New S10 owner in St. Louis

[IntRunner]

Hello Everyone,

I recently have purchased a new 2016 Super Tenere ES model and I look forward to hearing from everyone as I learn to make this a great bike for myself. Previously I rode a Honda ST1300 which had a premature death from a collision with a deer in Colorado back in September. I looked closely at BMW's as they have all the bells and whistles, but it was Yamaha's reliability reputation that lead me to the purchase and a desire to maybe ride a little off the pavement to the Adventure bike category (granted, probably 99% of my riding might still be on pavement).

So my first question for the group relates to mods. I'm going to do the following first, let me know your thoughts:

1. New windshield (thinking Parabellum tall for the colder months)
2. Yamaha wind deflectors

3. Was hoping to use my Shad SH50 topcase on the S10, but it looks like the bike specific mounting plates only go through 2013 (Yamaha Canada is showing one for 2016 but it's not available in the USA), so my question is, are others using the SH50 and does the SHAD mounting plate for the Gen I (2010 to 13) work with the Gen II bikes?
4. Panniers, thinking of the Givi Trekker series as they open to the side and I would hope they would work if I have the SH50 or some other topcase mounted (do others have experience with this?).

5. Skid plate (thinking make GIVI or Yamaha), but wondering if the Alt Rider one is worth the money for someone who will not be riding much off-road?
6. Crash Bars - Seems like Alt rider might have the most sturdy, but this would be mostly tip-over protection in my case, so would other brands be sufficient?

7. Seat - Ugh, the reviews spoke well of the seat and I like the upright riding position for my stiff back (an over 50 rider here), but this past Saturday was my first ride longer than 10 miles (only about 30 at a stretch) and my back was killing me. So I'll be spending some time searching this site for seat mods as I was hoping to not have to go to a RDL (which I had on my ST and allowed me to log 1,000+ mile days). What have others done?

Hope I have not asked too many questions and looking forward to getting to know the bike and others on this forum. Oh, first time with heated grips and they were nice as well as a first bike with cruise, oh how I'll enjoy that feature. Curious, is the avg MPG readout accurate as it showed I averaged over 50 mpg on my rides Saturday going at an easy break-in pace (that did make me smile).

Mark

 

[fredz43]

Hi Mark,

I am not too far from you, as I live near Niehaus Cycles in Litchfield, IL, my local Honda/Yamaha dealer. I had 3 ST1300's and am now on my second S10, had one of the pre order 2012's and now have a 14 ES. Great bikes. I have used the SW Motech skid plates on both of my bikes and they work well for me. Had a heavy duty ACD on the 14 for a bit, but after scraping it twice in twisties, went back to the SW-M. They only come in the raw aluminum color, so I had them powder coated black. As for seats, I found that the Seth Laam rebuild worked very well and a lot less than RDL. However, after riding one of my friend's RDL sport model seat on his S10, I bought one of them and am very happy with it. I have the Altrider crash bars on the 14. I had the SW-M bars on my 12 and they were fine, but the Altriders are a bit more sturdy. I also have the new SW Motech Trex ADV model bags and like them a lot. They are top loaders, though. They work well for me ,as I don't have a top box.

Welcome to the forum and I hope that you enjoy your new bike. If you ever care to meet some other local riders, there is an informal group of us, mostly retired riders that meet at Bandannas BBQ, exit 11 on I 55 near Collinsville for lunch at 11 each Tuesday. At least 4 of us have S10's most on their second one, so we would be glad to meet you and show you our farkles ,etc. Of course, that is weather dependent this time of year. On those days, many of us just drive there for lunch, as it is still interesting to talk bikes.

Fred Z.

 

[IntRunner]

Fred,

Thank you for the reply and good information. I'll need to meet up on of those Tuesday, but work might keep me away often. I do get over to Litchfield from time-to-time and Niehaus is always a stop to just look around.

Mark

 

[fredz43]

Give me a shout if you are going to be at Niehaus and I'll try to stop by. I sometimes fill in there the real sales guys take vacation. Great retirement part time job. ;D

 

[barkingllizard]

congrats on your new ride, IntRunner, with a simple hello.....

 

[Juan]

Greetings from Malta and welcome to the forum.

 

[Brick]

Mark, Welcome from another 2 time Super Tenere owner.
I run the Yamaha skid plate powder coated black as 99% of my riding is paved roads too. Givi crash bars for me and Trax top loader bags. I run an off brand top case that is narrow enough to fit between the bags. After around 98,000 miles on Tenere I finally got a Seat Concepts Low seat and like it. But the stock 2012 seat was best for me. I'm shorter and still love the stock windshield.
Hope to see you on the road.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[colorider]

Welcome to the forum Mark and congrats on the new ES! I think you will be very happy with the Tenere after you "personalize" it to your tastes.

Good luck!!

::022::

 

[IntRunner]

Thanks for all the responses as it's starting to sound like I can't go wrong with the bike.

Only real concern is if the SHAD mounting hardware works on the 2016 (does anyone know if the top case mount area changed between the 2013 and 2016)?

As always, I appreciate all the feedback. ::008::

 

[rudderpedals]

Congrats on your New Bike! I live in Liberty and I'm looking at purchasing a Tenere in June 2017. Keep us all posted on your new ride (likes/dislikes).

 

[AVGeek]

Thanks for all the responses as it's starting to sound like I can't go wrong with the bike.

Only real concern is if the SHAD mounting hardware works on the 2016 (does anyone know if the top case mount area changed between the 2013 and 2016)?

As always, I appreciate all the feedback. ::008::

I can't confirm as I still have a Gen 1 bike, and no top box, however from all reports we have seen, the tail plate is the same across both Generations.

 

[RIDEMYST]

Hi Mark and welcome to the group.
I am also a previous ST1300 owner. I had two of them. a 2004 & a 2008 and put over 250K miles on the pair.
I loved that bike!
After a short stint with a Tiger Explorer I purchased a 2015 Tenere ES.
There are features I like about both the ST and the Tenere.
I miss the power windscreen of the ST but really like the cruise on the Tenere. I first said that the Tenere was a close second to the ST but now I'd call it a toss up!
I have equipped my Tenere with the taller OEM touring windscreen and the winglettes (I'm 6'-2"), that seems to calm the wind. I also installed AltRider crashbars and skid plate and went with a Sargant seat......lots of other stuff but those are the main items.
My Tenere is a little over 20 months and I'm approaching the 47K mile mark, so I'm starting to know the bike.
IMHO you will not be disappointed in your change!
Just my 2-cents. -JEP-

 

[Checkswrecks]

Welcome aboard Mark -

Other than a decent skid plate and maybe bars to protect the radiator (left side), just ride it for a bit to figure out what you want and see what's worked for others. The search function on this forum works really well and there is a LOT of experience to be found.

Personally I'm not a fan of Shad cases. They seem to use a harder plastic that breaks easier than Givi and others. I and many others are all aluminum. The rear toprack, and so the mounts, are same for Gen1 and Gen2. This does NOT apply to the side case racks, especially for an ES.

I'd suggest the SW Motech skidplate over the Yamaha for light duty, like you described, due to mounting.

Search what folks have written about bars and you'll find alternatives (Givi, SW-Motech, etc) if you are just looking for tip-over protection.

For the seat, start by flattening it with $2 bumpers from Home Depot.
http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=2306.0

 

[IntRunner]

OK, just hit my 600 miles so the breakin period is over, will take it in for service. This is my report on how I'm liking the bike.

The Good, well the Cruise is great (I can't go back to a bike without it), shifting is smooth (not sure where some have said it's clunky, but I'm comparing to my clunky ST), it handles great, have been averaging high 40's on 87 octane, added the Parabellum 25 inch windscreen and it's made a big difference (thinking after adding the wings and the wind issues will be taken care of), but it's not a warm bike like my ST and I'll be happy for that come summer. Easy up on the centerstand. Has enough power for the kind of riding I do.

The Bad, funny but it's some of the reasons I purchased the bike as I thought it would fit me perfectly. I find that I have lots of shoulder pain and back pain so I'll be adding risers (plus the cable extensions). Second, I thought the OEM seat might work, but I took my longest ride on it New Year's day (200 miles) and I'll say that it's close to a torture device (it only takes about 25 miles for my butt to be feeling the pain). So a RDL will be a another purchase that I'll make. Granted, I would have been adding those on just about any other bike, so I really have until June to get it sorted before I head to Moab, if I can't manage that then someone will be getting a really good price on a slightly used S10.

Thanks again for all those who have commented and provided suggestions.

 

[snakebitten]

Tons of info here, (5+ years worth) concerning the ergonomics.
Don't know how tall, wide, etc that you are, but it isn't surprising that the OEM layout has you complaining.

However, 600 miles is far from long enough to "break in" both the bike and\or yourself for long days in the saddle.
That seat might get better with time. Might not. After the mandatory "seat leveling" mod that a 1000 of us have done, I eventually found the OEM seat to my liking.
I can do a 11-12 hour day on it.
The bars? I don't think there is any riser that would correct for the severe sweep that they had. Someone on here years ago suggest I close my eyes and put my hands where I want them. Then buy whatever it takes to find my grips right where I "blindly" expected them to be. Best advice I ever got. 40,000+ miles of comfort followed.

Keep in mind that long days in the saddle require the human being to do their part too. It takes a few days of that to build up the muscles that are only used perched in the 80mph wind.

Good luck! Hope you have many stories to tell of the places you've been on a Tenere someday.

 

[IntRunner]

However, 600 miles is far from long enough to "break in" both the bike and\or yourself for long days in the saddle.
That seat might get better with time. Might not. After the mandatory "seat leveling" mod that a 1000 of us have done, I eventually found the OEM seat to my liking.
I can do a 11-12 hour day on it.

You are correct, 600 miles are a drop in the bucket. Definitely will be working on the "seat leveling" mod prior to paying the $$ for the RDL (sounds like a project for this cold weekend), but I know with my ST, it was not until I had the RDL on the bike before I could tolerate the 700+ mile days so I guess I've sorted resigned myself to getting one. Thanks for the information!

 

[snakebitten]

Well, from what's established around here by the iron-butts, I'm not in any way implying that oem seat will ever go toe to toe with the RDL. That seat has legend status.