Breaking in time longer that one may think.

[Ramseybella]

I have read how it takes the Tenere a few thousand miles if not at least ten thousand + to truly be broken in.
I find this to be an honest assessment.
As i was riding home today as i do everyday unless it's snowing and i mean hard.
I thought to myself how this bike just feels perfect and smooth, responsive to my every wishes and just part of me now.
Like i can almost hear the parts gliding in unison with each other, the pistons with the cylinders the gear box just slightly chattering smoothly like an old 89 well oiled GL Subaru sewing machine.
I have come to realize at almost 81k it is at it's best, didn't hurt to have the main harness replaced.
I find no reason to drive my Truck and burn gas anymore.
Have any of you had your personal epiphany about how this bike truly is a masterpiece and just fits you like a well worn glove? :

 

[Xclimation]

AGREED!!! The worst part about the bike is when I get to where I'm going and have to get off!!! It does it all!

 

[Madhatter]

I have had bikes that in almost every case you could tell when it " broke in " , not my tenere . it still feels at 30k miles the same as new. doesn't use oil , lots of compression braking ( don't really need to use brakes because of it ) same cam chain rattle every time I start it . get 42 mpg on average and never worse than 38 mpg when pushing hard .... and after 5 plus years I still like it and do not see me selling or trading my girl.... still have a few farkles to do on it.... on a bad day when I do take my truck I'm thinking I should have taking the bike " its only a little lightning out there "......... on a side bar Ramsbella , I did a ride to fort davis texas in april , 452 miles from house to camp ground in some of then worst wind ive had to endure .... 30 to 50 mph winds coming across I-10 from the north north west... dirt storm , did I say dirt storm..... 80 mph speed limit on I-10, rain grooves , 18 wheelers , the high winds , never got worse than 38 mpg ..... so , I git to try out your technique of just blasting through the wind ..... it was ok , it worked , it worked especially well when passing 18 wheelers who added a big push of air as you get past them... going slower also worked in a different way... bike handled it all.... my technique for passing 18 wheelers is to ease up to about ( there is a passing lane ) 2 car lengths from trailer and then on a straight away give it the gas , 80 to 100 mph in the length of the truck , and your past.... passing on a curve the blast from the truck wants to push you into the ditch.... did I say I liked my bike.....

 

[Xclimation]

Madhatter, I've ridden on those high wind dust storms in West Texas on I-10 and I-20 Myself! Quite the hairy experience! You forgot to mention the low visibility! If you're not going at least 100 mph...you'll get blown off the road! You can't pull to the side of the road for fear of getting run over in the low visibility! There are 18 whealers hauling oversize loads with oil drilling equipment going close to 100 mph! The ride from Balmorrhea to Fort Davis is beautiful! Probably my favorite stretch of road! I've ridden that high speed I-10/I-20 in those dust storms on both my Cruiser (Honda VTX1300) and Tenere. My Tenere does much better!
I dare someone to ride in one of those West Texas high wind dust storms without a helmet and/or without a face shield!!!

 

[Sierra1]

Y'all have to remember....the bike isn't the only thing breaking in. You will break-in right along with the bike. My throttle seemed twitchy when I first got it. Adjusted my throttle hand, and voila! Other bikes seem sluggish now. I have an FN .308 SPR that that had a similar break-in period, right along with me. Now? Perfection; with both the bike and the rifle. ::001::

 

[billyp]

I keep thinking that this is the most underated bike I've ever owned.

 

[Madhatter]

Xclimation , visibility did suck some what , and we were at 85 to 90 most of the day.... my buddy was on a wee strom and ran out of power a few times ( the 650 just couldn't cope with the high speeds and high head winds and at times he could barely maintain 80 mph. also his much bragged about gas mpg went away , from 55 plus to 28 mpg , the tenere never struggled for power and never got worse 38 mpg ) my friend was in the lead and I saw him leaned almost on his pegs trying to stay in the lane, I found this a bit humorous till I realized I was next.... crazy.... bike has toura tech boxes, was loaded with all my camping gear with my big 260 lb butt when dressed and handled everything thrown at it....

 

[Ramseybella]

I keep thinking that this is the most underated bike I've ever owned.

More like a hidden gem.. But that can hurt as well, more riders need to own one to appreciate how underrated it truly is..
Because of the low sales this bike produces, it could make Yamaha's bean counters pull the plug one day.
It's one of the most forgiving bikes i have ever owned as well. ::008::
These western state interstate wind rallies can get a bit crazy.. I-40 has trees perpetually bent in one direction and that wind go's on from Arkansas past Flagstaff..

