Tenere 700: Outback Motortek engine guards and skidplate

Oh boy, did I ever agonize over what skid plate and crash bars to choose! On the one hand were excellent options based on engineering requirements: these included guards and skid plate from Adventure Spec, the plastic skid plate from AXP Racing, and even the Yamaha OEM guards and skid plate. On the other hand, COVID's interference with supply chains made some options unavailable within a reasonable timeframe. Since I didn't want to get stuck with nothing for when my bike arrived in early June, my options converged to the lower crash bars and skid plate from Outback Motortek. They appeared to be in stock and I'd been satisfied with the versions I'd installed on my Africa Twin. 

Evidently, every other proud new owner of a Tenere in Canada had the same idea. My "in stock" items were actually sold out at the Canadian distributor and so I ended up waiting more than a month for delivery after placing my order. Now that I've finally sorted out the installation, here are my observations and recommendations in case you're considering the same parts. 

First, Outback Motortek is widely recognized as having good stuff. Their materials, design, fit, and engineering all seem pretty solid and the company takes pains to test the practical effectiveness of their products. So, no real concerns about the engineering. I didn't opt for the full (upper) crash bars because of the weight they posed up high, and I figure that the combination of lower engine guards with pannier rack and panniers will provide adequate protection for low-speed tumbles. (R&G engine case covers are also on order to protect the vulnerable water pump.)

The high molecular weight tape inside the frame clamps is a nice touch to protect your bike. However, the clamp was more than snug on the frame, and tightening the bolts proved tricky. 

Some customers have reported poor finishing on some of Outback Motortek's parts lately (e.g. weld spatter and uneven fill) as well as some fitment being a nuisance. Both my left and right guards showed some of these minor problems, but they were easily resolved. 

The hardware included in my kit did have one significant shortcoming. Each guard uses an M12 bolt inserted through a 15mm high collar to mount the midpoint of the guard to the engine case through a frame member. The right-side bolt is 50mm long; the left side about 35mm. Since they thread into a major load point, you need a solid connection. However, the longer of the two M12 bolts provided in my kit was only about 55mm long--too short to provide more than about 6mm of thread inserted into the engine case. There's no way I'd compromise the connection strength at this location with such little thread insertion, where at least 20mm is required as per the OEM bolt. 

The following pic shows the OEM M12 engine bolt for the right side (black; 50mm long) compared with the longer of the two bolts provided in the kit (55mm; silver, in the middle). On the right side is a 65mm bolt which I ordered to ensure sufficient thread insertion. The specification of the 65mm bolt is:

M12-1.25 x 65mm, DIN960 Class10.9 Zinc (note the thread spacing of 1.25mm; 1.50 mm is more common in M12). Fastenal.ca carries this as part #11114018, cost of $2.00. The 65mm bolt has a 19mm hex head vs. 17mm for all the other bolts; I couldn't find a 17mm version. 

Here's the right side OEM bolt compared to the new 65mm bolt in the same position. The photo distorts the length difference; they're actually very close. 

For the left side engine guard, you can re-use the 50mm OEM bolt from the right side since it gives exactly the extra 15mm you need to ensure sufficient threading (and is the same length as the longer of the two kit bolts I received). Here's the 50mm bolt from the kit mounted in the collar and compared with the OEM left side bolt. Don't forget to use a washer when installing either of the 50mm bolts on the left side. 

The inside of the collar had a rough weld that needed a bit of filing so the bolt would sit flush.

The easiest way to install the guards is to first remove the two front body panels on each side of the bike (i.e. the panel with the turn signal attached and the small vented panel next to it). This provides access to properly align, hand-thread, and then torque the engine bolts to 75 N-m. I was not able to fit a socket onto the left side engine bolt because the guard was in the way (a minor design flaw). The two M6 hex bolts for the upper guard attachment point should be torqued to 30 N-m. Note that Yamaha thoughtfully made the OEM bolts long enough to accept the guard and ensure complete threading. Here are the OEM bolts (black) compared with the kit bolts. The OEM bolts on the left side have little rubber sleeves over the extra exposed thread on the inside. 

I found it easiest to install the engine bolt first, then the two M6 hex bolts at the top, then the lower cross-bar bolts, then the lower frame bolts for the U-bracket. 

The finished assembly seems to be sturdy. 

 

If I was choosing engine guards again, I'd probably opt for the Yamaha guards since they seem to have held up well for Nick Sanders and the two KAP2CAP riders. Plus they give the option to mount small bags, which is appealing. However, for my modest needs, the lower guards should do just fine.

As for the skid plate, it's a no-brainer to install and is a serious upgrade from the flimsy stock guard. I added a patch of 3M sound deadening material to the inside bottom on the left side (away from the exhaust pipe) to help reduce ringing vibrations. This seems to work, based on a highly scientific finger-flick test. 

