Tenere 700 news and suspension insights

Last fall, Yamaha Canada visited select dealerships to show off the much-anticipated Tenere 700 and take customer deposits for bike deliveries in "early summer 2020". Since then there's been very little official news from Yamaha. The dealerships I've spoken to know less about the bike than what Yamaha's posted on their website, so it's been a little frustrating to find out when--or even if--delivery may be expected this season given all the supply chain disruption from the global pandemic. Sure, there are more important things to worry about right now. But the pandemic will end eventually, and at some point it will be great to relieve all the accumulated stress and isolation by actually riding the bike that Yamaha has teased us with in North America for so many years.

At least there's been plenty of time to scour the Web for tidbits of news about the Tenere. With regards to delivery timeframe, there are several interesting points:

• Yamaha's factory in Japan, where bikes destined for the US and Canada are made, finally shut down only recently (early April) in response to the pandemic.   
• Some customers in the US have been called by their dealers to confirm bike colour and other details by April 18 in order to secure a bike in the upcoming planned shipments. 
• One of the Yamaha Canada reps is reported as saying at one of the winter motorcycle shows in Toronto that bikes are still planned for delivery in early summer.

It seems reasonable to me that early pre-orders (especially from before December 2019) were probably manufactured a while ago and are now sitting in a warehouse ready for shipment. Even with the pandemic, it seems likely Yamaha would try to ship these bikes on time as planned. However, once they arrive at their destination country, there are likely to be inspection delays as a result of the pandemic, which could add unknown delay before the bikes are released and shipped to dealers for customer pre-orders. I'm cautiously optimistic that in Canada (and specifically in Ontario), we may yet see the Tenere arrive at dealers before the end of July. 

Meanwhile, our lucky counterparts in Australia have now had a full season to test the Tenere 700 off road, yielding many fantastic insights about what can be done to tune the bike--especially its suspension. The MAD TV videos on Youtube are not just a well-produced offering to while away the boredom of pandemic isolation; they're also an excellent source of first-hand information about tuning the Tenere, including their latest video on suspension. I've summarized some of the key recommendations below, but the whole 51 minute video is a must-watch to understand how you should choose appropriate compromises to achieve the performance you want. 

• The OEM shock spring is rated at about 69 N-mm which is simply too soft for all but the lightest riders.
• Static sag (amount of suspension compression with unloaded bike) should be in the range of 10% of total suspension travel. At the fork, this means about 20mm of compression. MAD installed a 5mm nylon fork spring spacer to achieve this amount of static sag for an unloaded bike.
• Rider sag (amount of suspension compression with loaded bike and rider) should be in the range of 60-70% of total suspension travel. This is where changing the fork and shock springs becomes necessary if the stock springs are too soft (too much rider sag). MAD opted for an 80 N-mm shock spring, which works well for a rider with gear weighing about 120kg.  They also installed stiffer fork springs and adjustable preload caps on the fork tubes.
• With heavier loads and stiffer springs, more damping capability is needed to counteract the momentum of a bouncing bike. MAD noted that compression damping was mostly useless except when wound down almost all the way for the fork and shock. They re-valved the shock to improve compression damping, modified the high-speed compression stack in the fork to increase compression damping there as well, and opted for heavier fork oil. They also modified the plunger on the fork damping rod by giving it a more conical profile to achieve a more gradual hydraulic lock when the fork bottoms out (making bottoming-out feel less abrupt).
• SKF fork seals, which provide the smoothest operation to increase shock compliance to small bumps. 
• If all the above sounds intimidating, just installing a stiffer shock spring and winding down your compression damping on the shock and forks is going to dramatically improve the suspension performance for heavier riders. 
• Moreover, re-valving your shock and forks to suit your style of riding and load profile is not that big of a deal, and in my experience is money well spent. It can really transform the performance of your bike for relatively little cost. 
• Determining the optimal suspension tuning for your riding style and load profile is best done by a professional tuner with the ability to measure dynamic suspension performance. You should provide them with details of your rider weight when fully dressed, and typical baggage weight for your main riding scenarios. Be prepared to make compromises, because what works perfectly on-road may be the opposite of what's needed off-road.    

Once I have my own Tenere delivery confirmed, I'll be ordering the parts I need to tune the suspension and modify a few aspects of the bike that need immediate attention such as the skid plate, clutch/water pump cover, hand-guards, and mirrors. Later on there'll be various second-level improvements like heated grips, additional LED lights, seat, exhaust, spokes (there are many reports of premature spoke corrosion on bikes made in Europe), rear rack, custom graphics, and other odds and ends. But first we need the bike in Canada!