...the front mudguard says it all really!

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a2wheeledadventure.com

2010 Yamaha XT1200Z Super Ténéré - Go Beyond

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Cheers!
Arthur

I have had my new S10 forr a month and a half now and can reliably share my experience on this bike with you all.I have done 4000 ks so far and this ha sbeen on highways , twisties and about 600 ks of dirt roads ranging from good to rocky passes. My average fuel consumption on my rides is 5.2 lt/100km = 19.2km/liter , now that is awesome for a bike this size.This is at speeds of around 135km/h with the normal accelaration when over taking.The brakes are awesome in every respect and the suspension is brilliant.Im told that a leading and respected instructer and GS adventure owner , off a off road academy here in RSA rates it better than the KTM990 suspension The handling for me anyway is easier than my XT660Z in than it feels much lighter when throwing it around.The lights at night are the best ive ever had. On the standard tyres it is superb through corners in fact my mate keeps up with the super bikes through the corners its so good, I dont have the balls to ride that fast.Ive gone as fast as 220ks and its very stable and as fast as 180ks on good dirt straights and its bloody stable.The bikes power (torque ) is second to none and the engine is a dream.The riding position is much better than the GSadv and it certainly does not seem to weigh 261kgs. Im not convinced the panniers will last a trans africa trip in fact im sure they wont.I have put tkc80s on the bike now and it feels so much better when riding on dirt roads. The screen should be higher . Anyway thats my view on the S10 and some people talk s*&#@ when it comes to commenting about the S10.I was wandering what would they have to say about the GSadv if it had just been launched and the S10 had been around all the time ??? In my opinion the S10 fits exactly inbetween the 990 and the GS , exactly whats needed by most adv riders. I am off the opinion that BMW have only sold so many bikes because there was never a Jap alterntive in the adv market . bye for now

:confused1: How do you mean?

The 260kg wet weight is what makes it a road tourer. Even without oil and fuel that means its 240 kgs DRY !!! ... ridiculous.

Low guard is totally compatible with off road riding and touring: (almost no Dakar bikes run high mudguards anymore)

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261 kl

Have we a photo without the pannier hiding the exhaust,,,, It's lkook's a tad on the very large side

it should be a good big sit up straight road bike....and that's about it, at 261 kl before you put your luggage on it you wont want to be dropping that off road

ps I use a low guard on my XR400,it is to help cool air get to the motor .!

Yes mate, 260+ kgs!! ... it sure seems designed to be a cheap competitor to the Moto Guzzi Stelvio, Ducati MultiStrada, Honda Varadero type of pure road "adventure style" bike. Yet another huge "adventure" bike that cant really be taken off road ... Like we need another of those on the market. Wish someone would bother making a 150 kg single to do the job.

I am also changing my X-Challenge to a low fender for the next long ride too - same reason.

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Are you sure it is a `cheap` alternative? Do we know prices yet?

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This old world keeps spinning round, it`s a wonder tall trees ain`t laying down.

I've heard whispers of £12-13k,which would be suicidal !

Andy

Hardly surprising, really.

Most members on HUBB are like-minded so it's easy to forget that what we value as qualities in a bike are way down the list for the majority of the potential customers that Yamaha hope to sell their bike to.

Sad but true: the needs of an overlander are of little consequence to the big bike companies: the relatively recent releases of the Tenere, and 800GS are fortunate in that they seem to meet many of our criteria. The DL650 was definately a road-bike that happens to be capable off-road: I doubt Suzuki had overlanding or any serious off-roading in mind: we were lucky!!

I think we need to get used to the idea that every new Dual Sport bike that comes out will not have dirt on the mind, and we will keep having to tweek our bike of choice to meet our needs.

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Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

EXcellent comments. It's true, we are virtually invisible in the market, even with the Ewan & Charlie hype, when it comes down to it, they are still building mainly a bike with an image, not a bike to really performs off road. Not that it's not capable, just does not seem to have been the #1 priority for Yamaha.

