S10 as a touring bike?

[tntmo]

Well, with these bags I have more room than on my Goldwing... but the wife for some odd reason won't go riding on this... just the Goldwing! Hmmmm...
2 E41 GIVI side bags and a 57 liter top box! Very stable at out west speeds.
I was by the Mississippi River on a calm day... so I threw in the tugs reflecting in the water... just because it is so rare a day and... did I fkip the pic or not!

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Nice looking Bird. I have a silver one with the Givi WingRack on it. Sure runs HOT! It's an adventure bike, too.

 

[Muybig]

Just one thing that seems to be forgotten here, you can tour on on any darn bike you like!

Longdog - while your statement is correct I have to disagree 1000% like RCinNC see picture below this was my second too last motorcycle that I had for 2 summers. Rode about 2900 Kms before trading it in for a 2019 VStrom 1000 the Kawasaki VN 900 Classic special edition was beautiful bike got a lot of looks at stop lights and questions when gazing up but it was not for touring - no suspension / no power once at highway speeds/ / bike did not like being out on a windy day / uncomfortable riding position. So 3 years ago I traded it in for a Strom 1000 and for the next two summers rode about 18K KM +1 trip to the Maritime's +/- 5K Km, would have never done this on the VN 900. I need some creature comforts to tour: Good wind protection avg cruising speed 115KM / No buffeting/ heated grips/ cruise control/ storage capacity/ and shaft drive and finally a comfortable seat/ the S10 provides this in spades. Last summer i did another trip to the Maritime's (different routing and location) with my S10 and I can say that the S10 is night and day a better bike for touring than the 2019 VStrom. Two glaring points vs the Strom are the Engine: I find the S10 to be a lot more powerful (a train) and the stability of the bike when its windy is great, this summer I'm doing my last trip to the Maritime's (Newfoundland) and this time I will try to do a trip report. I do have to say that I regret getting rid of the VN 900 it was a nice bike to cruise around two and go for short rides in the evenings.

Enjoy whatever you ride and wherever you go!

 

[TenereGUY]

Nice looking Bird. I have a silver one with the Givi WingRack on it. Sure runs HOT! It's an adventure bike, too.

View attachment 98948

LOL, I was on something like that last year following my buddy on his African Twin. He was supposed to bring his K1600GT to Northern Georgia but had to show me his AT. Another reason I bought this ST... I was navigating it but I was a WW1 fighter and he was an F-16 going down that track.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[backfill]

I had a 2007 FJR. After buying a 2013 Tenere the FJR never got ridden. At the time, I was 60 yo, 6-1" and 220 pounds. My legs would cramp up while riding the FJR, something that has never happened on the Tenere. The tenere was far more comfortable for short rides to long tours than the FJR was for me.

My bike had the winglets when I bought it, but I have changed the windscreen and added Oxford heated grips. that is it. The stock hard bags work well enough for me, and I have no issue with the seat even on very long days. My Tenere does not have electronic suspension.

I kept the FJR because it was my wife's favourite bike, but she stopped riding with me because her hips were bothering her while on it. So I sold the FJR and bought a 2018 Gold Wing Tour with the DCT transmission. I thought i would only ride the gold wing two up, and ride the Tenere most of the time by myself. I was wrong. The gold wing is so comfy, smooth, it handles far better than I expected with more power and better brakes than I thought possible. I rarely ride the Tenere now. The Tenere is still a fun bike to ride, but since I rarely ride it I am wondering if it is time to part ways.

Pick your poison. Any of these bikes will all do what you need. It all depends on how well they fit you.

 

[sheikyerbooty]

Nice looking Bird. I have a silver one with the Givi WingRack on it. Sure runs HOT! It's an adventure bike, too.

View attachment 98948

What in the Sam Hill is that bike doing there? You've gone outside the design brief man

 

[tntmo]

What in the Sam Hill is that bike doing there? You've gone outside the design brief man

The adventure isn't in the bike, it's in rider.

 

[RCinNC]

I do believe that any bike can be a touring bike, but that statement always has to be qualified with "any bike can be a touring bike, provided you're willing to put up with the inadequacies of the bike for that role".

