When Yamaha teased all aspiring Paris Dakar wannabe's with the new 700cc Tenere in early 2019, I was interested, very interested. My 1200GS was getting on a bit and a few issues were starting to emerge. The rear wheel bearing had gone, needing a marathon effort to change, the top yoke bearing followed soon after and then the clutch slave cylinder. I knew that other more expensive fails were on the way. It was also a bit of a lardy bike and a couple of close shaves doing low speed manoeuvers, compounded by my increasingly aging bod; suggested something smaller, lighter and with less gadgets to go wrong was needed.
So fair to say I was definitely interested in the Ten, especially as I'd always fancied one of the original ones, or even the monster 'super ten' which appeared on a wave of Paris Dakar inspired machinery in the late '80's. This brief craze never really captured the British biking public, mainly as trail riding in the UK was a desperate affair requiring something like a trials bike and the majority of 'serious' bikers all wanted loony sports bikes. I was far too poor at that point to afford one and the craze was long gone by the time I had cash to burn. The MZ baggy sort of made up as it had the 660 Yamaha lump in it but was definitely road only.
Yamaha had tried a new 'Super Tenere' but it looked horrible and was way heavier than the GS. The 700 was touted as being sub 200kg, and with genuine dirt capability, further teased with lots of vids of Nick Sanders jumping off sand dunes. I was particularly taken by the lack of 'beak' (something I'd always hated on the GS) and a de-riguer (in the '80's) low level front mudguard. Yam were offering a cheap deal if you signed up for one ahead of launch (£8250 versus £8750 from memory) but as usual, I procrastinated so missed the deal then figured there would be a load going SH from people who took advantage of this only for the novelty wear off.
Of course the next thing I knew, we were all being told to hide in the basement whilst a particularly virulent flu bug went around and I forgot the whole idea. Until 2022 when I figured I really did need to get rid of the GS whilst it was still fully functional and in reasonable nick. I'd slightly cooled on the Yam as it's final production on the road weight was 205kg gassed and oiled up, which still seemed a bit lardy. Towards the end of the year I was all for flogging the GS and focusing on the 650 Triumph which I'd finally got sorted (I hadn't but that's another saga...) Then I made a rash decision to chop the GS for a Triumph Tiger 800 for sale at the local back street dealer. I got a good deal and this seemed like just the thing being a chunk lighter and being fairly gadget free.
The following spring saw the 650 back in the garage. I got to grips with the 800 in earnest but fair to say it didn't really deliver. A marathon faff doing the shim under bucket valve clearances didn't help (DRZ has 35k and all four still in the middle of the spec.) But worse, the handling was terrible. A good SH shock and new tyres helped but there was something fundamentally wrong. Discussions with a mate who had the road version sussed this - The geometry was designed round a 19" front wheel and 6" of suspension travel. Triumph bunged longer forks and shock and a 21" front wheel onto this and called it an 'XC' but this led to the very oddities of handling I was experiencing. I persevered for the rest of the year but early in 2024, one last run down to Mum and Dad's made my mind up. It was still too heavy (and top heavy) the lump was nice but totally mismatched to the trail bike ethos and I had enough trouble finding time to maintain the rest of my collection to keep at this one. Off it went....
In the meantime I'd been eyeing up what else was on offer and inevitably came back to the Yamaha. However SH ones were going for silly money, fueled by reviews that indicated they were indeed an ace bike. A mate had a 700 Tracer with the same lump which seemed a decent machine and much cheaper but I was set on the Ten with its big dirt bike vibe. So I stepped up my searching. Which got me nowhere - nowt up here for any money and lots of well used ones down south for not much less than a new one. Then lo and behold, my local Yam dealer were advertising a '22 model that had never been registered, i.e. it would be 'new' not pre-registered and still have the 2 year warranty. At £9k it wasn't much more than the original price and a grand less than a '24 one and only differing in a more basic screen and normal indicators. I've never bought a bike with so little consideration - went in had a look, did the deal. Oh yes.
Pick up took place a couple of weeks later. I already knew I'd done the right thing as I was tremendously excited. The careful ride home confirmed it - the riding position, power delivery, brakes and handling, even taking it very easy; gelled instantly. Over the next three weeks I built up the miles as the (crap) weather allowed, culminating in a 250 mile run round Perthshire on a sunny but cool evening. As I'd hoped it felt like a bigger version of the DRZ rather than a smaller version of the GS. Seat comfort was suspect but I wasn't buying it for touring. The first service was done and then I was off down to Mum and Dad's via some fabulous back roads and even a couple of easy trails.
I still had to keep the revs below 6k until 1000 miles was up but this passed on the way home. Much more grinning followed and memories of the MZ super moto - hard into corners full on the brakes (ABS, I have to say, does make this even more fun) whip it round the bend then full on the gas. On some of the twisty, bumpy and empty roads hereabouts this was a hoot. The front wheel would loft over any kind of hump or lump, at no point did it feel like it was going to spit me off or do anything else unpredictable and it was doing 60 plus mpg! I'd been dubious about the standard fitted tyres - the ubiquitous Pirelli Scorpions but touted as a 'street' trail tyre (whatever that means) - however they grip incredibly well in the dry and seem pretty good in the wet too. Rear grip off road isn't up to much but the front works well enough for the sort of dirt I'll ever do on such a thing. I'd been slightly worried that the lump might be a bit breathless, particularly low down. As with most parallel twins these days, it's got a 270 degree crank throw (something Yamaha pioneered with the race Super Tens) so it sounds like a fake V-twin. And it's a gem, with plenty of low rev tractability, a generous dollop of mid range, and whilst upstairs isn't going to set the world on fire, it does allow you to hang onto a gear out of a corner without feeling like it's been tortured.
I generally resist the urge to throw money at a new bike but in the event, I couldn't. A proper bash plate followed (black), higher and wider bars (also black), a rack, tank bag and even an exhaust can. The last I would generally never do but I was lured by a 3kg weight saving and a nicer noise, whilst still not being loud. Not sure if its knackered the fueling (it feels OK) but blipping the throttle on down shifts provides suitable pops and bangs which just makes me want to ride it more like an idiot....
Hmm. I'm too old for this but it is such good fun and generally all within the rules of the road so why not? I faffed with the rack as what I'd got weighed a ton and after fitting the top box, I suddenly had a change of heart and pulled it all off and left the bike stripped down. Since then I've gone with lightweight side racks to support some throw-overs and another light rear rack for carrying odds and ends. Overall the bike is probably still the same weight as new but with some useful extras to aid in the fun and allow a modicum of trail riding without too much risk to breaking something expensive.
It's already been round most of my favourite roads between here and Durham and Speyside. Annoyingly, I've had two punctures in two rides so I might lash up a tubeless conversion in the back wheel at least. I've done another couple of trails and I'm now eyeing up what others in the North of England could be tackled on this beast. I suspect this will lead me into some horrible situation of a stuck or dropped bike with no way to recover it but what the hey. The 'big dirt bike' moniker is well earned I think, just check out the vids on line, particularly Pol Tarres riding a much modded one round the Erzberg rodeo course.
So very happy. It's not a BMW 1200GS so I wouldn't fancy riding it the length of the country on the M6 but I'm done with such journeys in any case. A few minor details also hint at it's bargain basement spec - non stainless brake fittings, fasteners and spokes, rubber brake hoses and wafer thin frame paint. But it's about as simple as a modern bike gets - no ride by wire, multiple ride modes, phone connectivity (WTF??!) or bodged auto shifting (aka a 'slick shifter' i.e something that kills the ignition whilst smashing it up a gear) and looks cool to boot!
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