"Yamaha Tenere XTZ660Z" thread in "Off Road"
Here is a mini review after a 325mile day out on Adam’s Mildenhall lane run. Firstly, the fuel capacity takes the niggling worry out of ...

Here is a mini review after a 325mile day out on Adam’s Mildenhall lane run.



Firstly, the fuel capacity takes the niggling worry out of riding distances making this ride easily do-able from darkest Kent. After a 150mile blast up the motorway (Yes it doesn’t add up…….. I got lost) plus a good 3hours laning I looked in the tank thinking it was getting low, turned out there was still 8litres hiding in there when I filled up. Unlike some bikes with the Tenere all the fuel(23litres) is gone when run till dry, no unobtainable pool sitting below the tap level waiting to cause your next hernia laying the bike on its side to feed the carbs.This could be a good or a bad thing.

Oil consumption is worthy of a mention, I have not topped it up yet in a 1000miles but f*** me it blows some out the breather which you can see building up in the drain tube. As it still reads okay on the dipstick, I reckon the dealer overfilled it to start with. Worth keeping an eye on but sadly, oil in frame means run for ten mins and then check which is a pain.

Off road I am impressed with its ability on the albeit easy, sandy lanes Adam chose around Mildenhall. I have never ridden on sandy terrain before, lovely stuff until you go from hard packed to loose sand at 40ish mph wooooooohoooooooooooo parp….that slowed me down.

l'd liken it to a DRZ with a very comfy seat, better suspension for its purpose, sharper brakes and capable of distances. It seems to get more traction than the DRZ on slow snotty ground but you have to work the clutch and use the fast tick over rather than the throttle. There is power to lift the front but the Tourances spin up on anything but the driest ground. It could have conventional carbs for all I can tell the FI is faultless without stalling once. Not bad for a big old donk of an engine.

The front fork looks a little weedy but works fine, this thing weighs 210kg and I haven't yet had to back off feeling the suspension couldn't cope. The Tourance tyres on the other hand are the limiting factor at the moment. Even as low as 13 psi they won't bite into mud (no surprise there) but they are predictable and I didn’t taste Suffolk dirt.

It is a big old pussycat, lovely manageable power delivery, engine braking means you don’t have to…..much, all-day comfortable and as close as I will get to an all-purpose bike thus keeping the peace indoors.

I cannot really criticise much, Yamaha have got this one spot on but here is a list of minor points worth mentioning, some are subjective of course.

Sidestand is in an awkward place to reach but I do wear mx boots all the time that don’t help.

Seat is wide for a trailbike, making a tall bike that bit more awkward to mount but so comfortable the trade off is worth it.

For the pillion, there is a bit of a climb to get onboard the raised rear of the seat but once on I am told it is great with a generous distance to the pegs.

Grabrails are not useable if she/he has a decent sized arse though.

Headlights do not turn off (bad) but are plastic (good) I had a few stones fired at me to test this, adequate on unlit roads but could be better, I will be addressing this soon.

Footpegs are the narrowest I’ve ever seen but useable and with enough ‘bite’.

Sparkplug hole is on the RHS easily accessible but as a consequence now full of sand which will need vacuuming out before the next plugchange/inspection.

The rack is just a platform for Yamaha’s overpriced ally topbox and of little use. I have bodged on my old placcy topbox base using the grabrail bolts and a few cable ties………..proper job.

Riding home in torrential rain and heavy traffic on the M11/25/20 I was glad of the bike's large presence. It was obviously visible from behind thanks to the large LED rear light.
I’d rate those some of the worst conditions I’ve ever ridden in with strong side winds coming off the Essex Badlands and visibility next to f*** all with the spray. The screen protects well unlike my ancient HG Voyager jacket and for a tall bike it behaved itself keeping stable.In the end my desire to live overcame wanting to get home quickly when the visibility went down to bugger all and I dived off the M20 at Wrotham Hill borderline hypothermic.

Good review that, nice one.

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"Its easier to make a fast bike reliable than a reliable bike fast" Soichiro Honda.

It's a good looking bike (though stacked headlights have never appealed to me) and you never looked out of shape on the dirt, whereas the "go anywhere" BMWs suffered big time. A proper dual sport bike, and a good review

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Never break more than one law at a time, and never carry more grass than you are willing to eat.

Anyone interested in these can read some early impressions here after a few days ownership http://www.therevcounter.com/455106-post69.html

and the complete thread is here New bike - Ta Ta Fazer, Hello..........

Great revue ,and very interesting bike,is it MUCH better than a DRZ though?.

Good review.

I bet the dealer overfilled the oil. Aren't they a dry sump and the level check proceedure's complex.

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Lying outrageously on the internet since 2003

Depends on your mix of riding I suppose.It's a better bike for my needs.

A DRZ will always be the better greenlaner (on my local trails anyway) being lighter,lower and quicker on the dirt. Someone with bigger plums than me might get more out of the Tenere offroad. As an overall package the Tenere is better for me.My arse still hasn't forgotten what 7 years of DRZ ownership did.

I see this as the best compromise rather than running 2 bikes.I can now carry a pillion and not feel any real difference. Travel long distances in comfort and only fill up every 300miles and greenlane whenever I get the urge

You do get a lot more bike for only a few hundred quid more.

Yep run for 10 mins then check dipstick by the headstock.

Not ideal running a bike for 10 mins then finding out the oil is low.

mind you 3litres is a lot of oil for a single.

Well Mrs SSD picked hers up last week and what a cracking machine it is too ( I may have taken a wrong turn down some gentle lanes on the way home from picking it up for her). so just to add a couple of thoughts to any forum peeps doing a search on these machines.

They can be lowered if needs be for those put off by the height
theres a forum dedicated to them www.xt660.com
Fowlers of Bristol say they are hoping to have a demonstrator soon (dont know when sorry) which I guess means other dealers may follow suit.

Oh and they had just bought in about ten of these bikes though i had heard they were in short stock before now.

'tis a girls bike then!

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Lying outrageously on the internet since 2003

Dont know about that, my missus is a first into battle, last to leave, drink you under the bar adventure touring goddess with an inseam to match many a bloke, I call her doris though for short

How is she at grappling?

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Lying outrageously on the internet since 2003

I'd have to say her reading and lurking skills are sufficient to get me in trouble if I say anymore and leave it at that

Nice. Thanks.

Excellent, hope she's having fun, I'd be interested to hear more.

I was going to pm you with some more info but won't need to now.

I'm off to get some decent tyres later, when I can decide between the MT21 or TKC80.