Apples to apples.. Why did you choose a Tenere over a GS?

[Xdriver]

Apples to apples.. Why did you choose a Tenere over a GS?

I've got a Tenere right now and although it's for sale, I'd buy it again if I wanted the same type of bike. I had an '09 GS oilhead boxer, so here's my take on it.

Things I liked on my GS.....no plastic removal for maintenance, aesthetics, ground clearance, electronic suspension, and heated grips. Also, resale value for my bike ADD.

Things is didn't like.....expensive tool needed to reset maintenance intervals on computer, throttle body sync every 6K, fuel gauge failure, fear of final drive fail. Must turn off ABS on gravel or it will get you in trouble. I had the Vario bags and wasn't impressed. It's a great bike, but those were my gripes.

The Tenere....less frequent, less involved maintenance, rock solid reliability, great motor, seems more planted on gravel roads, ABS that works on dirt, great traction control, no worries of a breakdown. Ergo's and comfort match the BMW, so that's a wash.

And finally the things I don't like on the Tenere....very little. Maybe could use a tad more ground clearance, and I'd like to kick the engineer in the nuts who tilted the engine forward enough the put the spark plugs in a difficult to get to spot. So, taller suspension and a nut kicking, I'd be all set.

 

[GrahamD]

Tried a few bikes. Reliability is pretty important where I am from. So BMW was a riskier proposition. They charge more than they are worth considering the suspect build quality and maintenance costs.

I was sick of "ADV" bikes with street bike geometry which frankly are not really in their element on sandy, gravelly stuff. So I put a lot of homework into what makes a bike friendly when the tarmac ends. So in the end the S10 ticked the boxes. Reliability, set up for less predictable surfaces, able to take punishment, engine characteristics that suit 99% of riding I do, fuel range, ability to soak up big miles. Engine able to take low octane fuel "naturally" (The lower compression of the Tigers and YAMAHA make them the choice there), ABS/UBS that worked on and Off road. Just enough useful tech without going overboard.

So, at the time the S10 and Tiger800 was the choice. They wanted too much for the Tiger here, so the S10 got the nod. The Tigers single welded frame, sub frame, peg hangers, instrument support was just a write off waiting to happen and the suspension was a bit cheap and no tubeless tires was a bit of a let down, plus it felt to me like another jacked up road bike.

Maintenance on the S10 is not as easy as the (2010) BMW but less frequent so a bit of a wash there, but a lot easier than the KTM, Strom or Tiger.

There were also a lot of nice design touches on the S10 that made it a more sensible choice at the time.

 

[cosmic]

Apples to apples.. Why did you choose a Tenere over a GS?

Price! Naaah.... Local stealer is a friend.


©

 

[Rasher]

I the UK the GS is cheaper than the S10 - I had a 2008 GS and loved riding it, and could have swapped my luggage / exotic suspension etc etc over and a new GS would have cost me much less than the S10, but I still bought the S10. The BMW's sure are nice to ride, and do everything very well, as long as you can live with high service costs and dubious reliability.

My 2008 GS got through about £1600 of repairs from 6k - 20k, luckily most under warranty, but to keep up the BMW warranty was £350 a year, the cheapest GS service was about £250 for the most basic 6k service (Just had Yamaha 6k service for £200) the 12k service was almost £400 (Yamaha is about £275) - do the maths and on 20k per annum the BMW is gonna cost :exclaim:

Once the Warranty is up I can use my local independent dealer and knock about 30% of main dealer prices as well as save £350 a year as I really do not think I need extended warranty for the Yamaha, or service it myself without needing a BMW branded super-computer and other specialist tools.

As for the latest LC version, it seems a myriad of problems are being reported already, more in 3 months than the S10 in 3 years :exclaim:

As long as you can live with the S10's lack of cruise control and electronic suspension (I wonder how much that will cost to replace when the shocks wear out after a few years) it is a great bike, and ECU flash gives it a huge low-mid range boost which makes it as quick as anything in the real world, if I wanted 125 or more BHP I would buy a sports bike, I want instant grunt which my S10 has. My custom made Wilburs Suspension beats the crap out of the BMW stuff, I would rather have top quality stuff I adjust manually than budget suspension built by the lowest bidder with a servo motor tacked on - the technology is fine, just the quality / cost / hassle that puts me off.

