It's about time Itchyboots...

[406T7]

...made a Tenere her ride! Even if it is a 1987 "T6."

[lwmcvay3]

I will be interested to see the details of the modifications. From what she has said so far, they updated quite a bit. Might make it challenging to find correct replacement parts on an around the world journey. Should be a fun watch! She is very brave!

[406T7]

34 minutes ago, lwmcvay3 said:

I will be interested to see the details of the modifications. From what she has said so far, they updated quite a bit. Might make it challenging to find correct replacement parts on an around the world journey. Should be a fun watch! She is very brave!

Yes! I'm curious to see how much is 1987 spec, if anything, other than the frame. The cladding looks fairly original. It sounds like it still has a big single thumper in it.

[elev3n]

yeah can't wait to know more about that bike.

TBH when she announced she was getting a new bike I was expecting a 90s africa twin, I was pleasantly surprised to see a tenere

Edited September 30 by elev3n

[sunndog]

I'd bet there's a fair chunk of late model 660 tenere in it. 

 

 

[Dougie]

Nah, loads of spares left through Yamaha. Still making the stuff. Plastics and tank obviously rare, and some of the switchgear will need to be aftermarket. All important stuff is fine though. No need for aftermarket in engine, gear or fuel delivery. You’d change the shock and springs now anyway, probably to the wilbers. 
Although I was thinking a few years ago of a later/twin to go in my other frame. Needs two cylinders for long motorway rides. But then Yamaha did it in 2019 and we know how that turned out.
she’ll be fine. Just look at pol tarres’ 600 34L from Yamaha. Awesome. 
can’t upload the link but it’s the wheels and waves video. 

 

Edited September 30 by Dougie

[Hibobb]

Pretty cool to ride a bike around the world that is as old as she is.

I applaud her for this, I am sure any manufacturer would have given her a brand new bike "free" to ride.

 

[406T7]

42 minutes ago, Hibobb said:

I am sure any manufacturer would have given her a brand new bike "free" to ride.

I would think so too, and I was wondering if CF Moto might have tried to woo her onto their new Ibex 450 "mini Tenere." I think it's too heavy and too unproven for her uses, but on paper, it looks like a good choice for a lot of new adventure riders, and a very direct competitor with the new gen Himalayan, which she did test out.

[Peen]

Id be very interested to see what modifications they've done. I have a 1988 3aj version and they're awesome bikes.

 

Apart from the headlight and mudguard, it looks fairly original but, judging by the colour, I suspect that will be a later model engine in the frame, or at least rebuilt and improved, as the earlier ones suffered a few issues with overheating and gears failing over time.

[Lewie]

2 hours ago, 406T7 said:

I would think so too, and I was wondering if CF Moto might have tried to woo her onto their new Ibex 450 "mini Tenere." I think it's too heavy and too unproven for her uses, but on paper, it looks like a good choice for a lot of new adventure riders, and a very direct competitor with the new gen Himalayan, which she did test out.

Would it make it around the world?

she mentions not wanting gizmos only to go wrong 

[406T7]

22 hours ago, Lewie said:

Would it make it around the world?

I have my doubts (about the Ibex). And parts availability is probably an issue too. Hopefully some Youtuber will give it a shot soon. I'd like to see the Japanese companies make something more comparable. BMW and KTM kind of have comparable models, but the Ibex and Himalayan are almost by themselves.

Edited October 1 by 406T7

[HomerFX]

Wow. What a delightful surprise. My first Tenere was a 86 model, the same 2nd generation. Best graphics imho but Yamaha duffed it a bit in trying to lower the tank/cog and caused overheating issues. That could be fixed and was an excellent bike otherwise. Great choice and a reason more to keep watching . 
 

I also like the snub towards the modern ADV bikes especially the weight, the 300 Rally is about the same 160kg, the CFmoto is heavier with about the same power and a ton more gadgets. 
Looking forward to hearing about the rebuild and upgrades they have done, it can only get even better. That made my day
 

[Montesa_VR]

2 hours ago, HomerFX said:

 

I also like the snub towards the modern ADV bikes especially the weight, the 300 Rally is about the same 160kg, the CFmoto is heavier with about the same power and a ton more gadgets. 
Looking forward to hearing about the rebuild and upgrades they have done, it can only get even better. That made my day
 

I think it’s fun that her choice is drawing attention to the disconnect between what buyers want and what manufacturers are offering. Noraly has a big audience. 

[HomerFX]

I agree with Dougie that spare parts shouldn’t be a problem as the XT600 had a good 10 year run and sold many variations in Europe, even South Africa, not sure about other markets. Should be lots of used  parts and spares spread out over the world of the base model to cover most unexpected damage if needed plus a community of enthusiasts to point her in the right direction.

I have no doubt that the bike will make it around the world especially after the rebuild and preparing it for the task. 

 

[Windblown]

Lot's of good reasons for her to go with an older and established design:

 

Social media marketing twist.

Simplicity.

A lower profile in parts of the world where standing out is not an advantage. 

 

With the thorough going over it has reportedly recieved the bike should get her wherever she points it towards without issue. 

 

 

 

 

[Balkaum]

not enough oil left in the planet..........

[duibhceK]

On 9/30/2024 at 3:26 PM, 406T7 said:

I would think so too, and I was wondering if CF Moto might have tried to woo her onto their new Ibex 450 "mini Tenere." I think it's too heavy and too unproven for her uses, but on paper, it looks like a good choice for a lot of new adventure riders, and a very direct competitor with the new gen Himalayan, which she did test out.

