+4K is a HUGE hurdle. people were going all the way across country to Alabama to save $2k on the FJR. in some circles that's a used car for commuting or the kids. in other circles, it's 2 used cars.
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Not So Super Tenere
- Thread starter Pterodactyl
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HotRodZilla
GOD BLESS AMERICA
As much as I'm a cheap *******...I'd pay the extra 4k for the BMW...
Actually, I would end up paying more. I wouldn't buy a standard GS; I'd buy the GSA, if it wasn't so frigging huge. Lol...
Actually, I would end up paying more. I wouldn't buy a standard GS; I'd buy the GSA, if it wasn't so frigging huge. Lol...
If it's a matter of having or not having (at all vs. just which to have) then $4k can be a deal breaker.
FJRMGM
FJRMGM
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+1 - thought of wrestling a 600+ pound pig around off-road does not appeal to me in the least.
I rarely have me mate Charley around to help me pick up a big heavy bike.
Denver_FJR
Well-known member
Maybe I'm asking for too much, but I want something better looking and a bit more offroad capability then a Vstrom and and at the same time reasonably priced. The BMW F800GS looks like a great package but I can't get past their premium price.
Checkswrecks
Well-known member
Face it, if you want to play on real dirt where you regularly drop a bike, roughly 300 lbs is the threshold. Even the 315 lb. DRZ400 gets tiring if you need to keep picking it up. Yes, I wish MamaYama made the Tonere 100/200/300 lbs lighter. It also needs a good skid plate and bars to protect the sump and fan. But then so do most adventure bikes. Now that the Super Tenere has been out for 3 1/2 years, clearly Yamaha made a decision to take the weight penalty to get reliability in a bike that has been beaten by the worst of what the Aussies and SA owners could dish out. I find it odd that the Yamaha accessories haven't been adequate, but the aftermarket has provided everything needed.
Folks who felt the Tenere needs more power have been satisfied with the ECU re-flash. It's become a fairly common mod, so even while I don't feel the need for it, the option is easily do-able and the $400 is affordable.
Even so, I've single tracked the Tenere, run it up loose rocky trails (TC off), down loose rocky hills (ABS not inhibited, unlike the oil head GS), and tossed it in sand. The worst that's happened is I had to bend the shift lever out from the engine case. The Tenere's been neck & neck with the oil head GS in every way and WAY ahead in both TC & ABS. Both are smooth and the ABS doesn't need a switch. If you still wanted to disable ABS, you could just run it 20 seconds on the center stand, but the Tenere ABS won't leave you without brakes on a loose downhill the way the GS will in the first place.
The thing that BMW does better is smoothness on the highway. New 2013 Teneres can be found for $11,995 and just how much is that ride and roundel worth for the R1200GS or GSW? This is real money and MY wallet. After doing an Edelweiss tour with 4 new R1200GSW's in the group, I was really impressed this summer and still am. If you can swallow the price and are willing to put up with new model issues, the GSW is a nicer bike that I really want to like. While there are a couple photos of broken GSW steering heads looking like choppers, at least one is post-accident, versus at least 4 of the F800GS. The Big Money Werks seems to have solved the breaking final drives, but with 3 recalls, start complaints, and other issues, I'll echo my Beemer GS buddies and let somebody else be their beta tester till at least next year. As miles pile up flawlessly on the Tenere.
We have both a DL100 Strom and the Super T here and the Strom feels like an antique when moving from one to the other all day. The Tenere is FAR and away better off-road and on. Slabbing with cross winds make the Strom into a fatiguing workout machine. And I'll never go back to a chain for commuting and touring.
Folks who felt the Tenere needs more power have been satisfied with the ECU re-flash. It's become a fairly common mod, so even while I don't feel the need for it, the option is easily do-able and the $400 is affordable.
Even so, I've single tracked the Tenere, run it up loose rocky trails (TC off), down loose rocky hills (ABS not inhibited, unlike the oil head GS), and tossed it in sand. The worst that's happened is I had to bend the shift lever out from the engine case. The Tenere's been neck & neck with the oil head GS in every way and WAY ahead in both TC & ABS. Both are smooth and the ABS doesn't need a switch. If you still wanted to disable ABS, you could just run it 20 seconds on the center stand, but the Tenere ABS won't leave you without brakes on a loose downhill the way the GS will in the first place.
