New Tenere tips and stuff
 

Hi as the soon to be owner of the new tenere I thought it would be a good idea to include any tips and mods under this thread. Anything will do, its always good to share problems and find solutions.

My only problem so far is that I have to wait one more day until i can ride the new bike.:scooter:

Hello Stuxttr

Good luck with your new purchase sounds very exciting and btw not much longer to wait now.......

In between riding and admiring the bike, let us know know how you rate the performance, engine, economy, comfort/manoeuvrability on/of road etc

Congratulations, hopefully we will hear from you soon

...
 

yeah eager to hear more about the bike from real people.

good luck.

robin

Well, here we go! I picked up my new Tenere June 13th and already did 3000km with the bike. Mods so far: alu bashplate, centrestand, handguards, all original Yamaha parts, handlebar risers(30mm), oiltemperature gauge(instead of dipstick), Touratech rearfender bag. What'll come: Hepco&Becker pannier rack for my alu panniers(aug/sept), Leovince exhaust slip-on system, modified seat(flat and higher), WR footpegs. It's an allround allroad: powerful(enough for me, for now!), stable and easy handling and alltime control(even with rainy&windy weather), picks up from 2500rpm and the best riding range is between 3000 and 5000rpm, hardly no vibes, windshield is pretty good(only some turbulence above 140kmh, but how often do you go that fast with a thumper?), comfortable seating, even on the long haul(although it would be better all the way flat so you can change seating position) , good cornering, good brakes and suspension, good fuel economy(average 1lt to 24km, that'll get you about 500km's far!), long distance rider(did a 450km trip without a hassle). Some flaws: the fuel meter is rather pessimistic, the dash has a resonance between 3500 and 4000rpm.
In conclusion: I'm very happy with the Tenere, it's a good bike and fun to ride! Greetz, Hans.

Dallastx,
Great write up, gives a good insight into owning one:clap: , can you tell us at what rev range/speed the engine gets too vibey for you and have you tried her with a pillion yet.
Have they really cured the low speed surging from the injection system:mchappy:

And can you post some pics of the mods you've made to the bike...

Thanks and much appreciated:thumbup1:

Like I said, hardly no vibes at any rpm, although the max speed I rode was about 140kmh, doing about 5500rpm. Ok, you feel a little buzz, but it's still a thumper, but the buzz isn't annoying. No experience yet with pillion seat passenger, but you can look on . : XT660.com The #1 xt660 resource : . | The #1 xt660X, xt660R and xt660Z Tenere resource where several Tenere riders share their experiences. My e-mail adress is dallastx@hetnet.nl, send me your e-mail adress and I'll send you pics of all the mods I've done so far(I took the pics today, but they are too large to post them here!). Next things to come(already ordered): Hepco&Becker pannier rack(aug/sept) for my H&B alu panniers and the Leovince slip-on exhaust system(later next week). Greetz, Hans.

Hi I picked my new tenere up yesterday the dealers Tamworth Yamaha UK, were very friendly and helpful. My Journey home was good, just getting used to the bike and how it rides. Its a tall bike I am 5,7 ft and I cant get both feet down maybe just tip toes but I am used to tall bikes, once on the move the bike is very stable and will trickle along at very low revs.

I found up to 3000 rpm very smooth but over this I can feel vibes, I hope this is just running in as 3000-5000 is the ideal range for cruising/touring.

Dallaxstx was your bike like this as I notice you say yours is very smooth through this rev range. I have had big singles b4 so I am aware of vibes and this didnt feel 100 % good. I hope it smooths out and that my bike doesnt have a problem. The only thing I can do is ride some more and maybe hope to try someone elses bike.

Apart from this niggle I am very happy with my bike the looks I love but I love Dakar style bikes. Its comfortable but I have only rode short distances yet and my wife says she likes the back seat as she can see above my helmet.

Althought the bike is tall it it seems to cope well with strong wind and as I said b4 is very stable. The dash is very neat and clear and the speedo glows red when you are in the shade or dark. The lights also seem very good.

The screen looks short but works very well.

As I ride more miles and gain more smiles I will keep everyone updated. I think Yamaha have created a great bike. 6000 mile service schedules are also very good to hear. The brakes are very goood those twin front discs certainly pull up well.

