400 lbs is the magic number

[bob dirt]

Nothing wrong with having a 400# bike...but the Tenere isn't that bike. I love the way it cruises on the road AND the dirt. It's a great dirt road bike but I sure wouldn't call it a dirt bike. I think it's more comfortable than my 2012 Goldwing that my wife won't let me sell.

arjayes, I don't know how you only got 6000 miles to Alaska and back. When I went to Deadhorse and back, it was almost 9000.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Nothing wrong with having a 400# bike...but the Tenere isn't that bike. I love the way it cruises on the road AND the dirt. It's a great dirt road bike but I sure wouldn't call it a dirt bike. I think it's more comfortable than my 2012 Goldwing that my wife won't let me sell.

arjayes, I don't know how you only got 6000 miles to Alaska and back. When I went to Deadhorse and back, it was almost 9000.

au Contrair. The TBDBITW initials are Snakebitten's shorthand for


The Biggest Dirt Bike In The World

::003::

 

[bob dirt]

That's funny....I'm sure he's a better rider than me ::003::

 

[snakebitten]

That's funny....I'm sure he's a better rider than me ::003::

LoL
Don't know about that Bob. But you DO have to be willing to pick it up off the ground from time to time, just like any "dirtbike"
I will tell ya though, there's some fellas on here that can ride the socks of these Teneres in places where you'd have to call it dirtbiking.

And yes arjayes, you can ride a 950SE 6000 miles. However, apparently not very many did, it was far from a sales success.
And it's even less likely you would if you had your Tenere sitting right next to it in the barn.
I'd likely ride the SE more if I didn't have a dang Tenere. No doubt.

 

[trikepilot]

Seems like more often than not, the 950SEs that pop up for sale at ADVrider are garage queens with next to no miles on them. I am sure some ride the socks off that bike, but it could be (mis)construed that few do.

As for TBDBITW.... it is out there, but the disciples are few and far between. My guess is that Romney will attract more than a few of them.

sent from my phone with fat thumbs. please forgive my typos

 

[Harry Dresden PI]

400 lbs is the weight of the solo rider with his luggage and equipment.

As long as the bike can carry itself and the above 400 lbs at paralegal interstate speeds at uphill at 12,000 altitude with regular gas for at least 250 miles you got a winner ....

 

[decooney]

...
The big talk for the last year (I'm sure it's been discussed here) has been KTM's pending 800cc twin adventure bike. There are "stealth" photos all over the place. It will start as an 800cc Duke, possibly in 2017, then probably follow a year later as an Adventure R version (according to quotes from Stefan Pierer). That would be consistent with their cadence with the 690 Duke and Adventure R. The 800cc KTM has me more interested than anything else that's still "vaporware", although the 700cc Tenere is also on my radar. But I think the Yamaha is much less likely to happen in my lifetime for some reason.
...

On that note, this may have been posted elsewhere, but found a few more spy shots from Dec 9, 2016 of someone testing what is suppose to be the KTM 800 enduro. Looks different from the last v-twin prototype spy shots. Saw some chatter about an early release in 17 for what was suppose to be a 2018 model, and set up to be more dirt oriented now too. Can't tell if it's faked to fool us, but zooming in I see two exhaust pipes coming out of the FRONT, parallel twin ??? instead of v-twin?, hmmm.

 

[Don in Lodi]

Sounds like a definition problem. Some folks ride 1200 miles in a fair amount of comfort, set up camp and go play around at 12,000 feet above sea level and call that Adventure. Some folks trailer 1200 miles in air conditioned comfort, take a shower in their hotel room, then ride a few miles of pavement to get to the off road park and call that an Adventure. To each their own. To each a different class of bike. Personally, I wouldn't have minded if the Ténéré was a tiny bit heavier, but I'm glad it's not. What a bear to tip back upright.

 

[snakebitten]

Good points Don in lodi.

I've had a narrow (macho) definition at times. I suspect it's just me self-challenging. And it IS rewarding to push at times.
But, I've also pampered myself a bit and just "ate the desert" portion of Adventure.

Looking back, I've enjoyed sleeping on the ground, sleeping in the AC\heated teardrop, and the luxury hotel.
Regardless, the cherished memories usually are dominated by the views, the trails, and the folks I shared them with.

