So I picked up my new black Tenere just in time for me to use it while touring Norway for a couple of weeks. I loaded it with my 11 yo kid, some soft side panniers and a bag on the back of it. Pretty heavy laden for a 660. We're looking at some 4000 km's in 14 days. We're now half way through at 2.200 km's.

So what do I think?

Apart from it being a bit on the short side when it comes to room for my passenger: I'm mighty impressed. Nothing less. Yes, it's a 660 thumper meaning you need to plan your take-overs. And the R1, GSX-R1000 and Fireblade guys rides in circles around you. Until the bends appear, that is. But for the rest of the time - meaning some 97 percent of my riding - it's the perfect tool. It runs impressively smooth for a thumper (not noticeably more vibey than my Guzzi twins), it delivers enough power for most situations, it handles good as well as bad roads in a terrific manner, it delivers high mileage pr litre, it even manage to carry a load - In short: I will not hesitate on taking it for a real "round-the-world" tour. Actually I'll bring it to Iceland for 3 weeks next year for some heavy duty testing. I believe it will perform flawlessly.

I am very, very satisfied with my new Tenere. I can only recommend it to those of us more inclined to these kinds of bikes rather than your average sportsbike. It allows you to have a pool of horsepower that you can actually use in real life and day-to-day situations rather than 170 hp+ that you'll never be able to use. Or 105 hps for that sake. 48 hp, I have discovered, is really all the power I need to have a ball.

I'll report back when all the 4000 km's are done. So far I'm a big grin :-)

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HansP

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