Hi everyone hope we are all well been a long month or two the story starts with my dad waking up struggling to pass fluid, that leads to a docs appointment an a rush mri then biopsy which then had a complication an me rushing him to a&e the day after,

Unfortunately an he couldn't pass anything luckily he then got a catheter fitted an thankfully they confirmed there was no damage to his kidneys it was super touch n go as his bladder nearly burst while he was waiting to be seen.


When that happened at his biopsy I decided to do something to give him something positive to focus on

In the best way possible a motorcycle!

An trade in my 2011 fireblade I've owned since new to get us a 2020 Yamaha Tenere 700 for him an myself to ride as a suprise. This really kept him positive over the past week especially when he was hit with the bad news on Friday of Stage 3 Prostate Cancer which came as a bit of a shock as he seemed fit and healthy and in good shape all things considered which goes to show check ups are so important a I hope in the future we all get screened for it more often.


Dad being dad even when he found out he's gotta have an opp before his radiotherapy is super excited for the Tenere which arrives shortly.

The plan now is for us to scrap our move to Scotland as where we were planning was hours from the hospital he'd need to attend, stay local but move a bit further into the Peak District an then look at near Exeter down in Devon in 2 years time if possible. Which was the other 50/50 plan for the move. Delays all my plans a fair bit but my entire focus is on my dad and keeping him able to enjoy his life as much as possible so all fingers crossed for positive treatment.


Tomorrow he's having a bone scan which will give us an even clearer picture all fingers crossed its not spread Into them.


He's been struggling a fair bit since the biopsy so anything positive is good.

The next plan is to sell my 1150GSA as to stay where we are it means downsizing quite a bit so lots less garage space as we will just be managing on how I support my parents for a while after we move an I end my career break. All about the teamwork though

Which means as much as I wanted to keep it as well we just won't have the room Nortons an stuff can fit through house doorways into rooms!

Also wanna say a thanks to Adie at Crescent who made it really painless for me sorting it out in-between all the hospital stuff, renewed my faith in dealers.

Anyways I thought the update might give a bit of explanation to the lack of posts an youtube.


So without further ado here's our 2020 Yamaha Tenere 700 an I'll get some pics n vids taken out an about on her over the coming weeks in between dad's hospital stuff.


The plan is to use the Yamaha Lowering link and Yamaha low seat as from what I've read that will take 38mm out of the seat height for dad and anything that makes it managable is great in my book an then I can flick the Rally seat on when I'm on it for a bit more leg room if needs be.


Initially I was gonna get the Touratech Low seat but they came back to me today an said it's the same height as the standard Yamaha 2 peice seat so that might be a good option for me in the future.

Will be an interesting way to see if the Tenere 700 floats our boat then when we are more sorted an can look at our Norway trip can look at some new ones

Once the 1150 is sold I'm gonna get cracking on my Yamaha RD350LC an the rest on bills. The very first bike dad and I ever got together at one point I had 2 of them, 2 350lcs, 2 250lcs a rd250c an a rzv500r an tz.


now I've* just got the one 350lc the first one that we never finished which means the most to us, I used to do 2k Miles a week on one of the 250lcs an I've never ridden a modern Yamaha so will be interesting with the T7 an will be fun flying about on an Elsie again.

Naturally this means Norway is pushed back quite considerably as dad's got alot of surgery and treatment planned.

So the plan is in between stuff to grab the rides when we can on the Yams an just enjoy and savour every moment possible

First day out on the Tenere 700 Adventure Motorcycle decided to have a go at green laning again ^_^ I decided recently to sell my fireblade I've owned since 2011 an get a T7 for dad an I to share after his stage 3 gleason stage 9 prostate cancer diagnosis as something positive for him to focus on through his treatment.

Had a small ride out today to see how I got on with the Tenere 700 30 mins in I found myself on a local greenlane.

Which lead to that typical thing you get with Japanese Motorcycles of them feeling like you've rode them forever after a few rides up the cat and fiddle I decided to have a wander to a car park near a green lane.

Which then lead to me having a little think to myself an then deciding to have a ride up said green lane as I'd what I'd class a reluctant green laner! Having not particularly enjoyed it on the 300 Rally.

An being utterly suprised by the Tenere I'd rode the same lane on the 300 Rally and I'm being totally honest here I actually found it much easier on the T7. Which completely suprised me now I'm no green laner but I rode it up there took a few pics an rode back with no dramas an with complete confidence.

Riding at my own pace taking some pics, talking to a few walkers and just generally having a really nice afternoon of it.

Dad was over the moon when I got back I got the T7 to give him something to ride an focus on through his stage 3 prostate cancer treatment an he's looking forward to riding it when he's able.