The thing that BMW does better is smoothness on the highway. New 2013 Teneres can be found for $11,995 and just how much is that ride and roundel worth for the R1200GS or GSW? This is real money and MY wallet. After doing an Edelweiss tour with 4 new R1200GSW's in the group, I was really impressed this summer and still am. If you can swallow the price and are willing to put up with new model issues, the GSW is a nicer bike that I really want to like. While there are a couple photos of broken GSW steering heads looking like choppers, at least one is post-accident, versus at least 4 of the F800GS. The Big Money Werks seems to have solved the breaking final drives, but with 3 recalls, start complaints, and other issues, I'll echo my Beemer GS buddies and let somebody else be their beta tester till at least next year. As miles pile up flawlessly on the Tenere.
We have both a DL100 Strom and the Super T here and the Strom feels like an antique when moving from one to the other all day. The Tenere is FAR and away better off-road and on. Slabbing with cross winds make the Strom into a fatiguing workout machine. And I'll never go back to a chain for commuting and touring.
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Checkswrecks
Well-known member
I have seen photos of 4 broken in the same place, right behind the steering head.
Personally, I'm looking hard at setting up a left over Husky TE 630 for an adventure the son and I are planning. While a little heavy at the weight of the DRZ400 and lighter than the F800, it has nearly 50 hp.
Checkswrecks
Well-known member
A couple last thoughts that go to the OP . . .
Yamaha said at EICMA and elsewhere that they are in the process of introducing a number of new bikes. They could bring a new dual sport to the US with a single, twin, or even triple.
On the small side, there is a LOT of expectation that they will bring a WR450R to complement the WR250R. I'm already on the fence about a WR250R, and a 450R version would get my money!
The single XT660 Small Tenere has been in other countries for years and while everybody likes it, it is expensive compared to the already crowded 650cc offerings that all the other makers offer. I can't see the business case for North America.
The photos and news bits about the new twin motor would be perfect to update the TDM on the big 800-900cc side, or to create a mid-Tenere, or build the 500 on the small side. The TDM and 500s have been steady money-makers in most of the world.
And of course, people like the MT09 triple, but more cylinders cost more to make and are not necessarily what you want in weight and power delivery on dirt.
My take is that they will probably introduce the WR450R and something else, it's just totally up in the air about what the other bike will be.
Checkswrecks
Well-known member
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Pterodactyl
Well-known member
You must have a very rugged posterior.Personally, I'm looking hard at setting up a left over Husky TE 630 for an adventure the son and I are planning. While a little heavy at the weight of the DRZ400 and lighter than the F800, it has nearly 50 hp.
beemerdons
Certifiable Old Fart
This decrepit senile old fart wishes the moto makers would bring back something along the lines of the famous Elsinore, here is Steve McQueen riding his down in Mexico.
Low seat height, with a big and comfy saddle. Decent fuel capacity and power up the wazoo, standard Honda reliability and decent suspension with good ground clearance.
And best of all for this old Mexico dirt riding hombre, light weight for when the moto and Papa Chuy Viejo take a dirt nap! The older I get, the more frequent my Mexico dirt naps!
Low seat height, with a big and comfy saddle. Decent fuel capacity and power up the wazoo, standard Honda reliability and decent suspension with good ground clearance.
And best of all for this old Mexico dirt riding hombre, light weight for when the moto and Papa Chuy Viejo take a dirt nap! The older I get, the more frequent my Mexico dirt naps!
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I agree, there are already a lot of 650 thumpers out there. And none of them make a particularly good ADV bike, IMO, with the possible exception of the orange bikes ($$$). Most are too heavy for real offroading, that's where a nice fuel injected, 300 lb max weight, WR450 would be great, and generally the big thumpers are not comfortable (enough) for long days on the road to get to the adventures.
The ADV segment that isn't very crowded, and one that is still pretty much ripe for the picking, would be the midsized (~650cc) multi-cylinder ADV bike. I think Yamaha could out do the weestrom 650 if they put their minds to it. Keep it inexpensive, as light as possible, minimal (or optional) expensive electronica, but with the road manners of a twin or triple engine and they'd sell a crap load of them.
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beemerdons
Certifiable Old Fart
None of those machines listed has a low seat height, at 65 years old I spent many hours on an Elsinore back in the day and enjoyed a low seat height.They do, it's called a YZ250 or a KTM250/300XCW.
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NMRoadRunner
A Bulls work is never done!
Yamaha has a small, capable, light weight, dual sport in it's line up and has had for years. I've had three of them and am currantly riding a 96 model that I recently went through, gets about 70mpg, and can go about anywhere. The TW200! nuff said.
Speaking of Huskies, one of our own from this forum had his all the way out in the Playa at the most recent Gerlachfest. He and everyone else who rode it out into rooster tail heaven came pulling back in with huge grins.
Ask and he might comment on it.
Ask and he might comment on it.
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