I have to make a bracket for my Top box but it looks like that should fit ok.:scooter: :scooter: :scooter: :scooter: :scooter:

Just a couple more bits, the bike is very easy to move around I am short of leg so I hop off to do this but its got a decent turning circle and the weight fully fueled is not bad the rear grab handles come in useful too. My BMW rt which was 100 kg heavier and much lower was much harder to move around. The tenere althought tall is suprisingly narrow so should be ideal for filtering through traffic.:scooter:

Stuxtttr, congratulations again and great write up :clap:, feel very envious now, still I'll only whisper that as my XTZ gets very jealous:nono:.


Did the guys at Tamworth advise you on a running in period or did Yamaha provide any paperwork to you as a new bike owner- do's and don'ts, whilst the engine is running in, or is that guidance on bikes for the days of olde....

The 3-5k rev range vibe is concerning, further advice needed me thinks, we will have to see how this develops......

Photos are always a good idea, I received the ones from Dallastx, his bike and mods look very practical and impressive, thanks again.

Keep it coming , i may well place in and order for one:eek3:

Yeah running advice is upto 5000 rpm for first 1000 miles, first service at 600 miles and dont labour the engine.

Yeah vibes are a worry I will get out again today and have a proper check. Until I get some feedback from other owners its hard to tell from the magazine reviews Ive read I expected vibes around 80mph plus on the motorway which I will be happy with but not if they are in the most useful part of the rev range, again from what I have read this is not the case.


Will have the wife listening in today so she can feel the change from 3000 plus rpm then contact the dealer tomorrow if I am still worried. :scooter:

As a further thought on the matter and you've probably done this already, just make sure it has the correct oil level, these things do happen..:(


You're quite right, its most important that the rev range 3-5k doesn't present intrusive vibes and unless you're fortunate where you live, most of us want to travel and will have to spend periods of time travelling on the motorway to get to the new and interesting bits.

Heres hoping it amounts to nothing, lets see what the wifes keen ear can detect :thumbup1:

I did the break-in following the owner's maual: first 1000km not above 4500rpm, 'till 1600km not above 6000rpm(now its broken in I hardly reach this kinda of rpm). Like I said before, there's a little buzz, but hardly no vibes: it's smooth from 2500rpm up to 5000-5500rpm(the last equals 140kmh, that's the fastest I did, usually I don't come above 120/130kmh, that's fast enough for me!). It's still a thumper, although it's smooth, so there will always be some vibes/buzz, but I rode XT's all my motorcycle life(this year 30 years!), but none were as smooth as this bike. Essential for good running is also: the right tire pressure, right chain tension(watch it: the Tenere must have a slack of 50-60mm!). Greetz, Hans.

Hey thanks again yeah all fluids are correct but good news on the ride today it already seems smoother. I can still notice a bit more vibes at 3000 plus but unless I ride another bike back to back I wont be able to tell if mine is any different.

Yeah it rode great today, high winds and it was solid as a rock on road. I also took in 3 miles of green lane (mostly hard pack and a bit of mud and puddles and ruts) this was 2 up on a new bike. But all I can do is praise the bike. Its got a very neutral feel. Also because the lower rpm range is super smooth I was able to trickle along at walking pace with ease. It was also comfortable for both of us. Back on the road the riding position is great you can see over all but LGV's.

I am much happier today and will keep everyone updated on the vibes.

I will be off early to work down the M1 so will see how it behaves up to 4500 rpm.
Hope my TTR cant hear this next bit as its now sat in my conservatory I needed the garage space for the new bike.
If it keeps going like this the Tenere will prove to be all the bike I ever need.
:scooter:

I wouldn't expect any engine to be running spot on until it's well and truly run-in.

Don't make the mistake of running-in too carefully; many an engine has been resigned to a life of lower than expected HP and higher than average oil consumption by being treated too gently early on.

If you find a vibe or fueling issue at your prefered cruising speed, one tooth either way on the back sprocket will make it disapeer.

I can't wait until these become available; six months old with 1500 miles and all the goodies bolted on and mods sorted :-)

Enjoy your new ride.

Envious, me, never !!