 

I had the opportunity to test ride the CF Moto at the Discover Overland event in the Netherlands a week ago. The bike surprised me positively. It does feel a lot lighter than the T7, so the difference in numbers does translate to real world experience. Above 5000RPM the little engine feels a lot more fun than I expected. It handles very decent off-road (tested only on gravel and sand tracks). Might need a suspension upgrade for more extreme trails, but so does the T7. My only real complaint was the lack of feel in the front brake. It's strong enough, but doesn't provide a lot of feedback.

 

The way CF Moto handles turning off ABS (on the rear only) is really nice. It can be done while riding by just holding the button for a few seconds. The ABS turns off/on the next time you close the throttle.

 

Build quality looked really nice as well. CF Moto also has a good history of building quality bikes for larger established brands. Their dealer network is still a bit sparse and spare part availability remains a question. But if I had one I wouldn't hesitate to take it around the world.

[Dougie]

4 hours ago, Balkaum said:

not enough oil left in the planet..........

No worries, we’ll be on synth in a decade, for the old machines, and probably hydrogen for the new ones. 
maybe the hipsters will discover you can power a 4 stroke engine on a greggs mocha. 

[Dougie]

On 10/1/2024 at 12:10 AM, HomerFX said:

Wow. What a delightful surprise. My first Tenere was a 86 model, the same 2nd generation. Best graphics imho but Yamaha duffed it a bit in trying to lower the tank/cog and caused overheating issues. That could be fixed and was an excellent bike otherwise. Great choice and a reason more to keep watching . 
 

I also like the snub towards the modern ADV bikes especially the weight, the 300 Rally is about the same 160kg, the CFmoto is heavier with about the same power and a ton more gadgets. 
Looking forward to hearing about the rebuild and upgrades they have done, it can only get even better. That made my day
 

Me too, bud, good taste, lovely bikes. Still got mine. Only decision I’ll have to make is which one will carry me when I do eventually get time to travel far and wide.  Feels like a 125 compared to the T7 though. 170kg with 23 litres in the tank. Wouldn’t mind an old TT too. Maybe I can sneak one in without her noticing

[HomerFX]

16 hours ago, Dougie said:

Me too, bud, good taste, lovely bikes. Still got mine. Only decision I’ll have to make is which one will carry me when I do eventually get time to travel far and wide.  Feels like a 125 compared to the T7 though. 170kg with 23 litres in the tank. Wouldn’t mind an old TT too. Maybe I can sneak one in without her noticing

Tenere nostalgia yours is a red/white one iirc from a photo you posted. 
I sold mine too quickly having decided to settle in Germany after a year backpacking with it. Only to buy a 87 TT600 half a year later and swopped it for a 85 Tenere by the end of the year. 
The refined original model 55W, 28l tank and 5kg less, no e-start though, is my favourite model. The 3AJ became even heavier and bulkier, we know how it evolved from there… 2010 XT660Z, 23l and 206kg wet yet only 48hp. Ouch.

[406T7]

Cool bike as shown in her new episode, but too many one-offs. If she has problems and has to take it to a shop, they'll have to spend a bunch of time figuring out what's what...manuals won't be much help. Motoritz seemed to indicate it's now got some parts that aren't available at all anymore as well. I also think she may end up missing fuel injection too, particularly if she plans on doing much elevation change. Not sure it's a great choice for a smooth trip, but might make for interesting content.

[elev3n]

3 hours ago, 406T7 said:

Cool bike as shown in her new episode, but too many one-offs. If she has problems and has to take it to a shop, they'll have to spend a bunch of time figuring out what's what...manuals won't be much help. Motoritz seemed to indicate it's now got some parts that aren't available at all anymore as well. I also think she may end up missing fuel injection too, particularly if she plans on doing much elevation change. Not sure it's a great choice for a smooth trip, but might make for interesting content.

 

I had the same thought while watching the video. It's a cool build but she's riding a bike that basically only one guy in Germany knows how to fix. And depending where she ends up the language barrier might add a layer of difficulty on getting it repaired if needed.

[random1781]

4 hours ago, 406T7 said:

Cool bike as shown in her new episode, but too many one-offs. If she has problems and has to take it to a shop, they'll have to spend a bunch of time figuring out what's what...manuals won't be much help. Motoritz seemed to indicate it's now got some parts that aren't available at all anymore as well. I also think she may end up missing fuel injection too, particularly if she plans on doing much elevation change. Not sure it's a great choice for a smooth trip, but might make for interesting content.

Fuel injection and modern suspension are pretty important to me. Having a valve check interval that more or less aligns with the circumference of the earth is cool too.

 

I'm curious where the weight difference comes from.

[Hibobb]

6 hours ago, random1781 said:

Having a valve check interval that more or less aligns with the circumference of the earth

Ha!! love it...

[HomerFX]

I’m pretty sure he was talking about removing the fuel pump and not injection, it is still a carb model. It’s a low pressure pump used to lift the fuel as the tank bottom is lower than the carbs, without it gravity will do for most of the content leaving 2l “emergency reserve” that could be manually lifted. 
The petcock/fuel tap has a reserve setting which would drain the last litres, this will obviously not work without the pump but extending the “on” fuel pipe on the petcock would restore that function and mitigate running out of fuel when not paying attention or higher consumption. 
My T7 is the only bike I’ve had with a fuel gauge, the other were shake and listen to the slosh and reach for the fuel tap when it starts spluttering

Franky does sound like an exotic one off but is just a mix of the best XT/TT generic parts so it will be good knowing what model and year is for each major component is, not a big deal.