First big trip on my Tenere- impressions:

[kyle01]

Thought I’d do a bit of a write up here documenting the trip I just wrapped up.  Purchased my Tenere in January and managed to put just enough miles on to do the first service before leaving on this adventure... Chicago to the Ozark Mountains National Forest and then to the Mark Twain National Forest and then back home.  7 days, 5 guys- good times!  We had a pretty solid plan and several .GPX tracks ready to go (I’ll share if anyone is interested)

 

Day one was the longest day (lots of pavement between Chicago and our first camping stop- about 2 hours south of Saint Louis)  480 miles total- and the T7 impressed the hell out of me.  Stock seat, I felt fine after that long day. 

The next 5 days were a mix of mountain roads and lots and lots of dirt/gravel forest service roads.  Heavy rains a few days earlier made sure that the river crossings were interesting (to say the least) and the steep climbs and descents were rutted and washed out.  FUN TIMES!

This being my first proper off-road trip with the T- I wasn’t sure what to expect from a 430lb bike with 40lbs of gear strapped to it...

 

BLOWN AWAY

 

This thing rules.  I’m a pretty harsh critic of big bikes that claim to have real off road chops- but this thing is the real deal!!  My dirt ride is a Beta 300rr- and while I’d pick the Beta 10 times out of 10 for riding tight and technical trails- this Yamaha absolutely shines in the 2-track and dirt roads... I was blazing at speeds the Beta wouldn’t have tolerated, and with such a flexible motor I was barely shifting... 4th gear just ripping, rear tire stepping out perfectly around the gravel corners, carrying speed that truly amazed me.  I wish I would have swapped the front STR (rear was swapped for a tractionator adv) as the front end could have used a little more bite- but wagging the bikes tail was so easy and controllable that it didn’t slow me down much.  Climbs like a billy goat!  2nd gear got me up the gnarliest rocky hills and wheel spin was so easy to control!  Want some? Twist your right wrist.  This thing just tractors forward.  I don’t know what all the suspension complaining is about... felt plenty competent with just a few extra clicks of compression front and rear- never bottomed, offered a pretty nice compliant ride in my book.  I wasn’t jumping, but for me... why would anyone jump this bike?  
 

Not sure what else to say... I love it.  
 

I’ll list the mods just in case anyone has questions-

 

Camel high fender

Camel footpegs

Camel tail tidy

Camel one finger clutch arm

Camel high-mount exhaust

Camel anti-bobble head 

Camel flasher relay

Cheapo eBay turn signals

Tusk skidplate 

Rally Raid pannier racks

ADV Spec crash bars

Barkbusters JET handguards

Renthal CR-High Bend bars

Adjustable windscreen brackets

MotoZ Tractionator ADV rear

Giant Loop Mototrekker panniers

 

 

Edited June 6, 2021 by kyle01
Added the pic

[Hammerhead]

Great example of why I’ll be keeping the stock low fender (even though it’s front brake lines must go)

[kyle01]

Yeah, in the wet stuff you definitely collect some spray from the front tire.  I know guys run a little fender extension- not sure if that helps.  If it bugged me I’d give it a shot.  If I didn’t hate the look of a low fender I’d just run it.  But I hate it.  

[Simmons1]

1 hour ago, Hammerhead said:

Great example of why I’ll be keeping the stock low fender (even though it’s front brake lines must go)

 

I started with a short fender like that and changed to a motocross fender that is longer and the problem of spray from the front wheel pretty much went away.

[kyle01]

What fender are you running?  I like that they are easy and cheap to swap if you want to experiment.  I’ve got a spare beta fender that’s longer and would fit no issue but it’s white.  

[Simmons1]

From the Camel website:

 

Acerbis 2006-09 YZ/WR is a great choice if you're looking for a full-size fender. White (2040510002), Black (2040510001), Blue (2040510003

[Hammerhead]

Agreed, high fender looks better. But low one works better. Rad & engine see less mess too....function over fashion for me.

[grunkster]

great write up thanks