Quote:
Originally Posted by Nath
Everything is subjective, including whether or not a bike is suited to two-up travel. I'm sure the guy who rode two-up from the UK to South Africa on a cg125 would have something to say about a 260kg machine being neccessary for two-up travel. All depends on what you want to do and how you want to do it (and how bothered you are about ending up with a sore arse!).
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Look at the demographic of those who will actually BUY this bike ... and not just talk about it. For them, it's easy to spot a good two up bike. And I guarantee Yamaha are in touch with those mostly 50 to 65 year old riders who will be buying this bike.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nath
I can't see how it would be a serious rival to the big BMWs, surely the 'Tenere' brand name doesn't pull anywhere near as much weight as 'GS' with the LWR-wannabes?
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Yea, right. For those whose Dakar knowledge only goes as far back as KTM .... well yes, that may be true. And in Pop culture many believe BMW "invented" adventure bikes. But Yamaha has a few cards to play here if they so chose.
Do some research. Look and see which company are the number one all time winner of the Dakar. That'd be Yamaha. What bike? The Tenere' of course!  It was a 850cc TDM motor.
And by the way .... back then the races were far tougher than what we see today. Most have no idea about this.
Read interviews with Stephane Peterhansel (Yamaha's factory rider for a decade who has most wins on the Tenere') and some of the old timers. Find out the true history of the Dakar.
Yamaha has ignored the Dakar connection for a decade and let KTM and BMW have their fun. Now we may see the giant raise its head and Crush the orange interloper!  (well, we can hope!)
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