Yamaha Super Tenere (2012)

Tires Wheels Brakes

Probably the #1 thing I've done to the bike - greatly improved my off-road confidence. These tires are a good balance between off-road traction and on-road wear while still giving a high level of confidence. I have about 4000 miles on them now, and although they do show light wear, it is not excessive especially considering the sharp shale and rock trails they are subjected to here in Utah.

Some say the continuous center rib reduces traction off-road, which it does, but I find it to be an acceptable compromise. I often have 200+ plus of pavement to cross to get to my favorite trails, and I don't think a full on off-road tire would last as long in those conditions.

One note of caution - if you air down for the trail make sure you air back up before you attempt any continuous speed on the highway. I haven't personally experienced it, but others report that riding on the highway at speed at lower pressures can heat up the tire to a point it will start to throw chunks of tread.

The price listed in my garage was for a front and rear before taxes - free shipping from rockymountainatv.com

Lighting & Electrical

I purchased the PIAA 5370 Fog lamps as well as the Yamaha Super Tenere specific Mounting kit (PIAA part 74300) separately from Amazon vs. the kit that PIAA sells direct for a much higher price.

I went with the Fogs vs. driving beams because I wanted a lot of light down low and to the sides for the trail at dusk and/or at night. When on the trail I'm really not going fast enough to warrant throwing light a couple hundred yards down range, and would much rather have a wider beam close up. I find that these LED lights throw a very bright, white light that lights up the trail very well, and I can actually use them when traffic is oncoming without fear of reprisal. I have been very happy with them for the price.

Handlebars & Controls

A simple, no-frills switch. Fits nicely on the bar right in front of my brake reservoir. The back side of the clamp is thin metal, so that it can fit with small clearance. Only problem is the ridiculously short 10" pigtail that barely makes it to the top of the forks.

Edit: I have dropped the rating from 4 stars to 3. After about 6 months of use the switch is getting very sticky and hard to switch. It is no longer on the bike, but I am leaving it here for rating comparison.

Handlebars & Controls

The 2nd most valuable mod I did to the bike after the tires! Riding position when standing and when seated, if correct/comfortable, can make a huge difference in your comfort for the long haul on road, and your control when off the beaten path. Being able to hold a more upright stance while seated reduces fatigue on your back, arms, and palms, while being able to stand on the pegs more upright while off-road affords more positive control, and, again, reduced fatigue.

I'm 5'6, and found the reach to the controls on my Tenere, both standing and sitting, to be just a titch to far. I installed these risers in the configuration that moved the bars back 1" and up 1" - that's all I needed. A measly little inch. My comfort both on and off-road along with improved control were the result. Inexpensive for the benefits.

These risers WILL require you to mod your clutch and throttle lines. No extended control lines are required, but there are some mods, detailed in the video by AltRider linked below, that are required to keep sufficient slack in the aforementioned controls at full lock. The mods are simple, and have been tried and tested for reliability over about 1000 Miles of off-road / 3000 miles on-road riding by yours truly.

http://youtu.be/yLMSSIqvTeg

Bike Protection

This review is specific to the Yamaha Super Tenere version of the AltRider Skid Plate.

Yes, my bike is dirty. It prefers it that way. The way I see it a layer of mud and dirt on the bike protects the finish underneath!

This skid plate is bullet proof! It has taken some pretty hard knocks on the trail - from simple rocks getting thrown up from the front tire (and no I'm not talking about pebbles) to hard, bone-jarring, bottom-outs on the rocks of Utah. This plate can take some serious abuse, and is pretty much a must have if you plan on riding your Tenere on anything but pavement. That poor little oil filter up there, waaaay out front, would have been decimated ages ago. Either that, or the bottom of my case would be gone returning the oil back from whence it came in the earth of Southern Utah.

On the oil note. The product description at AltRider says you can change the oil, but not the filter with the skid plate on. You indeed can change the oil; although, it is a bit difficult to do without making a big mess. I made two funnels out of the tops of two mini, plastic, coke bottles to place in the holes of the skid plate lined up below the drains (See pic). I did manage to completely change the oil without getting a drop of oil on the plate.

I've been told by another owner that it is actually possible to remove/replace the oil filter with the skid plate in place, but I have not confirmed that myself, and can imagine it would make a NASTY mess.

Bike Protection

Excellent, beefy, well thought out protection for the bike in a lay-over. These bars have been tested a half-dozen times on the bike, and do their job quite well. Paired with the Touratech panniers the bike doesn't even make contact with the ground when laid over on it's side.

