TM’s in the USA

mxmaniac
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7/2/2018 3:35am Edited Date/Time 7/6/2018 9:03pm
Just wondered if there is many TM’s getting raced in The US?
Is there any reason they can’t compete at the national level mx and sx?
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Gandorlf
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7/2/2018 3:38am
mxmaniac wrote:
Just wondered if there is many TM’s getting raced in The US?
Is there any reason they can’t compete at the national level mx and sx?
I believe they don't pass homolgation (spelling?) because they don't sell enough units but I could be completely wrong.
Jrewing
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7/2/2018 5:38am
The importer and Mxa have definitely improved their reputation. Have a lot more presence now and duly so.
7/2/2018 5:46am Edited Date/Time 7/2/2018 5:47am
Upcoming amateur rider Ty Masterpool (Jake Masterpool's youunger brother) raced a TM in the Supermini class at Lorettas last year.. He's on a Yamaha YZ85 now though.

TM is recognized as a high end brand by those who know of the bike, but they have very very little market share here. I have no clue if they're homologated for pro racing or not

-MAVERICK-
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7/2/2018 7:44am
They're not on the list of approved motorcycle. Sucks because it would be nice to see more of them out there.
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The Shop

brocsdad
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7/2/2018 12:22pm
They are not homologated for Pro Racing.

My son rode a 18 TM and came back grinning ear to ear saying it was faster than his national mod KTM and YZ 125's. He also said it handled great and cornered with no effort.

My friends son test rode the same bike and bought one the following week. The bike came with his correct spring rate and they are riding the bike with stock suspension. The kid is very particular and always had the suspension setup but no need to with the TM. It's basically an OEM works bike and reliability has been great so far.

Our plan is get one next year.
brocsdad
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7/2/2018 12:23pm
Upcoming amateur rider Ty Masterpool (Jake Masterpool's youunger brother) raced a TM in the Supermini class at Lorettas last year.. He's on a Yamaha YZ85 now...
Upcoming amateur rider Ty Masterpool (Jake Masterpool's youunger brother) raced a TM in the Supermini class at Lorettas last year.. He's on a Yamaha YZ85 now though.

TM is recognized as a high end brand by those who know of the bike, but they have very very little market share here. I have no clue if they're homologated for pro racing or not

TM 100 and the only mod was a ported cylinder.
Ron_Shuler
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7/2/2018 7:21pm
I know a few guys that have them and race REM and they are very happy with the TM's and I've heard they are getting lots of hours on the motors with no problems. Guys have also told me Ralph the importer has a great supply of parts and treats all the TM guys awesome
racerx317
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7/2/2018 11:12pm
We run TMs and my son has never been more comfortable on any other brand. Corners like a Honda, Stable like a Kawi, motor stronger than a mod Bike right out of the box and the suspension is so good that we haven’t even sent it out yet. We had it on a gnarly rough track this weekend and only made 1 click adjustment to the shock rebound. Is it more expensive on the initial purchase? Yes. Is it more expensive after considering all the mods needed to get any of the other brands up to its level? Nope! I actually saved money buying this bike because it literally needs nothing other than rider preference parts like preferred bar bend & grips.
They are homologated & legal to race in amateur AMA racing but not legal in Pro Racing due to more strict homologation rules... YET!
oh, parts are super easy to get and the support from the dealer network is outstanding.
racerx317
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7/2/2018 11:15pm
Upcoming amateur rider Ty Masterpool (Jake Masterpool's youunger brother) raced a TM in the Supermini class at Lorettas last year.. He's on a Yamaha YZ85 now...
Upcoming amateur rider Ty Masterpool (Jake Masterpool's youunger brother) raced a TM in the Supermini class at Lorettas last year.. He's on a Yamaha YZ85 now though.

TM is recognized as a high end brand by those who know of the bike, but they have very very little market share here. I have no clue if they're homologated for pro racing or not

After the LL win on the Super... he was offered a factory Support Yamaha ride to race 125s and 250fs. He’s been off 85s for a while now.
mxmaniac
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7/3/2018 1:58am
Would be good to see reed and Moodie ride TM’s!
1
7/5/2018 6:14pm
Upcoming amateur rider Ty Masterpool (Jake Masterpool's youunger brother) raced a TM in the Supermini class at Lorettas last year.. He's on a Yamaha YZ85 now...
Upcoming amateur rider Ty Masterpool (Jake Masterpool's youunger brother) raced a TM in the Supermini class at Lorettas last year.. He's on a Yamaha YZ85 now though.

