Why a Tenere?

[leehackney]

I'm going to buy an Adventure-Tourer. I'm leaning towards the Super Tenere because I've been happy with the Yamaha's that I've owned in the past and like the reviews. I'm also looking at a BMW 1200GS and the new Triumph Tiger Explorer XC. My first bike was a '68 Bonneville (yeah, I'm old), I realize that today's Triumph is a different animal. My riding for the last 20 years or so has been on cruisers. I'd like to hear from people more knowledgable than me (just about everybody) why they chose the Yami over one of the others and what their impression of some of the other bikes may be. Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated. (I'd ask my teenage daughter, she seems to know everything, but she's busy.)

 

[kenbike]

I was deciding between the same 3 bikes and picked the Tenere over both. BMW very cool but the more I spoke with folks it seemed the dealer and I would become very close friends because the bike would be in the shop a lot. The cost of service was very high and the dry clutch on the old style was a big turn off and the new waterboxer was unproven.
The explorer is very top heavy feeling and the quality of the rigging on the bike is a set down. Some guys have had total ECU failures and the bikes in the shop for 3 to 6 weeks to replace. I have a short season and do not want a bike that I have to worry about not being able to ride. Not a lot of triumph dealers for service options if out on the road.
I picked up a used S10 and did the clutch jumper mod and it is a wonderful motor for a street bike. I have a few riding buddies with FJR's both over 50,000 miles and they have never had a issue. I feel the Yamahas are just like a new car. Change the oil and ride and 100,000 miles later it will still be great.

 

[John D]

For me, it was dealer support that sold me on the Yamaha. Anything with a motor can breakdown (including the S10), but the fact remains that there are a LOT more Yamaha dealers than BMW dealers and it will be much easier to obtain parts and service if and when it happens.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Welcome to the group


I see 23 prior threads on this. The search function actually works pretty well here, so try:


Click on FORUM on the top left of this page
In the upper left SEARCH box enter: BMW GS Triumph Explorer


Happy reading and have fun with whatever you pick.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I have no experience with the other bikes you mentioned, but I can tell you why I bought a Tenere...twice. I value reliability above all else. I will forgo the latest gee-wiz, cool, cutting edge technology if it means I'm going to be stuck turning a wrench or calling a tow truck when 2,000 miles from home. That completely ruled out the BMW for me. I've read far too many owners that are thrilled to give up their mechanical frustrations when they sell their BMW product. That also killed my infatuation with the Ducati.

The Triumph offerings were still a consideration since they have earned a good reputation. But when compared to the Tenere with shaft drive, traction control, multi-mode, linked braking and standard ABS (gee-wiz, cool, cutting edge technology), the Triumph bikes just didn't entice me to even go to the dealer to take a look. I've owned a lot of bikes in the past, and Yamaha has never let me down.

After buying the Tenere I was shocked at how capable this big heavy bike is once in motion. As you might guess from my Dirt Dad name, I like to get off pavement. The Tenere is far more maneuverable off pavement than you would ever guess a 1200cc, 600+lb bike could achieve. Plus I could put it on the pavement and ride it over 4,600 miles in 16 days in perfect comfort.

My wife heard me praise the Tenere so much that when it came time for her next bike, she stole mine. Even though it's too tall for her, nothing else of her size offered all the features I had endlessly bragged about with the Tenere. So we lowered my bike and I was told to never again refer to it as "my" bike (I still do sometimes). That theft gave me the opportunity to once again consider any bike available on the market. It took about 3 minutes of serious consideration of the other offerings. Honestly there was never any doubt. I knew I'd replace it with another Tenere.

On Saturday I called Larry at Romney Cycle in West Virginia and told him I want another Tenere. He asked, "what did you do, wear the other one out?" (Larry sold about 10 Teneres in the first batch and was stunned to learn how many miles us Adventure riders put on our bikes) On Tuesday he had a freshly uncrated bike for me to pickup and start the clock over again.

Next week will be the 1 year anniversary with the second Tenere. That bike has been everywhere from North Carolina to Newfoundland with never a hiccup. It's easy to recommend the Tenere. I have no regrets about buying it...twice.

