Quote:
Originally Posted by
wuming
Not been on here for a long while; but finally about to bite the bullet and buy a Ten. Just wanted a few opinions first. This bike has been with us since 2008 now. What are peoples long term opinions on the Tenere? What are its strong and weak points as a long distance/RTW tourer? What do you like / dislike about it? What have / would you change? How does it compare to similarly targeted bikes (KTM, BMW etc.?). How reliable is it? Also posted on Advrider.com
Cheers all.
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I had a 2009 blue one (pictured below). I was in the wrong mindset I think because I sold it after not too much time. On reflection its a great bike and if RTW is the primary use its simply superb.
In my minds the pros and cons of it are:
Pros
- A relative lightweight on the road compared to the big beemers
- Price of used ones are good (no comment on new pricing!)
- Simple, simple, simple, did I mention its a nice simple bike!
- 23L fuel tank
- Sensible offroad exhaust design
- Reliable 660 engine
- Excellent brakes
- Excellent suspension (I think its soft so ideal for me)
- Power is ideal for 1 up riding. Dont let anyone put you off with "only" 48hp. It more than enough in the real world.
- Road presence. This bike simply oozes it.
- Megga tunable, I am a stock bike kinda guy but this bike can be all things to all men & JMO!
- XT660.com - nuff said.
Cons
- Its a bit lardy offroad but still fully capable
- Tall, lowering it is easy and cheap if applicable to you. I am 6ft and it was a stretch to get on with the standard suspension. On road its no issue whatsoever.
- Seat profile. To sum it up its sh[te. I found it held me in the wrong postion and gave me backache after about 1 hours ride. To cure this I needed to get it reprofiled. A simple enough job but I sold it before I did this mod. You may find its ok, some do, some dont.
- Rectifier/wiring connection. Its well documented that early ones had issues. My 2009 one was perfect so its not a deal breaker.
- Turbulance from up through the forks. I had a perspex guard made and this removed the problem for me. It may not be an issue for you.
