I owned a TLS for ten years and loved it. The understeer was solved by putting a 180 section tire on the rear along with the Penske shock. My advancing old age made give it up along with the rest of my small collection but it was a lovely m/c..cheers to all

Have owned one for 14 years, a fantastic bike, especially after lots of mods. I fitted a Maxton damper, Hyperpro rear spring, GSXR K6 forks with radial calipers, Hyperpro steering damper and finally GSXR L2 wheels. That sorted the handling and I then fitted a 1080cc TLR engine giving around 138bhp. It is now superb!!

Owned two, sold one and regretted it instantly so got another. This bike has something all the latest whizz bang sports bikes don’t. It has a character, a soul that is unique. 120 bop isn’t massive these days but if you road ride you will know bhp is for racing, torque is what makes road riding fun and the TL has pots full of it. I’ve had all sort of bikes, aprilia tuono, KTM super duke, Bmw s1000r, triumph speed triple…etc rode them, liked them, sold them…. but my TL isn’t going anywhere without me…ever. Sure, it’s not the best handling, it’s got a drink problem but is different and I love it, and the bad reputation? All part of the fun.

Had a 2003 TLR for 20k miles. Loved it. It was a beast. Front wheel comes up in turns or auto rear spin if you got too hot on the gas. The handling really opened up when you were a big guy(200+) and moved to either side of the seat. It's a track bike and needs to be treated as such.

I absolutely love that V-twin! It's so cool that my 2020 Vstrom 1050 sounds exactly like the OG widowmaker from 1997. It may be old tech, but it still shines as a great engine with plenty of power.

Thanks for taking us along for the ride, Dan. I have had the "toned-down" sister bike, an early VStrom, and with a few tweaks has nearly the bhp, an even better torque curve, and really stable handling. Improved sound thanks to Leo Vince! It, too, has a load of character and will probably be in my garage forever - it's an addictive ride. Would love to throw a leg over one of these someday soon!

One of the best sounding bikes ever made!!!!

Enjoyable review. I bought a ‘97 when they first hit the showrooms. It was my first V-twin and I’ve stuck with that engine configuration ever since, just love the instant torque. I took mine to the track and had no issues with the rotary damper. Though one time on the street while accelerating hard on a bumpy road the bike suddenly developed a violent head shake. I hung on (barely) and it settled down but it’s not a moment I’ll forget. This was before the recall to mount the steering damper. I remember swapping with a friends 916. The TLS made more power while the 916 was more stable and a little heavier turning. I often think about getting another one but reason usually wins out.

I owned one and survived lol. Mine was an 97 in red loved it and tbh wish I still had it.. Like you mention Dan once you get your head around its "feel" it becomes a very capable bike. I remember mine having an appetite for chains, sprockets and rear tyres. Great review Dan keep it up 👍🏻

I bought a green one new in 97. It was a beast. Very explosive powerband. On a dyno chart (IIRC) somewhere around 6-7000 RPM the power jumped about 20 HP in under a 500 rpm span. In addition to the fact is was already very torquey. I quickly learned to keep my 200 LBS low and forward anytime i got on it hard. The first day i had it, i noticed a peculiar phenomenon, When rolling into the throttle approaching tripe digit speeds, the seat seemed to start getting lower and lower. Coming from a 50 HP EX500, this was a steep learning curve. It was exhilarating to ride quickly and miserable to ride in traffic. After an hour, i was certain my ass was higher than my head. I did love this machine. The power, the sounds, it was awesome. Funny to hear someone worried that it doesn't have electronic controls. I guess that means i'm old now.

This bike was a dream when it came out I remember a Greek magazine made a comparison between all the V 90 1000 cc ducati 916,firestorm honda, suzuki TLS just the motor and suzuki came first. That's how I ended with a vstrom 1000 2002 model still having it, never opened the motor and GPR exhausts still goes up to 230klm and you can ride it all day with 170 klm no problem. I've gone over 1000klm in a day. Great motor bulletproof.

I bought an original '97 brand new and absolutely loved it. There were some issues, the steering damper was a retrofit on mine, the rotary damper was ridiculous and unburnt fuel got into the oil but this was fixed and wow, what a motor!

Takes me back... Was 19 when I owned a tl1000s. Take the steering damper off, down gear it and fit a quick throttle and race pipes..... Bike comes alive!

Saw it in the M/C show Birmingham 98, bought one within a week. In green. LOVED it, took it around Donnington, rear would over heat, big slides out of corners (I am not that good), ruined a rear in one day.