The Outback Motortek guard uses much thicker material. 

Tenere 700 tail tidy: B&B Off-Road Engineering

As with many Japanese bikes, the Tenere 700 comes with an OEM monstrosity of a number plate holder hanging far past the tail light and adorned with chinzy reflectors, where it's readily exposed to breakage on your first tip-over in the woods. As with my WR250R, one of the first mods to my Tenere has been to show that booty some love and install a tail tidy. 

Now that the Tenere 700 has been out for a year, those of us in North America who are now just getting the bike can benefit from a wide range of tail tidy options. CamelADV, Adventure Spec, Rally Raid UK, and R&G all offer some good options. 

But the one I chose comes from B&B Off Road Engineering out of Australia, where there's a solid Tenere 700 following and some of the hardest-core riders of this bike in the world right now. I chose B&B's tail tidy because it offers a solid reinforced mechanical design, it doesn't require cutting the OEM plastics, and it has a good fit and finish and a decent sealed LED plate light. Mine was the first to be delivered to Canada, and having received it only 10 days after placing my order, I installed it right away in one evening. 

For Canadians considering the B&B option, I recommend ordering direct from Australia because factoring in the exchange rate and $30 of duties, it ends up significantly cheaper (and probably faster) than ordering from B&B's US distributor. plus I had excellent service from Sarah at B&B, who was quick to let me know when shipping to Canada was re-opened following the COVID shutdown. Go Commonwealth! 

All the parts come nicely bubble-wrapped. The included hardware is mostly metric stainless steel. I replaced some of the nuts with stainless locknuts (M5). 

What's in the box

The tidy is made from aluminum, doubled in places with welded reinforcements. The whole thing is coated in a thick optional black finish (standard is silver) that looks like it should withstand significant abuse.

Here you can see the reinforcement plate for the turn signal stalk. B&B has an optional insert to allow you to install round, threaded signal mounts, which I plan to adopt when I can order some LED signals. 

This is the top plate that bolts into your subframe. Again, beefy construction. 

The number plate light is a completely sealed LED unit. Looks to be decent quality for both the plastics and wiring.

I like how the metal wiring cover reinforces the structure of the number plate holder. There's no flex in this system, so I don't expect any metal fatigue cracking. 

B&B includes easy to follow instructions to remove the OEM tail assembly. The Tenere 700 is so easy to work on... all the bolts are easily accessible and all you need are 8mm and 10mm sockets and a 4mm and 5mm hex to remove the body panels. Make sure you label your turn signals so you know which side to install them on--the wiring only connects one way! 

Installation is a breeze. To connect the number plate light, I cut off the OEM connector and spliced it into the B&B wiring with some heat-shrink tubing and electrical tape to reseal the harness cover. Connect the white and black wires together (ground) and brown and blue together (+12V). Check your wiring by turning on the key before putting everything back together.

When installing the tail tidy wiring cover, I had a bit of a challenge threading in the 10mm cap screws provided in the kit because of some minor deformation of the aluminum and plastic coating on the aluminum threads. One bolt went in fine, but the metal on the other side of the cover was lifted up a bit and the short fastener wouldn't quite reach. I used a longer bolt to clean out the threads and wind things in with all fasteners installed loosely, then replaced the long bolt with the correct shorter one. It's really not that fussy though, and it all went together fine. Fit overall is excellent and no filing or drilling was required except to mount a reflector bracket (see below) and my number plate (no holes are provided). 

Here's all the crap left over. Easily a couple of pounds of plastic and metal! 

One thing the B&B kit is missing is a way to attach a rear reflector. I made a simple bracket out of some scrap stainless steel and sprayed it black with Krylon paint. Last thing I want is to get hassled (or worse)  during a police stop because I'm missing a required reflector! 

This is the OEM reflector bolted on. I drilled three holes in the B&B number plate holder to attach the bracket using some stainless steel bolts. 

There's nowhere to attach side orange reflectors, but what's neat is that even when you remove the OEM plastics, Yamaha has thoughtfully included knurled handgrips under the outer handgrips for the pillion passenger. The flat area right above the grips is a perfect spot to attach some 3M reflective tape. The tape is flush to the surface and therefore protected, yet provides a wide view of 10 square inches of reflector per side, versus the 3 square inches provided by the OEM round reflectors per side. A good conspicuity upgrade in my mind! 

One last note is that the brake light has a small bit of foam stuck to the bottom where it contacted the OEM plastics. When you've installed the B&B kit, this foam doesn't touch anything. I peeled it off and reattached it further inboard so it wedged between the light and the B&B plate. While it doesn't look like the tail light will move around much on rough terrain, repositioning the foam adds a little bit of extra vibration protection.

