Talltourer
Member
Figured I posted my thoughts on this, a topic that comes back often is "I'm running bike YZX, how does it compare to the S10" and now I feel I can answer that a little.
The bike, 2017 Super Tenere, Desert Sand, non-ES. Wifes Versys 650 in the background, she loves that thing to death.
TLDR: It's awesometastic, rode it back from dealer(100 miles away) and the next day went on a 300 miles ride without touching any suspension adjustment yet other than rear preload. I'm way less tired than I would have been on my FJ after a similar ride, seat is great, seating position is almost the same than the FJ-09 but more room for legs, still need a better windshield. Motor likes to tractor along instead of needing to be revved. Shaft drive is quiet
The details...
41, 280lbs, 6'4". Been riding for 25 years on road, 35 off road, always had sportier bikes. The FJ was the "less sporty" and smallest diplacement I ever had. To name a few, I had a ZX9R, 2x Z1000, a 2004 R6, Honda CB919(I miss that bike) and recently ,my FJ-09. I heavily debated a Versys 1000 before picking the S10 and even tried one the same day I signed the papers. I'll add my comments as to why I went S10 in there also where applicable.
Ergonomics:
The seating position is very similar to the FJ-09, even cycle-ergo says so but what they dont show as much as they should is how the legs are less bent, how the Tenere feel wider between the legs. The stock S10 seat is more comfortable than my 800$ Top Sellerie gel seat from Europe I had on my FJ-09. More room to move around also. Footpegs are great with the metal teeths and rubber insert. When pinned against a Versys 1k, the Versys felt right as soon as I sat on it but after 10-15 minutes I noticed right away how tighter the seating area was since I was not able to move forward and backward on the seat, very little side to side. This was going to be an issue for me on long rides. That was strike 1 for the Versys.
Wind protection:
On my FJ-09 I had a Vstream Sport Touring windscreen and it was not tall enough, i'd still get buffeting above 65mph. I'm looking at the Vstream Touring(tallest one) for my S10. For the demo ride I did on the Versys, i'd say the same thing, a much bigger windscreen would be needed. I also had replaced the handguards on my FJ with a set of KTM enduro hanguards. They fitted nicely on the bars and gave me much more protection than the OEM FJ handguards and I can say they were better than the S10 also. Riding back from the dealer(100 miles ride) I noticed right away how the wind was able to enter my jacket at the wrist that I usually leave loose for more comfort. This is something i'll have to address on the S10 with some extensions on top or replace them all together. Having your jacket inflate and puff with the wind is not pleasant. The S10 offers good protection wind protection in front of your knees VS the FJ and it's slightly better than the Versys also I think.. Something I will very much appreciate as the temps will drop for autumn riding, my favorite season. I noticed that my jeans dont flap around behind my boots when on the S10, they did on the FJ and Versys, I'll assume it's "quieter" down there also, less subject to direct rain and such.
Drivetrain:
The FJ-09 made great power... when revved above 5k. This was getting tiring. It was relatively vibration free and sounded awesome when on it. One thing i'll give to it was fuel economy. On some rides I was doing under 4L/100kms(58-60mpg), this was mostly back country roads at 50-65mph. It was amazing for that. I'll get something else out of the way also, the Versys 1k engine is a beast, was full of torque and wanted to go, it's very fast BUT there is lots of vibrations over 4.5k in the seat and handlebars. Enough to annoy me on the 20 minutes test drive I took. It was one of my biggest turn off and strike 2 for the Versys 1k. The S10 on the other hand... performs awesome in the low revs, pull away from 2k rpms in any gear, no fun, no vibrations what so ever at any revs where it matters. I knew what I was getting into, a great no frills "touring/torquy" engine. The only thing i'm not a fan of yet may never be until I put a pipe on is how "agricultural" the engine sounds. No feelings/emotions in there, it just does it's job, very nicely with no frills. I was also impressed by the fuel economy of the big 1200 twin, giving me 5L/100kms(47mpg) yesterday on a typical ride with my wife in the backroads west of Ottawa between 50 and 65mph all day. This is my first shaftdrive bike. Feels weird to not ear the chain at all. I'll get used to that quickly I think!