People love to do things the hard way; it's why someone rides an FLH with a sidecar on the TAT, or why Ed March tours the world on a Honda C90. For some people, the difficulty in the execution of a thing increases its value to them, like climbing Everest without oxygen. And while I agree in theory that a C90 can be a world traveling touring bike, for me, it's a no-brainer that I'd ever choose something like that for a cross country trip. I'm sure there are guys who tour on Groms, because a) there can be bragging rights in doing something the hard way, and b) they're willing to put up with the suffering.

After all these years of touring on the S10, I don't think there are any noteworthy compromises a rider has to make if he chooses this as a touring bike. It doesn't have the comfort, power and storage of a Wing, but it certainly can be easily outfitted to have a ton of usable storage and can go places a Wing would be a less than ideal choice. It might not be able to negotiate the off-road areas as well as say, a DR 650, but it does have lots of off pavement capabilities, and the DR would not be a great choice for two-up loaded touring where it was necessary to eat up lots of interstate miles at 80 mph. I think the S10 is an excellent choice for a touring bike; if I could only own one bike and that bike had to be adequate at doing a lot of different types of riding including touring, the S10 is an excellent choice.

The way the ADV bike was marketed, with the idea that you'd be blasting across the Kalahari on one, was kind of overblown, to say the least. I think what they actually did was renew the concept of the UJM, only they made it a lot better than the CB750 or a Z1. Back before a sport touring bike looked like a spaceship with a couple lunchboxes hung from the sides, you could buy aftermarket fiberglass panniers and turn those bikes into a decent cross country two up ride, but take the bags off later and go back to commuting to work. I think that's the real spirit of the middle and heavyweight ADV bikes; "here's a bike you can use to do a whole lot of stuff without having to make a lot of compromises".

 

[Muybig]

RC - very well put: I was on the fence last year T10 vs Wing and the Sales man at my dealer talked me into the T10. His selling point was that I could do a lot more with the T10 than a Wing, I have to say I do not regret my decision, its the swiss knife of motorcycles !


After all these years of touring on the S10, I don't think there are any noteworthy compromises a rider has to make if he chooses this as a touring bike. It doesn't have the comfort, power and storage of a Wing, but it certainly can be easily outfitted to have a ton of usable storage and can go places a Wing would be a less than ideal choice. It might not be able to negotiate the off-road areas as well as say, a DR 650, but it does have lots of off pavement capabilities, and the DR would not be a great choice for two-up loaded touring where it was necessary to eat up lots of interstate miles at 80 mph. I think the S10 is an excellent choice for a touring bike; if I could only own one bike and that bike had to be adequate at doing a lot of different types of riding including touring, the S10 is an excellent choice.

 

[Banditryder]

The adventure isn't in the bike, it's in rider.

I think I found my tattoo!

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[sheikyerbooty]

That is a great photo. Where is that?
Yes, custom seat on that GW. I Can easily stay in the saddle as long as I need to if I need to get somewhere. 24 hrs is or more has been done... unless it is a place like your pic. I have taken it on roads like yours. I've taken my CBR on roads like that... not as fast and most likely not as far... hence the purchase of the ST! I've done 850 mile days on the CBR also (San Francisco to Seattle in 15.5 hours. Also, Eastern Arizona to Northern Illinois in two back to back 750 mile days... so to the OP... any bike is a touring bike. What do you want to do with it. You set your parameters and go.
Goldwing is heavier but comfy. It can also be very fun in the twisty roads. I am aggressive in the twisties so there is a $3700 suspension upgrade that transformed its performance and upped the comfort. Has all the amenities.
CBR has suspension upgrades too. Much smoother and now is on rails going through corners and absorbs road bumps comfortably. Has electronic cruise control added to it and other things. Fast smooth and rips the mountain corners... harder to see surrounding country as your posture is more forward.
ST is upright seating and rough terrain capable, mostly road oriented tires and it is a capable machine in the corners. More off road oriented tires and the cornering capability goes down but opens up a wider range of options.
I have the Yamaha winglets and with those the bike has very good wind protection for basically a naked bike. Upgrade your suspension and it will make a huge difference in all day comfort, safety, tire wear. If you want all day comfort in the butt area go visit Russell Day Long saddles website. Suspension upgrade... then I like Traxxion Dynamics suspension in Marietta Georgia. Yes, they are expensive but they are worth it. Less expensive but very good is http://daughertymotorsports.com/ that's on my CBR. They do a lot of bikes not listed on their website. Send them an email.
So is the ST a touring bike??? Yes... just how do YOU want to tour... that's the real question.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Rakaia or Rangitata (Mid-Canterbury, NZ)

