Review of my new Super Tenere

[Ballisticexchris]

I have come to the realization that my body can't take the pounding in hard core terrain anymore. It's gotten to the point of no longer being fun. I'm more into really mellow trail riding. I also realize that my Beta dirt bike is tearing up my body when doing anything over 300 miles on a day ride. Last year doing a multi-day 850 mile ride to Death Valley and back was damn brutal!! So I started saving in 2013 for a new type of bike. Just picked it up last week. Got a smoking deal!!

Here is my one day path to a great shopping experience:

https://www.wheelsinmotionmc.com/default.asp?page=xNewInventoryDetail&id=5077882&p=1&s=Year&d=D&t=new&sq=Super Tenere &fr=xnewinventory#unit-details-gallery-heading

What a bunch of BS!! It was nothing but a bait and switch!! Screw that dealership. They did not even have the bike. Bastards still don't have it !! Offered to sell me a 2018 for 14,000 plus fees. I can’t stand being lied to.

I ended up calling Berts Mega Mall and speaking with the young sales manager Jordan. They had a standard 2017 Tenere new advertised for 10,999. I  told him I was a cash customer and if they could let it go for my price OTD. He told me he would call back in a few minutes and give me a price. Came back with a price texted to me OTD complete ready to go. He said if I get the cashiers check and text a photo of it to him, he would have the shop do the PDI (pre delivery inspection) and have it ready for me when I get there.

The story gets better. After I had the check ready to go and texted it, I get a call from the “adventure bike specialist”, telling me the bike advertised was a used model with 7000 miles on it (it was an honest clerical error and has since been changed on their website). They had a new 2017 ES (electronic suspension) model he would offer to me at the same price!! HOLY SHIT!! I asked if he was kidding me. Nope, full electronically adjustable suspension brand new for the same price!! What a smoking deal!!

Carol and I got to the Mega Mall and were greeted and treated like a king and queen. Full on air conditioned lounge with padded couches and chairs and coffee bar. Simple paperwork to do. I had at least 4 different guys walking me through everything!! They even had it ready with a full tank of gas, and a pigtail for battery tender. Before taking off I had a really nice young man come out and go through all the features and make sure I was comfortable riding away. I highly recommend this shop. 

Check this out. Fully electronic suspension!! This is the full blown top of the line Tenere!! I did not even consider one of these because of the cost. This is the very best Tenere with every single feature you can imagine!! Heated grips, cruise control, adjustable windscreen, LED lights, three different traction controls, unified braking, two ride modes (sport and touring), the list goes on. This is A LOT OF BIKE!!

Just got finished putting a bunch of cool goodies on it. This is the fanciest bike I have ever owned in my life!! After putting the Helibars "Tour Performance Kit" and IMS Adventure II footpegs it transformed the ride. No more numb hands, sore butt, hurting knees, etc. PURE COMFORT for mega mile day rides. 

 

 

[Ballisticexchris]

I have to say this bike has far exceeded my expectations of how a 600lb beast handles the road. This morning was a short 147 mile get aquatinted ride. I was surprised all the San Gabriel Mountain roads were open with the exception of the last section of San Gabriel Canyon Road that connects to Angeles Crest Highway (this has been closed for over 25 years).

 

One thing that stood out above everything is the electronically adjustable suspension. Amazing and fantastic!! Three valving adjustments can be made while riding on the fly. Soft, Standard, and Hard. When stopped, they can be preset with 7 selectable adjustments each. For a total of 21 levels of stiffness. With 4 different preloads on the shock you have a possible 84 different adjustments that can be made without ever getting off the bike!!

 

For general traveling I kept the spring at preload 2 standard or soft valving in the middle. For the twisties preload 3 and hard or standard valving in the middle worked great. When running really stiff the bike is most responsive and best handling but uncomfortable for my old body. 

 

What not to do is set the bike up soft for windy roads. It was downright spooky. Wallowing in turns and really hard to hold a line. I have just barely scratched the surface on how adjustable the suspension really is. I can’t wait to hit some jeep roads and really put the suspension through its paces!

 

I can see some easy 300+ mile days in the future. This is a very comfortable machine. Also notable is the power. 1198cc’s and almost 100 horsepower is more than enough power!! Those 150+ horsepower super bikes have nothing over this one!! The torque of this 270 degree parallel twin motor just pulls and pulls!! I was able to put it in 6th gear at 25mph and throttle it with very little stutter and smooth roll on power. In 1st gear it runs 7mph with clutch out. I can control the bike in a straight line at 3mph using the clutch's smooth friction zone. The hydraulic clutch pull is a bit heavy but has very smooth feedback to rider. 

 

I kept the traction control in #1. It’s the most intrusive and safest. #2 lets the wheel spin some. Shutting off traction control gives full power to the rear wheel. This will be most useful in deep sand or mud where you need full traction to rear wheel.

 

The power modes are Touring and Sport. Each one has a very instinctive power band. I really prefer the Touring mode as it’s the smoothest and most controllable. Sport mode really wakes up the bike at the lower and midrange RPM. Lots of bark and snap in the power band. 