I guess how much the horse weighs isn't as important as one would think.

 

[frez]

Managed to trim 100 pounds off mine this year, all on top of the saddle. Can't say it has made a huge difference, perhaps to the acceleration from standing, and definitely to the riders health.

 

[Brick]

Managed to trim 100 pounds off mine this year, all on top of the saddle. Can't say it has made a huge difference, perhaps to the acceleration from standing, and definitely to the riders health.

Whoa frez, Congratulations! That is outstanding. I dropped 34 and feel soooo much better at 170 than I did at 204!! ::008::

 

[frez]

Thanks, was 315 last December, started a diet properly in March, down to 215 now, heading for 185'ish at 6'4. Feels great, only wish I had done it years ago.

 

[gustojunk]

I've been thinking about this weight issue for a while. I've been in love with my S10 for most situations. I use it almost daily if there's no snow or I don't have to take my kid with me.

For long trips she is awesome on all kinds of roads, I prefer back roads and lately I started doing more off-road too. In easy open trails and most dirt roads the S10 works quite well, but it's heavy and hard to maneuver. In some cases I've dropped her mostly from being exhausted and out of breath from trying to wrestle with its weight.

I keep gaining confidence to go on more types of terrain with it, and I would never want to replace it with a small (sub 400lb) bike. The challenge of using my S10 on dirt and sand has been mostly a physical one and it has motivated me to get stronger (I can now lift her up by myself even on some uphill) and I'm working on my endurance and fitness to be lighter myself (I want to lose a good 30lb-40lb) and be a bit more agile (no more out of breath moments)

All that being said... I still think it makes sense to own a lighter second bike for different types of fun, in the sub-400lb category. But if I could only have one bike this S10 would still be the one for me.

Some of my friends have dirt-bikes that they haul in trailers or trucks to places. But I don't want to haul, nor I want a bike that requires constant maintenance like most dirt bikes do.

I've been thinking about getting either a Suzuki DRZ400 (320lb wet/33hp) and can be found for about $3.5K with low miles. Or if business is good I might go for a KTM 690R (320lb wet/67hp) instead (more in the $8-9k range used, if I even find one) . Either of those are single cylinder but capable enough to ride them to a trail (especially the KTM).

In summary: I believe that the magic number is 2, not 400. As in 2 bikes. If you can't swing that just pick your compromise for the one bike that will be the best for most of your needs.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ramseybella]

Snake - you hit the target when you speak of "RTW equipped."

There is so much hyper-inflated interweb bloviating on the weights of various bikes and how that affects their usefulness. Then, the very same characters that nickel and dime the weights of stripped bikes, proceed to pile pounds and pounds of excessive weight in the form of hard cases, fancy lights, custom seats, racks, skids, crash guards, and a litany of other superfluous crap that is not even taking into account the amount of "stuff" they pack to take with them.

I just did the TAT last summer on my Tenere as many of you know. I knowingly brought a "heavy bike" so I purposely packed ridiculously light so the end result was a bike that could easily cruise at 50+ on good gravel roads all day or tractor over rough terrain with ease. The below photo shows the Tenere fully dressed on the TAT somewhere in UT - everything in one Giant Loop bag and all my electronics in divided foam padding in the OEM topbox. I wish I had weighed my bike + kit, cuz I betcha an ice cold beer that my total of bike + kit was lighter than a fair number of the same for guys on bikes with half the displacement.

So my takeaway is... pick the right bike for your trip and then pack accordingly. For me... Fancy was most definitely the right bike for my trip and I'd take her on it again without hesitation.

I never looked at the max weight the Ten can hold as I am 300+ pounds and load another 60 to 70+ pounds on the sides and back when I tour making it not fun off road unless its hard pack. I have sprung three spokes since I replaced the rear rim with an original Yamaha Tenere rim. I had the 18" on the back and killed two of them still run the 21" on the front so I have never rode a Tenere with the 19"x17" factory configuration.

 

[trikepilot]

I've been thinking about getting either a Suzuki DRZ400 (320lb wet/33hp) and can be found for about $3.5K with low miles. Or if business is good I might go for a KTM 690R (320lb wet/67hp) instead (more in the $8-9k range used, if I even find one) . Either of those are single cylinder but capable enough to ride them to a trail (especially the KTM).

