Just got back from doing 2400 miles over 13 days on a BMW GS F800 (15 reg) and my XTZ 660 Tenere. So you can't help a bit of a compare.
First thing is we never went off the tar and the XTZ had trail tyres and the BMW road based tyres. So this obviously clouded the opinions. But alas some opinions have been formed.
The 100cc bigger BMW def has more power and a lovely engine. It reminds me of an electric engine with little show of a power band. The XTZ in sharp contrast has loads of character and low down grunt especially suited to steep hills. The down side is some vibrations. In short the BMW is more refined and good on the motorway with a longer wheel base. The XTZ loves cornering with its short wheelbase. Fuel consumption was very close, with the XT perhaps 5% better. But when ridden hard there was nothing in it. The BMW seat is much better than even my Touretech. The low pipe, especially the cat section on the BMW is very low and vulnerable if you go off road, but this off course didn't concern us.
I thought the BMW twin engine would give me a clear indication of what a potential (rumoured) MT(07)Z would give us, but I'm still in mixed mind. For now I am more than happy with my XTZ. As a last remark, in 13 days I saw 5 other XTs, must have seen more than a 100 Beemers. Such a well kept secret.

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2010 XT660Z Blue, Exan can, UFO high front fender, SW Motech baseplate, heated grips, 12v point, Kevs Fuel & O2 mod, DNA Stage 2 Filter and cover, Givi tall screen, Mefo mfe 99s, Kevs throttle mod, TT high seat and 'compass'

Thanks for comparing the bikes, still love my XT660Z better
But after the XT660Z, I wonder what next? Don't have to change so far
Difference in cc, 140 perhaps?

Riding gravel roads around Hermanus would be much more suited to the XT. The more road based GS could damage on those roads. It also feels heavier (which it is) although its fuel tank is smaller. Also not sure about the BMWs fuel tank under the seat. Seems the weight too far back. Lovely more modern suspension on the BMW though.

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2010 XT660Z Blue, Exan can, UFO high front fender, SW Motech baseplate, heated grips, 12v point, Kevs Fuel & O2 mod, DNA Stage 2 Filter and cover, Givi tall screen, Mefo mfe 99s, Kevs throttle mod, TT high seat and 'compass'

One of the guys that rides with has the 800 Adventure, quite an issue with a pillion with the bigger fuel tank, I just love my Tenere

But, the BMW is nice, nice smooth grunt to it

Nearest other bike to the tenere but not my pick.

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2010 XT660Z Blue, Exan can, UFO high front fender, SW Motech baseplate, heated grips, 12v point, Kevs Fuel & O2 mod, DNA Stage 2 Filter and cover, Givi tall screen, Mefo mfe 99s, Kevs throttle mod, TT high seat and 'compass'

One very good reason not to own a BMW!

Interesting observation. I rode an 800 back in 2010 for RIDE magazine and did about 500-600 miles as part of group test. I also found the BMW smooth... initially. After a while though I noticed (as did two of the other three riders) that it suffers from buzzy high frequency secondary vibrations (typical of parallel twins) through the bars which affected me more than the "bigger" more obvious low frequency primary vibration on the Z. I suffer a bit from carpel tunnel syndrome and the twin aggravated it far worse. Just illustrates how we are all different I guess. Incidentally, as you'd perhaps expect, the Triumph 800 triple was the smoothest on test. Very little primary or secondary vibration.

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Have you noticed how little ground clearance the triumph has? Even more road orientated than the BMW GS800

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2010 XT660Z Blue, Exan can, UFO high front fender, SW Motech baseplate, heated grips, 12v point, Kevs Fuel & O2 mod, DNA Stage 2 Filter and cover, Givi tall screen, Mefo mfe 99s, Kevs throttle mod, TT high seat and 'compass'

Interesting comparison Jacques and observations Pleiades.
I came from a 2011 GS800 to my current 2014 Tenere. Went on quite a few trips with both and although the XTZ is underpowered and almost the same weight compared to the 800 (on paper at least) the XTZ is a nicer bike to ride and especially on dirt it outshines the 800 by far. I had a few spills with the 800 off road whereas the XTZ saved me from some bad misjudgments where the 800 would have failed me. The only thing I miss from the 800 is the bit extra power and sound of the engine with the Leo Vince pipe. But the 660 with Scorpion pipes and easy wheely capabilities make it a more exciting bike to ride

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2014 XT660Z - Barrett pipe, DNA stage1.5, Barkbuster hand guards and handlebars, Pivot pegs, Teknik suspension, Guard-it engine protector combo, B&B rear rack, Trax topbox.

Very interesting. Would Yamaha perhaps be making a mistake if they replace the XT66OZ with a new version with the MT07 twin engine? One can't help wondering. Nothing is ever clear cut.

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2010 XT660Z Blue, Exan can, UFO high front fender, SW Motech baseplate, heated grips, 12v point, Kevs Fuel & O2 mod, DNA Stage 2 Filter and cover, Givi tall screen, Mefo mfe 99s, Kevs throttle mod, TT high seat and 'compass'

I did over 60000km on a an old 750 super tenere before getting the pony. I don't miss the extra weight but the extra power and beeing able to cruise from city speed to topspeed in 5th gear.

An MT07 based tenere has the power of the old S.T. but should not be much heavier than the current single cylinder....

But again i don't know the size of the market for another F800GS competitor - it is not as big as the one for the really big ones ....

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2011 Yamaha XT660Z ABS T�n�r�.

• Puig +8cm dark screen, Garmin Zumo 220, Scottoiler eSystem v2
• Barkbusters Storm with external weights, Noname 30mm bar risers & EzMoto alu. levers
• Kev's O2 Controller, Mccoi stepless controller with Hein Gericke heated grips
• TT +4cm seat, Pivot Pegs, Altech stainless sprocket cover