I had one, the rear rotary shock was an absolute mechanical disaster, it broke the first two frames (which Suzuki replaced under warrantee) and they said they wouldn't replace it a third time. Being a rotary affair the rear shock didn't like to change direction quickly - very good for steering dampers but dog shyte for rear suspension dampers, so I replaced it with an Ohlins conversion kit and the bike was absolutely transformed into the beast it always should have been. I can't imagine what the Suzuki engineers were smoking when they dreamed up a rotary rear shock - shocking!

I’m the original owner of a 2001 and your review is quite accurate. An adjustable steering damper and a set of cans are a big improvement. My fuel range is quite good actually. 60 mpg uk. The only issue I’ve had with mine in 20 years has been a few leaks, counter shaft seal and the notorious fuel pump seal. My valves are still in spec after 60K kms. Obviously I have other bikes.

the wife and I had one each, I loved mine from day one , the wife only weighed 50 kg , so the bike immediately set about trying to spit her down the road. We spent much time the next 3 to 4 weeks fine tuning the suspension and it paid off then Suzuki decided to give a steering damper. that tamed the shakes and made it nice to ride. I do remember it fondly..

Bikes in general have moved on so much, makes you wonder how talented the old motogp equivalent riders must have been 😬 great review... Stay safe everyone

Bikes have come a long way from those engineered when I first started to ride in the 70s.

Off the showroom floor, the TL had obvious flaws...which were fairly easily remedied. I bought a used one with a blown gearbox in '09. I put an "R" engine in it (which had the TW sensor behind the thermostat--not in the RADIATOR--where it belongs!), opened the airbox (proper race mod) and used the SRAD ducts to cool the rear shock (it would completely lose damping after less than 50 miles before this mod), radically changed the spring preload on the suspension (much more in the front...much less in the rear; and was able to adjust damping properly with these settings), put the "R" brakes on the front and fine tuned the TP sensor to the old-school Two Brothers C/F cans...and voila: it's been my go-to road trip MotoWhip to this day!

This bike was front page news in MCN when I was a teenager notorious for "tank slappers" who would have thought then 125 bhp is nothing by today's standards.

Really enjoyed the video thanks ... I'm a massive TLS fan and fortunate owner of a 97S that I adore. Yes, these motorcycles do have their odd 'not so good' points, but more than make up for that with many excellent points such as their beautiful engine and styling ... So much a 'riders' motorcycle and classic super V-twin sports bike ... 👍

Nice review! I've always wondered how these were. Thanks!

Great post on this new, old school beast.

I raced middleweight supersport back in the late 90's. Rode street bikes from 600 to the zx11 and this was the only bike that almost killed me. Deceptively fast and the handling was not forgiving whatsoever. My buddy, who owned the bike, sold it after 7 months of ownership. He upgraded suspension and tires and even serviced it at lindenman engineering to try and make it more racer friendly but to no avail.😳

I’ve had three TLs and all have been excellent 👍

Seeing this bike when I got out of high school is what made my buy my first GSXR.

I owned a TLS for about 20.000kms of pure fun It been 6 years now, still regretting it

I didn't just own one I raced it. Ohllins steering damper and Pensky shock kit from LE fixed the handling issues (mostly). The bike was brilliant at 9/10th pace. But at the limit the frame would wind up mid corner under acceleration then snap free causing the rear tire to break traction unpredictability. The much stiffer frames on the TL1000r and RC-51 addressed this issue but for awhile there open twins racing was a wild affair!

Had a couple of these early versions and they were amazing wheelie machines. First bike I ever changed gear on mid-wheelie. I had Two Brothers cans on my second one and it sounded amazing. If I remember rightly they retuned the ecu and softened things a bit from about 1999? The fuelling was pretty awful at slow speeds and you become adept at hovering over the clutch on roundabouts in the wet as they had a habit of cutting out without warning. Bombing across Europe with a couple of mates I would get about 85 miles to a full tank with luggage on, but by then you needed a chiropractor to get you off the thing anyway.

I had a TLR 1000 model in Suzuki blue and white colours with a pair of oval scorpion cans,man what a sound and what a bike 👍.

