if you can find a downhill section long enough. 55 to 60 is achievable, but to suggest 70 :spam1:

It's capable of 1680 miles a day, but I doubt the rider could manage it...



Look, I'm well aware of the benefits of Tenere ownership, I was one of the first in the UK to get one, and still have the bike. I've taken it to so many countries I've lost count. But lets be realistic with the claims....

You've made the right choice, and if you have the right expectations you'll love the bike. But many have bought the bike with the wrong expectations, and so the bike doesn't live upto them, then in a few months the bikes gone and replaced with something very different.

All the above is true... it's no miracle bike, but it is a bloody good all-rounder! :045:

On the matter of fuel economy I think average 70 mpg might be achievable, but thus far I haven't managed it.

The last three tanks I've put in have run me an average of 240 miles from brim to fuel trip. On each occastion I've filled up within a 10 miles and have never put in more than 16.8 litres to re-brim. Based on 240 miles for 16.8 litres my return mpg average has been roughly 65mpg. Given that this is accumulated over several journeys on different days (not just one continual trip) and that those journeys each include spells at +70mph and on / off throttle acceleration through A- and B-class roads at 55-65mph, plus town traffic and the morning commute stop / starts.

To have achieved an average of 65mpg in those conditions means it's a given the bike has been easily achieving considerably more at certain times, but this will always be offset by far lower mpg under acceleration conditions.

To achieve an average 70mpg I'll need to get 260miles before the fuel-trip cuts in. The gauntlet has been thrown down.

For what it's worth I probably ride like a nun compared to many on here :walk1:

If you want super economy, buy a cg125.
I concur the Ten is a bloody good all-rounder, but there are areas where it really isn't so great. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

You're not wrong � the way fuel prices are risin' I might well get a CG for the commute.

Agree the Ten has it's flaws. For me the pros outweight the cons, but for others I can understand why they might prefer something different. I had a similar dilema when I bought my bike (GS800 / GS650 / Ten). I'll be honest and say it was a close-run thing. Ultimately it came down to price and the dealer needing to shift stock quickly at the end of the quarter. The price increases since then only serve to make the choice more difficult. Glad I don't have to choose now.

You are right about expectations; fuel economy is one reason I bought it. My first tankful worked out at 62.5 mpg, fast motorway and town riding; 225 miles, 3.6 gallons/16.4l. The previous owner got 70mpg twice on our Stella Alpine ride; I was there and helped him calculate it. All it takes is a gentle hand and the desire to save fuel.

I've ridden from Vicenza to London, over 1k miles, in 16 hours on an Africa Twin, and the saddle on that is misery. Why should the Tenere not be as good, if not better? You don't need to exceed 80mph anywhere.

Not so unrealistic, methinks. I've got 69mpg out of my Tenere, and 66 with the panniers on but not heavily loaded except for me at 110kg at the time. I find you only need a nice warm day and nil wind, and good mileage is easy.

I, too, have ridden around 1600km in one go, only stopping briefly for fuel and food. Lots of people have here in Oz. Not something I'd like to do now, but that's what memories are for.

i can tell from my own experience (5000 km on the tenere 2 up with full luggage and camping gear) that it is fine.
Do not expect lightning fast throttle response and overtaking need planning, but it'll do 110kph cruising.
My only concern is that the front end becomes very light and steering less sharp. but it's only a problem at very low speeds.

You would disconnect the ABS while off the tarmac, so you don't really need one :)

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_t...90609-0847.jpg

Just to mix things up a bit... it will be interesting to see how the 'new' G650GS compares with the Tenere...

Just been reading about it in TBM this month, and by all accounts the update (using the original frame and engine) looks very tidy, and fundamentally - it's priced in the UK at just under �5K...!!!

Suddenly the RRP on a Tenere looks very expensive - you could spec the GS will all the options and still come out less than Yamaha's current RRP...

Of course the GS is more road biased, and the 165mm suspension travel is a bit woeful, but I imagine a lot of people are going to be tempted by the price in these austere times?

Jx

I would say, not at all.

The R, now that's more of a comparison.

The G-Gs (as they have called it), is more akin to the Transalp maybe, or the Tiger, but it lacks in too many areas to compare to the mighty Tenere....

It certainly gets a good write up (tell me a BMUU that doesn't ?), but why have they opted for a split/twin can affair ? and a woefully small tank ? and the mirrors that prevent you from standing....

I think they could have done more, but in these austere times they dusted down an old design and digitally enhanced it. No bad thing, imaging if Honda did the same with the AT ?? or the good old XT600.

But I agree, lots of people will compare the two, and the question will be �5k for a BMW or �6.5k for a Yam....... Yes the Yam will loose out to the BMW, because lots of people buy a badge, and don't really care what lump of metal is attached.