 

[leehackney]

Thank you all for the great feedback, it is just what I was hoping for. I too have had good luck with Yamahas, I've owned two, the Tenere will make three. Again, thank you. I'm in St. Augustine, Fl., anyone coming my way who needs assistance or just wnts to talk bikes, drop me an email.

 

[rem]

Welcome on, leehackney from .. uh oh ... Let us know. There may be lots of potential riding companions in your area. I have to go along with what D_D said for the most part. I will be picking up my second Tenere soon, but for different reasons. After I wrecked my first one, I didn't even hesitate. As soon as I got home and was able to limp down to the local dealer, I ordered another one.


Yamaha has a solid reputation, and the real bonus for me is the local dealership. It is awesome, and worth a great deal, both financially and just in "no hassle" dealings. That is huge.


Good luck. And please post under "member intros" so members will get the chance to welcome you. ::004:: to the Forum. R. ::022::

 

[mingo]

as a previous double 1200GS owner, i'm more than pleased with the S10... just add fuel and ride... Reliability comes standard.. check out this RTW rider, 80,000 km without any issues, unless you count a burned out headlight bulb at 60,000 km.


Smotard.com: Davide Biga's World Ride Tour from Turin, Italy to Nordkapp, Norway

 

[SpenceS10]

I owned a 05 R1200GS and it always had something wrong with it. When riding the GS it always wanted to oversteer in corners and I never felt real confident on the bike. My other complaints would be dry clutch, clunky gear box, horrible breaks, didn't like it's off road manners, way to hard to maintain compared to the Tenere, too much weight on the front of the bike (funky front end). BMW R series bike have two or three seals between the engine and transmission and when just one starts to leak it can take out the clutch,as it did on mine. $700 just for the clutch kit,and to change it, the whole bike has to be nearly torn apart to seporate the engine from trans, so lots of labor!!! When I owned it, I could always find a reason not to ride it, maybe because of the worries of another trip to the dealer for repairs, or because it just didn't feel right to me.
After my first ride on the Tenere, I knew I had found my bike! To me, it does everything I think it should do, and it does it very well. BMW has a HUGE following, and most will not change whatever new bike comes out, but those who give the Tenere a try will most likely sell the boxer and go for the Tenere!
Just my two cents!

 

[snakebitten]

I too was going to point out that there are several threads that started out with this same exact question by someone contemplating the same exact purchasing scenario.

But I have realized that it doesn't really matter. There are so many folks here that love to tell others why THEY bought their Tenere. (Me included)

Each time the question is asked, we seem to take turns being the ones that answer.

Having said all that, my response this time will be much shorter and quite arrogant.

If you can see your looooong adventure ride continuing when the pavement ends, instead of turning around, that pushes a very finite number of bikes to the top.
And when that portion of the adventure will possibly be 2-up and loaded with gear, then there are only 3 left on the list.

Then you simply decide how much you enjoy doing repairs and maintenance.

Currently, that leaves one clear and obvious champion. 1.

Maybe tomorrow there will be another contender. But currently just 1.

 

[illustratedman]

Came from a gs1150adv to the tenere, the bm was a fantastic bike, loved i,t but i always had the feeling something was about to go wrong with it, the 1200 i would'nt touch with a bargepole. The finish noticeably deteriorated between the 1150 and 12's in my opinion and the failures rose accordingly. Triumph dealers here in the uk are very hit and miss and my local one is awful. The triumph warranty in the uk is also crap, for instance it requires you to wash the bike after every ride, no doubt with triumph branded products to keep the warranty valid, and when claims are put in they are not particularly helpful. The s10 does not feel anywhere as heavy as it's weight on paper would suggest even at a standstill, it carries it very well. The motor is a peach, comfort is good apart from the screen and the finish is ok. It's a fun bike to ride and you dont feel the need to worry about it packing up every other ride.

 

[Rasher]

I had a 2008 1200GS and the faults from the 2004 launch were still not fixed, I was lucky to have nothing major, but it still managed close to £2k of faults from 2 years old and 6k on the clock when I bought it and 4 years old and 20k on the clock when I sold it - had I had one or two of the common big ticket itemfailures (Final Drive, Clutch, Gearbox, ABS Controller or dropped valve) it could easily have £3k, £4k or £5 of repairs in that time.