Had 1 of these back in the day brand new from d&k in Stoke, Harris cans & lower fairing, loved it, especially the v twin engine, handled fine as far as was concerned, went from a gsxr 1100 L which handled like a Tank in comparison 🏍️

A good old school family friend owned one back in the late 90's. He ended up off the bike and sliding into oncoming traffic and went under the wheels of a van, he survived but ripped half his arse off, the only reason he did live was because he was a Scuba diver and ex army boxer and was fit as a fiddle for the ventilator. These bikes had this rep for a reason. He was sitting at 60mph in a straight line on a duel carriageway!

Lovely bikes.. I have just added a mint 1999 TL-R to my garage. Very pleased with it.

Nice review Dan. Been a long time since I have seen one of those. Old bikes are quite heavy and more girthy arnt they. That reminds of when I took my dads 1999 CB500 for a little ride over the weekend. Its nothing like the newer CB500's. It is really heavy and the seat is so wide, I can just get the balls of my feet on the floor. Gotta love older bikes though. Great video Dan.

Had two of these and the Last one had some money spent on it from Suzuki UK back in the day Man it was a beast So So Powerful what a bike

I rode a SV 1000 for a few weeks. I'm sure it's the same engine. It was a great bike. Loved it. Very fast. The only real downside was the heat from the engine which, in town, was pretty awful.

I've always loved these bikes.

Interesting someone took the time to build one up in '14 and turn it over like that - chill review. I've owned my '01 Honda VTR1000f Superhawk (Firestorm) for going on 16-years. Very much remember looking at people copying (Honda, Suzuki) Ducati's 996 superbike and wanted to be in on a cheap L'twin.

Used to ride a yellow TLR in Singapore. That was a blast. I love the camel hump rear seat cover, you can fit a lot of stuff in there. One of the best sounding VTwins with some pipes on it.

had a '98 model. Hyperpro damper (factory steering damper is full of treacle or something), forks down the yokes a bit, 180 rear tyre, ohlins replacement shock, loud cans. Really characterful bike.

Brings back memories. I had a TL1000S in 1997/98 and lived to tell the tale. Mine was a red one with the optional lower fairings and a pair of custom made Scorpion cans. I loved that bike. Went like a a rocket.

Was lucky to get to ride my mates TL a couple of years back. Great experience, his was super loud! Actually I didn't envy you taking that one out on wet roads. Exciting head turning bike that I was happy to hand back not crashed. (What is that THING crawling around the fairing at the start of the vid😯)

I was with a guy who hit a Sherpa van head on with one in 2002 ... He died instantly, I'm not sure how much the bikes handling had to do with it but it was shaking its head alot that day.... R.i.p Chris....

I had a very first 97 pearl black one. Did 43000 miles around Europe and many track days over 3 years. The first Elec Fuelling was real bad. It regularly totally cut out exiting junctions catching you out just as you changed from first too second gear, v twin comp locking the rear wheel throwing you over the top. It caught me out in the end. Carnells and Suzuki at the time we’re great and repaired it for free. Thing is I remember I was angry they also replaced that first elec chip. It was real awesome for great wheelies of the throttle. Lol My many tank slappers were very aggressive, high speed. I found the cause to be the drive chain binding on the swing arm preventing it from flowing its full stroke. So I ran a looser chain than you might normally do on other bikes. An Ohlins rear damper fitted improved handling and feel for rear grip, weight the front by push the bars forward 5mm, you have to take fixing bolt out underneath to move them. I threw that nasty steering damper away when I first bought it. It only covers up the bad handling and makes it turn like an elephant. With these mods it didn’t suddenly slap so didn’t need one anyway, I controled any shimer feel growing on country lanes, with the throttle. Oh yeh. I had an M4 2-1 pipe with larger diameter headers. The Sounds Man. :))

Bought one dirt cheap for my first street bike, absolutely horrible pick of course. Awesome sound from the short yoshimura carbon slip ons would always surprise people. Ended up buying my current DL1000 because I loved that engine so much.

Makes me want to go to the corner shop for this months performance bikes!

When I passed my bike test, I went to a bike night with my mate Lee who was on one of these. I had a bandit 600 and that thing just took off. Its rapid as fuck when it works lol

Nice review! I had the same bike an upgraded a little bit the handling,by replacing the rear shock absorber

I had the Yamaha TRX 850. 270 degree crank meant it produced power like a V twin. YZF750 front end and R6 shock conversion. Unfortunately by dodgy back meant that I had to let it go. Miss that bike!

Talking to a suspension specialist I was told the problem isn’t the rotary rear shock, it’s the forks. Makes a lot of sense because the rear shock doesn’t affect the steering as badly as the forks.

