TM Racing is gaining recognition and popularity in the motorcycle world. US sales for 2007 alone have reached the collective numbers of several years prior. After a quick Race Test, we can understand why.
The competitor has traveled half-way around the world for this day. Hailing from Pesaro, a small industrial town on Italy's Adriatic coastline, the voyage was long and tedious, crammed into uncomfortable accommodations and nary a snack for the entire duration. All of the testing has been completed, his body, mind and soul as fit as possible, weapons and skills honed - there is nothing left to do.
Ok, so only half of that stuff is true. The TM Racing MX 450 F is indeed a highly refined product from the shores of Italy, and the 31-year-old manufacturer, like any OEM, has spent countless hours testing and improving the machine. The farce is that the 450 F was somehow destined for our rendezvous in Olympia, Washington, where we met up with a benevolent TM dealer for a quick ride at Round 8 of the WORCS series.
Watson Performance Suspension, the Hood River, OR-based shop that worked magic on our
Honda Project Bike earlier this year, has recently expanded from a modest hop-up shop to a dealership. Owner Tom Watson has an affinity for the finer things in life when it comes to motorcycles - hence the fanatic suspension tweaking - which steered him towards the Italian firm.
"The reason that we chose this (TM) was because of the high-quality components," says Watson of his decision to carry TM over other brands. "Basically you're buying a race-ready, works-style bike."
TM Racing is known for the exceptional level of refinement and high-quality construction of its products. Just glancing around the MX 450 reveals enough to get your saliva glands into high gear. We drooled all Friday night as we waited for our turn on the bike early Saturday morning. The components alone will get any respectable gearhead worked into a sweat and closer inspection reveals the finer details and beautiful welds that are only appreciated by a moto connoisseur.
Though most of the Olympia WORCS course was wooded terrain, the short amount of time on the motocross track was enough to make us want a lot more time with the MX 450 F.
At the heart of this Adriatic warrior is a DOHC, 4-valve mill that offers 449cc of displacement. Obviously we couldn't take our dyno with us to Washington, but we will say that the TM puts out plenty of horsepower and torque, and in much the same way as other 450 motocrossers on the market. But, before we get any farther into this race test, there are a few other things that need to be said as well.
First off, we only got to spin a few laps aboard the 450 F due to the WORCS racing format. Secondly, the vast majority of that time, 90% in fact, was spent on the dream-worthy off-road sections. The MX 450 F is just that, a MX bike, and our test doesn't fully represent the intended use of the machine. However, we did get to cover the motocross portion a few times, and kept that in mind during the off-road portion. As you can imagine, the suspension was a bit stiff and the motor hard-hitting for serious enduro work, but we did manage to scrape together a few impressions nonetheless. Also, there was another person who needed to ride the machine whom Tom was obliged to accommodate - him being a potential customer and all rather than some greedy, self-satisfying journalists. As a result we only had one race in which to participate and couldn't exactly stop every lap to have Watson-poo tinker with our suspension. We did the best we could under the circumstances, set the sag, adjusted the levers and twisted the throttle.
You notice right away that this bike makes some serious power. Just because TM is known for building screaming-fast 2-stroke kart engines doesn't mean it hasn't figured out the 4-stroke movement. Delivery is actually pretty smooth in motocross terms, but it was definitely a bear at times in the slippery off-road sections. We had a tad much air in the tires as well which didn't help, but the MX 450 has the ponies to break the rear end loose regardless. It also manages to be tractable at the same time, which gave us the option of running down a gear and revving the bike or upshifting and letting the considerable power on tap chug us around.
As you can see, the down-draft 41mm Keihin carb is much less obtrusive than a conventional FCR unit. We had excellent results with the stock jetting and the motor is an excellent do-all mill.
We were definitely looking forward to the motocross track every lap, as that's where the bike shined. Fuel is fed from the 2.1-gallon tank via a down-draft, 41mm Keihin FCR carburetor which exhibited consistent flow throughout the rpm range. What is essentially a modified road race carb eliminates the bend in the fuel path and uses a hand-ported intake tract to further aid velocity. Warming the bike in the pits, we noticed a bog off the bottom, but when we asked Watson about it he acknowledged the hiccup and asked that we just give it a try on the track. Sure enough, it never coughed a single time during our hour-plus race, even when we tried to reproduce the effect.
Starting the dry-sump engine couldn't have been easier. Even without using the right handlebar-mounted hot-start, the TM lit immediately at all times. The trick is to kick it nice and slow. We've become accustomed to the pseudo-2-stroke starting techniques of Japanese thumpers, but the TM likes a long, deliberate stroke. Once you stop putting all your muscle into it is when the 95mm x 63.4mm bore/stroke motor comes to life. TM's emphasis on trickness and performance extends into the inner motor where things like copper beryllium valve seats and titanium valves help push the envelope. A full Arrow exhaust system handles the burnt fumes and gives a serious boost to the bike's racing pedigree and aesthetics.
