The Character of the Super Tenere

[Salmon Sam]

So, it seems that a consistent negative review of our beloved ride is "no character". Often, this used in comparison with that other adventure bike. For the second year in a row, I got to leave the Great Pacific NW of the US and venture East and South to Townsend, TN and rent from Dan at GSM Motorent some adventure bikes with a longtime riding buddy. Dan IS a GS fan and has several bikes for rent (and he actually encourages off road riding), plus some KLR's, a Triumph Tiger (not the Explorer) and one Super Tenere. Give him a call for a great experience and tell him to increase his ST fleet (gsmmotorent.com). This year, as I now own one, I let my buddy experience the ST and I took the GS so that I could see how it felt and performed after doing about 2500 miles on my own ST. Some pictures attached to show you the experience. Great one of my buddy doing a water crossing on the ST (not that you can tell which machine it is)!

Anyway, I have rented several GS's over the past few years, and generally have liked them. I will say, they are more "flickable" on the Dragon and other twisties BUT not as confidence inspiring on the gravel or dirt (not that the ST isn't capable and fun in the turns). Also, in comparison with the ST, it seemed that - only way that I can describe it - you were riding on a bunch of parts versus a nice tight, unified machine that is "part of you" (vs. you being merely on top of something). Switching back to the ST reinforced this. All I could do is think of the character descriptions given elsewhere in this forum:

- refined
- solid
- planted
- effortless and natural
- smooth
- truly go anywhere with confidence

So, here is a thread dedicated to trying to define the character of Super Tenere. I am sure that we can collectively come up with a nice, definitive character description to refer to when asked: "Huh?". Not that it really matters what others think, but it's all for fun anyway, right? How do you see it?

 

[BaldKnob]

With just over 25,000 miles and 5 rear tires, I should have a decent assessment of the S10's "character" so here goes... it is what it is. An extremely composed and competent street bike that can handle a dirt road like no other 600lb machine can or should. I tell people it's my GoldWing for a gravel road when they ask if it is a BMW. Other than a couple of "hardstarts", this machine has been problem-free and I wouldn't hesitate taking it across the State, Country or the World (if I had the means). I believe the so-called character some people seem to miss is the sportbike 150HP, every electronical doodad known to Man and long conversations with their supposed lead tech/mechanics. All of the things I can do without.

Is the S10 perfect? NO. The FI could be better (CJM helps), the handlebar position is odd (risers are a good start) and some turbulence at higher speeds. Picking nits compared to the drivetrain/mechanical issues of the BMW.

Sam, your next to last pic looks like the powerlines along Tellico Rd. Am I close?

 

[HoebSTer]

Salmon Sam Hugh, good assessment for sure. In general, as I too have heard this "no character" description for many years while riding Honda ST1100 & ST1300s' and now the Tenere, I wonder what the terms are which make something have this character. Most all of the mags over the year have been a dead tie in overall feel of the two said bikes. My confusion on character makes me think people base this on service intervals, dollars spent at dealers and frequency down for maintenance. If we own a bike which requires us to visit dealers and open our pockets wide open, and often then I ABSOLUTELY LOVE having a bike with no character. Other than this, I truly don't get what this term means " no character." I guess now is the time after my own 22 years of riding to be schooled on what character is on a bike. Teacher, can you help me with this? What does it mean?

 

[nankoweap]

With only 7500 miles on mine and no really long, challenging trips I've yet to bond to the ST's character. On the GS it was the ride up to Prudhoe Bay where I bonded with the bike. Not sure where this type of bonding will occur on the ST. Will probably take it west toward the end of June to run the Utah 1088 and roam the west a bit. Perhaps I'll find the ST's character somewhere out there this year.

I bought the ST to replace my GS. No regrets here. The ST keeps a smile on my face, it's damn reliable and it's not going anywhere except where I decide point it. Character will come.

 

[RMac]

Some of the GS's reported character might have to do the peaks and dips in the torque curve giving an "impression" of character. Add to that torque steer from the boxer motor and/or shaft drive and a snatchy clutch that makes you think your going to lose the bike when you get a bit careless with it. That's character

 

[creggur]

Some of the GS's reported character might have to do the peaks and dips in the torque curve giving an "impression" of character. Add to that torque steer from the boxer motor and/or shaft drive and a snatchy clutch that makes you think your going to lose the bike when you get a bit careless with it. That's character

^^this^^

I think it's the ebb and flow of the torque curve - the big dip and surge you get running through the rev-range. My VFR800 had gobs of character around 7,000 RPM. Loved the bike and the engine, but one man's character is another man's character flaw...

 

[Salmon Sam]

Baldknob. Tellico Rd! You got it. Love riding around GSM.
Great comments. Keep 'em coming.

 

[squarebore]

There is a Chinese curse "may you live an interesting life". The motorcycle equivalent is "may you have a bike with character".

I've had plenty of bikes with "character" but now I prefer reliable and predictable.

 

[Rasher]

Some of the GS's reported character might have to do the peaks and dips in the torque curve giving an "impression" of character. Add to that torque steer from the boxer motor and/or shaft drive and a snatchy clutch that makes you think your going to lose the bike when you get a bit careless with it. That's character

As is carrying a spare EWS and FPC to swap them out roadside when they fail known as character.

The new LC GS also has more character, apparently they often turn the indicators and hazard lights on and off on their own, what a wonderful cheeky character, the Japs just cannot compete with that as they search for perfection. I did like the GS lumpy bumpy power delivery and odd wobble as you blip the throttle, the funny front end worked well and the unconventional engine layout makes it stand out a little, so I do believe in character, but more often than not it is used to justify faults.

The Yamaha has a subtle character in the way it just gets on with the job, it feels "unstoppable" (without a back-up truck following it) but I can see how on a quick test ride the GS makes people smile, just the full ownership experience is highly likely to make them cry.

Knowing your bike will behave impeccably at all times and not worrying about anything going wrong can be quite dull, but I like that dull feeling, it gives me more time and money to ride

 

[creggur]

The supposed lack of "character" is why I ended up buying a Tenere. In the interest of full-disclosure I wasn't looking for a hardcore Adventure bike, I wanted a comfortable sport-tourer I could aim down the occasional dirt road that caught my eye.

I came off an 07 VFR 800 that I absolutely loved! Great engine, not the most powerful, but dead-nuts reliable. I know guys with six-figures on the odometer that have never even checked the valves, as the price/hassle with the VTEC system was so great if you could make it to 50,000 miles it's cheaper to just replace the engine if something goes wrong. Never heard of anyone not making it, and very, very, rarely heard of a valve needing adjustment when they were checked.

But...no matter how much I spent/tried I couldn't get the bastardized 'somewhere-between-full-tuck-and-upright' ergos to work for me. Guess one needs to be a 5'6" 148 pound Asian test-rider to really appreciate them. I dunno...

I need reliability as I work 60-70 hours per week and riding is my decompressor. When I want to ride, I want to ride - not wrench or spend time at a dealership. Like all of us, I like to hit the road to remote areas, and can't afford being stranded with no dealership for hundreds of miles if something does go wrong...

Enter the Adv bikes I considered:
Ducati MS - beautiful, awesome road performance, and I could afford the bike, but not that Italian "character".

BMW GS - good-looking bike in a rugged 'Road Warrior' way, fawning reviews, and a cult following that makes a newcomer think all is good from the outside-looking-in...then deeper research uncovered how much "character" the final drives etc. have. No-go for me.

Explorer 1200 - probably the perfect bike for me, a powerful sport-tourer in an attractive and functional package, but it hadn't even hit dealers in the UK at that time so there was no telling if it had "character" yet or not. It was too new, and the sparse dealer network was a deal-killer.

Enter the Super Tenere: I'd bought into the reviewers' lines that it was underpowered and over weight, boring and lacked "character", etc. - that's why it was last on my list. Then I started reading real-world reviews from owners here and on the other forum, and my interest perked up.

One Saturday I was in-bound from a 200 mile ride on the VFR, with my neck, shoulders, and lower back killing me from the riding position. I stopped by my local Yamaha/Kawi dealer (where we bought my wife's Ninja 250 and FZ6R) to see if they had a Tenere to look at. There at the front door was a Blue Beauty - the Tenere had a true presence in person. I sat on her and immediately thought, "Damn, that's comfortable!" I spent a few minutes poring over the bike and setup a test ride for the following weekend.

Ten miles of test riding was all it took. One year and about 11,000 miles later I have zero regrets. The only ergo mods I've made are Grip Puppies ($10.00), Seat Flattening Mod ($5.00), and a slight bar adjustment ($0.00). I've done 800 mile weekends without the slightest discomfort - just returned from a 700+ mile, two-day trip yesterday and still couldn't be happier.

I do plan on getting a Flash soon, and adding a fuse block for some electrical farkling, but other than that I'm good. Even with that and the Akra pipe I added in December I'm still in for thousands less than the bone-stock versions of the other bikes I considered. Smart Money in my book... Eventually I'll upgrade the suspension, but at 178 pounds the stock stuff works fine, so I'm gonna beat on it for a while longer before upgrading it.

I'm sure my story isn't unique, I know two other VFR riders from the VFRD forum who have traded for a Tenere, and have seen many more here from other sport-tourers. Actually, the Tenere is quite similar to my VFR in that it's not the most glamorous or exciting offering in the class; it just does everything I want it to do very well (just more comfortably). That's the kind of "character" I enjoy...

 

[hANNAbONE]

The word "Character" is kinda ambiguous and not pin-pointed.

I worked in the diamond industry for several years and graded diamonds and sold stones.
While there I noticed the buying public not caring for the "4-C's" as much as "...this one sparkles more..."
Sparkle does have a scientific and arithmetic reason - everything has to do with the cut of the stone.
It's the titillating source of "mine does something better than yours" that is the reason for purchase.
I just heard an advertisement for a diamond shop near me in Louisville.
The whole 30 second ad went on and on about how much more "sparkle" their diamonds had then their competition.
Silliness...unless the cut of the stone IS actually better then the competitions...which is doubtful.

Listen ... Character and Sparkle are dynamics "felt" by the owner/operator - the wearer, in the case of jewelry.
If any of us are gonna try and figure out this bike has character and this one does not - it's gonna be a pissin' match.
TomAtoe - TomAHtoe
Same with "sparkle" - it's a mental, individual thing.

I don't get my collective undies in a bunch because my bike has character or not...I ride the doo outta it and love every
cylinder pop that makes it go forward and every smile it brings me when I throw a leg over it.

To me, that all the "character" I need to know.

Oh - and mine "sparkles" more when it's clean... B^)

 

[FlaDave]

I've had plenty of bikes with "character" but now I prefer reliable and predictable.

As I read through the posts I had a similar thought to Squarebore's run through my head.
I had several MG and Triumph sports cars when I was much younger. I've had my share of "character".
Is a "lack of character" simply another way of saying it works beautifully, is well put together and, reliable?

 

[RMac]

So, we are all in agreement then. Our S10's have no character and we love it for that ::022::

Well apart from very occasional hard start which I have only ever had once in three years of ownership. ..

BTW, I am strongly under the impression that a flash further reduces character. My engine is so ridiculously linear after I got that done ::015::

 

[Rasher]

BTW, I am strongly under the impression that a flash further reduces character. My engine is so ridiculously linear after I got that done ::015::

I would say the Flash adds "Character" as the motor is unbelievably strong of the bottom end - but I am sure the magazines would say it reduces character as it has no two-stroke like powerband in 1st and 2nd anymore :

 

[RMac]

I would say the Flash adds "Character" as the motor is unbelievably strong of the bottom end - but I am sure the magazines would say it reduces character as it has no two-stroke like powerband in 1st and 2nd anymore :

We are in violent agreement ::003::

 

[fredz43]

For my personal tastes, it is all about whether a motorcycle "speaks" to me. Some bikes speak to me in a way that make every mile of riding them fun, others are totally boring. Reliability is a plus, but not always the deciding factor for me. Visceral feedback is the most important factor for me.

First off, it has to have an engine with a character such that I enjoy the sound, feel, and performance. If I don't like the feedback from the engine, I won't like the bike, no matter how good the overall bike is. Until recently, my 1998 VTR1000 Super Hawk V twin was number 1 in this category. That 90 degree twin has tons of character, with great low end and midrange torque, a beautiful sound, both mechanically from the engine and also from the music that comes out of the twin Two Brothers carbon cans. I have had this bike since new and every time I ride it, I get an ear to ear grin. It has been totally reliable, but I have done preventive maintenance as required. I will say, though that since I got the S10 in July 2011, the Super Hawk hasn't been ridden much.

Even the 1992 and 2008 KLR's that I owned had my kind of character. They were basic motorcycles, but still gave me the kind of feedback that I enjoyed and that made the riding experience very enjoyable for me.

At the other end of the spectrum was the 1999 BMW R1100S that I had for a short while. I really wanted to grow to love that bike, but the engine never did speak my language. I never got over the feeling that the powerplant had the same character and sound as an industrial air compressor.

Recently my dealer got in some of the new Honda CB1100's. This is a modern version of the venerable Honda inline 4 in a standard bike. Many riders have looked forward to Honda bringing this bike into the USA. While it has very high quality and reliability, to me it had absolutely no character. The engine was so smooth as to be almost imperceptible and therefore the riding experience was extremely boring.

Which brings me to my beloved S10. I always thought it had a good engine that spoke to me, but not quite as well as my Super Hawk. However, as I made slight changes, it began to improve. Of course, I loved the way it handled and loved the comfort and the engine wasn't bad. When I replaced the, to my eyes, ugly stock exhaust can with an Akrapovic, it gained a nice exhaust sound, good tone, but not obtrusive. When I balanced the TB's with a 3/4 turn reference, it ran better. When I got the Gen 1 reflash, it was even better, with great sound and feel as I powered out of curves. Now I have upgraded the suspension with Ohlins on the back and Stoltec on the front and that added to my riding experience, BUT the latest upgrade turned it into the absolute favorite bike I have had in over 45 years of riding. I got the free Gen 2 reflash and OMG, it now has all the right character for me and has replaced my Super Hawk as number 1 in that regard. It not only pulls very hard right off the bottom, but I swear that the intake growl is louder, probably because the TB's are now opening all the way when I twist the throttle. My Yamaha rep is a friend who has owned two S10's and when he rode my bike post Gen 2 flash he was stunned with the performance and also asked what kind of intake I had changed to, as it sounded so much better.

So, now I have the best of all worlds with this bike. The engine speaks to me in a way that gives me a big grin every time I ride it, it handles extremely well, and the fact that it reliable is a bonus. That is all the character I need in a bike.

 

[creggur]

Nice write up, Fred. I agree with you about the Akra can, and now can't wait to get the reflash done...

 

[fredz43]

Nice write up, Fred. I agree with you about the Akra can, and now can't wait to get the reflash done...

Thanks, creggur. I'm sure that you will like the Gen 2 flash. The only problem I have with it is that I can't stop continually twisting the throttle to feel the torque and hear that growl. The bike is now totally intoxicating to me. ::008::

 

[creggur]

Thanks, creggur. I'm sure that you will like the Gen 2 flash. The only problem I have with it is that I can't stop continually twisting the throttle to feel the torque and hear that growl. The bike is now totally intoxicating to me. ::008::

Sounds like a good problem to have...

 

[justbob]

Thanks, creggur. I'm sure that you will like the Gen 2 flash. The only problem I have with it is that I can't stop continually twisting the throttle to feel the torque and hear that growl. The bike is now totally intoxicating to me. ::008::

I'd like to do a couple of roll-ons with you Fred for comparison with my stock configuration.