Advice to new owners

[dicky]

I've written many different versions of this over the years, all similar but different, so I thought I'd 'sticky' it to make it easier to find.

The TRX is often described as a parts bin special, which is a bit harsh but has some truth to it.
There's quite a bit of the TRX that is not shared with any other bike, the frame being the most obvious, and it is the frame and engine that give the bike it character.
I'll start at the front and work back.
Front wheel & tyre. Stock front tyres are 120/60, which was a trend at the time the TRX was released. Ditch them and put on 120/70's. They feel better when tipping in to corners, and are more commonly available. There's no downside to this.
Front brakes, not great, feel a bit wooden. The calipers can be simply replaced with anything off an R1/R6 before they switched to radial types. They just bolt straight on, but don't forget to also swap the master cylinder, buy the complete brake system form a wrecker, master cylinder, hoses and calipers. If you insist on keeping the original master cylinder then you'll have even more 'wooden' feel. Blue/Silver/Gold spots, as long as it's Yamaha and not radial it fits and works. Again, no downside to this.
Forks, not great, actually worse than that. Probably the worst spec'd part of the bike. With a lot of you work can fit emulators to get some control back, with a bit of machining you can fit forks from an R1, or if you are really lucky you can find a set of forks from a YZF750 that just bolt straight on. This sounds a bit harsh, probably because we are often used to the suspension on offer with the super sport models. The TRX forks are really no worse than the MT09 when it first came out. ie very little adjustment.
Headlight is not too flash at night (see what I did there?) but as it is the same shape and mounts as a few other Yamaha models of similar vintage you can find replacements that work or look better. Or just not ride in the dark. FRZ400RR has the same shape and mount with a twin globe setup and looks cool, but the globes are almost unobtanium.
Handlebars. The riding position is lean forward and down. Your weight will be on your wrists. Some people (old farts who can't ride fast any more) have fitted adapters with one piece bars to raise the riding position. They are weak and no longer deserve to own a TRX.
Motor. This is the bit with character. It's pretty much the same as the MkII TDM, the 270 degree crank makes the 70 something horses and 60 something foot pounds useable from quite low revs, making twisty roads more fun.
Keep and eye on oil level and consumption. They don't drink oil normally, but prolonged use at high revs will blow some out the breather, much the same as other Yamahas of the 90's. If your bike has FactoryPro or Dynojet carb kit, try finding the original carb needles and put them back in, you'll thank me for it later.
Frame. Looks like a 900SS. Deliberately. It's stiff enough for what the TRX motor can deliver.
Seat. It's a plank with sharp edges. Get used to it. Pillion seat, fuggedaboutit. There was never a genuine Yamaha pillion rear sear cover, only aftermarket parts.
Ignition/ECU. Stock ignition has a flat spot in the power output between 3k to 4.5k rpm. Aftermarket systems (Ignitech Sparker TCIP4) are available that fix this. I think they are well worth the money.
Rear suspension. This is a shock made by Yamaha when they owned Ohlins. It doesn't have an Ohlins sticker but it is fully rebuilable by any good (Ohlins) suspension mechanic. It is also quite a good shock, well up to the task.
Swingarm. Looks a bit weak, but isn't. You can replace it with a braced YZF750 swingarm, but why, apart from looking bling, would you?
Rear brakes. Up to the task, nothing to see here.
Rear wheel & tyre. Stock wheel is 5" and stock tyre is 160/60, which can be ridden all the way to the edge and then some, while still not binning it. If you fit a YZF swingarm you can also fit a 5.5" wheel and run a 180 section tyre, which will fsck up the cornering geometry of the bike, so why would you, other than it looks cool with fat tyres.
Exhaust. The stock mufflers are heavy as hell. Replace them with something lighter.

Stuff that is probably worn out and needing replacement.
All rubber hoses: Fuel line, vacuum hoses, inlet manifold mounts, all will be perished and cracked by now, causing air leaks and making trouble.
Carb parts: The 'needle jet' ie emulsion tube wears and can be repalced with kit parts from Keyster, but I do not recommend changing the actual needle as all aftermarket parts that I have seen are a different taper and will screw up the carb tuning. The actual needles don't wear out.
The air-cut valve cover on the RHS carb will crack and leak due to exposure to sunlight (maybe not so much in the UK), aftermarket parts are available.
Fuel tap: This is a piece of sh!t that has broken many engines. Seriously, cracked heads, bent cranks, proper broken. The tap is vacuum operated, there is a rubber membrane that should close the flow when there's no vacuum from the inlet manifold. This leaks, and if some other factors all line up you can end up with hydraulic lock when you hit the starter button. The tap mount is standard Yamaha spacing and can be replaced with almost any standard 'on/prime/off' tap. Don't forget to block the vacuum port on the inlet manifold.

[Blimp]

Interesting post with some things to ponder. I'm a bit puzzled by the remarks about hydraulic lock caused by the faulty fuel tap. I've noticed that the tap on my bike releases fuel no matter which position the tap is in. However, given that the tap and pump are lower than the carbs, and petrol can only reach the carbs if the pump is operating, how does petrol continue to flow through carbs and into engine once ignition is off?

[dicky]

The outlet of the tank is lower than the inlet to the carbs, but if the tank is full then there's more than enough headroom to push fuel through the leaking tap and the diaphragm pump.
If things line up the wrong way and you have a slightly leaky float valve as well as an open inlet valve, you can end up with a cylinder full of fuel.
It has happened to me, thankfully it simply locked and didn't break anything, but it has done much more damage to others.
While some say that the float valve and diaphragm pump must be to blame, it is the leaking fuel tap that is the root cause of the problem. Neither of the others cause any issue in normal conditions.

[Blimp]

Thanks, dicky.
It would be nice not to have petrol dribbling all over my hand when I remove the tank, or have to store it upside down and on end yo avoid a puddle when working on the bike. Just have to remember to turn the replacement gravity feed tap off when not in use, of course...

[HolerTogni]

Hi Blimp!

I have a quick disconnecter installed as described in this post quite some time ago.
The picture in this post is gone but I think you get the idea.

Some members of the German forum installed a solenoid valve as also mentioned in this post - however, this was in an old forum which is lost in the bits and bytes universe.

Searching/reading through the forum is always a good idea - plenty of knowledge here.

Pointing greets from Munich!