Loved my 98 TL full power model with the 2 Bros, Tre, steering damper and K&N. Bit of a slapper at times, probably due to flexible frame and poor suspension but it was always fun!

Love to see some old bike content from you

1997 was the year of release and they were the full power bikes. In 1998 the bike was revised, suzuki added the steering damper and changed the mapping. The temp sensor was moved from the radiator as it never got hot enough to take it off the cold map, which meant it was over fuelled. The clutch was upgraded to 6 springs from 5. They also got the chain tension wrong, it was initially too tight and could stop the rear suspension compressing. That and the rotary rear dampers small amount of oil getting over heated by the rear down pipe contributed to the crashes and bad rep. I've owned a 1997 since 2009, with the right mods they are awesome bikes I love mine and don't plan on selling it. If you're looking for one there's loads of info available on the forums. It's getting harder to find nice ones now.

Miss my TLS. Not gonna lie the torque on that girl put me on edge..

Owned 4 of the big Suzuki twins…3 TLS and 1 TLR… currently own a lovely red TLS Great bike

Always wanted to ride one of these! Crying out for some noisy cans though!

Still have a 98 tl1000r in the garage. Great video!

The original widowmaker, was the Kawasaki H2 750 twostroke triple (aka) 1972. I have a 1974 H2b. It shakes its head, wanders going into corners, very questionable stopping power with poor brakes, and of course the two stroke powerband which wants to throw you off the seat.

Had one from new. Loved it, but had two tank slappers and survived to live the tale. The retro-fit steering damper was agricultural, but did the trick. I eventually fitted an expensive Ohlins steering damper and it was much more reassuring. Hell on your wrists though. Build quality was pretty rubbish and looked tatty quicker than I would have expected. Traded it in for a SP2 in the end, but still a cracking bike.

I had a bud who had a red version of this. Quite fun for sure. His bike motivated me to get the ‘99 SV650 (the younger brother of this one). That bike was my favorite for a long time.

Suzuki's VTwins were a runaway success and so are used to this day.

Had 97 one same colour, stuck a steer damper and titanium exhaust system and had the suspension professionally set up….loved it. Only problem was the clutch …went through 3 and at that point traded it in for a SRAD 750. On reflection a mod on the slipper clutch may have solved it.. still a great bike….engine particularly

Cool Video, I have a 97' that just got some mods and upgrades that just got new paint. I'm running -1/+3 Gears and it easily stands up in the first 3 gears without the clutch. Saying it's got a twitchy throttle is an understatement haha ;p

I owned a TLS and rode the hell out of it for the better part of 10 years. Were it not for advancing years and a major move, I'd still have it. In all of that time, I never regretted having it - even when I twisted the throttle on a wet day on cold tires and it threw me into the weeds! That was my fault for not respecting the bike's torque and ignoring the conditions. We got along fine after that.

Very cool vid & review. I really wanted one of these back in the day & it was a bit of a beast but not sure it's rep wasn't entirely deserved. Although I'm sure a few former honours will pipe up & give their views which wil be interesting.

I owned a bright yellow one. Cornering at speed was a nightmare until the recall to fit a steering damper. Just look at an SV 650 to see the how close they look

Nice bike...I had a VTR which I loved.

still got my 97 tl 1000s from 2004 will never part ,good to see people still talking crap a bout them you only need one hand to keep the throttle on or off in the corner s the rest its still ripping

We just bought a TL-R to do up and sell.. Lovely bike.

A 2002 TLR 1000 was my first sport bike. I eventually sold it and got a 2004 GSXR 750 and then a 2006 GSXR 1000. Having a v twin as my first sport bike was great because I got used to the torque of a larger 4 cylinder and helped me work out my riding style on a bike with a great deal more torque than a 600cc.

You forgot the Aprilia RSV 1000 in your summary of 90’s v-twins - the best of the lot IMHO - I owned one in Rossi colours and adored it!

I had a red TLS and a yellow TLR 1000 my favorite wheelstand bike awesome for its time!!!

The TL and FireHawk, or SuperHawk in the US where my first favorite bikes. Always wanted one. Ended up with a 96 Triumph Sprint 900 for a first bike. Love it. Has its issues. Bad in the rain. Upgraded to the 08 Sprint, love it even more. That’s the bike to have.

