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I just finished reading this entire thread, primarily because I got an e-mail from my dealer yesterday saying my Super Ten wouldn't be coming until June, despite mine being ordered the morning of September 1st as soon as Yamaha's computers came up... And both the situation and the posts here got me to thinking a lot about it.
First off, I've been in two similar situations with Ducati. I was one of those who got in on the order of the MH900E, deposit and all. Was supposed to be delivered in a year. One year turned into two, and I got tired of the deal and bailed. Of course in that case I sold my spot in "line" for 3 times what my deposit was...
Softened the blow a bit. Then in the summer of 2006 I decided I just had to have a Desmosedici D16RR, and made all the arrangements, etc. to get one. There Ducati was a bit more vague from the start about the delivery dates, but still hinting at it being about a year or so. A year passed, then 18 months, and I finally received my D16RR almost exactly two years after I ordered it, on July 3, 2008 (still have it, BTW).
Second, I got in on the Yamaha PDP for the "new and improved" 2006 Yamaha FJR1300's, ordering on the first day of ordering in September of 2005. We were told the bikes would be shipped in late February or early March. When February rolled around a story circulated the bikes would be late because a sub-contracting supplier making the saddlebags was late, and that the bikes might even be shipped without the bags, the bags shipping separately at a later date. March came and went, but no FJR. The bike finally arrived the second week in April (freight damaged, BTW, but that's another story). Late, to be sure, and that tardiness threatened a trip I was planning on taking the new FJR on. It was close, but the bike made the trip. Oh, and BTW, my FJR was shipped directly from LA to my dealer in Texas, rather than going the usual route of LA to the Dallas, TX warehouse and then to my dealer.
I should also mention here two other points... One, I spent a great deal of my life working in the motorcycle industry, and was a Honda dealer for 11 years. Two, I have rarely ridden, or test ridden, any of the numerous bikes I have owned in my near 40 years of riding. I only mention this because of some comments made in this thread.
From what I know of Japanese manufacturing of motorcycle models I have to believe Yamaha is going to try and produce these bikes as fast as they possibly can. It is strictly in their best interest to do so, both financially and from a public relations standpoint. However, they have other models to build, too. And some of those might have to take precedence on the production lines first. Yamaha has only so many production lines, and the time on those is allocated based not just on time but also a number of other factors... Demand for certain models, certain markets having different release schedules, supplier arrivals, etc. Like it or not, in the grand scheme of things the Super Tenere, particularly for the USA and Canada, is very much a "limited production" model, with probably no more than 800 to around 1,200 units being sold in North America. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that Yamaha might wait until after the orders close on March 31, 2011 before producing a single North American Super Tenere. It actually makes a ton of sense they would do so, spinning out all the "2012" North American Super Tenere's all at once in April. Then it takes them a few days to load them into containers, the containers then go on the ships, the ships take a few days to get here, then they are off-loaded in LA and go through all the customs, etc., hassles they have to wade through. Only then will real North American distribution take place.
Something tells me that those who ordered early may get S-10's shipped directly from LA to their dealers (like as happened with my '06 FJR). The remainder will go into the normal distribution system and go from POE to their respective warehouses, then to dealers. If you look at the time frames involved it is reasonable to assume the folks who ordered in the first day or two will get their bikes in June, with everyone else who ordered getting their bikes before the end of August... And if past experience is any indication, your serial number (VIN) will have nothing to do with when you ordered your bike.
I'm going to wait for mine. I've got other bikes to ride, and here in South Texas we can ride near year 'round.
OK, sorry for rambling. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming... 8)
Dallara
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