I thought long and hard about whether to post my thoughts and observations on this thread, so as not to risk upsetting any of the many special people on this forum. Then I thought to hell with it, we're all adults. My tuppence worth is this:
- WE all know how good the Tenere is. I think we've all felt a little anger about the things said (which is interesting in its own right and worth contemplating and discussing) We can be a defensive and protective lot! I think the more annoying part is that it MAY (as in might) sway potential buyers away from the bike - I'm presuming that it appears in MCN's bike reviews, used by some readers to help inform choice of bike?
- I do get a little worried when we start using this term 'real biker'. It's usually taken to mean riding all year round, rather than dry, summer, Sunday runs only. I think there is a danger in this way of thinking. When does a 'biker' become a 'real biker'? Might it sow the seeds of alienation if we start suggesting that you have to ride year through and only on an adventure bike to have credibility? Just food for thought - I'd be interested to hear people's opinions. Personally, I ride all the year and cover approximately over 20,000 miles each year, over many different countries. I don't think that makes anyone who doesn't (a lot of you I'd guess) any less of a biker.We run a bike tours business and often have customers who are relatively new to the biking world, together with people who wheel their machine out once or twice a year for a holiday. Spending time with them leads me to believe they are every bit as passionate about bikes and biking as anyone else, just express it a little differently.

Anyway, over to you ..... I'm off to prepare a little DR250 for a 600 mile round trip to the UK and back to Germany .... and it's minus 12c here, with lots of snow and ice!