Still, at least Yamaha long ago learned how to build a reliable shaft drive and transmission, something BMW still struggle with even today. Any looked at the torque output of this monster? Huge, yet only 80 HP.

But as a comfy, two up tourer for easy dirt roads the Tenere' 12 will hit the spot for many. And like BMW and Harley, Yamaha will sell millions in aftermarket add on's, doo-dads for the bike. They are simply riding BMW's coat tails on this one. (can't blame them)

Quite true about the Wee Strom. Total accident. Never intended for off road. But Suzuki build some of the lightest bikes in the world, and simple and reliable as well. (just not pretty!)

Most ADV types in the US are hoping Yamaha will jump into this Adventure thing with both feet. The first thing we want is a revised 660 Tenere' single. New, lighter, more modern motor, knock off about 30 lbs. min. and then bring it to the USA. Very nice bike. Strong, cool looking, just too heavy for serious off road use. (even though many do it anyway)

hey Mickey, I think you can give up on Yamaha mate ... they seem to be building adventure bikes to consume maximum amounts of steel. If they were serious about his Adventure thing, the bikes would be much much much lighter. The Tenere is the heaviest single cylinder bike on the market, and probably the heaviest single ever built. And now this fat piece of super tenere lard ... it must be the heaviest adventure bike of any description ever brought to market, in the entire history of mankind. If Caterpillar built an adventure bike, it would be lighter than this! The only fit purpose for this "thing" on dirt roads will be to put a slick on the back and give it to road construction gangs as a backup dirt roller.

So two records for Yamaha and their assorted Teneres on their return to this Adventure thing ... records for weight!

If they wanted to be both serious and go into an empty segment of the market, they should work on making a 135 kg, 30 litre capacity adventure version of the WR 450 .... looking something like this: (note, this bike in the pic has a fuel capacity of an incredible 35 litres, and weighs 126 kgs)

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Well, I think the ST1200 is a damn fine piece of engineering and I'm gonna buy one as soon as it's been out for about a year and the first release gremlins are sorted - really, I think it's terrific.

I thought the F650 Dakars held that honor? A F650 Dakar with no luggage weighs in at around 425 lbs. (193 kgs.) wet. The 660 Tenere' claims to be
403 lbs. (183 kgs.) Dry., probably about 440 lbs. full of fuel. So the BMW is lighter, but not by much.

Reports I've read claim excellent handling off road for the Tenere' and I know you've seen Jmo's reports. So it may be heavy but in stock form I'd say it's more sorted than the Dakar or current G650 BMW single.

I think you're being a bit hard on Yamaha. Yamaha can build any bike they choose. In this case they see the market for the Tenere' 1200 as folks who won't likely being doing much off road at all, but want that image and most of all want a comfy Torque monster that looks the part and can cruise the highway at 100 mph, two up. In any case, it's no heavier than either the early 1100GS or 1150GS, which are 70 lbs. heavier than the R1200GS.

I agree with you. It would be nice if they did a nice Enduro bike based on the WR450, not a $50,000 Dakar racer as pictured, but an upgraded WR250R, perhaps with a "Dakar" package offered?
I hope you don't expect two wheel drive?

[/quote]

Suzuki almost does: DR650SE weighs about 165kg, but I think that might be dry. Pity you can't buy it in Europe any more. They are still selling here in NZ for about 4300 Euro.

Mine has done over 190k now, first clutch and cam chain, little maintenance. But, now...

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Cheers,
Peter.

Europe to NZ 2006-10

Lesson of the thread is...............

Start filling your garages with DR650's, DRZ400's, old Teneres, Africa Twins etc etc

Keep them running, keep them nice and they will be gold dust in 20 years time when someone wants to take a bike around a world without a IT technician, a sidecar full of Maplin/Radioshack spares and a laptop.

It won't be long before Grant has to add a section on "Places to recharge your bike on the road"

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.