There are lots of choices on bash plates, that's assured.
But to judge them is a bit tricky because it is not what you might think that determines one over another.
Normally you would look at the materials and the coverage and decide what looks\feels substantial enough to take a hit.
Instead, with the Tenere, it is far more about the attachment points.
It seems there are 2 facts that are in play. First, the sump on these mighty Beasts are far from robust. They will indeed break and possibly leak all the oil out if that casting takes a good blow.
And then second, which might be most important, is that many of these bash plates actually attach TO the motor housing itself. So the bash plate might take the actual blow, but then transfer the energy to the same castings that they are intended to protect. The result being that the bash plate breaks the case! It has indeed happened to a few folks here over the years.
So, what am I trying to say? Regardless of if the intention is heavy, light, or no off road at all, to consider installing legitimate protection to the vulnerable sump on the Tenere, you should choose bash protection that is attached to the frame of the bike if possible. You may not need anything resembling TANK protection, but it still would be good engineering sense to find one that actually does NOT have the possibility of transferring the unexpected impact to the sump itself.
Good luck fellas! And regardless of your stated intentions, please don't turn around when the road surface deteriorates as you chase those sunsets and sunrises. This thing was invented to take you there!