The ealy 1200's were a disaster, they did get better but even 8 years into production the 2012 models still have weak final drives (compared to the Yamaha - they are much better than early 1200GS' - which had a shorter lifespan than a chain). I really wanted one of the last Aircooled 1200GS models but could not bring myself to take the risk of getting a lemon. There is no way I would ever trust a launch model BMW, they have already recalled the latest WC GS for oil pressure problems before any have even landed in the dealers showrooms ???

Anyway, I came from sportsbikes / sportstourers to the GS and onto they Yamaha, as mentioned I loved the 2012 - 2012 GS to ride, but did not trust them, this left me looking for something similar, I also really loved the Guzzi Stelvio, a wonderful bike, but the Mrs did not like it, and I was a bit concerned about reliability and dealer backup, my guess si they are more reliable than BMW, but the one thing BMW are good at is fixing things fast.

The Triumph was just launched, this put me off a bit as it is their first single sided shaft bike, and their first 1200 motor, there were no deals to be had as they were selling well, and one of the reasons I wanted a "GS Clone" was the performance is perfect for me to have a bit of fun without doubling the national speed limit all the time, the Triumph is really a comfy sports-tourer IMO, sportsbike power and chassis geometery dressed up as an ADV bike - nothing wrong with that and when I was looking to move off my ZZR1400 a few years back it would have probably been perfect.

The Yamaha seemed like the best allround bet, the Multistrada had the handling and performance (but Ducati ownership scares me as much as BMW - and this thing would shred my licence) the GS has a great feel and sharp handling (but reliablity issues) the Triumph looks a good bet (but not the safest)

The Yamaha seemed to guarantee reliability and did nothing badly, it does everything well, never the best, but always pretty damn close and without any real weaknesses except price (in the UK where it is a lot more than the Triumph and BMW). If choosing again I think I would still take the Yamaha as I think I could keep it for many years and just keep updating it

 

[leehackney]

Lots of good points. I'm sold on the S-10. I like the way the Triumph looks, Twisted Throttle has really dressed one up and has a nice video showing the bike in motion. I was leaning towards the 2013 BMW GS, but as was pointed out, first year water cooled. Have to see what kinks need to be worked out.

What really sold me on the S-10 is the dealer network as was also pointed out. A quick check showed Triumph dealers in the following states: Utah - 1, Colorado - 3, New Mexico - 2, Arizona - 2, and Wyoming - none. The breakdown on Yamaha dealers was: Utah -15, Colorado - 15, and Wyoming - 15. These are the states I'd like to do some riding in so didn't check anyother states for dealer networks.

Again thanks to all who responded.

 

[creggur]

I was in the same boat as you a little over a year ago, except I was also considering the Multistrade. At first my list was (in order of choice)

1) Multistrada
2) R1200GS
3) Explorer 1200
4) Super Tenere

1) Multistrada - I thought I'd reached a 'place' in life where I deserved to own a supermodel from the Italian brand I'd loved since puberty. I could afford the bike with no issue and, dammit, I wanted one! Then reality started setting in as I realized working 65+ hours a week didn't leave a lot of time for riding and I didn't want to spend a perfect riding day wrenching or taking the bike to a dealer for service I was afraid to, or couldn't do, on it.

2) R1200GS - I almost bought one, and boy am I glad I didn't now... I fell into the cult following on this one - reading thread after thread on Advrider by all the RTW BMW guys who loved their bikes. Read all the glowing magazine reviews of it, and was almost convinced. Then I started noticing that all those RTW threads seemed to include some sort of major breakdown - the one that really put me off contained pictures of a bike stripped to the frame in a gas station parking lot over a clutch failure. Umhhh, no - not for me - again little time to ride and I have neither the skill nor inclination to perform that kind of repair on the road. That and the nearest dealer was 80 miles away sealed the deal. On to choice number 4 on my list - the Super Tenere...

3) But wait - Triumph announces a new big-bore adventure bike for the spring of 2012. It seemed like the perfect bike for me. 135hp, great styling (IMO), nice price-point, and a local dealer (that I bought my VFR800 from) for support. I'd just have to wait a few months - no biggie - for it to hit our shores. Researched the hell out of it and was convinced, even went so far as to tell the dealer I'd put a deposit on the first blue one he got as soon as he had a semi-solid idea of when it would arrive. I was all set, and looking forward to the arrival of my next bike, then...

