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Yamaha TRX850 Review: By Steve
Aussie & Import.
These bikes have a real cult following, with the sound of a Ducati, & a steel trellis frame, there's now prizes for guessing what share of the market Yamaha was chasing.
This whole exercise would be argued as trying to rob the cheep end of the Ducati market. (for those that couldn't afford the real thing.)
Yes, these bikes sound identical to Ducati for good reasons! Yamaha made it that way! While this is a parallel twin, the firing order is the same as a 90degree V-twin, because of it having a 270 degree crank shaft, unlike most parallel twins that have 180 crank, or pistons moving together, but firing on opposite strokes.
This means, (the TRX) number (1) will fire first, then ¾ revolution (2) will fire, followed by number 1 again, 1 ¼ revolutions later.
This has it.s advantages,
1. It is primarily balanced, needing no balance shaft to smooth vibrations.
2. It is very tractable in corners on full tilt, allowing full open throttle earlier than equal capacity 4cylinders.
3. It sounds like a Ducati, which we know is hard to beat that.
This 850 twin is fed by twin carbs & has swept up pipes, water cooled, & a dry sump, which has the oil level view right above the motor behind the cylinder block.
The power is soft, but has plenty useable torque, that really does cut it in the real world with other bigger fours, & if you push it hard no-ones going anywhere without ya, while it handles sweet with most options of adjustment front & rear it can be set up to steer quick & handle your fave twisties.
In Australia, there are two models with equal availability on the used bike market.
While the import has a black motor & colour coded frame & Brembo front calipers, the Aussie bike mostly have a silver motor & frame & a not as efficient floating caliper, while the import has a 180K speedo, it is possibly limited from the factor to 180.
(Yamaha import speedos as found on FZR400s & others, can be easily modified to rev past the speed limiter by opening the speedo, & trimming the disc that runs between a 2 point sensor. It should only be trimmed in the high speed region, as it will pick up on the tamper if not done correct. It's worth noting that full revs can't be achieved in any gear with the speedo is disconnected or
the limiter disconnected.)
These bikes are just so easy to ride!
Whether you just slip the clutch just above idle, or drop it @ 6 for a wheelie, it's too easy.
Wheelies are best achieved with the clutch in first gear @ lower speeds, but get it up near balance if you want to choose the next gear, & while it will clutch up in second, you need to be aggressive, while the ones I've ridden don't wheelie off the throttle without a crest.
Stoppies will only work if the brake lever is set as far out as it goes, & on one, I bent the lever out to stop it squashing my throttle fingers. Steel lines will always improve brake performance, & make sure you have good pads & front tyre too.
Burnouts, are easy too, which I found out by accident, when trying to wheelie from a stand still on cold tyres, it just started spinning, so I pulled in the front brake & let it smoke. If you want to smoke it up on purpose, stand & lean forward, & drop the clutch above 6 & hold the front brake on. There's no stopping this once it's going.
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