Xt660z tenere

[Oscar]

Interesting. In years gone by, the Euro stuff was lighter, higher performance and feature rich but a bit temperamental and/or fragile. Over the last 15 years the Euros have made their stuff reliable without sacrificing any of the good points. At the same time, the japs have improved the performance and features of their bikes so that on the spec sheet they look a lot more like the Euros. But the question is, at what cost? Jap bikes just don't seem anywhere near as reliable or robust as they used to. Talking to ppl in the trade, they just shake their head at the quality of the jap stuff these days.

Very broadly speaking, that is.

[Edit: Euros except BMW. They seem hell-bent on going the lighter-and-less-durable route, too, but I guess they had plenty of margin in that area.]

And more expensive.
Yamaha, obviously guilty about Japanese whaling activities, have commenced building large Marine Mammals and beaching them in bike shops worldwide.

Not does the new Super Tenere weigh more than a 1200GS, in the UK it costs more!

[Night Falcon]

Jap bikes just don't seem anywhere near as reliable or robust as they used to. Talking to ppl in the trade, they just shake their head at the quality of the jap stuff these days. Very broadly speaking, that is.

When I took my 990A into local Honda dealer for WOF the mechanic couldn't stop oogling it. Pretty soon the workshop manager was pouring all over it as well. They were well impressed with the weight, suspension, design...well every thing really. The mechanic took it for a short blast and almost didnt come back to work! Their verdict...that there was a huge gap between what KTM had produced compared to Honda in the in the adventure market. well, I guess we already knew that!


On to the Tenere ... I cant understand how Yamaha got this bike so wrong. Its top heavy, too heavy, underpowered (because of the weight) and poorly sprung. It dosn't even come with hand guards as standard....I mean whats that about? It has a market I suppose but then so dose the Varadero. At 16K + orc its too expensive for what ya gettin....loyalists will disagree of course.

Heres a question for ya....would you by a new Tenere or a 2nd hand 990/950 for the same or possible less money?

[Padmei]

Tenere by a long shot. But then performance is secondary to me.

[Eddieb]

This one has just closed without selling and has been offered out at $8k.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.asp?id=289998377

[Eddieb]

Edit: Euros except BMW. They seem hell-bent on going the lighter-and-less-durable route, too, but I guess they had plenty of margin in that area.

Except the first ones. The R80G/S came up at 185 - 190 kg, depending on whether dry weight or kerb weight (All oils and fluids but empty gas tank) is quoted. After that they got on the steins and got a bit obese round the middle.

[bart]

Personally.....for that kind of coin...I could buy a new DR650, a dedicated dirt bike, and a scooter to ride to work.

but hey, if you've got the money, and you want a bike that'll do everything (badly), go the Tenere.

[Frodo]

Are these things only good for 40,000km before a big rebuild? Doesn't seem right.

Has done 42 000km but just had new
piston, rings and cylinder re-sleve, so
will be good for another 40 000km.

I have an Aprilia Pegaso with the same motor. Have done 58,000km and running brilliantly. Doesn't burn any oil between changes. I'm counting on well over 100,000km before I do anything at all to the motor.

He must have run it out of oil or water or done something stoopid. The motor's pretty robust. The XT660 that went over the Siberian BAM road ran for three days on a mix of 800ml of oil plus water in the sump.

By the way, the XT660R isn't a Jap bike. The motor is definitely built in Italy and I think that the rest is built in France. Presume the Tenere is the same.

Cheers

[Padmei]

Apparently the earlier teneres had bad airfilters that could lead to damage.

[Crim]

I may wait for a few years to add this to my "if I win lottery list" - there are two on TM with moderate k's on them and they have both had motor rebuilds - bad luck, bad maintenance or bad design?

[Shadowjack]

Apparently the earlier teneres had bad airfilters that could lead to damage.

The Seller's Comments in one, and the Q&A inthe other, state that this is so.

[carver]

I may wait for a few years to add this to my "if I win lottery list" - there are two on TM with moderate k's on them and they have both had motor rebuilds - bad luck, bad maintenance or bad design?

it is a yamaha...overpriced, and not that great!