The difference is the BMW worried me, the Yamaha I just ride, as often as I can, on any type of road, solo, two-up, touring, commuting and the odd dirt track, gotta go, more riding to be done ::008::

 

[domromer]

Re: Apples to apples.. Why did you choose a Tenere over a GS?

You guys are really convincing me that the Tenere is the way to go. My priorities in order are :

Comfort
Reliability
Cost

The only place that the BMW really beats the Tenere for me is looks. But I've owned 2 klrs and 3 vstroms so I'm obviously not hung up on looks!

I think the real deal breaker would be the more frequent maintenance of the BMW and the expense of upkeep. I do most of my own work but I'd rather be riding than wrenching and valves and throttle body syncs every 6k seems insane... It also sounds like I need to bring the bike into the dealer to turn off the service light.... What?

I think the Tenere might win by default. In its price range for me is the winner. The tiger looks cool but the passenger accommodation sucks, I've owned the big vee, too coarse and I'd like better than 35mpg. I'm not even considering ducatis or any other exotic marques.. I just gotta find a Tenere to ride now.

I'm heading up to the blue Ridge Parkway for the week. Maybe I'll see one up there.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Re: Apples to apples.. Why did you choose a Tenere over a GS?

I'm heading up to the blue Ridge Parkway for the week. Maybe I'll see one up there.

You will, I see them in the wild all the time now.

If you can't find one to try close to you, take a nice ride up to Romney Cycles and they have a demo bike for the next few months.

 

[JaimeV]

Because I had a GSA and wanted to be different 8)

Seriously. Because the Yamaha gives me:

- Better suspension
- Better in off road
- Relliability
- Good dealer

 

[creggur]

Apples to apples.. Why did you choose a Tenere over a GS?

You guys are really convincing me that the Tenere is the way to go.

Wouldn't be the first time we've done that - and I don't think Dallara has even chimed in on this one yet.

My priorities in order are :

Comfort
Reliability
Cost

Check. Check. And Check

The only place that the BMW really beats the Tenere for me is looks. But I've owned 2 klrs and 3 vstroms so I'm obviously not hung up on looks!

Hold off on that until you've seen a Tenere in person - I thought the same thing - the Tenere has a certain presence that pictures just don't do justice...

 

[MurphCO]

Comfort is a personal thing....

The stock seat (to me) was no bueno, after the first couple hours in the saddle I was on Corbin's website ordering a new seat.


If you are taller, you are probably going to need risers too....


Certainly not show stoppers as personalizing some items is necessary no matter what bike you buy



Cost of ownership was really the biggest factor, I want to ride my bike and not worry about it. When comparing the GS and the KTM the service intervals just seemed dumb by comparison.

 

[domromer]

Re: Re: Apples to apples.. Why did you choose a Tenere over a GS?

Comfort is a personal thing....

The stock seat (to me) was no bueno, after the first couple hours in the saddle I was on Corbin's website ordering a new seat.


If you are taller, you are probably going to need risers too....


Certainly not show stoppers as personalizing some items is necessary no matter what bike you buy



Cost of ownership was really the biggest factor, I want to ride my bike and not worry about it. When comparing the GS and the KTM the service intervals just seemed dumb by comparison.

I imagine a Corbin and a Mastad Bracket would be in my short list. Depends what the previous owner already installed. I never buy new.

 

[twinrider]

The new GS stomps all over the S10 when it comes to performance. I have also seen the GS ridden hard offroad and it did fine.

The GS might cost you more in the long run in terms of maintenance but if you buy the Tenere you'll need to set aside another grand for the reflash, a new seat, and some driving lights if you ride at night. The BMW needs no reflash, stock seat is reportedly excellent, and the new LED headlight is really bright.

Test-ride both and see what you think.

 

[creggur]

Apples to apples.. Why did you choose a Tenere over a GS?

Funny how comfort is a very personal thing - the stock seat (flattened) is by far the best stock seat I've ever ridden - even better than the excellent Sargent I had on my VFR.

