The last time I gave in to my Tenere optimism ended in tears. But, here we are: delivery of a shiny new 700 in Ceramic Ice (a.k.a. blue) confirmed by my dealer for July 1. With my Africa Twin sold this week, all I can think about now is Tenere, Tenere, Tenere. Waiting four more months--with at least two of them in riding season--is gonna be agony, but it does give me some time to research and order the various bits and pieces I'd like to bolt on to make the Tenere suit my needs the minute I et it home. And research I have, thanks to all the European owners who now had a season of riding and experimentation with the bike.
Here's a run-down of my shopping list in approximate order of priority, based on a thorough scouring of various owners forums and YouTube reports.
Seat
Several riders report that Yamaha's optional one-piece adventure seat is more comfortable than the stock two-piece seat, as well as being a little taller. Since I'm 183cm tall (just over 6'), a higher seat would certainly reduce leg strain while seated for long stretches. Comfort is personal though; I may hold off on swapping the seat until I see what Seat Concepts comes up with. I already have a Seat Concepts on my WR250R and it's a game-changer.
Some riders suggested added bar risers to go with the adventure seat, but this doesn't make much sense to me since the peg/bar height doesn't change.
Pegs
I'm running the Fastway Adventure pegs on my WR250R and will likely install either the same model or a slightly shorter variant on the Tenere. The additional peg width over stock will give my clodhoppers more room to clear the engine case (especially on the right, where riders report some contact with the clutch cover).
There's a lot of talk about the Tenere's suspension, with consensus being it's sprung too soft in the rear if you weigh more than about 75kg. Since I'm up around 90kg and plan to run luggage, a stiffer spring (probably around 85 N-m) is essential to avoid bottoming out. Once I've had some riding time on the bike, I'll probably take it to a shop for a professional tuning of the forks and shock, since that has previously worked magic on my WR250R, transforming it into an entirely different bike versus stock.
Worst case, I'll spring for one of the Ohlins, Touratech, or Tractive shock options designed specifically for the Tenere. This will likely mean also replacing the forks springs to maintain overall suspension balance.
Skid plate
The stock skid plate is flimsy and wouldn't stand up to the occasional log crossings and frequent baby-head sized rocks I encounter. Three options for consideration:
- Adventure-Spec. This is a well-made aluminum bash plate at a reasonable price.
- SW Motech. Another aluminum option with nice high coverage of the exhaust.
- AXP-Racing. This is a brand new product from an established brand. However, what sets this skid plate apart is it's made from 8mm High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), a tough plastic that's flexible, resilient, and low-friction. Moreover, AXP has thoughtfully designed the bash plate to cover the suspension linkage and the water pump, which may eliminate the need for (and costs of) separate case covers. The linked video shows a prototype without the extended protection, but the final version shown in the following screen-grab from Facebook is now supposedly in production as of February 2020.
Crash bars
I really don't like adding unnecessary weight to a bike--especially up high. Nevertheless, I know I'm going to be dropping this bike in the woods and I don't like cracking plastics, either. Fortunately there there are several crash bars options for the Tenere. Adventure-Spec's version seems to be the only one that's truly lightweight (aluminum) and minimalistic, following the company's mantra of "light is right" which resonates with me.
Rear rack
Outback Motortek makes solid gear and their Tenere rack looks good and should be available soon.
Likewise for the Adventure-Spec version, which adopts an entirely different design philosophy (Honda fitment shown here). This rack is designed to work with the Mosko Moto soft panniers, so I expect it may work with my Wolfman and Nelson-Rigg bags as well. Worst case, I sell my existing bags and go for the Mosko Motos.
Eastern Beaver PC-8
Another high quality plug-and-play product from a friendly expat Canadian living in Nagano, Japan. It allows you to easily add fused accessory circuits that are either switched with the ignition or unswitched, without having a spaghetti nightmare at your battery terminals. I'll use this to connect heated gear, auxiliary lights, GPS, and other gadgets.
Heated grips
Yamaha's OEM grips were initially reported as being very weak in their heat output, but apparently this is a result of their default settings. They can in fact be adjusted to deliver much higher settings, with no complaints from users.
Barkbusters
Had these on two bikes; they're the best protection for hands and levers.
LED turn signals
Apparently the European bikes have an option for OEM LED signals that are more flexible stalks than the 1970s incandescent blobs that Yamaha normally pulls from the parts bin. Not sure if these will be offered on North American bikes. Good aftermarket options will certainly become available.
Auxiliary lights
Riders have posted mixed reports on the OEM headlights. I'll probably add some LED flood lights mounted to the crash bars, as well as a light controller to change intensity.
The Fenix floods on my WR250R have proven to been excellent, as well as the Skene controller I wired in with a three-position switch that allows the aux lights to be turned off, to 5%, or to 50% (all three levels fully user-programmable). Note that some LED lights (e.g. certain Denali models) are not compatible with third-party dimming controllers, so do your homework before buying. My Fenix floods are no longer available, but I suspect they're a re-branded Rigid D-Series light.
Update (Feb 25, 2020) - AXP Racing skid plate
AXP informed me that as of Feb 19 they were still testing the Tenere skid plate on the track. They'll post on their Facebook page as soon as it's available. Price will be 199.17€ per unit.
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