It suprised me that I even wanted to have another go at greenlaning what did suprise me with the T7 is it felt managable to move around an like a big dirtbike really crossed with a nippy small cc fun bike with that yamahaness you get with bikes like the Elsie, fun mix not had a modern Yam before and its an interesting change from the 1150gsa which is like a magic carpet that was my previous main bike which the T7 will be replacing.

The grunty engine suprised me to really torquey which made it great it just felt like it had tons of grip an didn't need loads of revs like the 300 an I didn't notice the top heaviness I didn't drop it though so that might change lmao.

Seat was a bit hard but the reach to the ground considering it was +40mm Rally seat was ok an I found the suspension probs needs some valving at some point. Overall its gonna be a great base going forward.

Has anyone tried a Touratech low Comfort seat?

I saw your post on facebook. The Tenere is a nice bike, I had one for a while but sold it as I felt it was just too tall and top heavy as an adventure bike, let alone a green lane one. That said, I did a day with the Yamaha Offroad Experience in Wales a while ago and the bike acquitted itself well - albeit on nothing too gnarly. I'm currently riding an XT660Z which TBH isn't much shorter or heavier but I like the simplicity of the single for trips where you may be hundreds of miles from the next dealer. If not for the dealer angle I'd take my 790 Adventure, which is lower in seat and CG - a far more capable bike but carrying more electronics than I'd want for the steppes. If you're planning to get out and about in Europe on an adventure bike I'd 100% recommend giving the KTM a go. Get down to Exeter and you can try mine out. Hope your dad's treatment goes well.... happy riding

Thanks TomKat it's always interesting to get different opinions

We had a bad experience with two 390s which both ended up rejected so not something either of us wanna revisit.

We both loved the idea of the 790s an they were our first choice though but decided on the Yamaha this time round as I don't fancy having something in an out of the workshop as a possibility, enough going on sorting the house move an looking after dad.

How've you been getting on with yours always super interesting to hear from other owners.

The other side of it is our local ktm shop closed recently so they are all a right trek away.

We managed to get a look at the new Explore t7 with a 860mm seat height an that made a big difference to the T7. Which is the plan to get ballpark for dad either via the lowering link or the seat, the good thing is with the T7 there's options for that

Plan with ours is to add either the touratech low seat (same height as standard 2pc) or the yamaha factory low seat an lowering links at some point.

Which would take 38mm out of the stock seat height an 80mm compared to our Rally seat

Thanks for the comments on dad it's meaning alot to him

Maybe it's my height but I'm not experiencing the top heaviness on the Tenere. Having said that the last bike was the 1150gsa so maybe its the perspective from coming from that or just that I'm 6'2 an a 32" inseam I always find it fascinating though that bikes are so different to all of us

Xt660 is such a cool bike! It's a shame they dropped them from the Yamaha lineup.

I reckon when we eventually move down to Exeter way a smaller cc single would be good judging from Nathan's videos on the lanes in Cornwall on his ccm looked alot of fun.

Hopefully for our level of green laning and the easy lanes I wanna do up here the t7 will be fine really enjoyed it yesterday

Did you ever fit any of the Camel side panels on yours TomKat?

Vid from yesterday

I bought my 790 back in 2019 for a trip to Mongolia. I did a shakedown run to Croatia intending to do the big one in 2020, but of course we know what happened then. I finally set out last year, ran into all sorts of problems almost straight away (which TBF weren't KTM's fault), came back, bought a T7, had a different set of problems and decided to knock it on the head for the interim, took the 790 round Ireland instead.

The big thing with top heaviness is it isn't a huge problem until you have to pick the bike up, particularly on your own on slippery ground with luggage and a full tank. I've done it a few times with the KTM - the pannier-type fuel tank keeps the weight low so picking it up is a doddle. When I dropped the Tenere in Wales I couldn't pick it up on my own, and I'm not a weed.

There is a good KTM dealer down here in Exeter and loads of green lanes. I went out once with the TRF boys and did a full day of lanes, never going more than 20 miles from home. But I wouldn't recommend using a big adventure bike for those, quite a lot of slippery mud and gnarly little tracks with big ruts.

My misadventures are here: www.facebook.com/motosunburn

Thanks TomKat really informative reply

Thanks for taking the time to share an sharing your adventures I'll check that out.

It seems you have to put a lot of stuff on this bike to make it a allrounder I test rode a 700 and like tomkat mentioned too top heavy Last year I test rode a Aprilia 660 and it was easier to ride had more power and wasn't top heavy It was a joy compared to the Yammy T
Im sold on the Aprilia Out of the Box a Way Better bike. Put a header a light exhaust and a decent skid plate
A true enduro that nobody has come close to building.
seriously Yamaha why cant you put tubeless rims on your beast. I remember the Africa twin 1000 that had tube rims WTF were you thinking for a bike north of 20 grand

I think alot comes down to priorities,

For us at the moment Japanese reliability was paramount the last thing we need with dad's prostate cancer is a bike stuck in a workshop with a technical fault for months on end (speaking from experience with modern 2014 on bmws, and 2x 2020 ktms, an a 2022 Himalayan) that I think was the numero uno deciding factor, 270 degree crank an what can I say we both love the looks if your bike doesn't make you take a 2nd look I think its the wrong bike.

