Yamaha Super Tenere - Riding Impression

When it comes to motorcycles, we Americans can be a shallow bunch. Instead of choosing substance, we tend to go for style, opting for bikes that look the part but might not play the role very well. We gravitate toward motorcycles we think will grab the attention of riders at the café rather than the bikes more likely to get us there first or in the highest level of comfort.It’s usually not that way in Europe, where riders take a more practical approach to motorcycle selection. And there’s no better example of that fact than the extreme popularity of adventure bikes—BMW GSs, Ducati Multistradas and the like—Over There. Those motorcycles don’t scream “look at me,” but they get the job done, and done well.

Don’t give up on us just yet, though. There’s a growing interest in adventure bikes Over Here, and American riders evidently have made that point clear to the people at Yamaha. Because for 2011, the Super Ténéré—the latest in a decades-long line of Yamaha adventure bikes bearing the Ténéré name—will make its debut on American shores. Halle-freakin’-lujah.

This is a motorcycle worth the wait. And weight.

I say this because after spending three days and nearly 600 miles on a 2010 Euro-spec Super Ténéré in the fabulous twisties of Tuscany in central Italy, I’ve got to believe that this bike will be warmly received here—well, at least if we Yanks give it a go and actually ride it rather than scoff at it. Granted, it looks a lot like many other portly motorcycles that you may have seen flying over sand dunes in the Dakar Rally. But that’s only fitting, since it’s named after a region of the Sahara Desert, and its racing roots are deeply tied to that famous African rally.

Nothing ultra-trick, cutting-edge or out-of-the-ordinary here; the Super Ténéré is just a solid, versatile, well-balanced machine first introduced in Europe and Australia early in 2010.

Despite not being the sexiest ride on the block, the Yamaha offers all the bells and whistles of a modern streetbike. It’s powered by a 1200cc parallel-Twin fitted with a 270-degree crank that yields a staggered firing order and a more interesting exhaust note than what’s produced by 360- or 180-degree Twins. The Ténéré also gets Yamaha’s YCC-T ride-by-wire throttle that works with a traction-control system to monitor and control rear-wheel spin.

Incorporated into the engine-management system are two modes of power delivery—Sport and Touring—that can be selected on the fly; it even remains in the setting you last used when you turn off the engine. The Sport setting gives the Super Ténéré a bit more punch, while Touring is a little more tame—although the engine tuning is so mellow that the differences are not all that noticeable in most situations.

You also can turn off the traction-control package, but not on the fly. Like when the cookies are kept up atop the fridge and away from small hands, the TC’s on-off switch is well-hidden on the Yamaha. It’s a small button on the left side of the dash, and if you don’t know where it is, you may need to organize a search party to find it. Once you do, you have three choices: 1, 2 or Off.

The Ténéré has decent power, but with a kindler, gentler feel than is the case with more performance-oriented machines. Thanks to the fuel-injection system’s excellent mapping, you can pick up the throttle at any time, even mid-corner, and there’s no snatchy feel to the response; the bike just goes. And with the traction control turned on, you can grab a handful with nary a worry about bad things happening.

So, too, is the six-speed gearbox a no-brainer. In three days of hard riding that often made me feel like I was in the Tuscany Grand Prix, I never missed a shift or hit a false neutral. The bike is geared perfectly, too, allowing me to chug out of any corner in basically any gear and then cruise along at 125 kph (a hair short of 78 mph) at 4000 rpm in sixth, the Twin purring smoothly beneath me almost like it wasn’t even there.

Because its engine is so mellow, the Ténéré didn’t want to spin the rear tire wildly when the traction control was turned off. I found that the TC was best left on, though, while trying to keep pace with the German tour guide who was leading our group ride; it gave me one less thing to worry about on unfamiliar roads. And in a driving rainstorm on those same roads, the Touring power mode was definitely the way to go. But if you were to take the bike off-road (we didn’t get the chance to do so, as it seems most roads in this part of Italy are paved), turning the traction control off might be a necessity if you want to ride it hard and steer with the back wheel.