 

[Velvet]

In April of '16, I bought my '14 used at Sandia BMW in Albuquerque with 3,950 miles on the clock. Yep, someone actually traded it in on a BMW. Presently, with 26,700 miles or so, I haven't been able to tell a difference on the performance. Same power, same fuel mileage, no oil consumption, no hard to start issues. I love the bike and I have no plans on selling or trading. It fits me perfectly.

 

[Xclimation]

Xclimation , visibility did suck some what , and we were at 85 to 90 most of the day.... my buddy was on a wee strom and ran out of power a few times ( the 650 just couldn't cope with the high speeds and high head winds and at times he could barely maintain 80 mph. also his much bragged about gas mpg went away , from 55 plus to 28 mpg , the tenere never struggled for power and never got worse 38 mpg ) my friend was in the lead and I saw him leaned almost on his pegs trying to stay in the lane, I found this a bit humorous till I realized I was next.... crazy.... bike has toura tech boxes, was loaded with all my camping gear with my big 260 lb butt when dressed and handled everything thrown at it....

I should've mentioned...those West Texas rides in 80 mph speed limits and those wind storms are a big reason I chose the Tenere! I only weigh 170lbs. The Tenere had in my opinion one of the best torque curves along with displacement to carry things for motocamping at high speeds in situations like West Texas.

 

[Madhatter]

Rammseybella , I agree on the forgiving nature of the bike , it saved Carrot ( forum member , and a very good friend ) who ran through a giant lane covering pothole at 70 plus mph , hard enough it bottomed out but never wiggled ..... ill take slower handling than twitchy got to have a stabilizer or die kinda bike ....

 

[Ramseybella]

In April of '16, I bought my '14 used at Sandia BMW in Albuquerque with 3,950 miles on the clock. Yep, someone actually traded it in on a BMW. Presently, with 26,700 miles or so, I haven't been able to tell a difference on the performance. Same power, same fuel mileage, no oil consumption, no hard to start issues. I love the bike and I have no plans on selling or trading. It fits me perfectly.

Velvet:: You live south of Silver City..
Haven't been down that way in years, nice riding area.

 

[Velvet]

Velvet:: You live south of Silver City..
Haven't been down that way in years, nice riding area.

Yes, I Iive in White Signal, about 17 miles south of Silver City. I really like it down here. I used to live in Los Alamos, then I moved down to Nambe, and I finally moved to Santa Fe, all in a span of 11 years. In '01 I moved to Las Cruces staying for 11 years, then moved up to White Signal in late '12. Tons of great riding in your area. I always liked State Road 4 from White Rock past the Valle Grande down to Jemez Pueblo. Sadly, I didn't have an enduro when I lived up north to take advantage of all the forest roads in the area as well as roads in the Buckman area. I need to get back up there sometime. I'd still be living up there if it wasn't for the cold weather. It's waaaaay milder down here!

 

[Ramseybella]

Yes, I Iive in White Signal, about 17 miles south of Silver City. I really like it down here. I used to live in Los Alamos, then I moved down to Nambe, and I finally moved to Santa Fe, all in a span of 11 years. In '01 I moved to Las Cruces staying for 11 years, then moved up to White Signal in late '12. Tons of great riding in your area. I always liked State Road 4 from White Rock past the Valle Grande down to Jemez Pueblo. Sadly, I didn't have an enduro when I lived up north to take advantage of all the forest roads in the area as well as roads in the Buckman area. I need to get back up there sometime. I'd still be living up there if it wasn't for the cold weather. It's waaaaay milder down here!

Itching to get an old KLR for the Pecos forestry roads, Davis Willow just around the corner from the store in Tererro on 63 south of Cowels..
You can get lost up those roads and great camping.
I go camping in Alamogordo Oliver Lee state park, early to mid spring mid to late fall.
LOL!! It's Waaay Hotter down there brother, 85 and i am cooked, nice at night..

 

[Velvet]

Itching to get an old KLR for the Pecos forestry roads, Davis Willow just around the corner from the store in Tererro on 63 south of Cowels..
You can get lost up those roads and great camping.
I go camping in Alamogordo Oliver Lee state park, early to mid spring mid to late fall.
LOL!! It's Waaay Hotter down there brother, 85 and i am cooked, nice at night..

