in reference to the thread topic, i took the long way around in coming into possession of my SuperT (this is going to be long, but explains the gap in my expectations vs experience with it)
I'm a Honda man, through and through. I've had my hands in HRC, with factory contracts at pro level, and engineering/building go fast parts for amateur level for riders from 5 years old to 65 years old.
No other brand really has been on my radar......
Fast forward to ~2015, Honda drops an Africa Twin into my shop for a local dealer to get a few accessories fabricated and bolted in place, and make it look like one of the Dakar bikes as a promo, and I knew I had to have one.. this was now my new "dream bike" (replacing my current dream bike, the ST1300)
Timing never worked for me, traveling with race teams internationally, to breaking my femur and a handful of ribs at a GNCC race, I just couldn't justify purchasing one.... Then COVID hit..
I had plenty of free time, the new bike market dried up, and the used market heated up.. I watched the prices of the Africa Twin skyrocket 5-6-7000 over retail in the first year and no way am I going to buy a used bike above new prices.. Then my youngest son got his Motorcycle license and I was short a bike....
I was in my shop complaining about having no bike and one of my employees said to me "ever thought of maybe NOT buying a Honda"? ... well after I fired him for insubordination, then rehired him because he's my best machinist, I said "out of the question, suggest it again and i'm putting you on mold making", and off I went to look at bikes that weren't Honda, knowing full well the idea was my own, and not that insubordinate employee of mine.
googling "alternatives to Africa Twin", figuring I would get zero results, I happened upon the a few options including the SuperT, which thanks to my Honda blindness I didn't even realize existed!
The market here isn't that hot for them, my local dealer had to 'bring one in', so after then googling "Super Tenere common problems", I was off to the used market to have a look at what was out there.
I test rode a couple of bikes and honestly I actually really liked it, like a lot! but there was some real junk out there, until I happened upon a bike being sold by one of our soldiers at a local base who is shipping out and needed to fire sell his local possessions, a 2012 with about 75,000kms on it, mostly dealer maintained, so how bad can it be really! (i don't trust dealer mechanics and this bike was no exception). After driving out to the base to see it, it wasn't half bad but was to be this gentleman's project bike, and so I figured it shall be my project next.. I offered the young man $1000 over asking (hey young military man having to move himself and his family across the country and ultimately leaving them behind is not cheap, even with the military paying some expenses, and lets face it he was asking way too low to begin with just to get rid of it by the weekend).
So I brought the bike into my shop, and immediately stripped it bare, down to the frame, motor out, harness off and began my anal retentive journey to replace everything worn, broken, botched and bodged (didn't strip the motor, but realized a few things I should have changed while it was in the motor cradle), and ultimately to figure out what things I'll be machining to make this my own customization's, and damn this bike is rugged as hell.. the early sparks of love are forming, do not tell my employee, do NOT tell my employee
It took me about 6 months to reassemble the bike, with work and just taking my time, to make it road worthy and roughly 2 months ago I dropped a leg over it for the first time and all i can say is Wow.. no other bike has fit me as precisely as this bike does, all the things I didn't like about my Honda's but accepted as 'nuances' because "Honda is the best!" were absolutely not present in this machine. I rode the bike every day for weeks to find out my limits in the saddle, and I was physically (sore butt, sore back, sore legs, etc) not finding my limits with this bike..
So the following week I was off to AliExpress to buy some questionable Honda badges and stickers to put on the bike, to well, save face with the people I shamed and i'm going to be totally honest here and say dollar for dollar, part for part, Honda would really have to step up their game for me to consider buying an Africa Twin now, and i'm already looking forward to the day my eldest son takes this bike over for his move out to the East Coast and I go out and purchase a brand new Super Tenere to replace it.
Sorry everyone for the long read, but just know the bike has exceeded every expectation i had and even exceed expectations I didn't have