Ah, but those are the words of a reasoned and educated man GULGo! - like you say in the last sentance, for a great number of people, it will be based on price and the badge...

My point was the old F650GS (that has become the G650GS for anyone who is not keeping up...) was a well respected all-road travel bike, in the same way as the Tenere has become (finally, after all the whiners banging on and on about the weight and the perceived lack of bhp!)...

The secondhand market for a late model F650GS (or Dakar version) is still healthy, and a lot of punters swear by them... they are also very economic by all accounts, which goes someway to addressing the small (under-seat) tank issue?

Like you, I'd certainly choose the Tenere over a 650GS for any number of reasons - primarily it's ability off road, it's ergonomics, and not least its styling - but on the showroom floor, the difference is perhaps not so marked?

Sure the GS has 'road' wheels (although they can still be shod with knobblies) and very short suspension travel - but I can see a lot of people liking the lower seat hight and the whole 'BMW' brand image thing?

Like I say, it will be interesting to see if any of the magazines put the two up head-to-head, or more importantly, if any potential purchasers on here have ridden both and can make some comparisons*?

Jx

*Not that I've ever bought any bike based on what anyone else has said anyway!

Tenere every time.

GS for a very long and faster road trip perhaps and just hope it doesn't break, but nothing off road and the money you'll save in purchase price and the ridiculous running costs and depriciation will make you love the Ten'....

Check out the size of the tank, its tiny. This bike is not in the same league as the Ten. So there!! I have owned both a Dakar F650GS and my current Ten, previous bike was an 1150 GS. Ridden them all off and on road. the Ten gets my vote. Its far from perfect but it gets the job done. The Ten is fast enough on the highway, big tank gives you the range and off road it is the best. No question. Any body out there who has ridden the Ten on tracks, sand, gravel and tarmac knows what Im saying is fact.
Ride Safe.

Yup the Ten get mine aswell . Have one now at last and never will I part with it for a very long time If I can put up with a vmax for 11yrs the Ten will outlast longer :notworthy:
Shweet .....Martin

Well I now have both sat in my garage!!

The Tenere has served me well over the winter and after years of owning large touring bikes re introduced me to the joys of riding a dual sport.

But...I'm sorry it is not as good a road bike as the GS, particularly if you're carrying a pillion and as over 95% of my riding is on the road the GS makes more sense (to me).

That said, The Ten would be a much better RTW/expedition bike.

I'm considering keeping both, the XT taking me to more off road places and as a winter bike. It also might be a long termer, I'm just not sure I can justify keeping 2 very similar bikes in the garage.

Low mileage, black, 60 plate Tenere anyone???

Hang on to them both for a while. When the GS either breaks or gets recalled - you may think differently..

Nice to have the choice - Lucky You..

This is my 7th BMW with an accumulated mileage of over 200k miles in the last 13 years. None of them have ever broken down or left me stranded. Yes there have been recalls and I have had some warranty issues but all have been sorted promptly and without fuss. I think the popularity of the GS brand stretched their quality control for several years, I would hope they've sorted that now.
But... They are expensive, many have had issues, the later ones are too complex to service and repair at the side of the road, I probably wouldn't own one out of warranty which says a lot in it's self.
The Ten has it's issues as well (I've just looked at my Cush drive after 4k miles!) but as a rule they are easily sorted and what you have is a simple reliable tool and as long as you don't expect too much from it, it will reward you with thousands of trouble free miles wherever you want to take it.

Buying a bike is very subjective with too many variables to make it as straight forward as some people make it. So back to the original question........Ten or 800GS? Only you'll know, but don't be put off by some of the anti BeeM comments. Me? No kids, no car, mostly road riding, reasonably well paid job, it's the GS, however if money's tight, I lived near miles of off road or was considering an un supported solo trip to a 3rd world country it would be the Ten.
Both are 'good' bikes. Only you'll know which is the right one for you. Hope this helps someone make the 'right choice.

Steve

Amen.

:campfire:

Very subjective topic and I agree with you completely.

The answer is................



Tenere!

I wouldn't compare the Ten to a G650GS. Not adventure riding. It is too soft and low. Have test ridden one and if I was shopping now for a 600-700ish bike the Tenere would be the one.

How are you getting on with your GS? Any issues to report?

I've had a fair few adventure bikes over the years, mainly Honda. Dominator, early Transalp then there was a XT600E which was a hoot. Then 4 Africa Twins and 4 Varaderos then a 800 Transalp which I delt in for a Tenere because my riding now is 75% off road and the Alp was too road orientated for harder tracks but a nice engine and sh1t fuel range. To me the Tenere is perfect. It's fast enough, it has ground clearance, it will do 240 miles without a refill, it has a good choice of tyres and it floats my boat. Touring two up loaded and graded tracks thrown in ? A Varadero is awesome. A BMW is over priced, over rated and over here unfortunately and the riders sure don't wave in general. I like my Tenere.

