Just venting here a little..

I bought this weeks Motorcycle news as the new Tenere was being tested against the F800GS, the 650 strom and the 660R... The adventure bike test as they said..

It just shows how CLUELESS and completely unaware the motorcycle press are of proper overlanding and the the name and purpose of the Tenere style bikes. Adventure biking to 99% of the press is a trip to the crazy wilds of Northern France :confused1:

They slated it as it will "only do 105mph" and is underpowered if fully loaded.

Who seriously does any serious overlandeding at over 100mph !!..... Jeez, over 70pmh feels like warp speeds in some places.

No mention was made over reliability, sourcing parts, MPG , ease to work, off road handing blah blah blah...

As you can imagine the F800Gs won the test as it is the fastest and smoothest........... Just what you need for crossing the desert and fighting gravel and mud..

Ok, I feel better after that !!

p.s. Please note, This is not a BMW bashing thread lol.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

No seriously though, I feel your pain...

...but after all, the MCN and the like are writing for the biking masses. LWR upped the profile of the "adventure bike" so now all the manufacturers are putting some out. IMO, they are predominanatly selling the look and image of an overlander rather than a serious RTW option. If they did, you'd have undertuned, torquey, aircooled singles and twins with simple electrics, a powerfull alternator and wheel sizes that offer the widest choice of touring/enduro rubber. Not to mention a hyaooge tank.

Would you take the new Guzzi across Africa?

Look on the bright side, the more people think the Loire Valley with a tent is adventure biking, the more the rest of the world will remain our playground....OURS, ALL OURS....Muuuahahahaha!

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Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

Yes, I saw that review - like you I thought the writer hadnt much idea of what he was testing. The 100 mph reference was daft to the point of .........daftness.

One good thing about wacky reviews - they remind us that some of these people are only jokers and Grub St. hacks, and they dont know how to approach appraising a bike any more than the rest of us. So when they tell us a bike is fantastic or disappointing we can ignore it. I've sometimes laughed at how many bikes, when they are first available , are "Brilliant " etc. A few months later, they're "tired" ,"old hat", "feeble " etc.

Such scribblers are there to sell bikes, and they're tied and bound to manufacturers, with the odd exception.

The problem is that the trend is towards the more versatile type of bike in this country at the moment, but MCN just haven't twigged yet that that maybe it is because people want to have fun on their bikes at a speed where a tumble might not hurt so much (and for so long). Maybe they want to explore off the beaten track a little, maybe learn new skills, and maybe push themselves a bit.

What they should do is ask experienced overlanders to test what could be great trail bikes.

I've just read a test on the Transalp, F650 and something else, and they didn't mention off road at all. They took photos off road, but that's it.

That doesn't help me at all.

Just another MCN bollix... And you guys take it seriously?

MCN are good on GSX-YZR-ZXR-RRRR-and-additional-RRlettersRRracing fancy showoff horsepower bikes that see real racing track and their top-end limits pushed out maybe less than 1-2% from their entire lifetime, like most of adventure purpose bikes see the real adventure traves.

But as most of mag tests, there is some truth (or better to say: some orientation) pointed out even from n00bs.

IMO top speed in fact does play some part for adventure travel spec - yeah all over 100mph is academically pointless in real life, but if the real physical top speed isn't much more you have a reliability and comfort problem: you're basically "raping" your bike on normal high-way speeds 65 to 90mph (especially if single-cyl bike) cruising that'll be the end region of your revs - even in third world there are highways and for most of overland travels, while we all hate highways, highways aren't avoidable in many places - wheter you're in a hurry somewhere (VISAs running out etc) or just no alternative road available, also smaller roads can be damn straight and smooth in the middle of nowhere. With 250-450cc bike you feel like a complete engine raper going full day 70-80mph, with all those vibrations and abuse when that thumping single is nearing or constantly hitting the redline. 600 class singles do it a bit better, but still no mach for 600+cc twins when the bike is fully loaded or especially when 2 up. With a single you ought to stick to slower speeds, smaller distances and the excel in the worst offroad conditions. Both in terms of power and engine resource (there aren't many singles capable of over 100Kkm w/o complete overhaul, especially when constantly abused with highways).

Yeah, a good cure is to re-gear with sprockets if your travel foresees highway bits and very long distances, but then again you'll take away the short first gear needed for the offroad bits.

So there's always two sides of the coin. There exist no one ideal bike, just the bike suited for different needs, and for example one of my needs is to have 70-90mph cruising speed in the "comfort" rpm range - smooth, and enough avaialbe power of overtakes even when 2up full of luggage to get through Europe into the third world, and to use the same bike for local communiting.

With some current modern twins rendering some new-generation single cylinders pointless in terms of single's "supposed to be" weight advantage, then I reckon twins hold their place among many adventure travel needs - no wonder why V-Strom 650 is so popular among travellers and BMW F650/800GS twins are getting geting there too - lot of people do few month adventure travels from their homes, they need to ride thousands of miles through "western worlds" fast roads to reach "third world" and then come back too, also to use the same bike for local rides and communiting - twins with much wider power delivery (+ gearing) and with considerably longer engine resource can make lot of sense there.

Thread's about Téneré, but let's not knock out other bikes by drawing an sterotyple like all the "real" adventure bikes should be singles and all others are automatically classifyed as inferior travel bikes Ride what you want and let other choose theirs their own according their tastes and needs - a real adventure travel fun can be had even with inline-4 Yamaha R1.

AND I'm sure Téneré will fill many travellers needs! But like all other bikes, it has its own cons for some people (surprisingly weighty for a modern single, and the fact it's a single thumper...). So don't be surprised if some mag tests bash it while others praise it, but always YOU must find your own truth - testriding the bike is the only real truth about the bike, not the mag review IMHO!!!

Ride safe you all, Margus

Phew! Well said!

Of course I know its all crap. I work in the motorcycle trade and see this day in and day out.. MCN has written nothing but promotion based biast drivel for years. Its just sad that its probably the biggest selling and furthest reaching publication in Britain.

I find it all quite hilarious but frustrating at the same time...

I guess its misunderstanding is what makes it even more desirable to those of us who do "get it" !

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.