engine YAMAHA TDM 900 2004 Owners Manual
Page 6 of 92
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
SAFETY INFORMATION  ............. 1-1
DESCRIPTION ............................. 2-1
Left view ..................................... 2-1
Right view................................... 2-2
Controls and instruments ........... 2-3
INSTRUMENT AND CONTROL
FUNCTIONS ................................ 3-1
Immobilizer system  ................... 3-1
Main switch/steering lock  .......... 3-2
Indicator and warning lights  ...... 3-3
Speedometer unit  ...................... 3-5
Tachometer unit  ........................ 3-6
Coolant temperature gauge  ...... 3-7
Anti-theft alarm (optional)  .......... 3-8
Handlebar switches  ................... 3-8
Clutch lever  ............................... 3-9
Shift pedal  ............................... 3-10
Brake lever  .............................. 3-10
Brake pedal  ............................. 3-11
Fuel tank cap ........................... 3-11
Fuel ......................................... 3-12
Fuel tank breather hose  .......... 3-13
Catalytic converter  .................. 3-13
Seat ......................................... 3-13
Storage compartment .............. 3-14
Adjusting the front fork  ............ 3-15Adjusting the shock absorber 
assembly ............................... 3-16
Luggage strap holders  ............ 3-18
Sidestand ................................ 3-18
Ignition circuit cut-off system  ... 3-19
PRE-OPERATION CHECKS  ....... 4-1
Pre-operation check list  ............ 4-2
OPERATION AND IMPORTANT 
RIDING POINTS ........................... 5-1
Starting the engine  .................... 5-1
Shifting ...................................... 5-2
Tips for reducing fuel 
consumption ............................ 5-3
Engine break-in  ......................... 5-3
Parking ...................................... 5-4
PERIODIC MAINTENANCE AND 
MINOR REPAIR ............................ 6-1
Owner’s tool kit  ......................... 6-1
Periodic maintenance and 
lubrication chart ....................... 6-2
Removing and installing 
cowlings and panels ................ 6-5
Checking the spark plugs  .......... 6-6
Engine oil and oil filter 
element ................................... 6-7Coolant .................................... 6-10
Replacing the air filter 
element ................................. 6-14
Adjusting the engine idling 
speed .................................... 6-15
Adjusting the throttle cable free 
play ....................................... 6-16
Adjusting the valve 
clearance .............................. 6-16
Tires ........................................ 6-16
Cast wheels  ............................ 6-19
Adjusting the clutch lever free 
play ....................................... 6-20
Adjusting the brake pedal 
position .................................. 6-21
Adjusting the rear brake light 
switch .................................... 6-21
Checking the front and rear 
brake pads  ............................ 6-22
Checking the brake fluid 
level ....................................... 6-22
Changing the brake fluid  ......... 6-23
Drive chain slack  ..................... 6-24
Lubricating the drive chain  ...... 6-25
Checking and lubricating the 
cables .................................... 6-26
Checking and lubricating the 
throttle grip and cable  ........... 6-26 
Page 9 of 92
 
SAFETY INFORMATION 
1-2 
1 
dercornering (insufficient lean an-
gle for the speed). 
 
Always obey the speed limit and
never travel faster than warrant-
ed by road and traffic conditions. 
 
Always signal before turning or
changing lanes. Make sure that
other motorists can see you. 
 
The posture of the operator and
passenger is important for proper
control. 
 
The operator should keep both
hands on the handlebar and
both feet on the operator foot-
rests during operation to main-
tain control of the motorcycle. 
 
The passenger should always
hold onto the operator, the seat
strap or grab bar, if equipped,
with both hands and keep both
feet on the passenger footrests. 
 
Never carry a passenger unless
he or she can firmly place both
feet on the passenger footrests. 
 
Never ride under the influence of
alcohol or other drugs. 
 
This motorcycle is designed for
on-road use only. It is not suitable
for off-road use. 
Protective apparel 
The majority of fatalities from motorcy-
cle accidents are the result of head in-
juries. The use of a safety helmet is the
single most critical factor in the preven-
tion or reduction of head injuries. 
 
Always wear an approved helmet. 
 
Wear a face shield or goggles.
Wind in your unprotected eyes
could contribute to an impairment
of vision that could delay seeing a
hazard. 
 
The use of a jacket, heavy boots,
trousers, gloves, etc., is effective in
preventing or reducing abrasions
or lacerations. 
 
