SRJ999

Sadly, as you pointed out yourself, it is because the thieves are low-lifes that the concept of getting something honestly doesn't compute. It doesn't matter if you own fifteen grand's worth of tricked up R1 special or a ratty XS250; losing your bike is always going to make you feel sick. I have, fortunately, so far been spared such heartache. Living in the sticks has its advantages sometimes.

On the subject of fuel (rather than additives); I put some 99 octane superplus in the TDM this week, as there was nothing else at the garage at the time. So; should I use it regularly to turn my camel into a thoroughbred, would it make no discernible difference, or would it ultimately demolish the engine?

Sorry to hear your tale but glad the bike didn't get lifted. When I bought the TDM, I asked about best security when it isn't in the garage. The dealer's response? "Park it next to an R1" Not much help to you, I know but it tickled me.

Update: I took the bike to the dealer who sold me the bike in the first place for advice. He took it out and confirmed the wobble but reckoned it was pretty mild. We removed the top box and tried again. Ta-dah! No wobble. Fitted the top box to the pannier rack - no wobble. Rode it with top box two-up - no wobble. So; I'm not changing the tyres just yet. I know what brings the wobble on and can ride through it. I also know that when the bike is fully loaded, the issue goes away. We appear to have a simple issue of weight distribution here. Steve is now a happier bunny.

....and you want us to follow THAT link? Hmmm

Coo; nice one. For ages, I toyed with the idea of stripping down, rebuilding and repainting my old TDM. Time passed and I knew it would never happen, despite the rather cool design I had in mind. Nah. Instead, it's going to my friend soon. He can deal with it.

Don't y'all love these sorts of posts? Forums, by their very nature, are designed to be read. Accordingly, people will only know the content of a post when they read it. Getting 30 replies saying "Not sure" is going to be a great help to you. Not. When you send a letter, email, text, etc., do you always expect a reply? No? Didn't think so. Still; it takes all sorts, I suppose.

Ditto to all the above. Welcome.

You've got to post a pic of this. Seeing loads of road furniture at junctions can create no end of merry mayhem. I'm just trying to picture 23 signs all competing for the same bit of ground. Show us a pic; go on.

Well, that'd be a bugger after such a short distance. Still; I suppose £220-odd is better than falling off the thing. I'll check it out properly at the weekend. Ta.

That is neither big nor clever. B*stard; wish I could do it.....

Not bad. Not bad at all. A decent-looking bike, built cheap as chips. The wise words of the (apparently) Forum flirt?

Good people, I have discovered a rather disturbing trait being exhibited by my new TDM. If I shut the throttle and leave the bike to coast, it develops a corking front end wobble between 35-40mph. It's not uncontrollable and I only discovered it by accident. I was aware of the front feeling a bit light a while back so, the next time I felt the lightness, I took my hands off the bars and WHOA! Off she went. Hands straight back and the bike settled again. It only happens within this speed window and I've only noticed it when the bike is coasting. When I spoke to a bike shop, the mechanic helpfully suggested, "Don't take your hands off the bars." Whilst I acknowledge that riding no-hands is not to be encouraged, it was only by doing that I could excaggerate the condition. The mechanic also suggested that the front tyre could be worn out but the bike is only 3000 miles old. I know sports tyres wear fast but this isn't a back road scratcher/track tool. I have ridden it (relatively) gently from Day 1 and can see no evidence of the tyre being shot; it's still got plenty of tread and there looks to be loads of life left in it yet. I can also not see any evidence of missing wheel balance weights. Finally, there's no evidence of a buckled wheel or warped discs. Any ideas, anyone?

Good luck to anyone taking part in this. Thanks also for the SERV plug; as one such rider, it's good to see more people getting to hear about us. In the time I've been a member, I've only done one run, as I'm a little out of the way for the Sussex hospitals that use the service. However, taking the plasma to the hospital gave me a hell of a buzz. As already posted, check out the site: SERV Bloodrunners

Indeed, although there are a few urban myths in there; the military horse statue, for one. As for the first time you use the letter "A" in numbers? What about "One hundred And one"? I'll get my anorak.

