, handles very well especially for its vintage and has a polarizing design. TDM came to US right after Honda pulled their Transalp off the US market after 2 years for the lacklustre sales. The Transalp and especially the TDM were ahead of their time on our shores. They were touring ADV bikes and had the handling closer to Sportbike while lacking rugged off-road capabilities of an enduro. At the time of their US sales TDM could run circles around the 100GS airhead. But the Beemer looked much more rugged, had significantly less plastic on it and could handle something more challenging other than an occasional fire road.
TDM’s design language appealed to me as I’ve seen these up for sale outside of US primarily in Europe. They are rare indeed on our shores. When one came up locally for sale I just had to go for a test ride. The riding characteristics were great for an older bike. It held the road great, had good power delivery and good ergos. It wasn’t in as good a condition as the one offered here but after a bit of haggling $1400 was good enough to ride it home with title and a valid Cali registration in hand. Seller’s motivation was that after months of listing his bike for sale I was the only person who showed up for a test ride and the cash in hand sealed the deal.
Had fun with the TDM in the local canyons but didn’t really dare to stray too far off the pavement. The bike went to my coworker at the time who fell in love with it after taking it on a ride.
The bike listed here is a great example but the seller is reaching for the moon ant that asking price. Yeah, it’s very rare and the asking is in line with a Honda Transalp in similar or worse condition but the original Honda Transalp has evolved into a cult classic whereas TDM is a novelty that would appeal to an eccentric biker… Perhaps there’s a TDM diehard enthusiast who wants the nicest one and te price is not an object. Frankly, if it was black color version I could side with the seller. Just my 2 cents