world Its here!! Kia ora from Auckland, NZ

[motonap]

I finally got my T7 early last week after quite a bit of contemplation of brand spanking new vs a used one. Things worked out when someone known to me was looking to sell his 3 month old 2022 T7 for a steal of a deal with only 3000kms on the clock. The idea of an upgrade from my trusty Honda CB500X was something I was contemplating for a long time and was hoping to pick one up next year. But things don't always go as per plan and in this case it worked out really great for me. A bit of a fender bender mid October saw my CB500X sitting in the workshop waiting on new front forks, which could be 3 - 6 months before they arrive, which would have been a really really really really long time without a motorcycle to ride. So the wheels turned slow and steady to create this awesome space I am in at the moment

 

A lot of my off-road riding in this corner of the world has involved gravel (soft roading) and the occasional trail/off road sections. While the CB500X is a pretty capable motorcycle that has taken me places, the Tenere 700 has always been on my mind. Yes, I will definitely have to upskill, build more muscle & strength with the T7, it will all be worth it in the end.

 

I was hoping to lay my hands on the rally edition, something about the white & red colour combo has always had a great deal of attraction for me. But when there is a jaw dropping deal on the motorcycle of your dreams, beggars can't be choosers. So I did land myself a blue Tenere 700 instead and it is going to take some getting used to the fact that I own a motorcycle that is not black, red or white. It will grow on me for sure.

 

One of the first bits of personalization to the motorcycle was throwing in some red, and I am really happy with the outcome after a couple of hours of working with vinyl.

 

 

The bike came with the following installed

- Yamaha crash guard

- Yamaha chain guide

- Bark Busters handguards

- Suspension setup for a 82kg bloke (luckily for me, I weigh the same )

 

A couple of bits I purchased in advance in anticipation of the bike, and was quite a bit of fun to install on a quiet afternoon

- Givi rear luggage rack (Givi really needs to get much better with precision with their design, but a little fiddling around works with the parts has always been the way I have installed them on all previous motorcycles

- Givi M5M luggage plate

- Ram handlebar clamp base

- Anti bobble head for the console

 

 

Other bits which moved over from my CB500X

- Givi B42N top box

- Ram short arm + quadlock for the phone

- Quadlock mount for the radar detector

 

 

Bits & bobs I am waiting on

- USB charging unit to install in the cutout on the right of the console

- Tank grip pads (sides + tank)

- Aux power splitter cable

- spare MT090 sockets

 

 

Future planned installs as and when

- Yamaha lowering link (at 5'9" I would rather lower the bike by about 30mm)

- A better seat that doesn't feel like a wooden plank (Yamaha seems to love them, my WR250R had the same issue)

- Koso heated handgrips (just before winter)

- Black Widow slip on-exhaust

 

Looking forward to continuing all the adventures on this one! One of the challenges under way is naming the bike (all my motorcycles have always had names).

Edited December 11, 2022 by motonap
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