TM is recognized as a high end brand by those who know of the bike, but they have very very little market share here. I have no clue if they're homologated for pro racing or not

He won both supermini 1 and 2 aboard that tm

he is now on the factory star yamaha team - on a yz125
7/5/2018 6:17pm
mxmaniac wrote:
Just wondered if there is many TM’s getting raced in The US?
Is there any reason they can’t compete at the national level mx and sx?
Gandorlf wrote:
I believe they don't pass homolgation (spelling?) because they don't sell enough units but I could be completely wrong.
correct

The rule makers - in an attempt to "root out factory one off bike" when transitioning to the "production rule" structured it so a minimum of I think 400 models must be sold to become legal

Then you pay a fee so the bike can be officially legal - and you can go race.

The reality of this rule - is it completely roots out small manufacturers from starting up - a huge WIN for the big OEMS

It would be neat if constructors could build small run production bike - even be it just chassis that they put other engines into - or vice versa

There is NOTHING production about the factory bikes in real world terms...
4
7/5/2018 7:10pm
Theyre too cool straight from the factory
Johnny Ringo
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7/5/2018 9:31pm
Saw one at shoug last weekend. Looked sick
Johnny Ringo
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7/5/2018 9:32pm
mxmaniac wrote:
Just wondered if there is many TM’s getting raced in The US?
Is there any reason they can’t compete at the national level mx and sx?
Gandorlf wrote:
I believe they don't pass homolgation (spelling?) because they don't sell enough units but I could be completely wrong.
correct The rule makers - in an attempt to "root out factory one off bike" when transitioning to the "production rule" structured it so a minimum...
correct

The rule makers - in an attempt to "root out factory one off bike" when transitioning to the "production rule" structured it so a minimum of I think 400 models must be sold to become legal

Then you pay a fee so the bike can be officially legal - and you can go race.

The reality of this rule - is it completely roots out small manufacturers from starting up - a huge WIN for the big OEMS

It would be neat if constructors could build small run production bike - even be it just chassis that they put other engines into - or vice versa