I chose the Altrider bars over other brands because, in my opinion, there is more protection on the side then the other brands, and the tube stock is thicker and more robust. Most importantly, the tubes are not crushed at any point, especially the point where the left and right side bars join at the front of the bike. Crushing the tube stock weakens the tube stock considerably.

Install was relatively easy, and was accomplished with no 'buddy' with a little ingenuity. The key to install is to only start the fasteners a few threads in as you go to allow everything to move as you go. Both fairing pieces underneath the bars are removable with the bars in place.

Bike Accessories

Altrider just makes good, quality, robust gear - plain and simple. If you ever plan on taking your machine off the pavement, which I'm sure you do or you wouldn't have bought this type of machine, the side-stand foot is simply a must. It increases your side-stand's footprint and keeps it from sinking into the soft stuff.

Luggage & Racks

I love my Zega Pro Panniers plain and simple. Their rugged, look good, can hold tons of gear, and hold the weight of the bike well in an off. I find that they actually make the bike easier to pick up in a fall as they provide a fulcrum to roll the bike up to about 45 degrees. My only complaint is that it doesn't take much before the lid and opening don't match up perfectly anymore - as soon as they cease to line up perfectly they are no longer waterproof.

Riding Gear & Apparel

Absolutely love the Badlands Pro Jacket by KLIM. Very well made, and breaths well. I have worn it in the desert in 95 degrees F all they way down to 18 degrees F with a robust mid layer and base layer. A bit stiff when new, but after it's worn in (12 hours of wear or so) it really starts to get much more comfortable and flexible. Large but not overbearing reflective striping, nice flexible armor in the elbows, shoulders, back, and chest, and there is even a pocket designed specifically for a SPOT satellite messenger - a nice touch.

Riding Gear & Apparel

Absolutely love the Badlands Pro Pants by KLIM. Very well made, and breath well. I have worn them in the desert in 95 degrees F all they way down to 18 degrees F with a robust mid layer and base layer. A bit stiff when new, but after their worn in (12 hours of wear or so) they really starts to get much more comfortable and flexible. Large but not overbearing reflective striping, and good protection at the knees.

The only problem I've had is that the KLIM logo on the reflective stripe on one leg has started to peel off. I don't really care though - just makes em look used!

Navigation

I went with the Montana 600 vs the 650 or 650t for the following reasons. The 650 adds a 5Mp camera - who wants OR needs a 5Mp camera. The 650t adds to the 650 with 100k Topographic maps of North America Pre-loaded - Worthless in my opinion especially when you can download 24k Topo maps online for FREE! (Garmin's 24K Topo maps are 150 to 200 bucks per region)

I get all my Topo maps for free here:

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/

I have been using these Topo maps for years on my eTrex and other devices. I just loaded them on my Montana, and they work swimmingly!

Lastly, I went with the Montana because it works perfectly with Touratech's locking mount - a win win!

Bike Accessories

I am happy with the Tenere's stock windshield location given my height (5'6"), and find that at the stock height the wind hits me toward the top of my helmet - perfect - the perfect spot to inject airflow into my upper helmet vents!

I mainly purchased the windshield mount as it provides accommodation for Touratech's windshield GPS mounts. Really all I needed was a place to mount my GPS (covered in another review).

The quality of the mount is superb as is typical for Touratech. I found the unit easy to install and robust. I give the unit four stars instead of five because of the horrible knurled knobs that are included with the mount. The idea is that the mount is adjustable, so the four adjustment bolts are provided with knurled knobs for ease of adjustment. I had read elsewhere that these nylon knobs wear over time, get loose, and eventually sometimes fall off and get lost.

It seems that Touratech may have tried to fix this problem by making the threaded hole in the knob smaller than the bolt thereby making it tighter? Well, after an hour of trying to thread even 1 knurled knob onto it's accompanying bolt I gave up. I used a vice, vice grips, every technique I could think of and never got the knobs to thread. I headed down to my local hardware store, and for less than 3 bucks got 4 lock washers and 4 wing nuts - problem solved. My windshield is still adjustable if need be, and I don't have to fight with the nylon knobs - they are now in the landfill.

Navigation

This mount is rock solid. I got this to mount my Garmin Montana 600 above my instrument cluster, and, well, that's what it does!