Suspension:
One of the biggest reason I wanted to sell my FJ and ended up on a S10. Unless I was gonna spend 1.5-2k Canadian into getting it redone, the FJ-09 suspension is barely adequate for bigger guys like me, then you had luggage and it's not good... it would be harsh, choppy and too soft all at the same time. The demo ride on the V1k gave me the impression it was much better than the FJ but even with the rear preload maxed out(did not touch anything else), it was rather bouncy and soft in the back. Now the S10! So far I only touched the rear preload, it's a 4/5 bars on the adjuster. I did not even check whatever goofy settings the dealer much have done to it and yet, it rides miles above my FJ. Comfortable yet just stiff enough you feel what's going on. I can feel the expansion joints on a bridge or small potholes but they dont upset the bike(or me) kinda deal, I just know there was a lil bump on the road. This bike was build from the ground up to carry some weight and it shows. Cant wait for the suspension to break-in and dial it in to my likings.
Luggage:
I had the SHAD SH36 on the FJ, loved them. They could fit a fullface helmet easily, even with my Sena still attached and looked great on the FJ. Same with the Versys 1k OEM luggage, no bad comments, wife has the same on her 650 and they work great. I knew getting the S10 i'd need a top case right away, i'll be ordering the Yamaha one since in Canada side cases are standard and i'm not spending 1500-2000$ Canadian yet on a set of new Givi/Touratech and others when the OEM ones will do the trick for now. The OEM Yamaha top case will give me room for my helmet when we stop for lunches and such and will work with my key like the side cases. I like that. Funny fact... the top case retails for 700$+Tx around here, ordering it from RockyMountainATV with the winglets(80$us VS 180$ Can) will cost me around 650$ Can all said and done. Far from the near 1k$ the dealer wanted with taxes.
Hope that helps anyone having some questions, feel free to send some if you have.
Cheers.
The bike, 2017 Super Tenere, Desert Sand, non-ES. Wifes Versys 650 in the background, she loves that thing to death.
TLDR: It's awesometastic, rode it back from dealer(100 miles away) and the next day went on a 300 miles ride without touching any suspension adjustment yet other than rear preload. I'm way less tired than I would have been on my FJ after a similar ride, seat is great, seating position is almost the same than the FJ-09 but more room for legs, still need a better windshield. Motor likes to tractor along instead of needing to be revved. Shaft drive is quiet
The details...
41, 280lbs, 6'4". Been riding for 25 years on road, 35 off road, always had sportier bikes. The FJ was the "less sporty" and smallest diplacement I ever had. To name a few, I had a ZX9R, 2x Z1000, a 2004 R6, Honda CB919(I miss that bike) and recently ,my FJ-09. I heavily debated a Versys 1000 before picking the S10 and even tried one the same day I signed the papers. I'll add my comments as to why I went S10 in there also where applicable.
Ergonomics:
The seating position is very similar to the FJ-09, even cycle-ergo says so but what they dont show as much as they should is how the legs are less bent, how the Tenere feel wider between the legs. The stock S10 seat is more comfortable than my 800$ Top Sellerie gel seat from Europe I had on my FJ-09. More room to move around also. Footpegs are great with the metal teeths and rubber insert. When pinned against a Versys 1k, the Versys felt right as soon as I sat on it but after 10-15 minutes I noticed right away how tighter the seating area was since I was not able to move forward and backward on the seat, very little side to side. This was going to be an issue for me on long rides. That was strike 1 for the Versys.