Overall I'm very pleased with this kit. It's easy to install (couple of hours), solidly built, and looks great. With the addition of a rear reflector and the side tape, I see no reason why the bike shouldn't meet the same regulatory requirements as the OEM configuration. 

KTM 790 Adventure R at Montreal motorcycle show

Jeff's been looking to replace his DR650 for something lighter and better sprung for dirt travel, and the lure of KTM's new 790 Adventure R proved irresistible. In fact, it's been at the top of my list as well, to the point that on one dreadful snow day at the end of February, both Jeff and I had independently decided to head to the local KTM dealer to each put down a deposit on a bike. While I got stuck in traffic on the unplowed roads, Jeff made it all the way and lightened his wallet by $1000, bike unseen.

A few weekends later, Jeff, Pete and I decided to drive down to Montreal together to visit the season's final motorcycle show before spring (theoretically) arrives. This was Pete's and Jeff's first show, so I found it amusing to watch their reactions to the all goatees, bellies, patches, leather, and tight jeans of the Montreal show crowd. Nevertheless, as this was a manufacturers shows, it was an excellent opportunity for us to see the full range of offerings from each brand. We bee-lined straight to the KTM stand to see what Jeff had committed himself to buying.

The KTM rep told us this was actually a pre-production prototype, one of very few that KTM has made available for display in North America. Although most of the bits are final for production, some parts, like the plastics, were still being finalized and the ones on display didn't fully represent the expected fit and finish. For instance, the protective shrouds around the lower section of the gas tank flapped around more than I'd expect, and would likely vibrate against the tank in the wind or on rough terrain. More bracing and/or stiffer plastics in this area would be needed. As for the tank itself, it seems pretty sturdy and I'm not yet convinced that the lower sections pose any real risk of damage from typical dual sport riding.

Sitting on the 790 (I'm just over 6' tall), I was surprised at how low it felt compared to my WR250R. For all the on-line speculation about the 790 being too tall, I have to say in practice it feels quite good. The standing position seems excellent, and there's tons of room to move around, forwards, and backwards on the bike. If anything, the lower seat may make the leg position seem a little cramped for extended periods of sitting. Even with soft bags mounted, I got the sense there will be tons of room to move around. There a good comparo of different KTMs, including the 790, here.

The rep told us that the bike sounds amazing (although he would not officially admit to starting it, since KTM prohibited that), with a lower growl compared to similar engines. No power parts seem to be available at the moment, but are coming soon. I'd opt for a beefier skid plate (the OEM design seems pretty flimsy) and the Akropovic exhaust.

As for availability, we learned that in 2019 Canada is getting about 100 units of the Adventure in three shipments (not sure of mix between regular Adventure and the R), with the first to arrive in mid spring and the last in the early fall. At CAD$14,599 for the R, all are apparently already spoken for, but it's not clear to me what this means in practice. When I called my Ottawa KTM dealer about availability, I was told by the lead sales guy that I would be the first to put down a deposit, although perhaps Jeff has since claimed that local honor. My understanding is that dealers have all bought their individual allotments, so if you want a bike, your local dealer may need to get one from another dealer who still has stock. You'll want to act fast, as this bike is likely to sell out early.

The 790 Adventure R attracted a lot of attention at the show, and deservedly so. I've decided to wait a year before throwing down the cash, and may even go for an Africa Twin instead until the reliability of the 790 is established. Part of my equation is the proven reliability and availability of parts for the Honda, which is important to me given my access to dealers and where I ride.

It was notable at the show how much Yamaha completely bungled their launch of the Tenere T7 World Raid--in theory the only contender to the KTM in the middleweight category. Yamaha really had nothing of note in the dualsport category at their booth--not even a display of the World Raid. Most of the bikes on display seemed to be older models, besides the Niken at center stage. Engineering wizardry aside, I simply can't get past how horrendously complex, ungainly, and heavy-looking this bike seems to be. I can't imagine it'll garner any significant sales in the US, never mind in Canada. Servicing it seems like it would entail endless disassembly to get to the important bits, and I imagine that any dealer service tech would balk at such a daunting (and unprofitable) task.

One other note: While at the show, the three of us decided to buy new helmet communicators, opting for the uClear Motion 6 to replace our ancient Sena SMH10 systems. I've installed and set up my uClear already and it sounds much better than the Sena, but the real test of its mesh networking capabilities will come this spring when the three of us can ride together.

Tenere T7 Bust!

By now the dust from EICMA 2018 has settled with some exciting launches and surprising disappointments. In the latter category, it's rare to see a marketing bungle like the fiasco that Yamaha has orchestrated with its development and launch of the Tenere T7 World Raid.