4) Super Tenere - I'd read all the reviews and decided that the reviewers' collective opinion of over-weight and under-powered when up against the Multi and GS just wasn't what I was looking for. Plus I'd reached that 'place' where I deserved (dammit) something a bit more exotic than another Japanese bike (what a fool I was). Plus the styling in pictures put me off - I thought the bike was just ugly and - wanted something I could sit and gaze at in the garage (as I'm apt to do from time-to-time) and be smitten with the looks, then...
One day I'm nearing the end of a three hour ride on the VFR, shoulder hurting, ass hurting, neck stiff, and head aching (I loved the bike but the ergos killed me no matter what I tried), when I decided to stop by the local Yamaha place and see If they had a Tenere. Right at the front door I was met by a blue beauty that just had a certain 'presence' about her. I sat on her and immediately thought, "Damn! That's comfortable.". I spent the next 20 minutes or so poring over every inch of the bike, which seemed to simply exude quality at every nook. I chatted briefly with the sales guy and set up a ride on their black demo bike the following weekend.

I did a lot more reading on the Tenere over that week; found this asylum of the Tenere Faithful and discovered that the reviewers I'd placed so much credence in might not have it quite right. Following my test ride the following Saturday I traded the VFR on the spot and haven't had a single regret. Even after scoring a test ride on the Explorer a few months later, I couldn't be happier - the bike just didn't feel 'right' for me.

After one year and just over 10,000 miles "Tenny" and I are getting along quite famously, and I'm looking forward to many years and tens-of-thousands miles more on her. She's just a great damn bike, and cost me thousands less to buy, not to mention maintain, than my other prospects...

And I've spent plenty of garage-gazing time (as I'm apt to do) with Tenny - as I said above - in-person the bike just has a certain "presence"...

 

[LostOkie]

I cant give you a comparison to a lot of previously owned bikes but a couple.
I was riding a Tiger 955i, loved that bike especially the triple motor...... sweeeet motor!
I Needed/wanted to upgrade. I was going to get the one bike I wanted for the next 5-10 years.

I rode the BMW 1200GS, 800GS Triumph 800xc and Tenere. (explorer not released yet but did set one at the bike show)
I found they they all were good choices but slightly different characters.
The Multi I did not feel was designed with an equal off road interest.
The KTM I was conserned about service, breakdown and fuel economy.
All offered acceptable range of mods to tweak to my desire.

The tipping point in my decision "at the time" was, equal in as many superlatives(different but equal), price, YES warantee and percived lack of need for the warrantee.
I put 3000 on her directly after buying her.
At 300 miles I was still hoping I made the right decision!
At 1300 was pretty sure that I had done so.
At 3000 without any reservations absolutely the best choice - for me.
Now, I will state it this way, If you GAVE me any bike and it had to be my only bike for the next 5-10 years it would be the one.
I simply love the bike more every mile I put on her!!!

The reason I say all this is for me the decision criteria in the catagory is all personal.
Such that my value for the bike matured as my confidence in it meeting every need I had did.
Comfort general riding, cornering, power, how light it feels standing on the pegs.....across the board it does everything so well.
When on the pegs, it reminds me more of my previous 08 KLR than the 1200 it is in balance.
Adding that to the confidence imediately gained in the Yamaha reputaion, net work and warantee.
Well I hope thats value added from a guy with only "some experience".

 

[snakebitten]

This thread, and the last couple of posts specifically, would have been enough to go give Yamaha my $.

But I got 24 thousand miles on Tenere's myself now. So you are preaching to the choir.

Gonna take something very special to get me off this bike. Even the wife knows that now. And she didn't think it was possible after watching me change (or collect) bikes over 3 decades.

Now she just asks what I'm gonna do with all the other ones. "You don't ride them" she says with her eye-roll.

She has a point.

 

[GrahamD]

I'll try to keep this short.. ::025::

I had an Sv650. It was fun but then I kept looking for particular roads and missing a bunch of stuff. I did do dirt on it but lets just say that it was more of a chore.

Then since I liked the V-twin I decided to try it stable mate the Strom. At that point the Super Ten was just an itch in YAMAHA's overalls. In fact just a rumour of an itch.
The others well, lets just say that reliability in OZ is pretty important. you can be 200km from anywhere in 40C heat if you stop unexpectedly.