Install is easy, although it requires the install of Touratech's windshield bracket for this location making it a bit spendy. You can purchase the mount in a kit with Garmin's Powered Amps Rugged Mount, but I opted to by the powered mount elsewhere for much cheaper than Touratech offers it.

I feel that my Montana will be quite secure in this bracket, especially coupled with Garmin's bracket inside. The Montana locks into Garmin's bracket with a security torx screw, and then the Touratech mount completely secures the Montana within and locks as well. One would have to destroy both mounts and probably damage the Montana to get it out of there.

My only gripe is that the added weight of the mount, windshield bracket, and the Montana, which is all installed on the stock Yamaha bracketry is a bit much for the stock plastic mounts underneath. Don't get me wrong, it's not going to break - far from it! But with all that added mass up there when you hit bumps in the road etc. it vibrates/wiggles a little. Not a huge deal, but it bugs a little nonetheless. Not Touratech's fault, so doesn't effect the rating of the product itself whatsoever.

Lighting & Electrical

I really really wan't to give the PDM60 five stars, but I just can't - Read on (A product must be pretty flawless to get five stars in my opinion)

I installed the PDM60 to provide power for some auxiliary lighting, my GPS, and the coil of an ABS switch relay. I will be writing articles on both the PDM60 installation and the ABS switch shortly, and will provide links to both articles here once their written.

The PDM60 seems robust, and is fully encapsulated to keep out dust, dirt, and moisture, and it does what it's advertised to do. I programmed my lights to come on 15 seconds after ignition on so I don't wear out the lights when I leave them on during start, and I programmed the GPS output to automatically provide power to the GPS 15 seconds after start, and shut down 30 seconds after vehicle shut down. It works great!

Why four stars rather than five? The programming interface and cable are a bit problematic. 1st, you can only program the PDM60 with a windows PC, and with a specific version of .NET framework installed. I'm a MAC guy, so I had to dust off an old windows laptop, get it running again, get the right supporting software installed, etc. Programming capability on multiple platforms would raise the bar to five stars. The programming cable is also problematic. On the PDM end its a pin style connector that can be plugged in two ways - one way works, and the other way will damage the unit. There is a warning to this effect in the instructions, but a simple keyed interface would alleviate this potential destruction of your new toy, or even a mini-usb or other such connector.

To their credit, the instructions are VERY well written, and if you follow them step by step you won't screw it up. I could see a computer challenged individual having trouble getting the unit programmed however, as a little knowledge of COM ports and such are necessary to get going.

Handlebars & Controls

I needed a couple switches to provide a ground reference to my Rowe Electronics PDM 60, and to pick the coil of an ABS disable relay on my Yamaha Super Tenere. I picked up the Double Switch Brake Perch Mount from Highway Dirt Bikes (HDB) along with a red capped on/off switch (ABS Disable) and a black capped on/off switch (Ground Reference). Cost $37.50 with perch and two switches

This product is WELL MADE, and far exceeds the quality of the switch it replaces. The mount is made out of machined aluminum, and I went for the black anodized option which gives it a nice, even, flat black finish. It looks good next to the other flat black controls on the bike. It replaces the stock brake perch mount, and fits perfectly - the mounting holes are well spaced (slotted at 1 3/16 to 1 1/4), and the mount is the same thickness as the stock perch clamp, so you will likely be able to use the stock mounting bolts depending on your bike's setup.

The switches, which are sold separately with a few options, are of the same quality. The switches themselves mount snugly into a recess in the back of the mount, and are secured by screwing on either a black or red cap/boot. The switches have a nice, solid action, and the boots are robust and feel like they'll put up with a lot of abuse. The end product looks very nice and as if it came from the factory once installed - truly a quality product. (See the product page here at XLADV for some pictures of the switches installed - as an added bonus the switches also fit in the mystery holes on the Super Tenere's fairing perfectly)

Lastly, HDB's customer service is fast and informative. I contacted them via e-mail to ensure fitment, and their customer service was fast to reply with measurements and fitment advice.

Check back in a few months for a follow up to this review after some abuse!

Luggage & Racks

I've been running a medium Wolfman Dry Duffle bag for about a year now and absolutely love it. The medium perfecty holds all my camping gear - Tent, camp chair, sleeping bag, mattress, pillow, and a tarp for under the tent. This thing can hold a deceivingly large amount of gear.

This works well for me as when I'm just out for a short non-overnight ride I can just take the bag off the bike. When headed out for overnight or overweek I can just strap on the bag and I have all my camping gear ready to go. When I get to the camp site I can simply remove the bag, and set up camp out of one bag.

