I have a 2007 R1200GS but I am considering trading it for the new Tenere. Yes, it looks like I will get some cash for the trade which I think would be a fair amount, but I am interested in your opinions on the bikes themselves.

I don't have a car and live in Germany, so the bike is my only transportation mean. I have ridden K75RT, K1200GT, and the GS, all beemers. But these days, I like to ride more offroad and perhaps taking overland journeys. That is why I am starting to think about a smaller yet capable bike. Plus after my trip in Vietnam riding on a 125cc, I am more convinced that a smaller bike is better.

I like the GS and have ridden it for over a year or 15,000 km. I am thinking about the Tenere because:
1) I like to do more offroad
2) I like the design
3) I have more confidence in learning how to do some basic repairs myself
4) It feels smaller although it is not on paper, but I am 5'8" (172cm) tall so the GS just feels a tag bigger and heavier.

What I am not sure of about the Tenere is:
a) how is it handled on autobahn for a long stretch?
b) any maintenance issues on long distance travel?
c) it is only 20kg lighter than the GS but with only half the horsepower and torque as the GS
d) GS has this front shock in addition to the fork spring, which prevents from hard front-diving when hard braking, would driving a Tenere require significant changes in my driving style?

Honestly, my heart has already left the GS and gone to Tenere, so I'm looking for some harsh reasons why I shouldn't trade. Naturally, I am interested in any of your opinions and experiences.

Many thanks in advance.

I reckon that the Tenere will be as much of a pig in the dirt as your 1200 or my 650 Dakar. Better of with a DR650 IMHO. Super easy to work on and plenty of farkles. OR wait for the 690 adventure. I hear the 690 enduro is a pearler (sold like hot cackes here) and light as for the trails. Rode a 625 which is a few kg heavier than the 690 and compared to the Dakar it feels like a 450. Just can't do anything wrong with it. Hopefully KTM will aim the adventure towards the luggage friendly adventure riding with a beefy alternator. If I had another year I would have waited for it now that I do more trail riding. Man I wish I was in you shoes. G650X is nice too.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

Like you I'm 5'8" and ride a R1200GS, but the Adventure version. After putting 48,000 miles on my previous 1200GS, I've now done 45,000 miles on the 1200GSA in 20 months and have done 3,000 miles offroad, mainly riding solo in Morocco.

I took my XR400R on one Moroccan trip but this didn't have electric start, had extremely limited fuel range, problems with luggage and couldn't handle fast main roads, let alone motorways. So I've now sold that.

I wanted something lighter and lower for a second bike, but still something that could do gravel/rock tracks, take luggage, had a reasonable tank range and could handle long distance (France>Spain) motorway sections. A year ago I would have said the Ténéré would be the bike I was going for, but in the end I decided on the new 800cc F650GS twin cylinder which I'm picking up this week.

On paper it's a compromise on the offroad specification, but I think it will be ideal for my particular set of needs.

Tim

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Thanks Tim and Tmotten. Yeah, As I have been a Beemer guy since I started my riding career, I have also thought about the G650X with Touratech Rallye remodifications and the F800GS. Also I have thought about the XT660R with Off-the-Road remodifications into a Rallye type bike. On remods, the biggest issue for me is its resale value. Very few people would want to buy that. I have seen a F650GS (old version) of the true dakar-ready version selling at half of the full price (bike + remod= EUR 20,000) on only 10k km. Still EUR 10,000 is not exactly cheap. On the F800GS, I think it is a good bike after I test drove it, but I just don't like the look. If Touratech is going to make a Desierto 3 fairing or similar for the F800GS, that would be a different story. But Tim, I am sure you will have a good time with it. My Touratech guy here told me they are going to make a bigger tank and a different shield/fairing probably next year, so watch the Touratech space, Tim. My current idea is if I get the Tenere, I will go to Off-the-Road and see what sort of remods I can do such as the exhaust system etc. in order to both lighten the bike and boost the power. I think the not-so-radical kind of remodifications would not hurt the resale value, I hope.