That bike is AWESOME 2014 wow I want it

Set up right. That was a super fun track day weapon.

mmm I had one, blew 2nd gear doing wheelies. swapped in a tlr engine, continued wheelies, rounded out rear sprocket lol. great bike

I always read, it was when you hit a sharp bump in the road under hard acceleration in the lower gears that it would shake its head violently. Tank slapper.

1 British magazine did a full story on the model, I think last year and owners said there are a couple of mods you have to do that fixes all these widow maker problems up. And there no problems after that.

I had a 1997 TF1000S. I loved it. Great engine. No problems. I rode the Honda version. The honda handled better but the Suzuki had the better engine.

I enjoyed your review and ride around. I like A roads and B roads. I found the TL too much of a stretch and prefer the Firestorm but fuel consumption isn't great on either. Weirder though, I have a Yamaha BT1100 Bulldog 😊. Best wishes from jolly old Norfolkshire 👍😎Pete 🤓

🤣 liked this before I watched it...deliberately. Nice one Dan

Nice one Dan. I have a 97 TLS and love it but i will say it is the most uncomfortable bike i have ridden! Full of character tho

I owned a new 98 model from miles Kingsport in hull…. Loved it although the rear subframe collapsed on mine mid corner!!!!! dealer were decent ish about it and Suzuki flew out a full new frame which took the dealership a very long time to rebuild… sold in when my daughter was born in 2001 … also 1st bike I went through the gearbox with on one wheel 👍😁

Test rode a Firestorm and one of these new back in the day, but opted for the VTR due to the reputation. I do remember the TLS putting a bigger grin on my face and would love one now. Still have never ridden a bike with any electronic aids, am I missing anything? Presently have a ZXR750, RSVR1000 and a 81 1100 Katana, unfortunately I'm no longer flexible enough to ride these more than a few minutes now, need to find something more comfortable.

A lot of nice bikes from that era are really good buys as they had great performance and no electronics for me is no bad thing as there are no sensors to go wrong but hey I'm a dinosaur who has yet to move on : D

It was a hooligan machine. I had fun on it. Took the steering damper off and promptly put it back on after a mean tankslapper. A bit short tank range, but it was 'a goer' alright.

I used to work with a guy who rode a TL1000S with aftermarket cans. It was the best-sounding V twin I've ever heard. Not quite as good as my VFR, but then what is?

Sounds (and looks) pretty much like an SV to me and they're wicked bikes.

I remember watching a TLR with aftermarket pipes trundling toward me and as it passed a parked car the resonance from the exhaust note set of a car alarm. I thought l have got to get one and trade in the zx9r , road tested one and pushed it fairly hard, and scared the crap out of myself, an evil handling beast. Just couldn't trade that off against the exhaust note.

I own a 02 tl1000r and love it

I thought, this being '97, it'd be on carbs but apparently it's EFI (if you mentioned that I missed it) - I'm guessing this helps to explain snatchyness @ 3:55

Correct, the VFR (and RC-51 / VTR-1000) had cam driven timing. The cams made an absolutely delightful mechanical sound! The engine whined as if it had a supercharger fitted to the motor.

I did a bit of a survey on the TL1000 with a view to finding out why it had such a dodgy handling rep. What I found was that the distance between the swinging arm pivot centre and the drive sprocket centre was about 1.5 times the average on the TL compared to similar sports bikes. The upshot of this is that it dramatically increases the "fishing rod" effect, that is the tendency of the rear suspension to compress as the top run of the chain tightens up under acceleration. On a rippled surface the rear suspension will quickly hammer itself flat, being unable to extend back out due to the tension in the top run of the chain. The bigger the distance between the drive sprocket centre and the swinging arm centre the worse the problem becomes. I suspect the TLs ' rear suspension spent

Still have one. Never felt it dangerous 😁👌

Hi Dan, ive bought an original 97, in green and gold. Excellent condition. It has twin scorpion cans ans is in such good condition it appeared on a calendar.

Glad you got this right I owned the TL1000R for many years and everyone argued it was the widow maker! The TLR was a handful Nice to see real info

In my day, 1970 to 1980, the "Widow Maker" was a Kawasaki 750 triple 2 stroke. So fast in a straight line, wobbly as hell on fast curves. But it was the quickest thing around.

1:40 - "we two trip meters, odometer, and thats it...oh wait we also have a wasp"

I had a red one that put me in a couple of tank slappers Had it till 2007 When you put a set of pipes and open up the air box tune it They were a very fast bike on the top end with no governor