There is NOTHING production about the factory bikes in real world terms...
Is it actually a win for the big 6 though? Think of the cool one-off shit they could make without the rule.
mxjon454
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7/5/2018 9:54pm
How awesome would it be if TM stepped it up and had a factory level 250 team in supercross and motocross? If they actually tried to have a top level 250 team, i bet they would land a couple top 10 riders just starting out. Their 250 bikes are pretty damn good. If they want to sell more bikes in the U.S. they need to start a team and race supercross and outdoor IMO.
ML512
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7/5/2018 10:10pm
mxjon454 wrote:
How awesome would it be if TM stepped it up and had a factory level 250 team in supercross and motocross? If they actually tried to...
How awesome would it be if TM stepped it up and had a factory level 250 team in supercross and motocross? If they actually tried to have a top level 250 team, i bet they would land a couple top 10 riders just starting out. Their 250 bikes are pretty damn good. If they want to sell more bikes in the U.S. they need to start a team and race supercross and outdoor IMO.
They'd have to bring in the necessary 500 units of their 250F first to even pass homologation.
HusqFan3
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7/5/2018 10:33pm
racerx317 wrote:
We run TMs and my son has never been more comfortable on any other brand. Corners like a Honda, Stable like a Kawi, motor stronger than...
We run TMs and my son has never been more comfortable on any other brand. Corners like a Honda, Stable like a Kawi, motor stronger than a mod Bike right out of the box and the suspension is so good that we haven’t even sent it out yet. We had it on a gnarly rough track this weekend and only made 1 click adjustment to the shock rebound. Is it more expensive on the initial purchase? Yes. Is it more expensive after considering all the mods needed to get any of the other brands up to its level? Nope! I actually saved money buying this bike because it literally needs nothing other than rider preference parts like preferred bar bend & grips.
They are homologated & legal to race in amateur AMA racing but not legal in Pro Racing due to more strict homologation rules... YET!
oh, parts are super easy to get and the support from the dealer network is outstanding.
No doubt they’re cool bikes(i even considered one before ultimately opting for my FC250) but let’s not get carried away and act as if they’re far superior to everything else out there. They run in the MXGP series and while respectable, they’re not exactly winning championships. And the reason they’re more expensive isn’t because they’re better, it’s because they’re smaller and lack the economies of scale the other manufacturers enjoy. Again i seriously considered buying one so consider myself a fan. At the end of the day though the consensus of all my research at the time was they’re good bikes just not as good as some of their competitors especially when factoring in cost/value. If memory serves me correctly they’re also quite a bit heavier than other bikes in the class so the power/weight ratio gave me pause.
mauidex
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7/6/2018 1:30am
and they're worth about tree fiddy when you try to sell them about a year later!!UnsureUnsure
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cheers_22
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7/6/2018 6:53am
mxjon454 wrote:
How awesome would it be if TM stepped it up and had a factory level 250 team in supercross and motocross? If they actually tried to...
How awesome would it be if TM stepped it up and had a factory level 250 team in supercross and motocross? If they actually tried to have a top level 250 team, i bet they would land a couple top 10 riders just starting out. Their 250 bikes are pretty damn good. If they want to sell more bikes in the U.S. they need to start a team and race supercross and outdoor IMO.
ML512 wrote:
They'd have to bring in the necessary 500 units of their 250F first to even pass homologation.
They’re so far from that number you’ll never see it without a rule change.
ATKpilot99
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7/6/2018 7:02am
mxjon454 wrote:
How awesome would it be if TM stepped it up and had a factory level 250 team in supercross and motocross? If they actually tried to...
How awesome would it be if TM stepped it up and had a factory level 250 team in supercross and motocross? If they actually tried to have a top level 250 team, i bet they would land a couple top 10 riders just starting out. Their 250 bikes are pretty damn good. If they want to sell more bikes in the U.S. they need to start a team and race supercross and outdoor IMO.
ML512 wrote:
They'd have to bring in the necessary 500 units of their 250F first to even pass homologation.
I thought the number was 200 for a smaller manufacturer like TM.
MPJC
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7/6/2018 7:24am
mxjon454 wrote:
How awesome would it be if TM stepped it up and had a factory level 250 team in supercross and motocross? If they actually tried to...
How awesome would it be if TM stepped it up and had a factory level 250 team in supercross and motocross? If they actually tried to have a top level 250 team, i bet they would land a couple top 10 riders just starting out. Their 250 bikes are pretty damn good. If they want to sell more bikes in the U.S. they need to start a team and race supercross and outdoor IMO.
ML512 wrote:
They'd have to bring in the necessary 500 units of their 250F first to even pass homologation.
I'm pretty sure they have no interest in making that many 250F bikes. They're small and want to stay that way. Also, I think they're best known for their 2 strokes. When they make less than 2000 bikes a year (according to the TM rep at the demo day I was at) I'd suspect that given all of the bikes in their lineup they don't make anywhere close to 500 250Fs.
ML512
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7/6/2018 7:26am
mxjon454 wrote:
How awesome would it be if TM stepped it up and had a factory level 250 team in supercross and motocross? If they actually tried to...
How awesome would it be if TM stepped it up and had a factory level 250 team in supercross and motocross? If they actually tried to have a top level 250 team, i bet they would land a couple top 10 riders just starting out. Their 250 bikes are pretty damn good. If they want to sell more bikes in the U.S. they need to start a team and race supercross and outdoor IMO.
ML512 wrote:
They'd have to bring in the necessary 500 units of their 250F first to even pass homologation.
ATKpilot99 wrote:
I thought the number was 200 for a smaller manufacturer like TM.
I'm not sure on the supplemental of that rule but that's still a decent amount more than they import each year.
cheers_22
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7/6/2018 7:35am
ML512 wrote:
They'd have to bring in the necessary 500 units of their 250F first to even pass homologation.
ATKpilot99 wrote:
I thought the number was 200 for a smaller manufacturer like TM.
ML512 wrote:
I'm not sure on the supplemental of that rule but that's still a decent amount more than they import each year.
It’s WAY more. I’d be surprised if there are more than a handful of 250fs in states right now.
APLMAN99
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7/6/2018 7:51am
correct The rule makers - in an attempt to "root out factory one off bike" when transitioning to the "production rule" structured it so a minimum...
correct

The rule makers - in an attempt to "root out factory one off bike" when transitioning to the "production rule" structured it so a minimum of I think 400 models must be sold to become legal

Then you pay a fee so the bike can be officially legal - and you can go race.