And yeah Tmotten, I have also looked at the KTM 690 Enduro and the dealer told me the adventure version would come next year. However, I've always heard the negatives of KTM, e.g. break down a lot, difficult to fix (or even change oil), parts take long time to come by or even difficult to get in other places, and the maintenance schedule is really short (6000 km on KTM vs. 10,000km on Beemer or Yamaha). Yes, most guys ride KTM at Dakar, but they seem to have a whole crew fixing their bikes every night. Admittedly, I have this subjective bias, but I'm open to hearing the facts and your opinions too.

It's all relative and personal really. I know that in Europe there is less of the really tight stuff single trail than here in Oz. Being European myself I think I know what you're saying in terms of type of off road stuff. Not too sure about resale once you start taking it off the road though. I know that my Dakar is only a year old but looks like it's been to Iraq and back. I'm not expecting anything back for it, which is a shame because only recently I started riding with this bloke and his mate, and it's a lesson every time.


He bought it for the Aussie Safari but does 1500km days on it (no joke). Hasn't had any issues with reliability. Same for his mate. I know what you're saying about KTM though. They seem to have more lemons than most other brands. Still dying to see the Adventure though, but it all depends how long you want to wait. My dealer is saying later this year. They'll walk out of the door.

The bloke on the 1200 didn't last the whole day. He had the wrong tires, but still he would have struggled later on. Our Dakar's were by far the heaviest and we knew about every kilo in them.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

Seems like everyone want you to have a got on the Tenere. Here's some info.

2008 Tenere - ADVrider

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

The biggest problem with the Tenere is trying to buy one.
I have been trying to get a test ride for months, but the dealer could not give me a delivery date, so i gave up and bought a Tiger.
The dealer rang me last weekend to say they had been allocated only 2 bikes(Fowlers of Bristol).
Hopefully the supply is better in your country.
Cheers Ourade.

I too am giving serious consideration to getting a new Tenere. At £5,000 or so it seems a really good deal compared to BMW/KTM alternatives that are considerably more expensive.

I see you mentioned Autobahn riding - this is the only area where the single cylinder won't perform well. Providing your happy sticking to no more than 70 MPH all day, it'll be fine. To ask anything more of a single is simply not being realistic. Same kind of thing with my XT6. It's great around town and on country roads but forget high speed long distance stuff.

Small and light is the way to go. The Long Way Round/Down guys looked idiots riding those monsters where they did. Cut down on weight and sheer bulk and it will reap benefits in almost every respect. Forget the BIG monster adventure bikes unless you propose to carry a pillion or intend to do a lot of high speed motorway stuff.

The new Tenere should have plenty of grunt to briskfully push along a heavy rider and his RTW gear. I understand that the engine is derived from the XT660 which has plenty to go in the mid range.

The Tenere's pedigree is second to NONE! Don't be put off by any negative comments here. Anyone who knows a modicum about the XT range to tell you this thing is probably likely to be the very best model ever, although many would say the first generation Tenere's were King through sheer simplicity.

You won't find a better priced new trail bike (although at only £3,000 the Kwaka KLE 500 is rather good value too).

The Honda XR650 is a good bike but is simply not in the same league as a XT or Tenere when it comes to RTW. I rode my mates XR650 last week and was blown away with it's RAPID exceleration! Wooooooooow it goes like stink! But it was very uncomfortable to say the least. It had no cush drive which made it very snatchy. Glad to get back on the XT6 sofa afterwards.

I reckon you should give serious consideration to the TENERE! I am...

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

Patrick,

The very first picture - where is it, that looks bootiful. I'm dreaming of a similar trip. Fed up with the glorious British weather -

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

Hey guys, many thanks for your detailed feedback and the pics, Patrick. I think the decision comes down to whether I will ride more highway or dirtroad. If highway, stay with the GS; if dirtroad, Tenere! I think I am in the phase of dirtroad. I rode touring bikes, RT & GT, for a few years to many countries in Europe. Nowadays, I just wish I could go offroad more and am content with 120-140km/hr on highway, but feel being tied down by the big GS. Although I took the BMW enduro course in Germany last year riding the GS and I did ok despite falling numerous times, a lighter bike gives me more confidence. I could pick up the naked GS, but with luggage will be a problem. For example, today is my first day I used both saddle cases and the top case filling with only clothings, I could immediately feel the bike's weight and its loss of handling.