The GS so far
 

Not really. Bought a '10 model so all the issues were sorted by then. I get excellent service from the shop I bought it from. I get around 370k's on a tank, with a max of 430km once. Hmm...what else is there?

Suspension is not great even with HyperPro progressive coils. Find it a bit of shocker that I can adjust Low and High Speed Compression, sag AND rebound on my mountain bike's fork, but I cant on my $$$ damn BM.

Right up there tied with the suspension as most annoying std "issue" was the twitchy throttle. I could ride the Yammy smooth from the off, same with my buddy's TransAlp. But the BM stalled on me a couple of times. Takes some getting used to. Then riding off road and in/on/over technical stuff was also tricky with the throttle being so on/off. Have since fitted an Booster Plug and its MUCH better now. A bit annoying when paying this much for a bike.

No dings in the rims yet even though I ride off road as much as possible. Bike's been easy to handle off road, but its no plastic.

Riding pillion is not fun with the tank back there. Not an issue when seated, but when standing its tiring.

Have fitted wider pegs, two finger levers, top box, TKC's (came with Anakee II) and a Zumo 660. All good.

If I had to buy again? It would be tough all over. ABS is great in the wet and when commuting. Can't say that it has up to now saved my life, but I've had to stop on a nickel a couple of times and who knows how std brakes would've behaved. Remembering to switch them off every time I hit gravel is a pain though. Having have to stop only makes matters worse. Recently on a steep, loose technical descent it actually helped to switch it back on. Kept the rear from locking up and sliding out underneath me. Tricks of the trade, hey...

But I genuinely like the look and feel of the Tenere. It's quite a bit of dough cheaper, but when you add the heated grips + ABS (std itmes locally) and the bigger engine then the difference is not THAT big in South Africa. The biggest difference then is servicing and parts cost.

The heart says Tenere...

You'd probably find similar annoyances with the Ten, so just be happy with the one you've got :)
I've got the ABS Ten and I don't think you'd want to do much proper offroading with it since you can't turn off the ABS and the suspension travel is 5cm less than the non-ABS both front and rear.

Btw - Still waiting for someone to figure out how to disable the ABS if anyone reads this! Which fuse??

That's no good

Well, here's my tuppence worth . . .

Only had the XTZ660 for a few months and a couple of thousand miles, but wasn't sorry to see it go. Something between it & me didn't connect. I know several contributors on here will say that it was me & the ground that didn't connect :hismiley: Jim, but I tried the lowered route and still couldn't find a connection with the machine.

So I sold the XTZ and took a good look around . . . . . . . and found a second hand 800GS that I could afford :026:. Wasn't looking for the 800 specifically, just happened upon one in a local dealers that was in a condition and at a price that I was happy with. I tried the new triumph XC800, but nothing about it said it was for me.

Only been putting the miles on it for a short while, but for my way of riding, where I ride, the 800GS ticks all the boxes.

Sad that the XTZ didn't, cos I lusted after that bike from the day it was released and glad I tried it.

Happy that I've found something that could well replace my trusty Africa Twin.

As said at the beginning of this rambling, only my thoughts.

Steve T

:cool:

Thumpers aren't for everyone. Most people, and there have been some exceptions, who like thumpers love the Tenere.

Most of the guys who didn't or don't like the Tenere appear to go back to twins, V's or in-line 4's

For me things were the other way around, I had the XJR1300. Smooth as you like, more go than you could shake a stick at,,,,, but it just didn't have 'anything', I mean such as a soul ! There was nothing there to get excited about but the turn of speed, which just doesn't do it for me.

What I like about thumpers is they have a 'personality', the TTR and the Tenere, for all they are close cousins, they have completely different attitudes, as it were. I've ridden a few thumpers and they all feel different to me. If I get on a inline-4 they all feel the same, Twins of today (that I've ridden) feel the same. The only thing I do have a soft spot for are V's

As SteveT says, the Tenere's not for him, just as multi's aren't for me. Doesn't make either of us right, nor wrong, just different. But we both ride bikes, and that's the important thing.