The reality of this rule - is it completely roots out small manufacturers from starting up - a huge WIN for the big OEMS

It would be neat if constructors could build small run production bike - even be it just chassis that they put other engines into - or vice versa

There is NOTHING production about the factory bikes in real world terms...
They don’t have to sell a single bike......

They do have to make a minimum number available for sale, though.
7/6/2018 9:33am
APLMAN99 wrote:
They don’t have to sell a single bike......

They do have to make a minimum number available for sale, though.
An interesting Distinguishment

I guess they can produce 400 that are available here in the USA of one model - then sell their usual 10 - and sit on the rest for parts sales and be legal to go racing...



APLMAN99
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7/6/2018 9:39am
APLMAN99 wrote:
They don’t have to sell a single bike......

They do have to make a minimum number available for sale, though.
An interesting Distinguishment I guess they can produce 400 that are available here in the USA of one model - then sell their usual 10 -...
An interesting Distinguishment

I guess they can produce 400 that are available here in the USA of one model - then sell their usual 10 - and sit on the rest for parts sales and be legal to go racing...



Or, they can just make sure that they have the minimum number available for sale by the prescribed date and sell them over time, like most manufacturers do. If you had to sell the minimum before you could homologate a bike there are probably a few that wouldn’t qualify by Anaheim.....
7/6/2018 9:44am
APLMAN99 wrote:
They don’t have to sell a single bike......

They do have to make a minimum number available for sale, though.
An interesting Distinguishment I guess they can produce 400 that are available here in the USA of one model - then sell their usual 10 -...
An interesting Distinguishment

I guess they can produce 400 that are available here in the USA of one model - then sell their usual 10 - and sit on the rest for parts sales and be legal to go racing...



APLMAN99 wrote:
Or, they can just make sure that they have the minimum number available for sale by the prescribed date and sell them over time, like most...
Or, they can just make sure that they have the minimum number available for sale by the prescribed date and sell them over time, like most manufacturers do. If you had to sell the minimum before you could homologate a bike there are probably a few that wouldn’t qualify by Anaheim.....
You are aware TM only sells about 300 bikes TOTAL in the USA between 40 different models?
They sold less than 10 250f's last year on the 18.5/19 model.

Getting any ONE model up in sales enough to meet 400 would be wishful thinking for them - not to mention my entire point is the 400 model minimum has completely SHUT OUT any new bike developer from starting up - and building a brand up.

It takes a massive investment to produce 400 motorcycles - especially if they don't sell

1
mauidex
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7/6/2018 9:50am
the problem...........a definite chicken or egg dilemma......would they sell that many of one model in a single model year before in a sense it is "obsolete"?? doubtful............that is 25% of their self described worldwide production of the whole model line, I don't think it is "build it and they will come"

if they were really serious about US market maybe they could petition AMA to change the rule.........the spirit of the rule I feel was to make sure if someone wanted a particular bike/model it could be bought so maybe for someone like TM it could be 100 units and that would probably even be a stretch to actually sell this before the next model year

would any of the other OEMs be pissed to allow this?? be a good point but what would they fear other than a little unfair so maybe just change the rule period??? be nice to at least see some of the smaller guys compete and would maybe open up a few more rides
Johnny Depp
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7/6/2018 9:51am Edited Date/Time 7/6/2018 9:52am
"Today, TM manufactures around 1,300 motorcycles per year, with around 200 of those making it to the American market. "

http://blog.pro-x.com/tm-racing-the-premium-motorcycle-brand-you-should…

https://motocrossactionmag.com/ask-the-mxperts-why-no-tms-in-the-nation…

In 2014 at the MX des Nations, TM finished all 3 Moto's in the top 10, the 4 strokes can compete!
Davide Guarneri 10th, Tanel Leok (TM) 2 - 7th's
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/2014/09/article/motocross-of-nations-resu…

Max Nagl is onboard TM in the GP's this year.

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