 

The brakes are really nice and powerful antilock style. I tested them at 40+mph panic stops and they just flat out work!! Yamaha engineers got it right with the Unified Braking System. The way it works is if you grab just the front brake it gives “balanced braking power" to both front and rear brakes. If you hit the rear brake first then it reverts to normal “human controlled” traditional braking. I tried it both ways. Even when I fully concentrated, there is no way I could out brake the Unified Braking System. This is a great safety feature for the open highway.

 

Unfortunately, when in the gravel, the antilock brake feature can’t be shut off. And braking distances are increased in slippery conditions. This is where the human has the advantage. Yamaha even points this out in the owners manual. Down the road I might install a bypass switch to shut off the antilock system. But for my style and ability the OEM antilock brakes are just fine as is for now.

 

Oh, did I mention cruise control? YES!! Don’t knock it till you tried it. This is probably one of the nicest comfort and safety features on the bike. When in cruise control you can better cover your front brake and be at the ready for a panic situation to brake hard. 

 

As you can see this bike has a bunch of really nice safety and comfort features built in. I’m very pleased with the bike. I’m also very aware that even with all the safety features I still have to be on my alert at all times. I’m just so thankful that Yamaha is helping the rider out with aids to make the riding experience so much more enjoyable. 

 

Just keep in mind this is a 600lb beast. I knew it was a heavy bike going in. This is not in the same class as a lightweight enduro or even a 950KTM. 

 

Here it is almost all setup for my kind of riding:

 

 

 

 

 

[Motopreneur]

That's a damn pretty bike! Looks ready for some long haul adventures too with the crashbars and stuff.

If you haven't already, check out the review Fortnine did, it's quite amusing.

 

[Sandro Andre Marino]

Sweet bike, congrats!!!

I have come to the realization that my body can't take the pounding in hard core terrain anymore. It's gotten to the point of no longer being fun. I'm more into really mellow trail riding. I also realize that my Beta dirt bike is tearing up my body when doing anything over 300 miles on a day ride. Last year doing a multi-day 850 mile ride to Death Valley and back was damn brutal!! So I started saving in 2013 for a new type of bike. Just picked it up last week. Got a smoking deal!!

Here is my one day path to a great shopping experience:

https://www.wheelsinmotionmc.com/default.asp?page=xNewInventoryDetail&id=5077882&p=1&s=Year&d=D&t=new&sq=Super Tenere &fr=xnewinventory#unit-details-gallery-heading

What a bunch of BS!! It was nothing but a bait and switch!! Screw that dealership. They did not even have the bike. Bastards still don't have it !! Offered to sell me a 2018 for 14,000 plus fees. I can’t stand being lied to.

I ended up calling Berts Mega Mall and speaking with the young sales manager Jordan. They had a standard 2017 Tenere new advertised for 10,999. I  told him I was a cash customer and if they could let it go for my price OTD. He told me he would call back in a few minutes and give me a price. Came back with a price texted to me OTD complete ready to go. He said if I get the cashiers check and text a photo of it to him, he would have the shop do the PDI (pre delivery inspection) and have it ready for me when I get there.

The story gets better. After I had the check ready to go and texted it, I get a call from the “adventure bike specialist”, telling me the bike advertised was a used model with 7000 miles on it (it was an honest clerical error and has since been changed on their website). They had a new 2017 ES (electronic suspension) model he would offer to me at the same price!! HOLY SHIT!! I asked if he was kidding me. Nope, full electronically adjustable suspension brand new for the same price!! What a smoking deal!!

Carol and I got to the Mega Mall and were greeted and treated like a king and queen. Full on air conditioned lounge with padded couches and chairs and coffee bar. Simple paperwork to do. I had at least 4 different guys walking me through everything!! They even had it ready with a full tank of gas, and a pigtail for battery tender. Before taking off I had a really nice young man come out and go through all the features and make sure I was comfortable riding away. I highly recommend this shop. 

Check this out. Fully electronic suspension!! This is the full blown top of the line Tenere!! I did not even consider one of these because of the cost. This is the very best Tenere with every single feature you can imagine!! Heated grips, cruise control, adjustable windscreen, LED lights, three different traction controls, unified braking, two ride modes (sport and touring), the list goes on. This is A LOT OF BIKE!!

Just got finished putting a bunch of cool goodies on it. This is the fanciest bike I have ever owned in my life!! After putting the Helibars "Tour Performance Kit" and IMS Adventure II footpegs it transformed the ride. No more numb hands, sore butt, hurting knees, etc. PURE COMFORT for mega mile day rides. 

 

 

[greedyg]

beauty she is ! 👍

[NavyNuke]

Looks great, if you find you are beating up the skidplate you may want to look into the ACD brand. It mounts to the frame and will keep the oil pan from cracking.

Beautiful bike and I have put 25k rough miles on mine. Far more capable than most people will give it credit for.