I've own an Aprilia (Road/race bike) currently sat next to my bed which I've owned since 2008 the biggest problem with them over here in the UK at least is parts availability, something goes you can have a 3 month wait for bits especially if it's the summer. Great fun bike but I wouldn't trust one from a niggles / parts availability point of view that's exactly what hampers the Enfields as well a friend of mines been waiting 12 months for a cat under warranty an I experienced the same issues when I had the Himalayan.

I did actually consider the 660 Aprilia but I decided it didn't fit our needs from the standpoint of experience with the brand.

I think it all comes down to what your list of priorities are an ultimately what you wish to live with in the longrun. That was a huge decider in going for the T7 the other consideration was a Vstrom 650xt again as I loved mine alot an had 0 complaints but dad really liked the Yam so Yam it was an I've got yo admit I've really enjoyed it so far to

I completely agree that the Japanese companies need to step up with suspension components, the 300 Rally was abysmal the T7 isn't to bad tbh for the steady pace I'm running an especially for dad itl be OK. Although I belive in having the best suspension setup you can for that one moment where you need it so at some point I'll be dealing with that for us an suspension is far better than any engine mod.

I think it must be with me coming from the 1150gsa but I'm really not noticing the top heaviness everyone's commenting on, having said that I've not had to pick her up so I might change my opinion on that.

I've been doing a few things on the T7 today wiring in the nav etc an things seem really thought out plastic screws that are 1/4 turn full release with torx heads an a socket head so if one method fails u have another way of removing those fasteners.

Clips to hold indicator connectors in just little common sense touches that are nice when you are working on it.

I think how much you need to spend comes down to intended use, for me a revalve (need that on any bike for my weight) screen again any bike because I'm tall an a comfort seat an I'm thinking of an axp bash plate *anyone used one*

an I don't intend on anything else bar luggage and riding

Although I'm curious about aftermarket plastics for it.

The exhaust hanger naturally is the main weak point on the T7 that's well documented but then everything seems to have some inherent design flaw so just depends what you wanna live with I think.

Ultimately we are all different with different needs an it comes back to the great thing of lots an lots of choice.
Which is brilliant.

I'll be interested to see what the T7 is like when we get round to putting a lowering link on to make it more accessible for my dad.

I do agree with the tubeless although I know a few Norden an 890 owners whose had constant issues with sealing on the front wheel an we experienced that on dad's 390 wouldn't hold air.

I always find it fascinating to get others takes an opinions best way to learn is differing view points.

The inspiration for the T7 vids wise for us was Pavlin (motorcycleadventures, Adam Riemann, an Johannes Dalen really good T7 vids from both the pros an the cons Nomad Sweden as well is another good one.

Pavlins doing similar style trips and gravel riding to what we intend to do nothing to hard enduro more about travel an seeing places providing dad's able after his cancer treatment.

We've both got no intention to be the Next Pol or Adam, just a nice bit of travel

Hopefully I should be having a few days away to stretch the T7s legs a bit in-between hospital stuff.

I'm really gonna miss alot of things from my 1150gsa I think the two bikes majorly compliment each other. Unfortunately with the house downsizing and my having to support my parents now that means letting a few of my bikes go an the 1150 is the biggest space wise so the next logical one to sell.

All being well I can get the Nortons through a house door if needs be.

Speaking of bike prices I do think a few of them are getting a bit wild I specced a 1300gs an it wound up at £28,500 ouch! Could buy 3 t7's second hand and an 1150gsa for that.

Sorry to hear about your dad, hope he gets sorted soon

Yamaha RD350LC now there’s a blast from the past, had a go on one in my younger days and it scared me, it was quick for them days hahaha

Wayne

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Hi Wayne thanks for taking the time to Comment

They are great fun that's for sure I actually prefer the 250lc although they are pretty much the same bike the 250 spares are usually a bit easier to come by cylinders etc

had to sell mine a while back, did 2k Miles in a week on one looking forward to finishing this 350 though together an getting it on the road as its the first ever bike dad an I got together. Its not to far off so when the 1150 sells ill get it finished an the rest will go on bills.

This was the progress I'd made on her a short while back bottom end is all built just gotta get the top end done an send the oil pump off to a friend who does them, set of tyres stator some carbs, grab rail an a few other bits the remainder of the tyres an she's ready to ride not far off at all