I'm 6' and tried the Rox Block risers - hated them and will be selling them soon - much prefer the stock bar height.

 

[twinrider]

Re: Apples to apples.. Why did you choose a Tenere over a GS?

Funny how comfort is a very personal thing - the stock seat (flattened) is by far the best stock seat I've ever ridden - even better than the excellent Sargent I had on my VFR.

I'm 6' and tried the Rox Block risers - hated them and will be selling them soon - much prefer the stock bar height.

That is funny. The last two weekends I've had a lot of fun on my S10 except for the monkey butt even with the flat mod, and I love my Rox Pro-Offset risers.

 

[creggur]

Apples to apples.. Why did you choose a Tenere over a GS?

That is funny. The last two weekends I've had a lot of fun on my S10 except for the monkey butt even with the flat mod, and I love my Rox Pro-Offset risers.

The risers would be great for standing up - no doubt - but 99.999999% of my riding is seated and the risers put my arms in a weird (for me) and very uncomfortable position.

As far as the seat goes, I do wish the foam was just a smidge more firm, but no monkey butt up to my largest single-day mileage (640 miles). I'll probably just get Sargent (they're local) to re-foam the seat - as the shape works very well for me - when the stock foam starts degrading.

 

[Don in Lodi]

Re: Apples to apples.. Why did you choose a Tenere over a GS?

Hold off on that until you've seen a Tenere in person - I thought the same thing - the Tenere has a certain presence that pictures just don't do justice...

The bike does have a stance. Love watching the lighting play over the curves from across the lot at work. Distracting at times... ::26::

 

[Rasher]

I mod every bike to suit me, seats are pointless to discuss, on almost every bike you will find someone claiming it kills them after 30 minutes and another guy who swears he can ride a 12 hour stint with no problems.

Looks - I don't care, but TBH always liked the S10 looks, when I tested one the first time I parked me GS next to it, and the Yamaha looked smaller (lower) slimmer and more purposeful, but colours really do make or break the S10 to my eyes, some I love, others look quite bland.

So far:

* Tall Screen - Something I have done to almost every bike I ever owned
* Seat Modified - More Foam, much cheaper than a different seat (done this to several bikes in the past as well)
* Suspension Modified - Not essential, but I like great suspension
* ECU-U Flash - Makes a huge difference, for a few hundred quid / dollars is not exactly expensive in the grand scheme of things - and I am getting an extra 4-5 mpg now so it will pay for itself on about 15k
* Arrow headers - Got them cheap second-hand
* Crash Bars / Sump Guard - Bars cost less than a scratched side panel would if it just fell of the stand, sump guard will stop the front / underside of the engine getting chipped by stones

It NEEDS none of this, you may WANT some or all of it (or more) and you won't really know on any bike from a short test ride, the Flash is a huge bang for buck mod though so if you think it could do with a shade more grunt this alone will more than satisfy your desires.

I would never buy a bike because the seat is good, or not buy a great bike because the seat is bad - all bikes are a starting point for me, a base from which to make it want I want, a bit like a Pizza, if the base is fantastic I can add my own toppings, if the base is poor the toppings won't save it, and sometimes a few good toppings work better than dozens.

 

[Ticeman2]

Teneres land better from long wheelies than any GS of any year would ever consider. Including the W version. ::008::

 

[tomatocity]

Because I had a GSA and wanted to be different 8)

Seriously. Because the Yamaha gives me:

- Better suspension
- Better in off road
- Relliability
- Good dealer

You still have the stock suspension? What do you weigh?

 

[JohnB]

The new GS stomps all over the S10 when it comes to performance. I have also seen the GS ridden hard offroad and it did fine.

The GS might cost you more in the long run in terms of maintenance but if you buy the Tenere you'll need to set aside another grand for the reflash, a new seat, and some driving lights if you ride at night. The BMW needs no reflash, stock seat is reportedly excellent, and the new LED headlight is really bright.

Test-ride both and see what you think.

So why did you choose the Tenere?

 

[twinrider]

So why did you choose the Tenere?

Found a used one with 2,400 miles, $7K cheaper than the new GS.

Also bought it about 5 months before the new GS hit the showroom floor.