Saturday, June 5, 2021

Review: CamelADV high exhaust for the Tenere 700



The Tenere's low-mounted exhaust has earned some rightful criticism for its tendency to bend into the swingarm if you drop the bike the wrong way. Since I was wanting to avoid this problem while losing some weight off the stock exhaust, I was excited to hear about CamelADV's project to develop a high exhaust kit. After plunking down a pre-order I then had to wait patiently over last winter for CamelADV to work through the logistical nightmare of shipping and receiving overseas goods in the middle of a pandemic. But in the end it all arrived well before riding season, and Cory was awesome about keeping everyone up to date on progress. 

Cory has already posted lots of good info about the exhaust at CamelADV, so I won't repeat that here. The exhaust pipe is beautifully made, the materials and fit are top-notch, and the results look great. Having now put a couple thousand kilometres on my exhaust, here are observations that may help if you're considering ordering one for your Tenere.

You have to cut your factory exhaust mount

Since the CamelADV silencer mounts higher than the stock silencer, there's no easy way to use the stock exhaust hanger which is welded to the rear subframe. So you need to cut it off. CamelADV includes an ingenious metal template to precisely locate the cuts, and a regular hacksaw will suffice if you're careful and patient. Just follow the excellent video on the CamelADV site. Some people may not like the idea of cutting their frame, but when you consider the OEM bracket is welded on, if you drop the bike on the exhaust you're likely to bend the hanger or subframe given the leverage of the long exhaust mount. The CamelADV approach reduces the leverage and beefs up the mount with a machined billet part. So realistically, adopting the CamelADV exhaust almost certainly makes your Tenere more robust in this area. 


CamelADV has suggested they may make a kit to return the exhaust hanger to stock. I imagine a simple steel rod insert would work fine, so I'm not too concerned if something needs to be done in this respect.

The silencer is LOUD!

CamelADV has chosen a generic silencer. It seems reasonably well made and is a good deal lighter than the stock silencer (at 3kg, it's about half the weight), which is important for handling given its higher location. However, I was actually mortified the first time I rode out because suddenly I was conspicuously like all those straight-pipe cruisers that drive me crazy when they're revving pat my house. This exhaust is not gonna be popular in the backwoods if discretion is required. 

Uncorked, the silencer delivers a guttural, savage, animal bark which I must admit sounds pretty awesome at idle and when blipping the throttle. But the problems arises when accelerating and cruising at 5000-6000 rpm (highway speeds). The combination of high tailpipe location and tone quickly becomes headache-inducing even with earplugs in and a quiet helmet (Shoei Hornet). Fortunately the silencer includes a dB-killer, which I now run with all the time (despite trying hard to get used to running without it). It makes the exhaust perfectly tolerable. Once again I can hear music and conversations in my headset, and vlogging isn't a monologue of exhaust note. However, the hole on the dB killer is rather small so I wouldn't be surprised if it reduces engine power, especially at higher RPMs. While a seat-of-the-pants test doesn't suggest a difference, I may experiment with enlarging the hole to something closer to stock. If that doesn't work, I may look for a different silencer. 

It fits with the RideADV pannier racks

Greg at RideADV Tours in Australia has some excellent Youtube videos describing mods for the Tenere 700. Since he runs a tour company, he and his crew have now put over 150,000 km of rough, real-world testing into their fleet of Teneres over the past two years, trying different suspension, tires, luggage, and other accessories to find that optimal mix for hard ADV performance. They really flog the bikes under ADV conditions similar to those in my area. I connected with Greg about the pannier racks they were developing and learned that he and Cory at CamelADV had also connected with each other to swap gear. They were able to determine that the CamelADV exhaust fits with the RideADV custom pannier racks. These racks are pretty interesting and I'll share details about them in a future post. Unlike all other racks I've seen for the Tenere, these ones hug the frame forward and low, in an optimal position to centralize mass and support soft or hard luggage on rough roads. Having tried rackless panniers last year, I concluded I didn't like how they flopped around on rough terrain despite some aggressive strapping approaches, and I reverted to a rack approach even though it means extra weight. 

The following pics are from Greg and show the prototype racks in his shop in Australia. (Note that he runs without the dB killer. As he told me, "I'm in the middle of bugger-all and it keeps the 'roos away!") Based on this, I ordered the racks. More on that to come...


Conclusion

It's a top-quality kit at a reasonable price that solves a minor design flaw of the Tenere 700 for offroad riding. The silencer is generic and, in my view, intolerably loud if you need to do a lot of highway miles or don't want to be "that guy". It's perfectly fine with the dB killer inserted and still sounds great. Unknown if the dB killer reduces performance. Unknown what other silencers may fit the kit geometry without requiring modifications to the connector pipe or hanger mount.

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