660 enough power
 

Hi All, myself and two mates are looking at doing Cape to Cairo. Two of us are fairly large fellows. Myself being 120Kgs. Do you think the 660 Tenere can cope with my weight plus all the gear or should I be looking at the 1200 Super Tenere. I did the desert run in 2005 on a BMW GS1100 and it was an absolute nightmare to keep on two wheels in the sand and mud. I want to be macho and say Power is the key but with all those pony's under my behind on the GS, it didn't help me much in the desert with 125cc's zooming past me. Granted I had dual purpose tyres but still.

depends how sluggish you are prepared for the bike to be. You'll be working the bike hard to keep up with the 1200s.

I do not need more power than 50 hp with a bike weight of around 180 kg. I'm also "wearing" substantial weight and never looked for a more powerful bike, even if it's heavily loaded. Before i bought my 660 Tenere i also did a test drive on a BMW F800 GS and found those extra hp to be quiet unimpressive - as the whole bike itself, but that's another story.
The 660 Tenere is about the bike i always dreamed of in north- and south-america: Not too much weight (I even bought a BMW G650 Xchallenge because of it's 140kg, but found it not so good for traveling), a huge gas-tank with very little consuming and not too fancy, but therefore more reliable/maintainable, technique. The Yamaha boys even put a 12V wire ready for being used as car-plug in their wiring! Unthinkable for a BMW (but available as expensive add on)
If now the Tenere could also use tubeless tyres i would have bought one in spare...

It's the driver that makes the difference!
Eventually you will have to pick this heavy beast up once or twice.
Good friends will wait for you, no matter how many hp your bike has.

(F**k, it's snowing like hell again. Enjoy africa)

How much stuff are you likely to be carrying?

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._6344925_n.jpg

This is my 660, a thousand (tarmac) miles from home. It was fine, even at 80mph on the motorways. Probably worth upgrading the shock, as the stocker was still quite saggy even at full preload.

Now you've got about 35kg of bodyweight on me, but equally, if I was actually expecting to ride dirt with the luggage fitted on that trip ^ I'd have packed a lot lighter, which offsets it a bit.

How much of your planned trip are you likely to even have the option of riding at highway speed?

THey say 80% of the trip is on Tar but here in Africa that 20% could take you as long if not longer to cover than the 80 % on Tar.

Thanks for the responses.

Presumably you are taking this trip to see the world ? The best way to see the world is to take it easy, so why do you need more power ?

I've ridden against the clock on a long trip, it's rubbish and you'll regret it after.

Before deciding on the bike, decide on your priorities. If I were you, I would want to see the world pass me at a speed I can see it. Stop to take stuff in, a beer, coke, coffee, the locals, wildlife, photos etc etc. It's about finding a bike to fit the trip, so once you have the trip set, and the priorities of the trip than you can see what is important in a bike.

If you haven't already (and I'm sure you have) take a look at LWD (Ewan & Charlie), one of the breaking points was the constant clock watching and destination deadlines. If you think you need 2 days to do a section, allow 3, or even 4 and enjoy the journey. This type of trip is about the experience.

Or even better, look at any photo of Nick Sanders and see how miserable he looks :D

Seen the vids and can't help but wonder why?
Aye ok, the thrill of record breaking is there for some but personally, on a trip like the one mentioned I would want to take it easy an 'smell the flowers' an I would imagine that the XT would have more than enough power to satisfy the nostrils.

hi .. im 6ft 1 16 stone grr
the tenere will take you anywhere you want to go ..
im off to morroco and maurentainia in april and i wouldnt thank you for a free loan of a gs when i get there
ive had three ...

on the road a steady 75 80 is comfy for the bike
what im going to do is change the front sprocket once through europe

15 45 original does not suit the bike unless on real long legged roads i run 14 /46 and a true 72mph is 5000 revs ..this for me much better gear spacing
much better off road and as much punch as ill ever need on a bike of this size
if you want tpo battle the big boys on tarmack over 75/80 forget it
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/9886/img1632f.jpg
By null at 2011-01-13


http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/9886/img1632f.jpg
By null at 2011-01-13
but you will be much more comfortable when the tarmacks stops
im really impressed with it

Hi Minkyhead, I was wondering if you could tell me what the black cylinder under your righthand silencer is for?

Thanks.