A 5-speed transmission is controlled via steel-braided lines of the AJP hydraulic clutch. Lever pull is awesome and the fluid-filled unit never let us down, but we did get it to howl a bit in the last half of our ride. Moving through the gearbox was mindless and there were only one or two missed shifts as we familiarized ourselves with the cog system.
There's a lot of expensive hardwear in this photo. Stuff you won't find on a stock bike from the Big Five.
The motor and tranny are nestled in a beautiful, black powder-coated chromoly oval-section chassis. We didn't get enough time to really tell how rigid or soft the frame is, but we were able to discern that it feels exceptionally thin and light. Excellent rider ergos and tight bodywork accentuate the handling characteristics which are probably the bike's best attribute. It moves effortlessly wherever the rider wants to go. Our favorite part of the race were several rutted turns where the TM would drop happily into the groove and knife its way through to the other side. The bike comes stock with some high-dollar chassis components including blue Excel rims, machined rear brake lever, machined billet wheel hubs and triple clamps topped by an oversized Reikon aluminum handlebar.
Suspension components on the TM are ballin' as well, but riders can choose how they roll with options of Ohlins, Marzocchi and Sachs. When purchasing a TM, buyers can tailor the suspension by going with the big-daddy 50mm Marzocchi USD unit or opt for a 48mm Ohlins fork (for an additional $400). The shock can be either a matching Ohlins piece or the Sachs component. Our test machine was graced with the Ohlins rear and Marzocchi fork which actually provided a very balanced feel on the ground and in the air. Obviously, both ends had too much compression damping for the off-road section where the front end was particularly nervous, but every time we came out of the woods and back onto the motocross track it was like walking into Mom's aroma-filled kitchen - sweet and made us hungry for more.
With excellent handling, a user-friendly, powerful motor and well-spaced rider layout, the TM is a bike we immediately got comfortable with and wanted to push harder. Considering that we were so unfamiliar with the machine, it's a good thing that the MX 450 is equipped with a 270mm semi-floating front brake rotor and twin-pot Brembo caliper. Out back is a 245mm disc and single-piston Nissin pincher.
TM Racing offers bikes that have much smaller mufflers if you're into the 2-stroke thing. The lineup also includes supermoto and enduro machines as well.
TM's factory rider contesting the MX1 class of the FIM World Motocross Championship, Manuel Priem of Belgium, currently resides in 14th in the standings despite crashing out of his last four motos. A third-place result in the Netherlands' opener proves that at least the factory machines are capable of running world-class pace. Even though we hardly figured out where the shift lever was before having to return the MX 450 F, there's no doubt in our mind that this bike is competitive on any motocross starting gate.
A retail price of $8895 is enough to spook most buyers, and the $9295 figure for the Ohlins fork option is downright scary. But think about it for a minute and it actually starts to make perfect damn sense. Even with the less expensive Marzocchi unit, the full MSRP is nearly a grand less than what it would cost to buy a Japanese 450 MXer ($6999) and install the same 50mm kit ($2750). Tack on the equivalent of a full-system aftermarket exhaust in the neighborhood of $800 and instantly your Big Four MXer is over 10 large. Don't forget about the other extras like the oversized brake rotor and handlebar, hydraulic clutch and billet hubs, plus you've got to wait for shipping and install all that stuff yourself. There really is a lot of value in a TM Racing machine, but you've just got to get over that initial shock.
A big thanks goes out to Tom Watson and
Watson Performance Suspension for inviting us to sample the TM. He's actually been in our ear about how great these Italian machines are for some time, but we always figured he liked them so much just because the brand is shorthand for his name. Our little test ride in Olympia was enough to showcase some of what the MX 450 F has to offer, and we're starting to see that there's more to these baby-blue machines - much more.
We didn't have or witness any problems with the bike during our weekend in Olympia. Considering the build quality and use of high-dollar components, we expect a lot out of the MX 450 F, and it delivers.
TM RACING
Bore and Stroke: 95 X 63.4mm
Displacement: 449cc
Timing system: DOCH 4 valves
Lubrication: Dry sump with double rotor pump
Carburetor: Keihin FCR 41mm
Fuel: Unleaded fuel
Ignition: Kokusan CDI Electronic with variable advance
Clutch: Multiple-disk in oil-bath with hydraulic control
Gear: 5 gears
Cooler System: Coolant liquid with pump
Starting: kick start (optional Electric start)
Frame: Cr-Mo steel Perimeter oval section
Front fork: Marzocchi USD 50mm (optional Ohlins 48mm)
Rear shock: Sachs Boge (optional Ohlins)
Front tire: 90/90X21
Front tire: 110/90X19
Front brake: Disk 270 mm. with Nissin pump and Brembo caliper
Rear brake: Disk 245 mm. with Nissin pump and caliper
Fuel Tank: Plastic 2.1 gallons
TM Racing is known for its potent 2-strokes, and they have a full lineup of premixing motocrossers (85/100 Junior, 144, 300) to accompany the 4-stroke roster (250, 450, 530). It also has a whole list of supermoto bikes and street-legal enduros. Be sure to check out the
TM Racing website for more detailed info on all models.
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