The 2021 Yamaha Tenere 700

~TABASCO~

RIDE ON ADV is what I do !
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I believe this is going to be an awesome bike !

(Topic of tubes)

There are MANY good points on both sides in this whole thread...... great information on both sides !

I can only speak from my 35 years of motorcycle experience with "tubes & tubeless". I have found tubeless to be a blessing with the Super Tenere 1200 and punctures. Ive had so many punctures its not funny, and have fixed them in just a few minutes with plugging the tire in many different situations. For me, some of the most memorable have been off road in the desert (ridiculously hot), pouring down rain(many times), totally muddy off road, in a one light town at a Mexican restaurant 110*F... For me, all of these situations would have been a total BEATING if I had to pull the wheel and tire, then mess around with a tube..... NO thanks... Ive had plenty of 'tube' experience in my life.

For me this second, this is probably the one thing has me thinking if I "need" this bike..........Naaaaaaaaaa. I just remanence about all the fun times cleaning all the mud off the tire, enough to put a plug in and go.... I can't (I CAN) imagine tearing the rear end off to fix a flat covered in mud, been there-done that. For me, at my age, no thanks.......

(I know there are options, and more pros & cons, and more conversation) I have really enjoyed throwing in a plug and riding off... A few of you know of my story about riding on a rear flat and not knowing it. The rear tire coming off the rim at a gas station and the tire being extremely hot. This is a great story and experience to highlight the awesomeness of being able to plug the tire and taking off...... What another AWESOME adventure !

Thats what its all about !
 
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cyclemike4

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One reason the Super T is pretty much the perfect bike for me is because of the tubeless tires. I have left work after a 14 hour day and found a flat. I plugged it and went home. When i am that tired i really don't want to pull a tube out and patch it. I use my bike every day for everything i do. work groceries vacationing what ever. It is not perfect no. But it is what i need a pick up truck of the motorcycles. I do enjoy it. But on the other hand if i were to buy a big play bike that 700 Yamaha would be it! the tubes would not matter to me at all. I am sure set up right it would still be a great daily bike too.
 

Cycledude

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Tube type tires , chain drive and no cruise control were the Big things that kept me away from the AFrica Twin. For 2020 Honda finally has cruise and tubeless options so I would be a lot more interested if I was buying today and I would also choose the automatic DCT transmission.
 
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ballisticexchris

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Funny you mention cruise control. Before getting my Super Tenere I would have laughed at having a bike with that feature. Now I cannot imagine living without it!

When I did my Iron Butt on my Beta I just jammed my throttle housing into my hand guard and tightened it up. For long cross country I used those little paddles that snapped on. What the hell was I thinking!!??

And yes DCT transmission all the way!!
 

Checkswrecks

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Seems a lot of people are doing tubeless conversions on the Guzzi V85TT. The Argos are good, lighter weight (with less power), shaft, and tubeless?
Hmmm
I'm still interested.
 

twinrider

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Tube type tires , chain drive and no cruise control were the Big things that kept me away from the AFrica Twin. For 2020 Honda finally has cruise and tubeless options so I would be a lot more interested if I was buying today and I would also choose the automatic DCT transmission.
I had a DCT Africa Twin. The DCT worked well enough while I was slogging through traffic on my commute and didn't care what gear I was in. But out touring when I did care I spent so much time correcting unwanted shifts that I would just leave it in manual most of the time.

Another annoyance was the ability to instantly cut the power that a clutch affords. Without that you have to rely entirely on the brakes. U-turns could be tricky as could situations where really delicate throttle input was needed and you'd normally feather the clutch.

A major weak point is the inability to lock the rear wheel in gear, I got stuck on a steep, dead end narrow goat path with no place to turn around and couldn't stop the bike from rolling backward as the tarmac was covered with slippery grit. Normally I would've just put the bike in gear and walked it down feathering the clutch.

The straw that broke the camel's back for me was the DCT deciding to stop downshifting one day on my way to work. This meant that once I came to a stop I couldn't go forward as the bike as to be in first gear to start off. It also has to be in neutral to start so I couldn't even start the bike once I shut it off.

It's too complicated for it's own good, which is why other manufacturers haven't adopted it. A quick shifter or a Rekluse would work better IMO.
 
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jrusell

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"Way to complicated for it's own good". Perfectly put.

Lose one little sensor or wire connection and you are stranded. I think some other owners have reported times where they lost a rear wheel speed sensor. Bike fell over or caught the wire on a something and he was stranded.
Computer can't determine if you are speeding up or down so can't switch gears. Bike would start but would not even shift into first because it couldn't find all the sensor inputs required.

I would love to try one and I am sure for most riders it would be a good bike. I prefer simple and don't want to be stranded because of some stupid electronic gadgets.
The older I get get the more I wish for my old KLR that can be fixed with a screwdriver and a hammer.
 

twinrider

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"Way to complicated for it's own good". Perfectly put.

Lose one little sensor or wire connection and you are stranded. I think some other owners have reported times where they lost a rear wheel speed sensor. Bike fell over or caught the wire on a something and he was stranded.
Computer can't determine if you are speeding up or down so can't switch gears. Bike would start but would not even shift into first because it couldn't find all the sensor inputs required.

I would love to try one and I am sure for most riders it would be a good bike. I prefer simple and don't want to be stranded because of some stupid electronic gadgets.
The older I get get the more I wish for my old KLR that can be fixed with a screwdriver and a hammer.
Yup, even a broken ABS sensor will stop the bike from shifting.
 

SHUMBA

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Tube type tires , chain drive and no cruise control were the Big things that kept me away from the AFrica Twin. For 2020 Honda finally has cruise and tubeless options so I would be a lot more interested if I was buying today and I would also choose the automatic DCT transmission.
Yup, Africa twin, mine was a 2016.
I was aware of the tube type tyres. And no cruise control, chain, no heated grips either.
I fixed all of that and upgraded to a 2018 Tenere ES. Africa twin: better off road
Tenere: better highway bike.
Take your pick..
SHUMBA

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Sierra1

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. . . . The older I get get the more I wish for my old KLR that can be fixed with a screwdriver and a hammer.
I've always been like that. Manual usually means mechanical. Mechanical, most of the time, can be fixed on the side of the road or "rigged" enough to get home. That being said, modern cars & bikes are far superior than their older counterparts. . . . when they're working properly.
 

Checkswrecks

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I did a couple of hundred back road miles on the Tenere yesterday for some needed social distancing and was thinking about the T700.
I'm keeping the 1200, at least for the foreseeable future.
 

Dirt_Dad

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Still not leaning towards the T7, but won't be shocked if I have a turn over of both my bikes this year. Just not locked in on what will inspire me to pull the trigger.

One thing that is guaranteed not to make a home with me is any Honda DCT. I was loaned one last year. Rode it for a total of 160 miles over a two day period. I don't think I've ever been happier to give a bike back to the owner. I've heard people either love it or hate it. Count me among that last group of people. I'd rather drive a Pinto.
 

twinrider

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The T7 strikes me as a great choice for someone who lives in a place with a lot of dirt roads or open, flat offroad dirt like Australia, the western US, etc., that would give plenty of opportunities to use the bike's dirt capabilities. But for those who live in places where most of the riding is tarmac, there are better choices. Like the S10.
 

twinrider

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One thing that is guaranteed not to make a home with me is any Honda DCT. I was loaned one last year. Rode it for a total of 160 miles over a two day period. I don't think I've ever been happier to give a bike back to the owner. I've heard people either love it or hate it. Count me among that last group of people. I'd rather drive a Pinto.
I listed all the negatives above, but one thing I did like was manual mode when strafing twisties aggressively, it was really quick and seamless banging up and down through the gears even while leaned over in corners, which made it possible to ride even more aggressively. Made me feel like Rossi!
 

SHUMBA

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I listed all the negatives above, but one thing I did like was manual mode when strafing twisties aggressively, it was really quick and seamless banging up and down through the gears even while leaned over in corners, which made it possible to ride even more aggressively. Made me feel like Rossi!
Hmmmm...I rode a 2016 Africa Twin for 30,000 km clutch...loved it! Now riding a 2018 Tenere ES. Both bikes are similar in size but the AT is better for general riding, Tenere better long distance cruiser.
I'd like to ride the DCT model. I did test ride on the DCT Gold Wing...nice $$$$
SHUMBA

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Dirt_Dad

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I listed all the negatives above, but one thing I did like was manual mode when strafing twisties aggressively, it was really quick and seamless banging up and down through the gears even while leaned over in corners, which made it possible to ride even more aggressively. Made me feel like Rossi!
I never took it to the twisties. It was so maddening just trying to ride the thing in a straight line. Blew my mind when I pulled out of the driveway and the thing was in 5th gear before I could get to 30 MPH. How much throttle response do you think you have when in 5th gear at 28 MPH?!! It only got worse from there. Man, that thing was not a good match for me.
 

twinrider

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I never took it to the twisties. It was so maddening just trying to ride the thing in a straight line. Blew my mind when I pulled out of the driveway and the thing was in 5th gear before I could get to 30 MPH. How much throttle response do you think you have when in 5th gear at 28 MPH?!! It only got worse from there. Man, that thing was not a good match for me.
Your bike must have been in D mode, which is what the bike starts up in. D stands for drive and is the most fuel efficient, but I called it dumb mode because it short-shifts too much and the response sucks.

There are three other modes, S1, S2 and S3. The higher the number, the longer they hold the gear under acceleration. S2 and 3 accelerated well, but they'd be constantly downshifting at cruising speeds so S1 was my go-to mode for auto-slogging.

But like I mentioned, manual mode was the most fun when the roads turned twisty.
 
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