Patrick, you are right, the GS comes close to all-purpose bike, but it leans just a bit towards the long distance asphalt stuff, while I see the Tenere leans towards the soft offroad stuff. The hair is thin, but the bikes are vastly different.

The Vietnam trip also let me see I don't need a lot of stuff to travel sufficiently, I don't need to have a big machine to travel, and I don't need to travel fast, but still have a grand time. May be because of that, I've also come to a bit of philosophical phase in my life, in which I just get rid of stuff I don't need or I haven't used (hence the three cases of clothing to red cross), and am trying to minimize my possession, both at home and on the road. Travel light is the key. I think the whole idea of coming to a leaner and smaller machine that allows only truly essential luggage is central to my bike decision.

As you can tell, I am leaning towards the Tenere (bloody hell if yamaha is not so slow delivering the bikes, I would be riding it now rather than talking about it . Nevertheless, I am still trying to see if there are MAJOR negatives of the bike. For example,

1) heat issue - as the head pipes go around the engine under the seat, how would the rider feel when idling?
2) if it goes for hours on highway at 120-140km/h, any heat issue, oil consumption issue, strain on the engine etc.?
3) Chain vs. shaft drive - I have been pampered by having a shaft-drive bike for years, is chain really that maintenance intensive? I heard that ideally one should clean and lub the chain after every extended ride.
4) I don't have a garage, so the bike is left outside year in year out through winter. BMW doesn't give me serious starting problem, any common starting problem in cold on a yamaha, especially for an electric start that has no choke, i.e. the new Tenere?

What are your experience, recommendations? Any thing else I should be mindful of if I own the Tenere? Many thanks.

The Tenere is not going to improve the ease in the dirt much as all. According to some sites it's heavier dry than my Dakar which is a real pig. That's why I suggested the new KTM adventure or the DR. Have you looked at the KLR? You could get a DR first (cheap) and wait and see what's coming out of the factories in 6 months. Honda is pretty quiet on this new and growing market as is Suzuki.

Suppose it depends on the type of off road you're looking at. Maybe some pictures? The pictures Mollydog and I put up would be a real struggle for any 200kg bike (wet weight) with an inexperience rider and not really an off road bike. I think KTM is really the only brand that build dirt biased adventure bikes. All the others seem to be more road biased which makes sence when you consider the market being in highly populated Europe and US.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

If the new KTM 690 adventure is going to look like this and costs around EUR 10,000 with luggage, I will take it. Two problems: 1) I can't wait, and 2) the one in the pic apparently costs over 30grand EUR.

Don't worry about it going to look like that. That's the Rally Raid one. The price will probably be competitive with the new F800 and F650.

Fair enough on not wanting to wait for it though. Make sure to post when it comes out and you wanna know how much the Tenere could be sold for though.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

Hmm, I appreciate photos never capture how difficult the terrain looks, but this looks like the upper end of the sort of trail that I have done in Morocco on my 12GSA (some even with luggage). Though I have to say that it's the experience I gained riding harder trails on my XR400R that gave me the confidence to tackle more difficult stuff. I did 60 miles of piste riding in the dark last month, though this wasn't planned!

There's a short write-up of the Ténéré in Bike magazine which says the Ténéré is better in sand than a Transalp or a 1200GS would be, but mentions that at 183kg dry weight, the bike is heavier than BMW's new twin (800cc) F650GS. When you look at the high weights of the Ténéré and the Transalp you realise what a good job BMW did with the 12GS!

The article complains of the Ténéré's finger-numbing high-frequency vibes, abrupt fuel injection and "lack of easy grunt at any speed, and above 70 mph in particular..." Plus criticises the bike for under-damped suspension and having a merely-adequate hand-me-down engine.

On the positive side they write that the ride position is good, the tank has 200-mile potential range and the windscreen provides adequate protection. The article concludes says it's a genuinely dual-purpose machine like no other.

Tim

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)