Hey All,
I'd like to take my wife on my trips out more often this year but as we found out last year the 'r just isn't up to it not without improvement to the brakes and seat. Thing is I'd like to stick with a big single can anybody tell me how the XTZ performs two up. I noticed in the Yamaha brochure the Z makes less torque higher up the rev range and with the extra weight does that make it too slow espically with a passenger. Otherwise its off to Transalp/Tiger/TDM land for me!

Hi, I wouldn't know about riding two up and fully loaded but one easy (obvious??) way of increasing effective torque would be to fit a larger rear sprocket (cheaper/simpler than engine/exhaust mods). What you lose in top speed is made up for with increased acceleration.

Cheers, Rick

It has been stated here in the past the Tenere is not ideal when loaded up for 2 up riding/touring power wise. Its got the same engine as the R so you basically you already know what it will feel like bearing in mind the Tenere weighs more. Braking wise the Tenere has a double front disc so it should be better than the R on road. The seat looks ok to me for the pillion as well, ironically the riders section of the seat IMHO is poor so a reprofiling may be needed but may affect the pillions section.

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Get a proper seat sorted and you're good to go. I've done many trips with my mrs, including a 5000km jaunt around Turkey, without a hitch. Dazzer went around Europe IIRC.

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Personally, I won't put the missus on the back of the Tenere, it's a good few inches higher than the rider. But my missus is a wuss and doesn't like anything over 60mph, so don't let that bother you.

Stoic Bloke rides his Tenere with his missus on the back (she's about 20Kgs soaking wet through) and you wouldn't even know he has a pillion.

I guess what maters is how good a passenger the pillion is, the sizes/weights and what you expect.

The bikes you are suggesting, other than the Tenere are different alltogether, in fact I wouldn't want to take any of them off the sealed road! They are more road orientated than the Tenere, having lots more power and smoother engines. If you are looking at the Tiger, then you should also consider the Varadero - these will eat the miles like nothing else and in lots of comfort too.

If it's road's you want then I would say that the multicylinder bikes are better for two up riding (in comfort) than the Tenere - however for long distance adventure type riding then I would choose the Tenere, it's the best value for money bike out there with huge versatility.

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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

I dont know what size weight etc you and your mrs are but, Im 5'8 n 16 stone and mrs stumpyd is same height and only a couple of stone lighter, she is however a good experienced pillion but we dont have any great problems on the road on my R. I know its not the fastest off the mark or the sharpest at stopping but with a few alterations to my riding style weve been fine. Still thats my opinion and obviously not yours.

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I'm always in the sh1t, only the depth varies

Hi Tommy,

Don't know if you're still considering the 660Z but I've had a 1 tooth oversize rear sprocket on mine for about a week now and can say that there is a noticable and usefull difference. The engine obviously revs up quicker and makes the bike quite a bit smoother as the engine can pull better from lower revs. But perhaps of more use is improved response/acceleration at motorway speeds. Holding a GPS 80mph (when you're going with the flow!) into a head wind/turbulance/heavy air mass feels a less of an effort than before - for the bike, at least - and with about 2000 rpm still in reserve and between 1/2 - 2/3 throttle opening, mpg shouldn't be adversely affected either.

1 tooth was enough of an increase for me - those with a, err...."less than advantageous" power to weight ratio may want to try a 2 (or more) teeth increase.
It would be interesting to see how the increase in rear wheel torque with a larger rear/smaller front sprocket compares with the increase in engine torque from a modded engine/exhaust (in terms of gain per �'s spent)
Oh yeah, one thing - the OEM speedo now reads about 12% over.

Cheers, Rick