USA Bids Farewell to the Super Tenere - We Hardly Knew Ya'...

[snakebitten]

I'll take the wager, BMW / KTM / Triumph / Honda are all pushing 1200's - notice the two "class leaders" in there with KTM going up from 990 to 1200.

Smaller bikes will attract a lot of riders, but the big class has a place, especially for those who do distances and / or ride two up a lot, there is no way I would want a 800cc bike, be it a twin or a triple, I want / need GRUNT

Rasher, other than the far less off-road miles you ride compared to me, everything else you have ever said about how you use your Tenere and why you love it, has been pretty much a mirror image of mine.

Having said that, I'm surprised, just a little though, that you would write off the 800cc twin. (Which is totally an imaginary bike, at this point)
Although I would rather see 850-900cc's, if the 1200 is really gone, I would still suspect a middleweight COULD be designed to carry sufficient "grunt" for 2-up.
Maybe they would lower the overall 450 lbs of cargo allowed, but it still seems she could carry the load admirably. It's not like the 96hp they detuned the 1200cc lump to is miles ahead of a "stepped on" 850?

And for me, if it could still comfortably carry the wife and I, with a little less household appliances, I bet it would NOT be at any disadvantage to the current masterpiece off-road! (Hate the thought of a chain though. I'd shed a few tears EVERYTIME I had to fuss with tightening, cleaning, replacing.

 

[Dallara]

You guys are giving me a headache with all this useless typing.

You need be out enjoying your bikes while replacement parts are still available!

Well, I went out and put over 450 miles on mine this past weekend, and over 430 the weekend before... And I've got over 34,000 miles on my Super Tenere now in 25 months.

How 'bout you, Simmons1?

My question regards dropping it from the US, but keep selling it in other markets.

What country buys more Teneres than the USA?
I realize the forum is just a slice of the worldwide Tenere owners. But it might be a fair to say that the US and it's citizen's personal buying prowess would be responsible for a large chunk of the low volume sales of this model? Where am I wrong?

Drives me nuts. The Tenere 660 isn't here because the "supposed" low demand. But it still seems like 330 million people have more buying power than say......Australia with 27 million. Texas has almost 27 million, for crying out loud.

This is where a lot of folks get confused, Snake... so don't feel bad.

I've mentioned this before, but one more time... Yamaha Japan is *NOT* who controls what sells in the USA - Yamaha USA does. And Yamaha USA has to be profitable in and of its own right. Sure, there may be more total buyers in the USA, but what percentage of the market mix is the US "adventure" bike buyer? In this country the number of "adventure" bike buyer is very, VERY small compared to other market segments, and so Yamaha USA will invest in the models that will potentially give them the largest total profitability. Cruisers and UTV's sell. Cruisers and UTV's sell fast, and remain in inventory the shortest amount of time. Hence, we get more cruisers.

In other words, if (and these will be purely hypothetical, theoretical numbers only for the discussion) there are potentially 1 million sales of cruisers in the USA for Yamaha USA, and only 1,000 Super Tenere sales, but you'd have to order 1,000 less cruisers to get those Super Tenere's, and those might sit in the warehouse while the cruisers would go out the door tomorrow... What would you do if you were Yamaha USA?

Conversely, in another market they may only have a market potential for, say, 10,000 bikes in that country, but 500 of those are Super Tenere sales, the case suddenly becomes very different... In one example you have a bike that represents 1/10th of one percent of the company's potential market, while on the other you have a bike that represents 5%. Big difference.

But in a way even that doesn't matter - it's the importer/distributor in a given country that decides what models to bring in and sell. Not Yamaha Japan.

And most importantly, the rest of the world isn't fixated on cruisers like the USA... And the folks in those other countries actually ride their bikes instead of sitting them in the garage so they can tell their buddies they have a motorcycle. ::025::

+1. Many words, few facts. Just reading it triggered my carpel tunnel syndrome !

That cold beer from Dallara will go down well! Hell, I'll even ride to Tx. To collect, zoom zoom here I come Dallara. ::025::

I'll be here, Big Blu!!! I only hope you're exactly right and that'll I'll owe you that beer!!! ::003::

But if I win, don't forget you have to come down here and buy me one!!! ::025::

Dallara



~

 

[snakebitten]

I actually do understand what you are saying when it comes to percentages. Of total Yamahas sold. And I was not blaming Yamaha Japan for the decision to sell or not sell a model here.

I was just simplifying (over simplifying, I agree) the equation. So I guess to put it another way, is it less profitable to sell 1000 Teneres to Yankees than it is to sell 250 to Australians? Just seems like Yamaha Australia is saying it is worth it to sell the Tenere in far less numbers than Yamaha USA is.

Wonder what the minimum number of sales is here before Yamaha would say bring it?

 

[Dallara]

I actually do understand what you are saying when it comes to percentages. Of total Yamahas sold. And I was not blaming Yamaha Japan for the decision to sell or not sell a model here.

I was just simplifying (over simplifying, I agree) the equation. So I guess to put it another way, is it less profitable to sell 1000 Teneres to Yankees than it is to sell 250 to Australians? