WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE TENERE

[Dirt_Dad]

Thanks, Rem.

Back on topic.

Why exactly are we needing to find something wrong with the bike? I'm pretty friendly with my Tenere dealer, who is a huge volume seller. In fact, he's the #1 Suzuki dealer in the USA, and in the top 5 or 10 in both Yamaha and Kawasaki. The guy moves a lot of bikes. I don't have any inside information, but I do know 2013 was not a banner year for selling bikes. A couple of months were good, but overall there was a lot of slow time in the market this year. As was mentioned, I do believe that speaks to the overall health of the economy, and the confidence of the buyers. I agree, an expensive recreational purchase is easily put off, or sold off when times are not as robust.

I have my opinions on why the economy is in the shape it's in, but I'll keep those opinions to myself (at least here). But I do suspect any sluggishness of sales hitting the S10 is also hitting across the board on all bikes.

For the moment this ends my baseless speculation. Don't worry, this moment will pass.

 

[snakebitten]

It's sluggish because my kids burned through all my discretionary income! Relentless buggers.

 

[GrahamD]

I honestly don't think a GS or KTM would have attracted as much attention as the S10. Many people asked me about my experiences with the bike, the pros and cons of the alternatives.

Ever thought about hooking up with a famous actor and going on a tour?

I think you should talk to KTM and YAMAHA about that.

Take one of each. ::024::

I'm a sure KTM would be more flexible these days, especially since they have some Bajaj rupee behind them.

 

[AngryRed]

I think many people would like to see lots and lots of the bike they were smart enough to purchase out on the road. To some it validates their decision. That is never going to be the case with the Tenere. To the Starbucks crowd the Yamaha badge is not very chic. This bike appeals to a very select type of rider, and for us it is truly an awesome bike.

You know I thought that at first but now I'm wondering if the bike doesn't attract more attention than some others. Occasionally someone would approach me while on my F800GS but not a lot. Most times it was other Adv riders wondering about a farkle. But so far on my S10 I have had a good amount of people tell me 'nice bike' or 'what size is that' or some other random compliment. Maybe its seeing this giant white bike with bags and GPS and a dusty rider climb off from another State? I don't know but I'm surprised how many people seem intrigued by the bike and come up to talk to me.

Granted the last time was at a Dell Taco in 29 Palms California and not a Starbucks but hey, fans are fans right

 

[GrahamD]

I don't know but I'm surprised how many people seem intrigued by the bike and come up to talk to me.

Same here but They always like to tell me that they like my BMW.

I feel like adding a large flouro Hi-ViZ YAMAHA sticker on it.

 

[Koinz]

Same here but They always like to tell me that they like my BMW.

I feel like adding a large flouro Hi-ViZ YAMAHA sticker on it.

That happened to me as well when I was at a Harley/Yamaha dealer waiting to get my bikes annual inspection. After I told the guy it wasn't a BMW, he had to walk up to it a get a closer look.

 

[jonda1]

I've had my 2012 S-10 since July 2013. I'm wondering if anyone else has had issues with the handling of the S-10 in high wind situations. It seems to be almost uncontrollable in high winds. I've ridden other big bikes in winds and have never felt they were this uncontrollable before. Don't get me wrong. I love this bike. But it really scared the H*** out of me today.

 

[GrahamD]

I've had my 2012 S-10 since July 2013. I'm wondering if anyone else has had issues with the handling of the S-10 in high wind situations. It seems to be almost uncontrollable in high winds. I've ridden other big bikes in winds and have never felt they were this uncontrollable before. Don't get me wrong. I love this bike. But it really scared the H*** out of me today.

I used to ride a STROM. Nothing feels bad anymore. Out west on the plains, where the wind blows constantly it's not an issue. Where you are traveling between cutouts on slightly hilly terrain the transition can be a bit interesting, but I just relax and lean with the flow. Donlt seem to be bothered by it much. The main thing is the wind catching the, dare I say it, beak on the helmet.

 

[RED CAT]

I thought it was pretty good in the wind. Blew by my pal on his KTM 990 struggling with it.

 

[jonda1]

It was a strong (50 mph or so) cross wind. Someone suggested leaning over the tank while standing on the pegs to shift your weight. If it gets that bad again I'll try just about anything. The cross wind was strong enough that I didn't even want to park the bike because I was afraid it would be blown over. The news did say there were lots of trees blown over today. Its supposed to be the same tomorrow until about 1:00 pm. I think its a good time to leave the S-10 in the garage.

 

[AngryRed]

I used to ride a STROM. Nothing feels bad anymore. Out west on the plains, where the wind blows constantly it's not an issue. Where you are traveling between cutouts on slightly hilly terrain the transition can be a bit interesting, but I just relax and lean with the flow. Donlt seem to be bothered by it much. The main thing is the wind catching the, dare I say it, beak on the helmet.

I'll never forget riding behind my buddy rolling through Yellowstone on a windy day. He was on his Strom with Caribou cases and we went over a wooden bridge and a cross wind hit the pack of us. His Strom literally moved horizontally across the road and almost over the damn bridge. He always complained about that bike in the wind but after that day it took on a whole different meaning.

So far the S10 has been great in the high desert winds around here. I did add a Madstat shield due to buffeting but overall it seems to do fine in the wind.

 

[RockyDS]

Same here but They always like to tell me that they like my BMW.

I feel like adding a large flouro Hi-ViZ YAMAHA sticker on it.

I've had that a few times too. Even to the extent of a guy I met in Monument Valley who was involved in the development of a BMW plant in Carolina giving me the run down on his associations with BMW. It was at least 20 minutes. I'll be honest, I was slow - it was a while later that I realized he thought I was on a Beemer. ::025::

 

[Mzee]

The people that love the S10 are those who are not bothered about following fashion, and understand what they are getting - a great all rounder, it is not the fastest, lightest, cheapest or best handling in the class, but it does everything very well and is probably the most reliable in its class, the latest BMW has a already got a large number of major issues - but is the darling of the press and the BMW marketing machine has managed to knock out as many in a year as Yamaha have in four :exclaim:

Bike sales success and desirability is often not related to how good or bad a bike is, but how it is perceived and marketed.

I think it sacrifices performance for reliability, weight for strength and price for quality - I cannot fault it, but I can find many other bikes that are better in several areas, but all of the others have a weakness or two I can happily live without, or more to the point refuse to live with.

Well said mate. You one will be much happier if you don't listen to the press and don't mind about the latest.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Maybe it's because I rode a Strom for almost 50K miles before getting the S10, but I find the Tenere to be an excellent bike in wind. The best I've ever had. Wind is the one situation where I'm happy the bike is 600+lbs. Rode a few hours in Hurricane Irene with it. Finally had to get off the road when the trees were bending so far I was afraid they were going to snap and fall on me. It was definitely blowing me all over the road, but I managed to stay in control (more or less) and managed to get it to safe harbor for the night. I'm pleased with the bike's ability to handle wind. Of course if I didn't come from a Strom I might not feel that way.

 

[eemsreno]

Dirt Dad
Every time you give your impression of a bike , I agree totally,
I read what you said about FJRs the other day and read that to my wife because I always had the exact same impression about them to.
[ then Eric V commented on how far off you was on the FJR and he has owned one or more so I guess everyone has widely different opinions.

 

[AVGeek]

AZ Tenere, I'm also in Phoenix. When I went to order my ST during the PDP period, RideNow wouldn't budge from MSRP and Apache never got back to me whether they would deal. So since the internet is a magical place, and I knew where to go to get a good deal, I bought my bike in Longview, TX from board member lotecredneck (he owns the Yamaha dealership there). I just recently gave up my 08 FJR (my second FJR, after going through the PDP process for my 04), and while I always thought I would have an FJR in the garage, the ST is just so much better of a bike for me, that it was an easy choice which one to keep. If you want to see mine, let me know. I also stopped by GOAZ the other day, and they have a well farkled blue 12 model for sale.

 

[GrahamD]

AZ Tenere, I'm also in Phoenix. When I went to order my ST during the PDP period, RideNow wouldn't budge from MSRP and Apache never got back to me whether they would deal. So since the internet is a magical place, and I knew where to go to get a good deal, I bought my bike in Longview, TX from board member lotecredneck (he owns the Yamaha dealership there). I just recently gave up my 08 FJR (my second FJR, after going through the PDP process for my 04), and while I always thought I would have an FJR in the garage, the ST is just so much better of a bike for me, that it was an easy choice which one to keep. If you want to see mine, let me know. I also stopped by GOAZ the other day, and they have a well farkled blue 12 model for sale.

Almost got a Zuma. I remember that.

 

[Checkswrecks]

I've had my 2012 S-10 since July 2013. I'm wondering if anyone else has had issues with the handling of the S-10 in high wind situations. It seems to be almost uncontrollable in high winds. I've ridden other big bikes in winds and have never felt they were this uncontrollable before. Don't get me wrong. I love this bike. But it really scared the H*** out of me today.

Just the opposite when compared with the KLR and VStrom. The following is of my son on his Strom getting constantly battered as we came across the Great Plains. We'd trade for the Tenere because for breaks format he constant left/ride pounding gusts.

And while I know one person here disagrees, I found the FJR better than the Tenere for cross winds and hard to beat. It was more aerodynamic and lower, still with lots of weight.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Dirt Dad
Every time you give your impression of a bike , I agree totally,
I read what you said about FJRs the other day and read that to my wife because I always had the exact same impression about them to.
[ then Eric V commented on how far off you was on the FJR and he has owned one or more so I guess everyone has widely different opinions.

Finally someone understands me. Now that's something I can read to my wife. She'll never believe it, I know she doesn't feel that way.

Not sure if Checkswrecks was referring to me as the one disagreeable guy about the Tenere being better than the FJR in the crosswind. I can't really take a position on that one. In my 45 days of FJR ownership I don't think I ever had a windy day, so don't know much about it. All my incorrect and off base thoughts (Eric V assessment, not eemsreno's assessment ::025:: ) on the FJR were during beautiful fall weather perfect days.

 

[kmac]

Same here but They always like to tell me that they like my BMW.

I feel like adding a large flouro Hi-ViZ YAMAHA sticker on it.

I did

DSCF3137 by kellymac530, on Flickr


DSCF3138 by kellymac530, on Flickr