You’d also want to disarm the ABS if you were heading to the dirt, but on the Super Ténéré, that’s not an option. The linked brakes can be unlinked by using the rear brake first, but the ABS still remains on. Thus, getting the bike stopped quickly on loose dirt may be a bit of a challenge, but we won’t know for sure until we get one of these bikes filthy.

Though seat height is adjustable from 33.2 to 34.2 inches, it could still be a tad high for most people; in the lowest setting, it took all 5-foot-8 of me to tippy-toe at a stop. The bike also can be a bit of a handful for shorter folks when it comes to parking, trying to roll backward, etc., but once you get it rolling, the weight all but disappears. At almost 575 pounds wet, the bike is heavy, but it doesn’t feel so big when moving. Yamaha has done a good job with the balance of the Ténéré, keeping much of the weight down low, beneath the six-gallon fuel tank.

Suspension on the ST has a wide range of adjustability, including rebound damping. Shock preload can be set via a big knob on the right side of the bike. That’s very handy when the load increases with the addition of a passenger or travel bags. The 43mm fork, meanwhile, also is fully adjustable and provides just under 7.5 inches of travel. Again, how all of this translates to off-road riding will have to wait until we get our hands on a test unit.

Our bike was fitted with Metzeler Tourance EXP tires—150/70-17 at the rear and a 110/80-19 up front. Not sure what the bike will be shorn with when it comes to the U.S., but the Metzelers performed well on the street. If you were to attempt some serious dual-sporting with a Ténéré, tires with knobs would definitely need to be on the agenda.

The Super Ténéré is quite a capable handler in the twisties, especially so on tighter, bumpier roads. You won’t want to wander off onto the dirt, though, before you exchange the stock tires for ones with a more aggressive tread pattern.

No compromises in the bike’s comfort, however. After my three-day/600-mile ride, I felt as good at the end as I had at the beginning. The only thing that hurt was my face. From smiling. The two-level seat is plush, and a couple of passengers who tried riding pillion ranked the Yamaha as one of the best they’ve sampled. The passenger sits up nice and high, and the rear pegs are comfortably placed. The front pegs are unusual in that they are serrated but have rubber on top; this allows them to provide the comfort of rubber while you’re seated, but when you stand up, the rubber compresses and you have what is basically a grippy motocross peg. Smart.

Fairly good weather protection is provided by the two-position windscreen, though you have to use a screwdriver to adjust it; on most of the competition, you can make the change with a thumbwheel. I rode with the screen as low as it would go because it gave me the protection I wanted without the annoyance of having the top of the shield in my line of sight.

Thankfully, the Ténéré’s brakes are top-notch—as they must be to get this hefty package stopped in a hurry. The front boasts dual 310mm wave rotors, the rear needing only a single 282mm disc. They work well with the ABS package, making it easy to charge into corners full-tilt and trail-brake well past where you would think possible.

Although I’m not one for using much rear brake, the linked system works nicely. When you squeeze the front brake lever, the rear brake also is applied, helping you keep the bike on line and ready for the exit. You can get the rear brake to pulsate as the ABS cycles when you mash on the pedal, but there’s no such feeling with the front brake. Like the traction control, it does its job almost invisibly.

If all of this leads you to believe that the Super Ténéré is a tad, well, boring, take my advice: Don’t go there. I might have thought so myself until I rode a Multistrada back-to-back with the Yamaha in Italy. Ditto for members of the group who also rode some other machines during our three days of ripping through Tuscany. Initially, the lure of available bikes that included Ducati Monsters, MV F4s and Hypermotards pulled at the heartstrings of everyone on the trip. But by day three, they were clamoring for all things Super Ténéré. Because in the prevailing conditions, the Yamaha was the best motorcycle for the job.

Yamaha is currently taking orders for the $13,900 Super Ténéré, with delivery of the 2012 model slated for May of 2011.