I agree with that sentiment. Thumpers do have character tho. When I think back to the 650 Dominator, it was a brilliant machine. The XT600E was a real hoot and had a real off road lust. I had a sucession of 4s like CBR 1000s which were like silk and a couple of VFRs which were techno icons but the Tenere just does it for me now. I don't have the urge to go ballistic now because I've been there and now I think, 'big deal' and ? I can now go 100 miles to get to a good off road experience like scraping the mainstand and swiming in a shark infested Highland river and getting stuck in a wet peat bog and getting loadsa photos ( I have around 800 photos on my facebook ) then riding 100 miles home with a smile on my face and probably didn't need fuel at west highland prices and poured a dram for a nightcap still with a smile and veiwed the photos and all with a feeling of ' Jeezus, that was a good day. I really like this bike.

my riding now is 75% off road

Jimmy, I have Maps that a bought from a mob who did off road tours in the highlands an Skye, if ye want a copy o them a could send ye them.a have around 50 o them all different routes,, they tell you the terrain,, the time to do it, any obstacles.. easy middle or hard goins... i`l need tae come up an ye kin show me around....... as am intae off roadin as well.

I havent had the privelage wi a Ten.. buty a sure like ma off roading onma xt. its ok fur trails an a bit rougher depending on yer tyres. but ma last xt 600E was the berries fur off road...... jimmy, ye say ye ve had varas an TA`s,,,AT`s Dommies,,,,, me too... 4 varas... 10 dommies. 10 KLR`s. 4 TA`s. nae AT`s. an ave also had 5 XJR13`s. 5 xl500`s. 4 250 s`s.3 185`s 3 Tlrs. an many more. oh aye nearly forgot., 12 xt 660`s 5 o them new. R`s anX`s

suscribing

As mentioned in a previous post I have both and as predicted by some the GS ended up back at the dealers, though not sure we can blame BMW for a diesel spill on the exit of a fast 2 lane roundabout!!!

So the XT was pressed into service for summer touring duty, 4 days camping in Scotland, leading a 10 man party of advanced riders around northern France and the HUMM (from Calais). And I have to say I am impressed, for the money I really don't think there is a better dual sport bike out there, yes there are plenty of bikes that out perform it both on and off road but as a package it's balanced right. For those reading this trying to decide between these bikes make sure you ride an XT with at least a stage 2 and Kev mod, better still one with stage 3, power commander and a free flowing exhaust it really does make a huge difference, not just to outright power but also making the bike smoother.

The other massive plus for me is that for the last 10 years or so every bike I've owned has given me back ache after long periods of riding, except the Ten, even after 10 hard days riding I didn't have a single ache anywhere!

The insurance company replaced the GS, so I have both sat I'm my garage again. Despite my praise for it, the XT still couldn't be my 'only' bike, IMHO its too compromised 2 up and lacks the power I want/need in a road bike. So the GS stays, but so does the Tenere. My plan is it will be my long term 2nd bike/winter commuter/green laner, in fact I'm off to ride the pilgrims way later today!

So back to the OP question"....... Solo, long distance, unsupported trip, it's got to be a suitably modified Tenere!!

Hi , just want to say that in southamerica , bmw riders have the same reputation , they don t use to say "hello", wave , the ignore others bikers , but ..... not all of them.

answering the question , i m goig for the ten ..... money issue
anyway i feel that f800 it s one of the better all around with 2up

I think its down to, you pay your money and take your choice.:mod_smilie_icon_pol

Well my 2 cents, I love the XT so I am rather biased, I have ridden the BMW GS800 recently and found it a nice motor and nice ride BUT too expensive and too snobby. So for me Yamaha all the way.................................

Great stuff
 

Enjoyed catching up with this thread.
Moss

Just my two pence worth - just bought a 09 XT660Z. So far impressions are very positive and I reckon I'll keep it for a bit, but if I could have afforded an F800GS there is no question I would have bought one. The older ones are fantastic bikes, fabulous engines (despite recalls) really capable on and off road with power to cope with long hauls too. But too expensive... Very happy with my XT but not in the same class as the GS.
ps I have an 1150GS as well, not snobby at all and wave at everyone :-)

All this time later and I am seemingly right back here! Only this time I have the KTM 690 Enduro R thrown into the mix to confuse matters even further!

Have you ridden the KTM? I rode one last week. The engine is a lot more powerful than the XTs and really pulls from 4000 rpm. But it's quite vibey, but not in a nice characterful way, just a bit annoying - and usually I like a bike that vibrates and has character. The chassis is shorter, steeper and more aggressive feeling than an XTs. It basically feels like the giant competition bike it is. If you are going to ride off road a lot, it'll be amazing. But I lept back on a Tenere after the KTM and felt it was a far nicer road bike and a better all rounder, despite being decidedly less powerful.

I had an F800 for 2 years in Namibia, and now ride an XTZ. The F800 has much more pull after 120kmh than the XT, but feels a bigger bike. It's fuel pump gave up at 16000km - according to the Yamaha people a common problem (?). They said a Hyundai pump worked better than the BMW one! Small tank on the F800 is irritating. It also had a habit of weaving on gravel roads, despite meticulous wheel alignment and good tyres (Metzeler Karoo)
There's nothing like a single for gravel/tracks!