After first announcing the Tenere T700 concept two years ago with a tantalizing prototype, Yamaha stirred some legitimate excitement about the prospect of a dirt-oriented middleweight ADV bike powered by the bulletproof and highly-rated cross-plane twin ("CP2") engine developed for the popular MT-07 street bike. How hard could it be? Take the durable and decently-spec'ed WR250R chassis and suspension concept (upgrading the miserable rear shock), stretch it to fit the CP2, add a larger tank, update the visuals, bolt on a rally-style tower with LED lights, and add luggage mounts. The result would be a reliable and reasonably lightweight platform for the dual-sport end of the ADV market--with a proven engine, where all the development has already been done and paid for.

However, EICMA 2017 proved to be just the first disappointment for Tenere fans. Rather than reveal a production-ready model, Yamaha instead announced a new "World Raid" iteration of the Tenere concept and launched a plan to test the bike around the world, presumably to tune the design for production. Thus began a bizarrely protracted marketing campaign of videos showing professional riders flogging the Tenere in exotic locations. North America--with its superb ADV riding--was inexplicably struck from the list of tour destinations. Few details emerged about the bike itself: weight, suspension, or any other facts that would help to position it against the more technically-appointed competitive offerings of KTM, BMW, and Triumph. Meanwhile, KTM was letting the public ride its pre-production 790 Adventure! But the market seemed prepared to wait for Yamaha's unique proposal, cranking up expectations for a big announcement by Yamaha at EICMA 2018.

And it was a bust. All Yamaha did was add insult to injury. As we learned with stunned bewilderment, the European market will receive the Tenere sometime in 2019, those bikes being built in Europe. But North Americans must wait until late 2020, presumably so bikes for that market can be built in Japan. For North Americans, it means waiting four years for a bike that, when it's finally released, is likely to be well behind other offerings available at that time. Understandably, Yamaha's plans were met with derision by potential customers--and probable delight from the likes of KTM and BMW.

Someone done goofed. Yamaha had a sure winner, but dumbed it down and delayed it well past the point of being competitive. The Tenere could've owned the middleweight market left by the demise of the KLR650---moreso given Kawasaki's lack of a replacement model, and Suzuki's DR650 being long in the tooth. Instead of seizing this opportunity, Yamaha diverted resources into the three-wheeled Niken--a concept that may work great in practice, but has attracted precisely zero interest from any motorcyclist I've met. Classic blunder of building a technology solution to a market problem that no one cares about.

Needless to say, I got a refund on the deposit I'd optimistically put down on a Tenere just prior to EICMA 2018. As I told the dealer, I had four potential buyers for the model, but now I don't know anyone who is prepared to wait another three riding seasons for this bike. So now I'm looking at either the BMW F850GS or the KTM 790 Adventure R--both high-spec bikes that aren't quite what I originally wanted, but may end up being more realistic options if I keep my WR250R for use at the off-road end of the ADV spectrum.

Yamaha, you let us down. If the Tenere ever reaches Canadian shores, it'll have to be substantially better than anything on the market at that time, because you'll be trying to displace the bikes we're actually buying next season instead of the Tenere we'd all hoped for.

Yamaha Tenere T700... soon?

Hopefully Yamaha doesn't skunk us again, and actually launches a commercial version of the new T700 "World Raid" that widely expected at EICMA this November 6-11.

In a fit of optimism, I stopped by my local Yamaha dealer on the way home from work today and put down a deposit on the bike. They said there's been keen interest in the Ottawa area--not surprising, given the fantastic dual-sport and off-road riding here. Already there's a long "to call" list of potential buyers.

Am I jumping the gun? Possibly, but what's the risk? As the first interested customer to actually put money where my mouth is at this dealer, I will hopefully now have the option to get my hands on a bike if and when it finally makes it to the showroom floor. I've seriously looked at various alternatives including the Africa Twin, F800GS, F850GS, and Triumph Tiger, and pretty much ruled them out. All are great bikes, but my sense is they're more complicated, costly, and heavy than the T700 for my intended application: i.e., true dual-sport riding on rough trails.

The Tenere has received excellent reviews of its engine (which takes regular gas!) and all expectation is the bike will be bulletproof-reliable as one would expect of Yamaha. After all, the prototype has enjoyed extensive testing riding though one of the most agonizingly protracted marketing campaigns in recent memory. Hopefully this has given Yamaha the chance to sort out any remaining tweaks needed to ready the design for commercial release.

So now we all wait. If and when I get a Tenere, I'll be sure to post my seat-of-the-pants review. And I may have my trusty WR250R up for sale. In the meantime, check out some pics of the T700 prototype taken at the recent Intermot show and posted on ADVRider.