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.

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.

__________________
XT rules! XT660Z Tenere '08
make the world beautiful, get a tattoo!
http://dallastx.smugmug.com

Dallastx,
Great write up, gives a good insight into owning one , 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

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

Thanks and much appreciated

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.

__________________
XT rules! XT660Z Tenere '08
make the world beautiful, get a tattoo!
http://dallastx.smugmug.com

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.

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.

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


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

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.

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

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.

__________________
XT rules! XT660Z Tenere '08
make the world beautiful, get a tattoo!
http://dallastx.smugmug.com

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.

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.