Yamaha Super Ténéré XT1200Z

Look forward to your report Kevin. That's a great itinerary for the launch ride.

Really enjoyed myself on the 660 Tén in the spring sunshine this past weekend. The Super is generating a fair bit of discussion on Yam XT web forums (fora?) as you'd expect. Not many brave enough as yet to bang down the cash on the new bike sight unseen, though.

A couple of Qs spring immediately to mind. The Super's luggage looks exactly the same as the 660's, and the latter's boxes are no small investment at the best part of £900 all in. Will they fit the big 'un too (I fear not because presumably a cut-out is needed for the 1200's low-level exhaust). Also, there are some shots on Yamaha websites of the 12 looking very mean and lean in all-black paint. This isn't one of the "first edition" colours: does that mean that black will be a 2011 colour?

(Edited to include pic of XT1200Z in "evil black" - I'm sure they won't mind the publicity)

I'd love to know the logic in selling the bike only on the web with no demonstrators to test it first. Can't see the point of launching a bike that can only be bought on the net without seeing or riding one first, especially at the price they are asking.

The director of tamworth yamaha as purchased one of these for himself,and according to there website, he will be allowing genuinely interested customers to test the bike,nice bloke.

They hoped to create a marketing "buzz", I think.

Spoke to a Yamaha UK guy who admitted (in the end) that they didn't have much (any) say in this and the whole plan was cooked up by the European HQ.

Either way, they don't seem to have been inundated with internet pre-sales in this country. My dealer has said he will be getting a blue bike as stock in June and kindly offered it to me for full list, less the usual insulting trade-in. I'll have to think about that one... Apparently silver bikes will be more plentiful - if that's the right term when there are supposed to be no more then 80 bikes in total allocated to the UK this year!

Anyway, word is that even the disgruntled dealers have been well impressed with what they've seen of the bike in the flesh (no one's ridden it yet).

Luggage for the existing Tén 660 doesn't fit, sadly, so that's one of my questions answered.

All the reviews i've seen so far indicate it's a good bike. Hopefully us peon's will get a chance to ride it next year when the "standard" model hits the shops.

I like all bikes. Who am I to judge? I'm interested in any story when it has big ramifications for the motorcycling world. This is a big release, and even though I'm looking for a dual purpose, I would read a story about an electric motorcyle just for the fun of it. Love to read, and love to read about bikes!

I think most people trash bikes early on because they want to justify their purchase; just as much as people want to love a bike before riding it because they are always looking for the next best thing. It's what makes moto-journalism so much fun:)

You have to read my previous post in "Ironic mode". I wasn't judging no one, I've just took your impatience Tortious to develop my post.

Commercially I don't think there are enough people "not wanting" a BMW or the Ducati.
Yamaha needed to make something exciting like the first Super Tenere, the Honda did with the Africa Twin back in the day.
Just look at the interest generated around the MTS comparing to the Tenere.

Time will tell if the Yamaha will make through to the customers or not.

They don't deserve to sell any if they deny their customers a test ride.

Trevor Franklin at MCN thinks the new Yamaha Tenere it's better than the BMW R1200GS. The main things he likes compared with the BMW is greater agility, better handling and more front end feedback.

Yamaha most probably did the right thing at the launch, making the journo's ride about 600 miles from France to Spain across the Pyrenees. They seem to encounter snow, rain, low temps, sunshine, desert off-road sections and heat. A proper test, that stops hacks making a decision based on a quick perfect roads/condition snapshot. And they seem to have done a good job as the general consensus was that the other journo's approved of it too.

The genre seems to now be evolving and splitting in my personal view. In one corner you have the Sporty Tall-Rounders which are mainly distinguished by 17” alloy front wheels (i.e. zero off-road aspirations, sporty handling, slightly lighter and a modicum of practicality), and include anything ranging from the TDM950 and V-Strom (ageing), to the Versys, Tiger 1050, KTM SM-T, and Ducati MTS (modern). And then in the other, you have the Adventure Tourers which are mainly distinguished by 19” spoked front wheels (i.e. fire-trails dry-weather off-road use, rugged soft-roader looks, larger tanks and more low-speed off-crashable / luggage-strappable practicality), including anything from the Varadero (ageing), to the R-GS Adv, and Super-10 (modern refreshed/designs).

When the specs were first announced, it didn't look like the Tenere was playing the MTS game. With it's modest output and noticeable weight (both similar to the GS, once you load the GS up with all the electrics and luggage or buy the Adv version), larger tank range, strong build quality and visible practicality. I.e. It looks to be trying to build a reputation as an very reliable, well-constructed, high-mileage capable, two-up touring and typically long-term ownership machine.

The two fuel modes seem logical and simple. Effectively providing either a soft delivery Touring mode (great two-up for not losing pillions or banging heads), which usefully also improves economy. And a Sport mode, for solo spirited use, with a more direct fuel map response.

The traction control and semi-linked ABS are both very sophisticated in their operation, apparently even working out for itself whether the bike is two-up and laden with luggage or not.

I don't think he felt the need to adjust the suspension from the stock settings, and the usd forks gave good feel. The engine sounds particularly smooth between 70-100 mph (very real world useful), if lacking a little character as all parallel twins tend to. No mention of a lack of power or noticeable weight and presumably that's a good thing in general terms.

Kind of like the BMW S-RR, owners will probably choose a map (Tour/Sport) based on the weather and whether they're two-up or solo. And set-up the suspension to suit rider weight, riding style and general preference - then leave well alone.

And again, like the S-RR the ABS and traction-control will both give the added re-assurances to roll-on the power earlier and brake with varmint gusto when the occasion arises. Q. Electronic Ohlins is so very cool, but is it genuinely 'needed' and do we want to be constantly fiddling with buttons or enjoying the ride?

Personally I think it's a great looking bike, and probably the best of the Adventure Touring genre aesthetically, particularly in Yamaha blue. It's clocks are clear and it's switches chunky. Some parts are generic, but also tried and trusted. As a Yamaha rep put it 'when was the last time you heard of a Yamaha having a problem with it's switchgear'? And as I need to take time out to have my S-RR switchgear replaced under warranty, I have to say that's a very valid point indeed!

Some areas of the bike appear to be class leading, such as the centre of wheel circumference externally mounted spokes, which look both classy and strong against the Excel looking quality type wheels. It's aluminium panniers look to also be the best (finish, fit, rugged) in class too. It's entire seat is very flat and well padded, boding well for long riding stints. The large hand-guards, adjustable screen and large rack look very practical as well. As does the welcome 23 litre tank, bucking current down-sizing trend.

The shaft drive, with it's spiral cut cogs is a simple (and very light looking) affair compared with the complex solutions by BMW and Honda. Torque reaction is supposed to be minimal, only perceptible when being very ham-fisted below 30 mph according to Trev.

It's obvious problem is that, despite superb standard equipment levels, it costs more than the BMW loaded to similar spec; at a time when the GS has the most lineage history, the most sales and the best residuals of any road bike.

To make matters worse, no demos for the first edition and internet only sales, under the laughable justification that it gives existing Tenere customers a better chance of getting one. What? Against other people with slower keyboard skills perchance?

Aside the caveats, Trevor still thinks it's worth buying over the middle aged GS, and as a direct competitor the virtues do begin to show through it seems.

Next year will see the Ten hit the shops (demos?!?!) and be available in reduced spec (no luggage, bash plate, screen protector or first edition sticker) at presumably a reciprocating reduced price - although based on Yamaha's pricing policy of late, I wouldn't count on a reduction as a given.

Anyway, I think it's nice to see a credible GS rival in terms of directly attacking what the GS stands for, instead of just making a similar bike but sportier and then claiming almost by default that it's 'better' as a result.

Maybe the wise men at BMW had a semi-point when they said they weren't worried by the MTS as they felt it was playing a 'sportier' game that wouldn't interest their existing loyal following?

I don't think it's going to cause BMW and Ducati sleepless nights, based on what it's likely to do to the sales charts - in the UK anyway. But if I had to ride around the world tomorrow without a toolkit, I'd probably choose it over the MTS or GS, as the best bet to get me there and back again spanner free. And that has to count for something in a machine of this type doesn't it?

Bike journo Roland Brown writing in today's Sunday Times is pretty complimentary, too. It's good to see that they've started covering bikes in the paper, even if the presentation is a bit lifestyle accessory-ish. Online version of the article is over here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/features/article7125853.ece

Perceived reliability is a strong card in Yamaha's hand, but you can't take anything completely for granted with a brand-new model. The 2008-on Ténéré 660 has left a number of owners stranded because of a design or manufacturing issue with the reg/ rec wiring. That bike isn't assembled in Japan and in my view its build and component quality, while generally fine, is still noticeably inferior to the other Japanese-built Yamaha I own (both are 2009 bikes, so it's not down to changing standards over time). My local dealer thought the 1200 was going to be made in Europe too, but I've seen no confirmation of this.

I wouldn't expect the 2011 bikes to be priced significantly below the "first edition" even without the accessories. Apart from anything else, a VAT rise between now and then looks to be on the cards... A Yamaha appeals to me over a BMW for a variety of reasons, but I think that if they are going to charge "BMW money" then they need to make sure that the bikes compete on value with the GS/ GSA. Currently a GSA at £13,500 will be fully loaded (excepting panniers) but the Yamaha at the same price (although it has the boxes) is missing some stuff that you are definitely going to want (e.g. heated grips) while other things it might be nice to have (e.g. electronic suspension adjustment) are not being offered at all.

Circa £13,000 still seems like a hell of a lot of money for any bike to me. We've discussed Suzuki 1250s before, and it's a bit of an apples/ oranges kind of comparison, but the fact that I paid £5.5k new for a GSF1250SA gives real pause for thought in this new era of megabucks motorbikes.

Thanks Kev. Interestingly your report isn't as overwhelmingly positive (Read more realistic) as the others I've read whilst being more comprehensive as well.

In a way this bike reminds me of the VFR1200's main issue. That is that (Standfast the auto-boxed version) it doesn't bring anything particularly new to the party whilst costing more than some of the competition.

Having said that I do like the fact that Yamaha seems to have a realistic take on their market/ambitions for the bike. That is not giving it 150+ Bhp and bestowing it with some real off-road ability. For their sake I hope it sells fairly well plus it'd be good to see some alternatives to the GS getting some of the Tall-Rounder market.

When are the bikes going to be available through 'Normal' channels rather than internet only?

Well, I'd say wait for the KTM variant, the rumoured 1190 Adventure. I think this would be the only GS alternative. The S10 really strikes me as boring. If I were to buy I big bike in this sector I'd definetely choose the GS. But I am waiting to see what the austrians have in store.