 

[Checkswrecks]

I "toured" as a kid from Ohio to Boulder, Colorado on a Honda 350 with the high muffler.
Can it be done? Sure.
But I'd never do it again.

The Tenere is a natural for cross country.

 

[TenereJourneyMan]

Hello all, first time poster. I am looking at upgrading from a Versys 650 to do longer tours that may have a bit of travel on Interstates. I really want a shaft drive to avoid the chain maintenance. The big touring bikes seem much too heavy. I want something reliable with good dealer support. So, this has led me to the S10. I understand that it will be discontinued in the near future, but how does this bike perform as an on road touring bike? Any concerns? Any positives?

All feedback is appreciated.

Thanks

Good Morning havighurst,

You may want to check out this listing for a really well equipped bike with practically no mileage on it.

https://www.cycletrader.com/listing/2013-Yamaha-Super+Tenere®-5024308571

I was looking around for the top case that is on the back of this bike and I saw it in cycle trader. Trust me, this is a very good touring motorcycle and the Super Tenere in this listing is low priced and very well equipped for your needs.

If you end up doing a fly and ride/buy situation, please PM/contact me and I’ll see if I can meet you to purchase that top case off the back. A lot of people don’t like them that big, but that’s what I’ve been looking for to match with my other Jesse Odyssey II Pannier’s. Good luck

 

[Banditryder]

I "toured" as a kid from Ohio to Boulder, Colorado on a Honda 350 with the high muffler.
Can it be done? Sure.
But I'd never do it again.

The Tenere is a natural for cross country.

SL-350. I had one. What a beast! That must have been an amazing adventure!

 

[TenereGUY]

Good Morning havighurst,

You may want to check out this listing for a really well equipped bike with practically no mileage on it.

-5024308571" target="_blank" class="link link--external" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.cycletrader.com/listing/2013-Yamaha-Super+Tenere-5024308571

View attachment 98997
I was looking around for the top case that is on the back of this bike and I saw it in cycle trader. Trust me, this is a very good touring motorcycle and the Super Tenere in this listing is low priced and very well equipped for your needs.

If you end up doing a fly and ride/buy situation, please PM/contact me and I’ll see if I can meet you to purchase that top case off the back. A lot of people don’t like them that big, but that’s what I’ve been looking for to match with my other Jesse Odyssey II Pannier’s. Good luck

I would say that is a very good price the way it is sitting!

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[AlanSmith7]

Congratulations on the first post. As you have already Versys then Tenere is good for you. You enjoyed riding this one. This is the best one with a lot of benefits like it is affordable and comfortable

 

[Checkswrecks]

SL-350. I had one. What a beast! That must have been an amazing adventure!

It was definitely an adventure!
I was on Spring break of my college sophomore year and went to visit my high school best friend who was going to school in Boulder. Despite the cold, things went well till on the way home I got snowed into a little motel on the eastern border of Colorado for a number of days. No credit cards, just cash and a checkbook connected to my little bit of dwindling savings.

 

[Banditryder]

Yeah, spring's a bit different in Colorado. I remember checkbooks and cash. And college. In the 70's. Great adventure!

 

[RCinNC]

Lol, I still use a checkbook on occasion...though at more than one location over the past year, the guy at the cash register (invariably someone at least 20 years younger than I) eyed me suspiciously and told me "uh, we don't take those things".
In the category of "statements designed to make you feel old", that one surpasses even young women calling you "sir".

 

[Banditryder]

Absolutely!

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk