Thoughts on the new Tenere

• Small screen is far more effective than I would have thought and the riding position is good for extended mileage.
• Road manners are excellent - great for a dual sport bike.
• Saddle seems pretty comfortable but would help if it was flatter � the cat (converter) is under the seat so I don�t think it would be easy to cut it down.
• Michelin Sirac tyres which came as standard on my bike are really good on the road � no problem crossing white lines or manhole covers on bends � even in the wet. I haven�t tried them on anything more than fire roads at the moment. I don�t think they would compare to something like Conti TKC�s but seem OK. I may fit TKC�s when the originals are worn as they work well on and off road but do feel a little strange after road tyres � they seem to fall into corners but nothing too scary once you get used to it. The TKC 140/80 � 17 on the rear would not only look good but would improve off road ability of the Tenere with a 90/90 front. It wouldn�t do much to help correct the already optimistic speedometer though.
• Gearing is great for road use (4000rpm is about 64MPH) but too high for any serious off-road play. First gear gives you 7-8 MPH on tick over � much too quick for the more gnarly bits without lots of clutch slip.
• MPG is good even from new � over 60MPG keeping to the 4500-RPM limit while running in. I�ll keep monitoring it as the miles clock up but I�m sure it won�t change too much.
• Feels lighter than the dry weight quoted (183kgs) and is OK to manhandle about. Not sure how I would cope when I had covered 200 miles or so of trails but first impression is good � all the weight is fairly low down and not intimidating.
• Good immobiliser fitted as standard (Cat 2 � Thatcham I was told)
• Suzuki DR400 hand protectors fit with less modifying than the Yamaha ones and �30 cheaper. Come on Yamaha � keep up!
• I think vibration is minimal for a big single and the fuelling problems that plagued the XT660R/X have been cured. None of the low speed lumpiness now. The motor pulls like a train without feeling too hairy like some orange dual sport bikes, which are OK for ex-enduro riders but not for normal mortals.
• I like the digital dashboard � very clear to read and not too busy with info I would hardly ever need.
• If you are a sports bike rider you may find the Tenere a little on the slow side but don�t let that stop you � book a test ride. It is a really tall bike but can be adjusted to be more usable for shorter riders. You may come to love the Tenere as I do myself.

Well, I wouldn't have put it better myself after my first 594km on mine !!!!

- Screen: Brilliant, and I'm 1.86m / 6ft2
- road manners: won't scrape the pegs, but cornering is brilliant
- Saddle: no pb after 7h ride, well, no more than the custom gel seat on my VFR.
- Tyres: approved
- Gearing: I didn't really pay attention to it, although rev limit during break-in period forces lots of gear change
- MPG: did 320km before flashing icon on dash. Added 19l at 370km. So I like it.
- Weight: what weight ? It's a bicycle compared to my VFR
- handguards: I wish I had mine....the bars are backordered and will be posted to me.
So I had frozen fingers.....
- dashboard: very good, although I would have prefer digital rev counter / analog speedo maybe.
- Speed/power: overtaking needs planning, but I think that's mainly because I had a pillion and couldn't rev it too much due to the break-in period. It'll be fine once the 1000km done.

Mine came with the Sirac, but a new black one in the shop had the Tourance.
So it seems to be random.

I've done 30 000km last year and the year before on my VFR.
I think the Tenere will do as much without annoying me.
And now I won't stop when the tarmac does

Good comments zOU most of which bear out my thoughts - enjoy!

John

Yep !
you did most of the writing though

I thought mine was making a strange noise yesterday (i'm not used to singles) but i went down in the garage to lube the chain and the engine sounds good..
I think I was just tired.

You can get quite a bit of noise from the chain tensioner - sounds a bit worrying at times but... I am using chain wax on mine (chain) and it seems to keep it quieter.

The engines are a bit noisy and can sound alarming sometimes but its normal apparently

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ex :tenere:1200 now 660 +

Hey guys, the XT660Z has finally made it to oz, has anyone had any experience with two up riding on them, how do they rate?

They're good.

I did 4500km 2 up, from Ireland to Italy and back.

It's not the most confortable bike, a modified seat or a sheepskin should arrange that, but it's good.

http://www.irishbikerforum.com/forum...&showentry=228

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former Red owner !

Hi John

would you recommend the XTZ for overland trips. Cairo to Cape Town for example?

regards

Marius

In a word....