I am definitely familiar with the Pecos canyon area. Back in around '97 through about 2001 I spent many of hours patrolling the area when I was da popo. We were contracted by the USFS to provide additional patrol of the campgrounds in the canyon from Pecos all the way to Cowels. Easy and fun overtime! Definitely beautiful country. I only camped up there once. I have never actually ridden a motorcycle up there. I have spent a lot of time riding (pavement only) in the Alamogordo, Cloudcroft, and Ruidoso area, never any camping though. I'm not familiar with Oliver Lee SP. I'll have to check that out.

 

[Ramseybella]

I am definitely familiar with the Pecos canyon area. Back in around '97 through about 2001 I spent many of hours patrolling the area when I was da popo. We were contracted by the USFS to provide additional patrol of the campgrounds in the canyon from Pecos all the way to Cowels. Easy and fun overtime! Definitely beautiful country. I only camped up there once. I have never actually ridden a motorcycle up there. I have spent a lot of time riding (pavement only) in the Alamogordo, Cloudcroft, and Ruidoso area, never any camping though. I'm not familiar with Oliver Lee SP. I'll have to check that out.

That road from apachee lake to Cloudcroft is a wide open throttle paradise... When i had my triumph 1050 tiger i would just get off the chain nuts on that run. Oliver Lee is 12 miles on the left outside Alamogordo heading to El Paso. $10.00 clean camps with shelters and showers.
Very relaxing environment up along the Mesa.

 

[Velvet]

That road from apachee lake to Cloudcroft is a wide open throttle paradise... When i had my triumph 1050 tiger i would just get off the chain nuts on that run. Oliver Lee is 12 miles on the left outside Alamogordo heading to El Paso. $10.00 clean camps with shelters and showers.
Very relaxing environment up along the Mesa.

Ok, Oliver Lee SP is ringing somewhat of a bell. I have only been on US54 between Alamogordo and Oro Grande maybe twice. South of Oro Grande to the state line on US54, a sh*t ton of times. I'm not sure of which roadway around Cloudcroft you are referring as I am not familiar with Apachee Lake. I have ridden on just about every road around Cloudcroft. Do you happen to have a roadway name or number? I have done all of my riding up there on my issue BMW RT (when working the Aspencade Rally) or my personal BMW K13S.

 

[Ramseybella]

Ok, Oliver Lee SP is ringing somewhat of a bell. I have only been on US54 between Alamogordo and Oro Grande maybe twice. South of Oro Grande to the state line on US54, a sh*t ton of times. I'm not sure of which roadway around Cloudcroft you are referring as I am not familiar with Apache Lake. I have ridden on just about every road around Cloudcroft. Do you happen to have a roadway name or number? I have done all of my riding up there on my issue BMW RT (when working the Aspencade Rally) or my personal BMW K13S.

70 to 244 before or after Mescalero not lake Apache depending on what direction your going.
244 is the road I'm talking about to Cloudcroft you'll pass the observatory before you come into Cloudcroft..
From Cloudcroft to 70 is the best run as it down hill big sweeper turns.
Roads are well paved in those parts considering the typical chip pavement New Mexico standard crap.
152 to Silver city would be great if it wern't for the chip seal they lay on it.
Deer highway at night..

 

[Velvet]

70 to 244 before or after Mescalero not lake Apache depending on what direction your going.
244 is the road I'm talking about to Cloudcroft you'll pass the observatory before you come into Cloudcroft..
From Cloudcroft to 70 is the best run as it down hill big sweeper turns.
Roads are well paved in those parts considering the typical chip pavement New Mexico standard crap.
152 to Silver city would be great if it wern't for the chip seal they lay on it.
Deer highway at night..

Though it's been quite a while have been on SR244 at least twice.

I ride SR152 quite a bit on my KTM SMT. They have been patch and paving recently. I never found it to be that bad, but it certainly keeps you looking out for deer (even during the day) as well as sandy areas.

 

[twinrider]

Rammseybella , I agree on the forgiving nature of the bike , it saved Carrot ( forum member , and a very good friend ) who ran through a giant lane covering pothole at 70 plus mph , hard enough it bottomed out but never wiggled ..... ill take slower handling than twitchy got to have a stabilizer or die kinda bike ....

I hit a football size rock going about 30 mph, slamming it hard, but the Tenere just split it in half and kept going. Probably would've had a different outcome on most other bikes.