Itchy boots back

[Stevemr]

So new video out.
Very interesting choice of bike.
Which I very much approve!

Edited by Stevemr on Sunday 29th September 18:21

[gareth_r]

A 3AJ Ténéré - one generation newer than her 1VJ version - is one of the bikes that I wish I'd kept.

The problem with riding a 37 year old bike on the sort of trips she takes must be spares availability, surely? You're not going to be phoning a Yamaha dealer and asking for spares to be shipped to you. Perhaps the blokes who built the bike can offer support.

As an aside, I just looked up the specs. The (claimed) wet weight - 23 litre tank, remember - of the version I had is lighter than my 411 Himalayan.

[Stevemr]

It’s just the simplicity of it that makes so much sense.
Will be v interesting to see what’s been done to it.

[cirian75]

Mmmmmm, I would have thought that the DR650SE which has loads of aftermarket support and was still being built until 2 years ago would have been a much much better choice.

Edited by cirian75 on Monday 30th September 17:49

[Alex@POD]

I think it's a really interesting bike and from the hints she's dropped and somethings you could notice on the test ride, my brain is coming up with all sorts of possibilities...

There's no speedo, or any other instruments that I could see on the bike. Has the guy built it with a bunch of sensors so she can just use her tablet with DMD or a similar app?

[gareth_r]

cirian75 said:

Mmmmmm, I would have thought that the DR650SE which has loads of aftermarket support and was still being built until 2 years ago would have been a much much better choice.

Still on sale in the US, I believe.

[cirian75]

gareth_r said:

cirian75 said:

Mmmmmm, I would have thought that the DR650SE which has loads of aftermarket support and was still being built until 2 years ago would have been a much much better choice.

Still on sale in the US, I believe.

Indeed it is, would have been a much better choice.

https://suzukicycles.com/dualsport/2025/dr650s

[politeperson]

I think there is no right or wrong choice.
The Tenere 600 is definitely a cool choice, so gets my vote.

[Bob_Defly]

It's a great choice, cool looking bike too. Anyone know approx the wet weight?

Leading up to the reveal I was guessing a heavily modded RE Himalayan, KLR650, or DRZ400. I don't know anything about the old Teneres.

Also, will she have to do anything with the carb jetting going from sea level to thousands of feet above?

[airsafari87]

The next video will be interesting, from the hints dropped it sounds as though it’s going to be a heavily reworked bike and far from the bike it started out as.

Proper cool choice.

[Janluke]

Bob_Defly said:

It's a great choice, cool looking bike too. Anyone know approx the wet weight?

Leading up to the reveal I was guessing a heavily modded RE Himalayan, KLR650, or DRZ400. I don't know anything about the old Teneres.

Also, will she have to do anything with the carb jetting going from sea level to thousands of feet above?

I was thinking KLR650 just because there are so many around

Approx 180/190kg

I wonder if a new modern carb might be one of the mods

[cirian75]

Janluke said:

Bob_Defly said:

It's a great choice, cool looking bike too. Anyone know approx the wet weight?

Leading up to the reveal I was guessing a heavily modded RE Himalayan, KLR650, or DRZ400. I don't know anything about the old Teneres.

Also, will she have to do anything with the carb jetting going from sea level to thousands of feet above?

I was thinking KLR650 just because there are so many around

Approx 180/190kg

I wonder if a new modern carb might be one of the mods

Betting on a Lectron Pro carb

[KTMsm]

I wouldn't want to have supplied it - what's the chances it's going to be as reliable as her Honda was for 50k ?

Due to being a solo around the world traveler she has to ride safely and slowly as she can't afford to come off - as her broken collarbone demonstrated - so it's never going to be about watching her riding ability

Slow and reliable are unfortunately, essential

[cirian75]

KTMsm said:

I wouldn't want to have supplied it - what's the chances it's going to be as reliable as her Honda was for 50k ?

Due to being a solo around the world traveler she has to ride safely and slowly as she can't afford to come off - as her broken collarbone demonstrated - so it's never going to be about watching her riding ability

Slow and reliable are unfortunately, essential

It's why a newish DR650SE with massive catalogue of parts and reliability mods they have would have been much much better.

[SteelerSE]

I'll be interested to see what they did to make the bike lighter and modern enough to chance taking it around the world. It is pig ugly though.

[Bob_Defly]

It's an interesting choice for sure. If I was doing it (RTW) I'd probably go with a heavily modded CRF300L, boring but good.

I know everyone wants something 'old school' that can be fixed by a one-eyed goat herder with a welding torch and a spare carb from the 70's, but I generally have faith in modern Hondas.

If you were going RTW what would you choose and why?

[KTMsm]

Bob_Defly said:

If you were going RTW what would you choose and why?

I bought an 80's Yamaha TT600 to do it 20 years ago but life got in the way

If I was doing it now I'd love to do it on a KTM 950 on the basis they have carbs are reliable and I'd enjoy riding it but realistically for a solo trip it needs to be lighter so I'd pick a Husky 701

I don't enjoy riding low powered bikes like the CRF300L but I accept it's likely to be more reliable and far better on fuel, giving a better range

[Biker9090]

Bob_Defly said:

It's an interesting choice for sure. If I was doing it (RTW) I'd probably go with a heavily modded CRF300L, boring but good.

I know everyone wants something 'old school' that can be fixed by a one-eyed goat herder with a welding torch and a spare carb from the 70's, but I generally have faith in modern Hondas.

If you were going RTW what would you choose and why?

Cany anyone remember why she had to have the engine on hers fixed? I can just remember some shade tree mechanic stripping it down and splitting the cases - not something I'd have envisioned on a modern Honda.

[Alex@POD]

Biker9090 said:

Cany anyone remember why she had to have the engine on hers fixed? I can just remember some shade tree mechanic stripping it down and splitting the cases - not something I'd have envisioned on a modern Honda.

Lots of clutch slipping after miles of knee deep mud I think. Or was it the time her bike fell off a boat when crossing a river?

[gareth h]

I was surprised the Yamaha didn’t have some sort of tower to mount the nav, and the suspension appeared to be stock too, I’d have thought they would have fitted something a bit more modern