Never wear loose-fitting clothes,
otherwise they could catch on the
control levers, footrests, or wheels
and cause injury or an accident. 
 
Never touch the engine or exhaust
system during or after operation.
They become very hot and cancause burns. Always wear protec-
tive clothing that covers your legs,
ankles, and feet. 
 
A passenger should also observe
the above precautions.  
Modifications  
Modifications made to this motorcycle
not approved by Yamaha, or the re-
moval of original equipment, may ren-
der the motorcycle unsafe for use and
may cause severe personal injury.
Modifications may also make your mo-
torcycle illegal to use.  
Loading and accessories  
Adding accessories or cargo to your
motorcycle can adversely affect stabili-
ty and handling if the weight distribution
of the motorcycle is changed. To avoid
the possibility of an accident, use ex-
treme caution when adding cargo or
accessories to your motorcycle. Use
extra care when riding a motorcycle
that has added cargo or accessories.
Here are some general guidelines to
follow if loading cargo or adding acces-
sories to your motorcycle: 
Page 11 of 92
 
SAFETY INFORMATION 
1-4 
1 
 
Use caution when adding electri-
cal accessories. If electrical acces-
sories exceed the capacity of the
motorcycle’s electrical system an
electric failure could result, which
could cause a dangerous loss of
lights or engine power. 
Gasoline and exhaust gas 
 
GASOLINE IS HIGHLY FLAMMA-
BLE: 
 
Always turn the engine off when
refueling. 
 
Take care not to spill any gaso-
line on the engine or exhaust
system when refueling. 
 
Never refuel while smoking or in
the vicinity of an open flame. 
 
Never start the engine or let it run
for any length of time in a closed
area. The exhaust fumes are poi-
sonous and may cause loss of
consciousness and death within a
short time. Always operate your
motorcycle in an area that has ad-
equate ventilation. 
 
Always turn the engine off beforeleaving the motorcycle unattended
and remove the key from the main
switch. When parking the motorcy-
cle, note the following: 
 
The engine and exhaust system
may be hot, therefore, park the
motorcycle in a place where pe-
destrians or children are not like-
ly to touch these hot areas. 
 
Do not park the motorcycle on a
slope or soft ground, otherwise it
may fall over. 
 
Do not park the motorcycle near
a flammable source, (e.g., a ker-
osene heater, or near an open
flame), otherwise it could catch
fire. 
 
When transporting the motorcycle
in another vehicle, make sure that
it is kept upright. If the motorcycle
should lean over, gasoline may
leak out of the fuel tank. 
 
If you should swallow any gaso-
line, inhale a lot of gasoline vapor,
or allow gasoline to get into your
eyes, see your doctor immediate-ly. If any gasoline spills on your
skin or clothing, immediately wash
the affected area with soap and
water and change your clothes. 
Page 12 of 92
 
2-1 
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
 
DESCRIPTION  
EAU10410 
Left view
12
345678
9 9 10 11 12 13 1412
345678
9 9 10 11 12 13 14
 
1. Front fork spring preload adjusting bolt (page 3-15)
2. Front fork damping adjusting screw (page 3-15)
3. Air filter element (page 6-14)
4. Shock absorber assembly compression damping force adjusting
    knob (page 3-16)
5. Battery (page 6-29)
6. Fuses (page 6-30)
7. Storage compartment (page 3-14)8. Grab bar
9. Luggage strap holder (page 3-18)
10. Seat lock (page 3-13)
11. Shock absorber assembly rebound damping force adjusting knob
      (page 3-16)
12. Shock absorber assembly spring preload adjusting ring (page 3-16)
13. Shift pedal (page 3-10)
14. Engine oil drain bolt A (page 6-7) 
Page 13 of 92
 
DESCRIPTION 
2-2 
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
 
EAU10420 
Right view
1234
5
6 7 8 9 10
 
1. Owner’s tool kit (page 6-1)
2. Coolant reservoir (page 6-10)
3. Throttle stop screw (page 6-15)
4. Front brake fluid reservoir (page 6-22)
5. Radiator cap (page 6-10)
6. Engine oil filler cap (page 6-7)
7. Engine oil filter element (page 6-7)
8. Engine oil drain bolt B (page 6-7)9. Brake pedal (page 3-11)
10. Rear brake fluid reservoir (page 6-22) 
Page 16 of 92
 
INSTRUMENT AND CONTROL FUNCTIONS 
3-2 
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9keys away from the main switch
as they may cause signal inter-
 
ference. 
EAU10471 
Main switch/steering lock  
The main switch/steering lock controls
the ignition and lighting systems, and is
used to lock the steering.
NOTE:
 
Be sure to use the standard key (black
bow) for regular use of the vehicle. To
minimize the risk of losing the code
re-registering key (red bow), keep it in a
safe place and only use it for code 
re-registering. 
EAU10570 
ON 
All electrical circuits are supplied with
power; the meter lighting, taillight and
auxiliary light come on, and the engine
can be started. The key cannot be re-moved.
NOTE:
 
The headlight comes on automatically
when the engine is started and stays on 
until the key is turned to “OFF”. 
EAU10660 
OFF  
All electrical systems are off. The key
can be removed. 
EAU10690 
LOCK  
The steering is locked, and all electrical
systems are off. The key can be re-
moved.
To lock the steering
Turn the handlebars all the way to the
OFF ON
LOCK
P
 
1. Push.
2. Turn. 
Page 17 of 92
 
INSTRUMENT AND CONTROL FUNCTIONS 
3-3 
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9  
left or right.
1. Push the key in from the “OFF” po-
sition, and then turn it to “LOCK”
while still pushing it.
2. Remove the key.
To unlock the steering
Push the key into the main switch, and
then turn it to “OFF” while still pushing
it.
WARNING
 
EWA10060 
Never turn the key to “OFF” or
“LOCK” while the vehicle is moving,
otherwise the electrical systems will
be switched off, which may result inloss of control or an accident. Make
sure that the vehicle is stopped be-
fore turning the key to “OFF” or 
“LOCK”. 
EAU10910 
 (Parking) 
The steering is locked, the taillights and
auxiliary lights are on, and the hazard
light can be turned on, but all other
electrical systems are off. The key can
be removed.
The steering must be locked before the
key can be turned to “ ”.
CAUTION:
 
 ECA11020 
Do not use the parking position for
an extended length of time, other- 
wise the battery may discharge. 
EAU11001 
Indicator and warning lights  
EAU11030 
Turn signal indicator lights “” and
“”   
The corresponding indicator light flash-
es when the turn signal switch is
pushed to the left or right. 
1. Push.
2. Turn. 
1. Fuel level warning light “ ”
2. Left turn signal indicator light “ ”
3. High beam indicator light “ ”
4. Neutral indicator light “ ”
5. Engine trouble warning light “ ”
6. Right turn signal indicator light “ ”
7. Oil level warning light “ ”
8. Immobilizer system indicator light “ ”
12345678 
Page 18 of 92
 
INSTRUMENT AND CONTROL FUNCTIONS 
3-4 
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2
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9
 
EAU11060 
Neutral indicator light “”  
This indicator light comes on when the
transmission is in the neutral position. 
EAU11080 
High beam indicator light “”  
This indicator light comes on when the
high beam of the headlight is switched
on. 
EAU11120 
Oil level warning light “”  
This warning light comes on when the
engine oil level is low.
The electrical circuit of the warning light
can be checked by turning the key to
“ON”.
If the warning light does not come on
for a few seconds, then go off, have a
Yamaha dealer check the electrical cir-
cuit.
NOTE:
 
Even if the oil level is sufficient, the
warning light may flicker when riding on
a slope or during sudden acceleration
or deceleration, but this is not a mal- 
function. 
EAU11370 
Fuel level warning symbol “”   
This fuel level warning symbol starts
flashing when the fuel level drops be-
low approximately 3.5 L (0.92 US gal)
(0.77 Imp.gal) . 
EAU11500 
Engine trouble warning light “”   
This warning light comes on or flashes
when an electrical circuit monitoring the
engine is defective. When this occurs,
have a Yamaha dealer check the
self-diagnosis system.
The electrical circuit of the warning light
can be checked by turning the key to
“ON”. If the warning light does not come
on for a few seconds, then go off, have
a Yamaha dealer check the electrical
circuit. 
EAU32990 
Immobilizer system indicator light
“”  
The electrical circuit of the indicator
light can be checked by turning the key
to “ON”.
If the indicator light does not come on
for a few seconds, then go off, have aYamaha dealer check the electrical cir-
cuit.
When the key is turned to “OFF” and 30
seconds have passed, the indicator
light will start flashing indicating the im-
mobilizer system is enabled. After 24
hours have passed, the indicator light
will stop flashing, however the immobi-
lizer system is still enabled.
NOTE:
 
This model is also equipped with a
self-diagnosis device for the immobiliz-
er system. If the immobilizer system is
defective, the indicator light will start
flashing a pattern and the odometer/
tripmeter will display a 2-digit code
when the key is turned to “ON”. When
this occurs, have a Yamaha dealer
check the self-diagnosis system. How-
ever, if the indicator light slowly flashes
five times, and then quickly flashes two
times repeatedly, error code 52 will be
displayed. This error could be caused
by signal interference. If this occurs, try 
the following.
1. Use the code re-registering key to 
Page 19 of 92
 
INSTRUMENT AND CONTROL FUNCTIONS 
3-5 
2
34
5
6
7
8
9  
start the engine.
NOTE:
 
Make sure there are no other immobi-
lizer keys close to the main switch, and
do not keep more than one immobilizer
key on the same key ring! Immobilizer
system keys may cause signal interfer-
ence, which may prevent the engine 
from starting.
2. If the engine starts, turn it off, and
try starting the engine with the
standard keys.
3. If one or both of the standard keys
do not start the engine, take the
vehicle, the code re-registering
key and both standard keys to a
Yamaha dealer and have the stan-
dard keys re-registered. 
EAU11820 
Speedometer unit  
The speedometer unit is equipped with
the following: 
 
a digital speedometer (which
shows riding speed) 
 
an odometer (which shows the to-
tal distance traveled) 
 
two tripmeters (which show the
distance traveled since they were
last set to zero) 
 
a fuel reserve tripmeter (which
shows the distance traveled on thefuel reserve) 
 
a fuel gauge 
 
a self-diagnosis device
NOTE:
 
Be sure to turn the key to “ON” before
using the “SELECT” and “RESET” but- 
tons.  
Odometer and tripmeter modes  
Pushing the “SELECT” button switches
the display between the odometer
mode “ODO” and the tripmeter modes
“TRIP 1” and “TRIP 2” in the following
order:
ODO   
→  
 TRIP 1   
→  
 TRIP 2   
→  
 ODO
If the fuel level warning symbol flashes
(see page 3-3), the odometer display
will automatically change to the fuel re-
serve tripmeter mode “TRIP F” and
start counting the distance traveled
from that point. In that case, pushing
the “SELECT” button switches the dis-
play between the various tripmeter and
odometer modes in the following order:
TRIP F   
→  
 TRIP 1   
→  
 TRIP 2   
→  
 ODO   
→  
TRIP F
To reset a tripmeter, select it by push-
 
1. Speedometer
2. Odometer/tripmeter
3. “SELECT” button
4. “RESET” button
5. Fuel gauge
1
2
3
4
5 
Page 20 of 92
 
INSTRUMENT AND CONTROL FUNCTIONS 
3-6 
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9 
ing the “SELECT” button, and then
push the “RESET” button. If you do not
reset the fuel reserve tripmeter manual-
ly, it will reset itself automatically and
the display will return to “TRIP 1” after
refueling and traveling 5 km (3 mi).
NOTE:
 
After resetting the fuel reserve tripme-
ter, the display will return to “TRIP 1”,
unless a different mode had been pre-
viously selected; in that case, the dis-
play automatically returns to the prior 
mode. 
Fuel gauge 
The fuel gauge indicates the amount of
fuel in the fuel tank. The display seg-
ments of the fuel gauge disappear to-
wards “E” (Empty) as the fuel level
decreases. When only one segment is
left near “E”, refuel as soon as possible. 
Self-diagnosis device 
This model is equipped with a self-diag-
nosis device for various electrical cir-
cuits.
If any of those circuits are defective, the
odometer/tripmeter will indicate atwo-digit error code (e.g., 11, 12, 13).
If the odometer/tripmeter indicates
such an error code, note the code num-
ber, and then have a Yamaha dealer
check the vehicle.
CAUTION:
 
 ECA11520 
If the odometer/tripmeter indicates
an error code, the vehicle should be
checked as soon as possible in or- 
der to avoid engine damage. 
EAU11910 
Tachometer unit  
The electric tachometer allows the rider
to monitor the engine speed and keep it
within the ideal power range.
When the key is turned to “ON”, the
tachometer needle will move to 9500
r/min and back to zero r/min in order
to test the electrical circuit.
CAUTION:
 
 ECA10030 
Do not operate the engine in the ta-
chometer red zone. 
Red zone: 8000 r/min and above  
This tachometer unit is equipped with a 
1. Tachometer
2. Tachometer red zone
3. Clock
1
2
3