Cheers Big Yella, I have wanted one of these for years and I cant afford to be bolting many goodies on. With the help of my Dad we will be fabricating most of our own stuff. Sump gaurd, frame gaurds etc, looking at aux lighting the towing eye looks like it will make a great mount for such things. Quick release system for the front gaurd in case it clogs with mud. Chain gaurds the list is endless. Sadly part of the deal with the Bike is that the lovely wife gets a new Kitchen !

Better news again Today I did a few junctions down the motorway and the bike is running nice at 4000-5000 rpm still some vibes but it sits lovely and I seem to get much less turbulance around my helmet than on my old RT.

Even though you are very upright, which I like good for the back ! it doesnt seem affected by cross winds.

Looking foward to riding some more lanes on the way home. A few of the chaps at work seem spurred on to get back into bikes after my grand entrance this morning.:scooter::scooter:

Looking at fitting some hand guards. Dont want Rally type guards, so I have narrowed my search down to either Yamaha DT 125 guards £17, look neat but mounting to lever mounts may not work on the Tenere. Or one of the many types of sepretley mounted guards ie acerbis, cycra or Tusk these look good and only cost $24 so looking in to the shipping. Will probably go for the understated Yamaha guards as they look like the offer the best in weather and brush protection. plus the ease of availability.

Will keep posted of the results.

At first we tried to fit Rally-handguards(acerbis), didn't fit. Then we tried the XTR Yamaha handguards, didn't fit. In both cases the brakefluidreservoir on the bars was the cause they didn't fit. Now I got the original Tenere handguards and deflectors and they fit very well, although the deflectors aren't that large they do a good job. Only problem is that they're expensive: guards&deflectors together around 190,- euro's! Greetz, Hans.

just bought one
 

joined your forum tonight to say what a brilliant bike the new tenere is after buying one yesterday.everything a couple of members have said have been right well done yamaha, and of course this site :funmeterno::oops2:

:welcome: Well done and welcome jackspratt (what colour did you get ?) Mine is just due its run in service, vibes seem less every ride or I am just more used to them !

I am managing over 200 miles before reserve shows and thats another 6 litres so range is great.

Seat is a little un comfortable on long runs I think maybe it slopes too much so you cant shift your weight so easily. To be fair that run was over 200 miles non stop I set off 210 miles later I got off the bike so I guess it was an extreme test.

The bike pulls lovely handles well. I was getting blown around a bit but the winds were crazy.

The bike stops very well, believe me I had to stop fast and I just grabbed a load of front brake and stopped. I didnt know if I was going to stop but I pulled up with a little room to spare. (note to self dont worry about looking in mirrors at cop that was following me watch van in front !)

At 4000 rpm the bike is doing about 68 mph if you wind it on it soon gets up to 80 mph. It trickles through slow speed traffic very easily.

cant wait to get some more miles on the clock so I can go for a proper burn up.

I have not sorted the hand guards yet cheers Hans but will post update when I find a good low cost solution.

current miles about 660 and lovin it, need to get a better lock and ground anchor so the bike stays mine.:scooter: thinking about fitting an inline fuel filter.

My Tens just had its first service, they even cleaned it (saved me the job !)

Its running great the fuel economy is about 58 mpg but most of that was 70 - 80 mph on motorway 4500 - 5000 rpm.

It did over 230 Miles before reserve so I think with an easy throttle a range of 350 is achievable.

I opened it up yesterday and saw about 105 mph on the speedo so I think when the engine is looser a real world 100 mph is probably the best you can go in standard form.

I am ordering some DT handgaurds £18 from Yamaha they may need some tweaking but I am happy with the price and protection from the elements.


The mechanic said the seat will get comfy with time ! ? ! I cant see that myself and will look into a air hawk seat pad for long runs.

Need to just have Key to ignition no key ring as this is marking the plastic.

If it wasnt going to rain all day I was off for a blast to Wales but its too far to travel not to get the views
:scooter: to sum it up loving the bike and the Height is not really an issue.

:scooter:

Well ladies and gentlemen. Time to wrap up my initial 5809 kms on my Midnight Black (fancy name for what's essentially black...) XT660Z Tenere. I bought it in the 1st week of July and broke it in during my vacation. I loaded it with my daughter (11), soft panniers and a roll-up bag and set out together with my wife who was on her Guzzi Breva 750.

The short summary is: The bike is freakin' great! It's a keeper, by far!

