Cycle News Staff | December 24, 2015
Camping and riding – two things you can never do enough of!
The Yamaha Super Tenere is the tuning fork company’s very capable entry into the adventure touring segment. While there are many riders who love the Super T, hard core off-road adventure seekers have a thing or two to say about the Yamaha. So to find out what all the commotion is about I hit the road on a 2015 Yamaha Super Tenere setup with accessory sidebags filled with all the necessary road trip garb. After thousands of miles aboard the Super Tenere on the open highway, mountain twisties and dirt roads, we now understand why Super Tenere riders are always raving about their rides.
One of the best things about the Yamaha Super Tenere is how good the engine is. It’s strong but there’s a very usable and broad power delivery from the compact 1199cc parallel-twin, along with little vibration and minimal engine noise. A friendly power delivery combined with the Tenere’s low center of gravity allows the rider to easily maneuver the bike at slow speeds while also having impressive stability at high speed. Now, don’t take this adventure touring Yamaha for a slouch because it has more than enough horsepower up top and plenty of torque to pull you out of the hole quickly. Riding with the Tenere’s engine is nothing short of an enjoyable experience. The Yamaha’s D-Mode allows you to choose between two different power delivery modes: default Touring is smooth and predictable and great for everyday riding but when you’re loaded down, switching to Sport mode gives the Super T the boost it needs. Yamaha’s hydraulic clutch offers an easy pull and solid engagement when shifting and the six-speed transmission and the low maintenance shaft drive are both geared well and make little to no noise on the road.
The Super T is just as capable on road as off, but gets hindered slightly off-road by the road biased tires.
Rider comfort is very impressive; after spent long hours in the saddle I had little to complain about in the rider cockpit. The Tenere has a neutral seating position, bar angle position and foot peg location, giving it excellent rideability in both short and long rides. The pocket created by the windscreen does a great job of protecting the rider from the elements and the tall windscreen took many a bug’s life while on the road, but thankfully there were very few hits to the helmet. Ease of cockpit adjustability is noteworthy with its toolless two-position seat and four-position windscreen adjustment allowing the rider to personally tailor the setup depending on their size. At 5’11 and the seat in the low position, I was easily able to plant both feel on the ground while at a stop. Shorter riders will want to consider the accessory low seat but in stock form the seating position will be acceptable for most. Being able to touch the ground with both feet is recommended with this bike; although it’s one of the lighter touring motorcycles, it’s still quite heavy especially if you can’t touch the ground properly.
The suspension action is equally impressive and is one of the standout features of the Super Tenere, which has good stability and front to rear balance. The initial stroke on the front fork is super plush and the fork also holds up well under heavy braking. Other than adding more preload to the shock via the adjustment knob to compensate for extra weight, there were no other changes to the setup of the suspension.
The Super T’s engine is as strong as an Ox with plenty of torque on tap.
The Tenere handles a variety of paved road conditions with ease while still having the ability to travel down the dirt roads to less traveled destinations without beating the rider up. Venturing off the main highway and on the nearest dirt road is encouraged on this adventure motorcycle. On our backroad exploration the Super Tenere’s suspension was top notch, soaking up both chop and larger bumps and the engine and electronics performed flawlessly.
There is, however, a couple things holding the Yamaha back from being better suited for off-road. First, the obvious issue of having street based tires comes up along with the Tenere having a 19” front wheel which doesn’t track as well as a 21” through the sand and mud. Also, more overall ground clearance would make the Tenere a more serious off-road contender, but for the majority of riding I do the Super T is more than capable.
The Tenere, like most bikes these days, has both traction control and ABS systems as standard features. The nature of the beast will have you riding in a variety of road conditions as well as weather conditions and in our journeys on the Tenere both ABS and TC worked flawlessly in situations including dirt on the pavement, debris in the corners, dodging wildlife, smooth/rough/wet roads, dirt roads, and everything in between.
Brakes are now linked to aid stability on corner entry.
After using the cruise control system on the Tenere it’s hard to want to go back to long distance riding without it. Riding long hours in the saddle can wear a rider out and to be able to take your right hand off the bars for an extended amount of time and relax makes noticeable a difference in the rider’s wellbeing when traveling long distances.
This was my first time using Yamaha’s interesting Unified Braking System. There wasn’t a huge difference in braking performance like I thought there would be what you do notice with the UBS feature is that it gives the Tenere a more controlled feel overall and better weight distribution while braking both straight line and more importantly into corners.
Not only is the Tenere a good touring motorcycle is also makes for a great daily rider. But, if you’re in it for the long haul, then the Yamaha accessory side bags, tank bag and possibly a tail bag will definitely be on your wish list along with grip warmers if you plan on riding year-round. A small yet nice feature that is stock on the bike is the GPS mounting bar. Long or short rides sometimes require the use of a GPS and Yamaha gets that.
After riding throughout California aboard the Yamaha Super Tenere I was more than impressed with the experience provided by Yamaha’s adventure touring motorcycle. The cockpit was one of the most comfortable I’ve traveled in, the power is strong and torquey, it has power across the board while still being easy to manage. The Tenere has plush handling in a variety of road conditions and the accessory side bags (which open from the top, big plus) were large enough to carry everything needed with room to spare. If comfort and versatility are high on your list then it would be hard to ignore the Yamaha Super Tenere and its on-road touring as well as off-road capabilities.
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Story and photography by Jason Abbott.
Makes you want to go riding, doesn’t it?
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