The material on the bag is very heavy, and can stand up to a lot of abuse. As it sits on my pillion it's never really taken any serious abuse relative to a bike over, but it has never had one drop of moisture inside (except for one time when I was forced to stuff it full of wet camping gear).

I've mounted the bag to my pillion both vertically and horizontally depending on the terrain I'm planning to hit that day. If I think I'm going to be seated most of the day I run it lengthwise and it doubles as backrest. If I think I'm going to be up on the pegs most of the day I run it sideways to allow myself more room for fore and aft movement of my butt.

I had the same issue as the previous reviewer with the tie-down straps. Not knowing that the straps had been changed I just elected to use a couple of the smaller ROXstraps instead - easy peasy!

Bike Accessories

This sticker looks great! It has XLADV's logo carefully printed on heavy vinyl material with an adhesive back. The quality is exceptional, and to the naked eye it appears that the sticker is perfectly circular. Upon closer inspection with a graduated rule I find that the sticker is exactly 2" in diameter (that's 51mm for the metric folks.) It is beyond me what was used for the pre-applied adhesive on the back, but it is very clear to me that once the sticker is affixed to a surface it will stay in place quite securely. I don't expect this sticker to ever fall off my pannier un-aided by a host of nasty chemicals.

The manufacturer didn't stop at adhesive wizardry however. By some feat of what I'm going to call magic, they have somehow managed to find a way for the sticker to emanate light from the silver portions of the sticker unaided by any sort of chemical or electrical energy. They are really on to something here.

You can't go wrong with this sticker. Considering the quality of the material, the high quality adhesive, and the magical light producing properties these are a steal at $3.00

Luggage & Racks

Previously I had a magnetic tank bag that I really liked, but the bumps of the trail removed it from it's perch just one too many times. I needed a strap mount tank bag that would stay put on the trail. Wolfman's Blackhawk tank bag seemed to fit the bill, so I pulled the trigger.

This bag is very well made. The 1680 Denier P/U coated ballistic fabric is very heavy and looks like it will put up with a lot of abuse. The zippers for the main compartment, and the hidden front pocket, are quite large, with meaty teeth that look like they will last a long time without losing teeth or binding. The zipper pulls are nice and large with bright yellow pulls making them easy to find against the black bag for easy opening. There is reflective stitching along the sides and rear of the bag that stand out well and add another layer of visibility at night

The lid has a flap that overlaps the zipper by almost an inch helping to seal out the elements. When the bag is new this flap is a bit tricky to work the zipper around, but as the bag breaks in the flap gets more flexible and moves out of the way of the zipper a bit easier. Even with the flap this bag isn't waterproof though - Wolfman does make a custom fit rain cover though which is available separately.

For an 8 Litre tank bag, I was pleasantly surprised that the map cover is actually useable as... well a map cover! You can actually fit a map inside, and it is easily visible through the clear cover. There's also an adjustable bunjie across the top that you can use to hold your gloves during fueling, or quick breaks which is a nice touch.

The underside of the bag is well contoured for sloped tanks with an effective non-slip coating on the underside. The curvature fits the tank on my Tenere like a glove - so much so that I'm convinced that the Tenere's tank was used as the mold to create the bag. Quite possible actually seeing as the product photo on Wolfman's website shows the bag mounted on a Tenere.

The interior of the bag is silver making it easy to find objects inside. Pretty simple with nothing more than a key clip and a zippered mesh pocket to keep things organized. I would have liked to see more of an organizer similar to my previous tankbag inside the lid rather than one big mesh pocket, but it works.

The bags best feature? The front of the bag (the part facing the rider) is sloped back and away from the rider. This shape very effectively keeps the bag from interfering with rider movement when standing on the pegs - easy to miss this feature, but in my mind one of the most important.

All in all this is a great bag, and I expect to use it until it wears out, and then hopefully buy another! Perfect size, great construction, and gets the job done simply. My only complaints are that I would have preferred more of an organizer inside the lid, and at this price point, the waterproof rain cover should come with the bag.

Handlebars & Controls

See my full review here -> https://xladv.com/reviews/product/733-rideonadv-super-tenere-long-lines-brake-clutch/

Handlebars & Controls

Suspending Judgment

Helmets

See my review - https://xladv.com/reviews/product/746-shoei-hornet-x2/#fast_reply