The big VeeStrom worked well in certain areas, and not so well in others. I was happy enough though as the large wad of cash that was still sitting in my pocket was used wisely for other less depreciating items. The performance of the bike off road however was not as good as I thought it should. While owning the bike I must admit I was scanning the forums trying to understand what made a true all round bike and trying to understand what made that difference.

Anyway, the S10 made an appearance, the Triumph was getting about two "Spy shots" a week and was rumored to be 100Kg wet 1000HP and handled like a track bike on road and a Husky off road.

As the S10 made the rounds I watched. I took note of what the "dirt background" reviewers said having pretty much realized that those of the road bike persuasion really didn't get it.

As time passed I looked at what YAMAHA had done more carefully. I realized that 23Litres was enough given it had pretty good economy. The engine could handle the "basic fuel" I often have to use, the bike was tough and for a change it was not a jacked up street bike. It was actually a bloody great big trail bike, which did worry me at first. I was used to how a 230Kg Strom felt off road and adding another 30Kg to that didn't seem appealing.

With all this in mind I went for a few test rides just to confirm what the owners were saying. Nothing stood out, not one single thing I could point to that I thought WOW.

It didn't have a rocket ship top end, but it didn't have a hole in the bottom either. It was pretty fast but never felt as fast as it was. It turned in OK but it didn't get upset over any surface. It had more feedback than I expected on tarmac but didn't crash through on the rough stuff,. It had a shaft drive but didn't jack and had very little "shaft sensation" It felt solid but not heavy but I knew it was heavy, but it didn't feel like it. The gearbox was sweet so changing was intuative bit the motor didnlt require much gear changing. I found I wasn't making excuses for anything on this bike.

In fact it just got out of my way and helped me get on with things. I was starting to get it. The only thing I had to take on faith was how it worked off road.

So I sat back and watched for all the first model "problems" and decided that they were all pretty boring or just some people not reading the manual.

I eventually, saw an add and couldn't put it off any longer. Not many coming up second hand. I counted 3 in 12 months. I got the third.

So after all this am I happy camper. YES.
Would I recommend it to anyone else? Depends what they want.

If they want a bike that will take them anywhere in reasonable comfort and just get out of their way, let them have fun anywhere, on road, on B roads, on gravel roads, on tracks, carrying loads, not carrying loads, small distance big distance. HELL yes.

On the other hand if they never wanted to venture off the tarmac, never ride more than 200Km a day then I would say try something else that specialises in short on road trips, but this bike still does that well. If all you do is commute, well it will do it too but there are bikes out there that specialize in Commute you may want to try as well.

But if want you want to do it all then the S10 is the business, its the ducks guts, the bees knees. Its a hard road to travel for YAMAHA. Nothing stands out on paper in fact a few things could be considered downright average on paper. It's how YAMAHA have engineered the trade offs and executed the design that impresses me all the time.

And I have never seen a review that seems to get that detailed about the trade offs. It's just something you have to research yourself.

 

[snakebitten]

You tried.

But as usual, not a single word that rings untrue to someone else that knows.

 

[Karson]

It does everything I would want from a true Adventure bike. I don't have to feel bad when it's dirty like a cruiser, yet gives me the on road cruiser comfort. It has PLENTY of power for me (subjective, I know). It's not plagued with European "necessities" that might actually cause me to be stranded on the side of the road or require mucho $$$ to fix when I get back.

It doesn't have the Triumph powerband, or the BMW intricate electronics/new stuff that everyone talks about, but everything just works. And coming from a DIY KLR owner, maintenance is a breeze to do.

I'm 27 years old and have owned only two bikes in my life, so I'm still green in terms of motorcycle ownership. But, I love this bike. Never wanted a rocket or a Harley. Folks ask me why I ride DS, and my response is similar to when they ask me why I have a Jeep. You have to own one to understand...

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I'll try to keep this short.. ::025::

Glad you didn't keep it too short. That was an excellent write up.

The test ride did not provide me any "wow" factor either. I even traveled to 3 different states to take my 4 test rides. They were nice, but not anything inspiring. The inspiration came after owning the bike and figuring out just how much I could do with it.