had my tiller 5 months, done nearly 4k on it! used it for pretty much every thing, been touring round europe on it, track days, sunday ride outs and.. well you get the jist.can strap a surprising amout of kit on it. done 150mph+ with tent and a weeks kit on the back. i'm 6"2 and best part of 16stone never been uncomfy on her.
only two niggles i have with the bike is the timing retarder, which can be over ridden with a 50quid plug in, is really annoyin crack open the trottle all the way to the pin and stops full power been put down ment to stop wheelies, just pissed me off! and only does 100ish miles before the red fuel light!
I've had my tlr for going on six months and i gotta say i love it. when I first rode the beast it felt very heavy on the front end but once you get used to it man its a great machine. the handling is wicked and the speed, well lets just say its fast. the sound is amazing I have recently upgraded the cans to yoshi race cans apart from that the bike is original, the way they should be. my machine is dressed in yellow which i believe is the best colour to show off the tlr's design.
Recently bought a 2000 TLR, its war paint is black and silver. Has Quill end cans so hearing is believing, if you have one you know what i mean! Amazing looks, sound, torque and if you work it, great cornering. Long live the TLR
l have my TLR now for 4 months l decide to take the leap from a 600 cos l wanted a twin,my mate was running a sv at the time which again is a great bike but this machine rules have got quill cans on which just make you grin nonstop and as people have said you just get looked at all the time which is great (had no trouble with the cops yet!!) l say to anyone get one but you got to watch it cos she will catch you out shit loads of torque!!
Simply love this bike. Good looks, handling, power, throttle response, and value for a V-Twin superbike. With these features and the money you save it is the best V-Twin out there, $500 lower than the RC51, $4000 than the Aprilia, and $7000 than a Ducati 996, with competitive performance and better durability.
Unless you like spending more for less, don't buy this bike.
1998 Suzuki TL1000R Suzuki's new TL1000R supersports V-twin is a bike with a split personality. As two days of riding the first production versions at Australia's Eastern Creek GP circuit near Sydney proved, this is a motorcycle with the beefy build of a four-cylinder sportbike, but the mechanical heart of a lusty V-twin, all wrapped up in the most aerodynamic and stylish suit of clothes yet concocted by a major manufacturer for one of its production models to wear on the street. Yet instead of the Japanese answer to the 916 Ducati that the TL1000R promised to be when it was launched on the Italian marque's home ground at Milan last autumn, it seems instead to be a contradiction in terms - a twin that thinks it's a four. A case of mistaken identity?
Well - yes and no. At 197kg. dry (compared to 185kg. for the TL1000S), the TL1000R is indeed a massive 17 kg. heavier than its GSX-R750 four cylinder sister, and 19 kg. more than the one-litre Yamaha R1 whose arrival has established a new set of benchmarks for performance streetbiking.
What we have here in the TL1000R is a motorcycle specifically developed to be a contender in top-level Superbike racing, but which in street form has been deliberately over-engineered so as to leave no stone unturned in pursuit of on-track perfection. So instead of adapting the lighter alloy spaceframe of the TL1000S, the engineers designing the R-bike opted for a much stiffer, stronger and, at 14kg., heavier GP-style aluminium twin-spar chassis complete with heavily braced swingarm, all capable of harnessing the 170-plus bhp Suzuki will need to extract from the fuel-injected 90-degree V-twin dry-sump motor to be competitive in World Superbike competition.
For the street customer, however, the TL1000R makes a very fine streetbike. Just sitting on it at rest underlines this: instead of an extreme race-derived riding stance the Suzuki offers a more balanced riding position - one that doesn't leave you with aching wrists and sore shoulders after a fast forty minutes of Eastern Creek lappery. It'd be hard to think of a better bike for German autobahns, for example: pretty comfy seat, optimum seat to footrests to handlebar position delivering a good long-distance riding position that isn't tiring.
However there's a price to be paid for all this - one that would be evident as you arrived at the Alps on your cross-country Euro-ride. You'd get a clue to this when straddling the TL1000R at rest: this is a twin that's as wide as a four, without any of the stance and aggressive agility of a 90-degree V-twin as invented in Bologna. Combined with a surprisingly high centre of gravity and a 49/51% weight distribution, the 23-degree head angle and 91mm trail does not itself deliver a bike that is anything like as nimble or easy-steering as a 916. Stable, yes, and it rides bumps superbly well, but on standard settings the TL1000R understeers under part-throttle and is hard work to shift from side to side.
However, the third string to the TL1000R's Superbike bow can take care of much of this, for this motorcyle is as multi-adjustable in street guise as any GP racer. Not only can the ride height be adjusted front and rear, as well of course as the suspension settings at both ends for preload, compression and rebound, you can also use racekit parts to alter the steering head angle via conical inserts, and the trail via fork offset, as well as the swingarm pivot location.
In fact, though, the TL1000R is only a halfway house: in a couple of years, once they perhaps will have achieved their target of winning World Superbike races with their V-twin, Suzuki will produce the real McCoy - a limited edition TL1000RR built along the same lines as the 916 SPS, complete with carbon bodywork and all the trimmings...
Front - 120/70 x ZRl7 Rear - 190/50 x ZR17 Suspension: Front - Inverted, inner cartridge type 43mm inner tube, fully adjustable compression and rebound damping, 15mm range spring preload Rear - fully adjustable rebound and compression damping, 6mm range spring preload Brakes: Front - 320mm dual disc with 6-piston calipers Rear - 220mm disc, dual-piston caliper Dry Weight:197kg
The top end rush of the TLR is amazing. It seems like a docile motorcycle untill youn decide to wrap up the rpm's.
Owned for 1 year.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed September 2003.
Performance
Reliability
Parts Availability
Overall Value for Money
Just brought a 98 TLR the bike is king, god save the king!!
Never owned
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed August 2003.
Performance
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Parts Availability
Overall Value for Money
I recently got a 2002 TL1000R. This bike surpassed my expectations. The sound, the ride everything is beautiful.
Owned for 6 months.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed September 2002.
Performance
Reliability
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Overall Value for Money
THIS BIKE F*****G RULES!!!!!!
Owned for more than 5 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed September 2002.
Performance
Reliability
Parts Availability
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only had my tl for short time, it is a great bike. dont read any bike mag review they hate them. if you are getting a new bike get a tl, you will not be sorry.
Owned for 3 months.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed June 2002.
Performance
Reliability
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love my TL
Owned for 6 months.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed March 2002.
Performance
Reliability
Parts Availability
Overall Value for Money
unbeleivable bike, totally hooked on twins. Best thing i've every riden!
Owned for 1 month.
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