In summary: I believe that the magic number is 2, not 400. As in 2 bikes. If you can't swing that just pick your compromise for the one bike that will be the best for most of your needs.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A great many of us Tenere riders who lean more towards dirt usage have done just this. Years ago, I bought a nicely farkled WR250R to go out and play in the woods in an effort to build my dirt skills up to allow me to take the Tenere into dirtier and dirtier places. The WRR was perfect for my starter dirt trainer bike. But over time, I wanted to make her more into a dirt bike than a DS to benefit my fun factor offroad. As I biased her towards dirt rather than road, I found myself less inclined to ride her 45-60 mins on pavement to get to the fun stuff and started trailering her. This was partly cuz she was not too comfortable at highway speeds and partly to minimize the wear and tear on my non DOT super aggressive knobbies. Several years of pushing myself to learn new skills on this little bike gave me the confidence to tackle the TAT on the Tenere where I had no problems whatsoever with the size and weight of the Tenere. I just sold the WRR last week after upgrading a month ago to a Husky FE501s. The dirt bike learning continues....

So I would definitely urge you to consider a second bike. And like you said they can often be had for a bargain slightly used if you carefully watch ADVrider and CL. As dual sport riders, we are constantly trading off one sort of riding for another. There is no one perfect bike that does it all. Owning two bikes allows you to fine tune each for their intended goals and you get the best of both worlds.

 

[twinrider]

The new Versys X-300 is a twin. It is 370 lbs wet. I sat on one two weeks ago and it felt extremely light.

Who's the cracker in front of you pretending he's Ewan in his track suit?

 

[fredz43]

I have to agree with gustojunk and trikepilot that if you are able, owning more than one type of bike can be a lot of fun. I love my S10 for sport touring and some light off road. I also have a 1999 DR350, bored to 435 (under 300 lbs) that I use for dual sport riding that is incredible fun in conditions that are rougher than I would ride the S10 on. I am fortunate that I that I also have a few vintage Bultacos (way under 300 lbs) that I can ride in serious off road conditions, plus compete in vintage racing. If you can at least add a good dual sport to your stable you can really enjoy the best of both worlds. There are times when riding the 435 that I think that it may be the most fun bike I have owned in 50 years of riding.

I enjoy sport riding and have had several good sport bikes. I also once had a 2004 GL1800 Gold Wing. One day I rode some of my favorite Ozark twisties on it and while it did fine, when I was done, I wondered why I had even tried that, as it would never be as enjoyable on those conditions as a real sport bike. I guess that is my overall outlook on bikes, while almost any bike can be ridden in most conditions, if you are able to have bikes that are designed for different types of riding, you will have a lot more fun. Or, I guess I should say I have a lot more fun.

 

[snakebitten]

In summary: I believe that the magic number is 2, not 400. As in 2 bikes.

Or 4 or...........
There is no law against it!
Some folks have a TV in every room. Heck, some RV's now come with 4.

I know if there WAS a law, I'd no doubt would have a Tenere. It affords me the greatest portion of all the different reasons I would "go" on two wheels.
But alas, we live in remarkable times. There are hardly any limits that aren't self imposed.

Though the passion can, and has, gone dormant in me at times, I simply love to traverse the surface of the planet mounted on the modern horse.
Each seems to have its own gait. Rarely ever got off of one and didn't enjoy it for whatever it does well.

Rode this to work. Nothing could be less "thoroughbred". She's simply a friendly pony. I succumb. LOL

 

[snakebitten]

Fred!!!

Miss you sir!

DR's and Persangs. A man after my own heart.
(Although I never was good at shifting with the other foot. My brother, on the other hand, had a bit of Jim Pomeroy in him and could flat out fly on the thing. Won a few motos at Rio Bravo on his)

 

[fredz43]

Hi Snake,

Miss you also, my friend. Hope that we can get together again soon.

I should have mentioned that I have taken my passion to a bit of an extreme level in having bikes for specific purposes. Case in point, with my Bultacos, I have one for cross country races and trail riding (Frontera 370), another for motocross (Pursang 360) and another for trials (Sherpa T 250).