~
Being a bit "huge" is actually one of the things I like about my Super Tenere.
Nice, *open* seating position with minimal bend in the knees, relaxed reach to the handlebars, adequate seating surface, and incredible weather protection from the tank, fairing, handguards, windscreen (I have a CalSci medium on mine now), etc. I rode a 475 mile round trip yesterday up from Corpus Christi to Houston to meet up with some old friends at the Rio Bravo vintage MX annual "Reunion", and had to deal with a lot of rain both on the way up and getting back home. I never even put on my rain suit. I was wearing a pair of AXO road boots, some Diamond Gussett Kevlar riding jeans, a long-sleeved cotton t-shirt, a Olympia Bonneville mesh jacket, my Lee Parks gloves, and a Schuberth C3 helmet. For the most part I stayed remarkably dry, with only my outer arms, gloves, lower legs, and feet getting really wet. IMHO the Tenere's large cockpit and well thought-out weather protection layout is what kept me dry and comfy, and I enjoyed the entire trip.
Needless to say the ABS and TCS gave me a lot of piece of mind, too, though the bike handled so well neither came into play all day.
Without a doubt in my mind Yamaha designed this thing to cross continents comfortably, either on- or off-road. ::26::
Oh, and I am only 5'7" tall with a 29" inseam... ;D
BTW, the Rio Bravo MX Reunion was a ton of fun... Marty Smith was there, as was former 500cc World Champion road racer Kevin Schwantz (who also rode) and other great motorcycle racers from the past like Darryl Hurst, etc. Really was a great day, even with the rain on each of my transit legs. Fortunately the weather was terrific all day at the track.
Dallara
~