These are the upsides:
- Enough grunt for me
- Works great on road AND gravel!
- Very nimble, even when loaded up
- Very stable at the occasional highway speed stretches
- Fairly easy to stand on the pegs when your bottom starts to complain or when the terrain demands it.
- Have bad roads, gravel roads and sandy stretches for breakfast - even two-up!
- Long range: I did some 420-450 km's between fill-ups. It will be capable of more than 500 km's on a full tank. But then I was in the process of breaking it in taking it very easy on the throttle.
- Surprisingly good wind protection for someone of my height (178 cm)
- Not too sharp knee angle - I like that
- I leave most sportbikes in my wakedust when the roads are somewhat bad, narrow and bendy. Which they tend to be where I live :-)
- Instrument panel is top notch!
- All controls (brakes, clutch) are light, easy and predictable. Enough stopping power even when fully loaded.
- Springs and dampers are better than I expected

Not soo good:
- I have to do something with that seat, even though I can manage long miles by standing up once in a while
- Fuel gauge is somewhat misleading, but I got used to it.
- The speedo is off by at least 10 percent.
- Not roomy enough for my pillion passenger. May be better when I have the proper alu panniers and top box mounted though.
- Not comfy enough for my pillion passenger. May be better when new/reupholstered seat is introduced
- Why on earth doesn't this kind of bike come with center stand as standard?? My dealer didn't get it to his shop before I left for my holiday so I had to leave without it. Awkward when it was time to grease the chain etc.
- The standard tyres are ok for asphalt but not to my taste for gravel stuff. Need to change them to something more knobbly I think. Conti TKC 80 or thereabouts.

Mods that will be done:
- New/modified seat (will be done in September)
- Centre stand (done)
- Hand protectors and wind deflectors (done)
- Proper alu panniers and top box (on order)
- Proper bash plate (on order)
- Handlebar risers for better standing position (next week)
- Broader footpegs for better standing

I'm not in the market for more power, so I'll leave those mods for later.

All in all: My objections to the bike are few and minor. I'm very pleased with the bike and I'm looking forward to years and years of fun with it. Although for two-up serious touring, my trusty Guzzi Quota will be called into action. The Tenere will be my companion on my solo trip to Morocco, though.

Hans great feedback glad you are of similar opinions as myself. I love the bike but like you think the seat is not good.

Do you know if Yamaha are planning a better seat or are you going to modify yourself. Maybe I will get in touch with Yamaha UK and discuss the seat issue, If you dont ask you dont get !

Happy Trails :scooter:

I will have to borrow a GPS to check my speedo

Hi Stu, thanks.

I have no idea whether Yamaha is going to do something about it or not. I'll modify the seat myself and I'm turning the seat in to a pro in September for reupholstering and putting on a proper rally suede cover ;-)
I do believe though that Touratech or the likes (OTR, Motec) will offer a seat pretty soon as this is the major complaint against the Tenere. If you do ask Yamaha, pls let me know what they replied, will you?

Hey, guys! Visit . : XT660.com The #1 xt660 resource : . | The #1 xt660X, xt660R and xt660Z Tenere resource and then to the XT660Z Tenere specific forum and hter's an example of a british memeber who had the seat of his '08 Tenere redone and now is flat and little bit higher: looks good! I'll have the seat of my Tenere redone by Ray(Rayz zadels - Motorzadels:), when he gets back from his trip to India. Greetz, Hans.

evening guys....

great to see a few familiar names here too as well as in . : XT660.com The #1 xt660 resource : . | The #1 xt660X, xt660R and xt660Z Tenere resource :Beach:

Hello CaptMoto!

Been a hangaround here for some years now. Together with the XT660.com this is THE best site around. Good to have you on board!

Indu

Captmoto is a very hidden man, and romes around a bit on many different forums, bit like myself.

By the captmoto is the big chief at . : XT660.com The #1 xt660 resource : . | The #1 xt660X, xt660R and xt660Z Tenere resource and has setup a great forum for anything to do with the xt660 motor which is used in quite alot of different bikes. Just for anyone who doesnt know

Maxwell you make me sound like some weirdo :D I just do the rounds a bit everywhere to keep an eye on any info available for the XT bikes and yes I have been a member of the Hubb for quite sometimes but since I am not a "traveller" as such I don't really write much I just read stuff here and there.

