I remember the very moment I was inspired to go for what is now called 'Adventure ' style of bike . I was coming back from France on the ferry on a ZX10 and I was parked up amongst a whole group of bikes from Europe. They just looked so different ...like they should be on the Dakar rally. They were a mixture of early Tenere 's, Dominator and others. ...all clearly used off road and all with luggage piled high, and the riders were wearing 'colourful ' off road style clothing. Everything about it looked like a ton of fun ....and the high and wide riding position looked a million times more enjoyable than the head down /arse up style of the sports bikes. I was completely hooked , sold the Kawasaki and bought an XT600 Tenere. I've grown to love the 'grunt' of a big single and the whole 'Adventure ' vibe. All the fun without the crazy speed!!. , and endless ways to work on...modify.....on road /off road. I love all types of bike, but the Tenere ticks all the boxes for me. Steve

I remember seeing the tenere at a bike show back in 08/09 and thinking it looked like fun but being young and stupid I opted for the quicker bikes. Problem is I'm not a quick, leave my brain at home rider and found myself coming back and not having enjoyed the run, and a little sore. So two months ago I got the go ahead and went hunting something more multifunctional. Most of my time out on the bike is to get over to Northern Ireland and I'd love to have the option to get off road so tenere wins and totally enjoying it

As you say the Tenere is as good an all rounder as it gets. It is just so well suited to my style of riding & the local road conditions of on/off road. Cruising at our pedestrian speed of 100kph (roughly 60mph) is absolute bliss & in its element. But it just looks bl00dy awesome too!

Agreed rolling along the main roads at the speed limits isn't a bother though I've yet to try loaded or two up for a run, though the added top box and back pad will keep her happy 😊

Oh yes! I started my motorcycle life with an XT500(around 1978....) and upgraded from there to an XT550, XT600, XT600Z Tenere(3AJ), XTZ660 Tenere(5-valve), XT600E to this XT660Z Tenere('08), with some Harleys in between.....
I Always liked the looks and style of the XT's, besides they're very rideable in every situation, is it for long hauls, but even better on backroads, offroad, mountain climbin' and city cruisin', they can do it all! With my current XT I've done 108.000km's+ without any problems(only camchain&tensioner are replaced recently, besides the OEM breather under warranty in '09), only regular maintenance and TLC: they're very reliable and strong bikes! And probably most important: lotsa fun to ride! And true, it is also a very good travel companion. I think it is a pity they'll stop making them, therefore I'll cherish mine for more km's to come!

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XT rules! Make the world beautiful, get a tattoo. Nick Curran R.I.P. '77-'12

XT660Z Tenere '08 http://dallastx.smugmug.com

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I got into 'adventure' style bikes by accident really. I bought a 1996 3YF T�n�r� in 1998 as a winter hack/commuter to save the wear and tear on the 60�s Brit bikes I was relying on. It was too nice though really, so I replaced it in 2000 with a tatty but sweet-running 1990 Honda NX650 Dominator and the �big trailie� (as they were known then) bug had bitten. I liked the simplicity and ease of maintenance, high riding position and view, along with the added bonus of being able to nip down an inviting track/trail should I come across one.

It all nearly went wrong for me and �big trailies� in 2003 when I foolishly bought an 1150GSA making the school-boy/Clarksonian error of assuming more power means more fun. I was wrong. It means more complexity, more breakdowns, more weight and more expense. I still had the 40K mile ratty Dominator and bizarrely found myself choosing to throw my leg over that (or my BSA) in preference to the Bavarian beast. Luckily the Ewan McCharley thing kicked off in 2004 and �big trailies� were now impressively dubbed �adventure bikes� and everyone wanted one, so I was able to sell it easily (when I�d paid back what I�d borrowed to buy it) for an astonishingly good price in January 2008. As it happens, by sheer coincidence on the bus home from dropping the BMW off with its new master I read in MCN (I don�t usually read it) the first article about the �coming soon� XT660Z and thought that�ll be the ticket: one bike that will do all of what the Dominator and GSA can do.

Unfortunately, when it came to getting hold of a new T�n�r� in May, I wasn�t quick enough off the mark (as usual) and missed the party. The only ones I could get hold of were baby-sick beige and even then I would have to wait till July, so the Dominator soldiered on till September when my local dealer managed to track down two black ones (I actually wanted white) and I handed over the cash, which wasn�t a lot back then as the economy had just bombed out, �4200 was enough to tease one away from the sales guy.

Here we are, eight years later and I still own it � the longest I have ever kept a �new� bike. I like adventure style bikes, but only the simple single cylinder ones, of which the XT660Z was the last surviving �off-the-shelf� example� so I�ll be keeping it for a good while yet.

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The Dominator was/is a great bike. And that was a great price for your Tenere Pleiades! . glad it's a keeper. ..mine too!. The only other 'big' trailie I can think of with such rugged simplicity is the Honda XR 650L....pretty much the same engine as the Dominator, but not easy to get in the UK. Steve

Mines all a bit more straight forward, i just remember seeing big trailies in the south of France on family holidays, with that said I was quite young at the time . Got interested in motocross a few years later, and here I am now!..But I love what I call the 'true' Dakar bikes , the big ones with little or no technology yet they still rode them pretty much pinned everywhere!.. like these lovelies!.

After a career at sea, I realised that I had seen ports in most countries around the world and circumnavigated Australia more times than I could remember. Around retirement time, inland Australia was calling me...All I needed was a bike that would/could take me there

Prior to going to sea in my early twenties I had owned a long list of enduro style bikes, but these were all sold off (Apart from my Bultaco Alpina) as I was never home long enough to ride them...besides all my riding buddies were also at sea.

Bikes had changed a lot over time, and any riding skills I had in my younger days well and truely gone. The Tenere appealed to me, but it didn't take me long to realise that it was more style than substance, particularly when matching it riding with guys on KTM's etc.

Plenty of mods later, I have a bike that can do most things well, but nothing in particular, really well !!..(Probably more to do with the rider than anything else).

In the three years I have owned the Tenere "WE" have done over 40,000K's together...(No commuting K's and limited transport K's)...I love riding dirt, mud and sand...fortunately so does the Tenere.

My only concern as I age, is its weight....Some of the places I ride, it is inevitable that we are both going to have an up close and personal with terra firma. Fully loaded, I now really struggle to get the bike vertical again.....But for now, we are having a having a lot of fun exploring.

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Attitude is the difference between an Ordeal and an ADVENTURE

As a teenager, I used to blast around on a Honda VT250, and increasingly found myself exploring roads/trails beyond the capability of a 16inch front wheel.

A dealer suggested he knew someone with a bike more suited to what I was doing and being a Paris Dakar follower, I soon had a R80G/S adventure bike. Now with 5 x R80GS and R100GS bikes under the belt, (I am still blasting around on a R100GSPD) I thought I might try something a bit lighter, so hence the XT660Z build project... still.