Super Tenere Factory OEM Luggage, AltRider, Corbin, Parabellum & Two Bros Review
I just completed a 7,200 mile trip on the 2014 Super 10 (80% on road 20% off road). Over all the bike is pretty good. Fuel economy was around 47mpg loaded with about 80lbs of luggage + 170lbs rider.
Here is a rundown and short review of the bike and the accessories I used on the trip.
Wind Protection:
I had replaced the OEM windshield with a Parabellum X-tall 27" windshield, at 6'1" this did an excellent job keeping the head wind off.
Also had the side wind deflectors, could not tell if these really did anything or not. Biggest con about the setup on the Super 10 is the cross wind. This bike is very unstable with highway gust from oncoming traffic and crosswind in general. I am not sure but I think the tall windshield may have amplified the problem.
Seat Comfort:
I had replaced the OEM seat with a Corbin seat. I think I wasted money on a Corbin. This is the 3rd Corbin I have had on 3 different bikes and by far the most uncomfortable. I should of gone with a Sargent or just kept the OEM saddle on. I cannot recommend the Corbin.
Handle bar Ergos:
Bar width was pretty good but I think I will add a ROX riser as I would get shoulder cramps after about 4 hours into the ride. COuld of used an extra 2" up and back on the bars.
Heated Grips
OEM heated grip worked extremely well, had a handful of days of below 50º rides in the rain and the grips did a great job at keeping my hands warm. Highly recommend the heated grips.
Alt-Rider Crash Bars
I did not crash, so as for good luck charms, crash bars did their job on staving away bad crash mojo.
Alt-Rider Skid plate
Did a good job protecting the engine when rocks and debris was kicked up while off road riding. Heard plenty of loud bangs and scrapes. The low ground clearance on the Super 10 makes this skid plate a must. Downside to this is it amplifies all the engine and shifting noise.
Two Brother Exhuast
Right after installation the bike sounds alive and mean. Noticeable performance improvement and not sure if it is attributed to my improved gas milage. The weight reduction was a big plus. Downside, after about 2,000 miles the bike got so loud that even with 32db earplugs it was loud. The pipes badly needed repacking. Fortune for me at around the 3,500 mark I was near Two Brothers Racing HQ/Factory and with a short email exchange they invited me over to get the pipe repacked. In addition to that they swapped out the short downturn pipe tip for a longer pipe tip that reduced the sound about 8db. The bike never got too loud for the remainder of the trip. If you get the Two Bros exhaust, get the M2/M5/M7/S1R P1X Race Pipe PowerTip with is, it will save your ears and keep he people around you happy.
Hard Luggage:
I had the OEM side and top cases. These are really bad. The locks are horrible for 2 reasons. First the Yamaha Key is a flimsily piece of garbage. The key bends so easily it is really terrible. Next the locks are absolute junk and cause the key to bend constantly. At one point, one of the case the lock fell out because the screws that holds the lock in rattled loose. Dealer installed the locks and did not apply any lock tight to any of the screws. Trip to the hard wear store for a safety torx wrench and the problem was solved. The whole mounting method is so backwards that it feels like it will break. The amount of space is ok and for the most part they are pretty water resistant. The Lids will not stay open and constantly fall closed, this really sucked in pretty much all situation, I have no idea why you would ever want the lids to constantly close shut. Other than looking cool, keep away from these and go with aftermarket hard luggage. Again Yamaha OEM hard cases are big waste of money and will give endless aggravation.
Cruise Control:
The cruise control on this bike is great! Such a life saver and kept me pain free for 4 hours instead of maybe 2.
What I would do differently:
1. DIfferent Luggage
2. Rox Riser
3. Keep OEM seat or try a Sargent
Otherwise the bike is pretty good!