Have fun and see you ... "next door" :)

:Beach:

2009 Tenere
 

Hi everyone have just joined the site. I've been a Harley rider for many years but really thinking of changing to the Tenere XT660. I am a bit concerned about 2 issues that have been already raised, and i have read a couple of posts on these bikes.
Firstly i'm wondering how the guys are getting on with the bikes now they are well run in, in the vibration department. I'm not an overly fast rider (like i said i ride a Harley) but i would like something that can cruise through France at 80mph. Most of my riding is just commuting with maybe the odd 200 mile run at the weekend and Europe twice a year.
The second is the seat. Did they "bed in" any??
I see that the 2009 Tenere has a 23Lt Fuel tank opposed to the 22Lt on the 2008, so i'm wondering if Yamaha themselves have done anything with the seat, perhaps through feedback on the 2008.

Love the site.:thumbup1:

Hi Portmarco - believe me, the Tenere is like a magic carpet compared to a Harley x

I've done around 1900 miles on mine now - I never found it particularly vibey in the first place (but then I'm used to big singles), sure there was a touch more vibration through the bars when I removed the bar-end weights (to fit hand guards), but the engine itself is very smooth. You can certainly sit at 70-80mph all day on it.

I also did a 300 mile day recently on it, and again, while I found the seat a little uncomfortable initially, I had no problems with it after that...

Either you do get used to it, or the vibes to lessen... either way, don't let that put you off - it's a fantastic bike (for any money, but especially at the price it is!)

xxx

ps. the 22/23 litre thing I think is a missprint at some point, I can get 23 litres in mine - I may just be how far up the filler neck you fill the tank?

I can only 2nd JMo's comments. I've ridden my Tenere 10 000 kms by now, and it's not vibey at all (but I'm used to Guzzis, mind you). Cruising at 80 mph/130 kmh all day long is not a problem. Did a couple of those days this summer. But I must admit it's on the twisty roads, with or without gravel, that the Tenere is in its ace.

Seat: I'm having mine redone. It's not a big problem with the standard seat - I just stood on the pegs once in a while to un-numb my butt. But I want another seat, perhaps a tad higher too.

Tank: Yamaha hasn't done any technical alterations to the 09-model compared to the 08. Also on the 08 Yamaha states 23 litres fuel capacity. I've seen several magazine reviews stating 22, but I think on this one I'll trust Yamaha.

So the core message here is: Get one!

Toutatech goodies out
 

I popped into Touratech Wales the other day while running mine in and Nick showed me a sheet of Touratech goodies for the Ten that were being launched at Intermot as we spoke. All the usual protection and gadgetry.
Nice bash plate with a tool box on the front. Grant J was at Intermot and took some pix (below).

After 4 whole days I like mine - especially 74mpg/26kpl which should = nearly 600kms to a tank. But the screen is too low for me (6 1) and makes riding much noisier than no screen at all unless I crouch. TT do a Universal windscreen spoiler which might help and the best thing is it's only £73!
Touratech UK Webshop

IMO the seat is no worse than many other big singles I've owned. Not sure the seat step is the problem; it's just half the width of the average adult human arse. Standing up briefly helps as Indu said.
Vibration seems pretty normal to me but like JM I'm used to big singles. Assume it may get smoother still but I'm about to take off the bar ends to fit guards so it may not.

Mine pops and bangs on the over run or even just a gear change but pulls smoothly. And matey at the first service place said running on leaded is not the engine-wrecking disaster the manual makes it out to be - it had me worried for a bit. The self diagnostics will get round it he said, even if you pull the lambda sensor and cat pipe.

I got the OTR rack (TT do one too now I guess) which is nice and light, looks tough but tricky to fit without help (mine was out by 10-15mm at the pillions). Just got some Barkbusters and TKCs too and off to Morocco next week to ride some tracks. It should be a lot of fun!

Ch

XTZ 660 Tenere review - Adventure Motorcycling at 5000 miles

Chris, please let us know how it works in the rough stuff in Marocco. I have only been roughing it around on Norwegian trails this far, so a good write-up of the Tenere's sandblasting abilities would be very much appreciated.

Chris All the best on your next adventure, look foward to the trip report.:scooter: