Stoic.... that looks like a challenge to me......

Ok... x

I'd suggest that the DR650 (great bike as it is, I like them) is 60% cheaper because it is essentially the same bike that was launched in 1996... it ought to be bloody cheaper!

Performance and specification wise, this is also the same argument used when people [who typically haven't ridden both] compare the Tenere to the KTM 690E - the Suzuki is a big dirt-bike, a soft enduro, dual-sport machine... the Tenere is an all-road tourer - the stock specification of the Tenere is far higher - large tank / fairing / decent lights / twin front discs / decent pillion provision / Efi... etc etc etc.

A more direct comparison for the DR650 would be the XT660R surely?

There have actually been very few cases of reliability issues with the current Tenere (and then only pertaining to the reg/rec connector... seriously, soft cush-drive rubbers are not a 'reliability' issue x) - sure you read about them on internet forums but in reality, count up the number of problems with the reg/rec, then look at the worldwide sales figures of the bike?


Which means when fitted with all the equipment that the Tenere has stock, it would offer less performance surely?

Hmmmmm... I'd imagine that 'record' still stands because noone else has bothered to beat it?

As GLUGo suggests, perhaps someone should give it a go on the Tenere? (or even a couple of KTMs for that matter?!)

Possibly, but that is going to [inevitably] come at a cost?

And you could use the same argument to ask why the DR650 hasn't been improved to compete with the KTM 690... but surely that [price, and simplicity] is a fundamental part of the attraction of the DR isn't it?

Don't get me wrong, this is not meant to be a flame or anything like that, I'm really just stoking the fire... but I would suggest that the current XT660Z IS a very competent duel-sport touring bike, as countless people have shown and continue to do so... it's stock simplicity is the key to painless ownership and longevity... and I'm glad that Yamaha have seen fit not to fu*k that up just yet!

Of course individual market prices may be skewed, and I know you guys in Australia do pay a premium in comparison to Europe... but here in the UK at least, you can still get a brand new ones on the road for around �5,500 - which is pretty damn good value when you think it was launched three years ago at �4,900?

Jx

That's an interesting one, because if you looked at what Yamaha list as the UK RRP of the bike, then you might be forgiven for coming to the same conclusion as 66T. It was brilliant value in 2008 for �5k, but they're now at least trying to claim they are worth �7k for exactly the same bike.

But from the numbers you posted, it seems the market (dealers and punters) have come to their own conclusions on the matter, and at �5.5k I'd agree with you that it's still a bargain. I don't think we even still get the DR650 in the UK do we?


Of course you can then go and sink �2k+ into the suspension on the Tenere.... but that's another story ;)

hi, i guess jenny has summed it up rather well, tho i do feel there is a few minor details yamaha should address to evolve the bike,

a simple casting change to the swing arm for one to mount a much needed chain guide, i feel the reg issue has been delt with[still room for improvement], i guess better coating on things like the fr spokes also a more dirt bike styled air filter housing. unless you can think of other aspects

as for the dr comparison, sure they'r good, but in a klr kind of way. i've moved on from them and not looking back.

Btw i had alway had a hankering to do the paris to dakar rally, [financal hangup] when the HL started with Hubert oriol in '07, i figured this is my event, so i began prepping my klr650 tengai [long term owner] initially the event was more aimed at classic older bikes. I just could never make the klr into anything other than what it was, weak flexy frame, poor plod along unreliable engine, really the only thing going for it was the 21ltr tank. so i looked at others, Then i tried a new tenere in the pyrenees while doing an event on my big tanked ktm 450. from then i knew the ten was the bike for my needs, spent the next 6 months sussing what mods were required etc then bought a new blue one!

if i had felt a ktm 690 was the one[even tried a dakar and xtrail], bearing in mind i've had 1 recovery failure in the 40,000 miles of ownership of the ten, gearbox. I would have kitted out the ktm cos the standard suspension are far from race spec[ most fit sx forks and revalved rear] and lack of range, fairing, headlamp etc + service interval +����. it would be a brilliant tool for long distance offroading i do, just no good for the commute. which the tenere fits my needs so well!. i've no car + most of the 690 owners i know use a van to get thier bikes to the trails, no kidding!

the mods i retained on my bike are chain guide, single can exhaust, 'fat bars', reg change, 'race' nitron shock, hid dip, foam air filter, 18'' rally wheel.
imho it's perfect for me and if i needed i would buy and kit another if i had to, it's that simple.

as for the matt colour, actually i like it! tho what is the practical side to keeping it clean? would protective vinyl covering make it look pants? i dunno!

bernard

OH yeah!. gulgo that thing you are thinking, you and me crossing Aus to prove the ten is a better bike, not going to happen, least not this year!

I wasn't including me..... can't keep up with you :084:

The crossing of Australia record was set only last year if my memory is correct. It is blindness imo to suggest that the DR isn't a seriously competent long-distance adventurer given very few mods.

Old technology or not, the Suzuki has much the same performance as our 660s. The weight of a 30L plastic tank and a carrier isn't going to hurt it very much, which are really the only areas in which the DR is worse as an adventure bike than the current Tenere.

It's worth bearing in mind that we have to upgrade our bikes if they're going to be really competent, too. We have crap stock suspension, so does the DR. We have/want to buy/fit stuff like a high front guard, chain guide, Bark Busters, decent sump guard (which the Suzuki also needs - badly) and arguably altered gearing. I also argue that substandard cush drive rubbers are very much a reliability issue. The damage to hub and sprocket carrier when they give up the ghost can be an issue if a rider is outside ready assistance.

Bearing in mind the realistic statement that the DR is 'old' technology, I'd say that the Tenere is hardly cutting edge either. Water-cooled Teneres have been around ever since DR650s, give or take. Fuel injection is of dubious benefit in remote areas, too. So far there is no valid, rational argument imo to put my supposition that the Tenere no longer represents comparatively good value to the test.

I'd like to point out that I'm definitely playing the devil's advocate here. I'm not about to sell the Tenere to get a bike that will only be its equal.
Finally, it may be so that the rest of the world has marketed the Tenere to be an all- roads tourer. Thing is, the DRs that do so well are using roads, too. Therefore our bikes should use them just as competently, and they can in the right hands. It's just that they cost a lot more money than some of the opposition to do so, for not much more benefit.

Just out of interest, what are the prices for the DR and Tenere in Aus? The DR's long since been discontinued over here.

Unless there's been a price rise I'm unaware of, the DR is about $8kAUD and the Tenere is $14KAUD.

Sorry, I've been keeping out of this so far but,,,

High Front Mud Guard. A few people have fitted these, but why? what is the advantage, certainly not for road travel where you get more crap in your face than with a low one. And unless you are mud-plugging, there's no negative aspect of the low guard.

Chain guide - There are some specific reasons why you might need one. It's certainly not a deficiency in the bike.

Hand guards - Again, these are down to personal choice, so by fitting something, people would complain it's not right, some want wind protection, some want brush protection others want something to save the levers (and risk bending the bars instead!) So leaving these off is the righ thing to do.

Sump Guard.... First of all, go and find your old OE one, then jump up and down on it as much as you can. Do the same with any aftermarket one, if you dare. Then come back and say the OE isn't up to the job. I've parked my Landrover on my OE one, and it's still as good as it was. The problem is the mounting points that are made from old ring pulls.

Cush Rubbers - They aren't going to spontainiously dissolve, they give over time. Yes a tight packed hub is going to put less strain on the carrier bearing, but as cush rubbers are a consumable part, like tyres or inner tubes then it's never going to be a problem to someone. Anyone travelling away for assistance sould be a fool to travel anyway, unless they had basic skills in 'getting going again', be it the bike or the rider that was damaged. Of course, like anything, if the cush rubbers were made from tougher material, then the chain and sprockets would take more punishment - so what would you preffer to loos, a chain, of have to pack your cush rubbers with some inner tube (that you have anyway) ??

FI, isn't put there because bike manufactures want to put it there, it's there because of regulations laid down by governments (on in the case of the EU, the faceless unelected).

Air V's Water cooled, here I agree. I don't much care for water cooled bikes, extra weight that isn't needed. Having a TT600 with the old AJ 600 Tenere motor in it shows the power difference though, the new 660 W/C motor is much more , erm, modern.

The Tenere is a go-anywhere bike, from Motorways/Freeways to dirt tracks, With the best will in the world, Mr average cannot take a DR and sit on fast roads all day long, it's just not built for it. There is a fine line between road and track (dirt), and the Tenere fits perfectly. Yes, most people are going to complain that something isn't quite right for them, but that's the beauty of the bike it can be used for everything. As StoicBloke says, he can ride his Tenere to the mountains and then ride the dirt, the same size KTM needs to go in a van - hardly an adventure.....

So about �5k for the DR and �8850 for the Tenere. Well I can see why you're a bit pissed off.

Was the Tenere that much when it was introduced? Or do you think the assorted collapses of various exchange rates over the last couple of years have played a part?