I'm currently with Carole Nash but went to Wicked Quotes on my return to biking. I'd been away for 12 years when I was using a Cub 90. First bike on the return was a TDM900, which cost me £370 with zero bike NCB. Wicked insured me through Eagle Star, as I recall. For the sake of a day of phoning or surfing, it's worth looking around. You're not in the high-risk chav/young loon category, so you should be able to better a £470 quote. Good luck

Tee hee

Blimey - that gave me a whole new perspective on things. Glad I took my "easy" test back in '79..... I gather that traffic police regularly fail, mind; too busy seeing hazards well ahead of everyone else, apparently.

Interesting comments there, guys (I'll get me anorak). I'd have to agree with the "don't buy Antivirus software when free is available" comment, too. I used AVG for a while but have Avast installed now. Additionally, I use ZoneAlarm as my firewall (also free). The only issue I have with Avast and ZA are the length of time it takes to get up and running once I've connected to the Internerd. Avast checks/installs updates every time I connect, which can be a royal pain. Zone Alarm updates monthly, I think. My old man wanted to buy Norton AV/Firewall, as he assumed it would be better than the freebie AVG I installed for him. I told him not to waste his money and that, even if he bought a pristine "new" copy, it would still want to connect and update, just like AVG. Needless to say, he taught me to be a good skinflint through his own prowess, so he still uses AVG..... I've not backed my PC up for a while and will do so at the weekend while t'other 'alf is at work. The one thing I worry about losing is the plethora of emails I have. Whilst this presumably is NOT supposed to be a geek site, I'd like to ask a two-part question: I recently bought a new PC, which I'm not yet using because of my fear of losing stuff. f I was to unistall MS Office, c/w Outlook, would I lose those emails, or can I copy them and move them to another PC? If so, where the hell are they, i.e. what filename/filename extension am I looking for and where is it? I realise this should be in the help section and probably not in a Yamaha Owners' Club forum. Still, someone else started it, sir.

Bugger. Wish I'd not sold mine now. Do one involving the TDM and I'm in.

Welcome Shaneevan. Being of the old geezer/git generation, I opted for a 2005MY R6, before the track tool with indicators was launched. I tried the R6R but found it too focussed for a man of my limited means/bravery. Still, the '05 was a riot. Blimey - cue the leery blokes getting palpitations. We ARE transparent, remember.....

When I had problems with my TDM900, the shop mentioned the TPS recall for that, too. Despite it being on a 51 plate, Yamaha replaced it this year, free under warranty. If there IS a recall issue, Yamaha shouldn't charge you anything. If they were prepared to replace a part on my 6-year old bike, I would have thought the same applied to a 4-year old R6. Perhaps you should have a pop at your dealer.....

I'll add my contraversial two-penneth here. Why do people even want to change the size of their plate? OK, the regulation size may not look overly clever but the plate is there to be recognized both by the Fuzz and others, should you do something wayward. Fitting a small plate won't make the bike any more aerodynamic. I always felt that anyone, whether it be city wide boys in Beemer 5s sporting calligraphy text plates or Vale wannabes putting a postage stamp-sized plate on their R1 are actively seeking a collar by her Majesty's finest (and no, I'm not a copper). By disguising the plate (IMO) you are openly hiding something, if that's not a contradiction. "If I've got a small plate, the cops are less likely to get the number as I fly past." would be a common argument. I know we are all guilty of selecting which laws we are happy to abide by and which ones are inconvenient but if you do get collared, then you have no one else to blame. Before I get accused of just being a killjoy, how many people would take their bike to an MoT station with the small plate and race can fitted? It may be a styling thing but people can't complain if they do get stopped and receive a fine for a small plate, knowing that their plate doesn't conform. We're all quick to jump on the dodgy car plates but still do it ourselves. I will make a concession, mind. Being collared for a small plate might be more palatable if car drivers moving their plate letters and numbers around also got the same treatment. Sadly, I can't see that ever happening. Bike riders are even easier targets than car drivers, I think.

Ditto to the above. Welcome to our non-Honda world. A world not of the winged H but those nice 3 tuning forks instead.

Those Boorman & MacGregor chaps have a lot to answer for..... Actually, the idea of just getting on a bike and going has always had appeal. For the current TDM, I fitted an AutoCom system because the other half decided she DID like going out on it but would enjoy it more if she could converse once in a while. She also planted the idea of a bike trip into Europe, which I'm naturally up for. Only a long weekend to start with, though; I want to make sure she's still happy when we're done, first time around. Er, fœtus perhaps? . Nah - any age under 40 is a child for one such as I. Old git, remember?