Found this 2019 Tenere sitting in my garage

[timebak]

Thanks for the welcome! And yes, that would be great to have a local Midwest gathering with you, JJTJ2, and Flat lander, and anyone else who wants to come along, once things settle down.

Admittedly, I've got a lot to learn about off-road riding, especially on the Tenere. My only off-road experience is limited to the Red Cone, Colorado area, where we were riding some 1970's Bultaco Alpinas (Spanish two-stroke bikes) with the rear brake and shifter controls reversed to opposite sides. It was a little nerve-racking riding next to cliffs and accidentally slamming on the gear-shift instead of the rear brake due to muscle memory, but it was still a blast. The Tenere is a far different animal, though -- much more power, and taller/heavier.

I am with you on off-road riding. My only experience is about 100 miles on my Honda NC700. I wish I could say that I didn't white knuckle it the entire time..... but I did. I use to ride bicycles on gravel roads and I can honestly say that I can ride a bicycle on gravel much faster than I can ride a motorcycle.

I'm with both of y'all on the offroad experience. I had a Kawasaki 175 Enduro and later a Kaw Bighorn 350 back in the '70's and a cousin that had a stable of Bultacos and Hodakas, but I've done no dirt since then. I thought that when I got on the Tenere I'd be hauling ass on the backroads and trails again just like before, but WOW, was I ever wrong! Forty years on street only and I'm a beginner again on gravel and dirt. I can't throw the Tenere around like I used to do in the 70's, but those were much smaller, lighter bikes. HOWEVER, we can all learn together. It's better when there are 3 or 4 of us to pick up our bikes when we drop them. And there are some great guys that I've already met in the area (and some that I haven't met yet) that are willing to help us learn. I dropped mine about 3 weeks ago and I had to have a guy help me to stand it back up. Thank goodness for T-Rex crash bars and skid plate. In the meantime, I've been watching a bunch of YouTube videos about offroad riding on big bikes. But that's no replacement for actual experience. I'm seriously looking forward to learning this and getting good at it. Best Regards, Tim