Wind protection:
On my FJ-09 I had a Vstream Sport Touring windscreen and it was not tall enough, i'd still get buffeting above 65mph. I'm looking at the Vstream Touring(tallest one) for my S10. For the demo ride I did on the Versys, i'd say the same thing, a much bigger windscreen would be needed. I also had replaced the handguards on my FJ with a set of KTM enduro hanguards. They fitted nicely on the bars and gave me much more protection than the OEM FJ handguards and I can say they were better than the S10 also. Riding back from the dealer(100 miles ride) I noticed right away how the wind was able to enter my jacket at the wrist that I usually leave loose for more comfort. This is something i'll have to address on the S10 with some extensions on top or replace them all together. Having your jacket inflate and puff with the wind is not pleasant. The S10 offers good protection wind protection in front of your knees VS the FJ and it's slightly better than the Versys also I think.. Something I will very much appreciate as the temps will drop for autumn riding, my favorite season. I noticed that my jeans dont flap around behind my boots when on the S10, they did on the FJ and Versys, I'll assume it's "quieter" down there also, less subject to direct rain and such.
Drivetrain:
The FJ-09 made great power... when revved above 5k. This was getting tiring. It was relatively vibration free and sounded awesome when on it. One thing i'll give to it was fuel economy. On some rides I was doing under 4L/100kms(58-60mpg), this was mostly back country roads at 50-65mph. It was amazing for that. I'll get something else out of the way also, the Versys 1k engine is a beast, was full of torque and wanted to go, it's very fast BUT there is lots of vibrations over 4.5k in the seat and handlebars. Enough to annoy me on the 20 minutes test drive I took. It was one of my biggest turn off and strike 2 for the Versys 1k. The S10 on the other hand... performs awesome in the low revs, pull away from 2k rpms in any gear, no fun, no vibrations what so ever at any revs where it matters. I knew what I was getting into, a great no frills "touring/torquy" engine. The only thing i'm not a fan of yet may never be until I put a pipe on is how "agricultural" the engine sounds. No feelings/emotions in there, it just does it's job, very nicely with no frills. I was also impressed by the fuel economy of the big 1200 twin, giving me 5L/100kms(47mpg) yesterday on a typical ride with my wife in the backroads west of Ottawa between 50 and 65mph all day. This is my first shaftdrive bike. Feels weird to not ear the chain at all. I'll get used to that quickly I think!
Suspension:
One of the biggest reason I wanted to sell my FJ and ended up on a S10. Unless I was gonna spend 1.5-2k Canadian into getting it redone, the FJ-09 suspension is barely adequate for bigger guys like me, then you had luggage and it's not good... it would be harsh, choppy and too soft all at the same time. The demo ride on the V1k gave me the impression it was much better than the FJ but even with the rear preload maxed out(did not touch anything else), it was rather bouncy and soft in the back. Now the S10! So far I only touched the rear preload, it's a 4/5 bars on the adjuster. I did not even check whatever goofy settings the dealer much have done to it and yet, it rides miles above my FJ. Comfortable yet just stiff enough you feel what's going on. I can feel the expansion joints on a bridge or small potholes but they dont upset the bike(or me) kinda deal, I just know there was a lil bump on the road. This bike was build from the ground up to carry some weight and it shows. Cant wait for the suspension to break-in and dial it in to my likings.
Luggage:
I had the SHAD SH36 on the FJ, loved them. They could fit a fullface helmet easily, even with my Sena still attached and looked great on the FJ. Same with the Versys 1k OEM luggage, no bad comments, wife has the same on her 650 and they work great. I knew getting the S10 i'd need a top case right away, i'll be ordering the Yamaha one since in Canada side cases are standard and i'm not spending 1500-2000$ Canadian yet on a set of new Givi/Touratech and others when the OEM ones will do the trick for now. The OEM Yamaha top case will give me room for my helmet when we stop for lunches and such and will work with my key like the side cases. I like that. Funny fact... the top case retails for 700$+Tx around here, ordering it from RockyMountainATV with the winglets(80$us VS 180$ Can) will cost me around 650$ Can all said and done. Far from the near 1k$ the dealer wanted with taxes.
Hope that helps anyone having some questions, feel free to send some if you have.
Cheers.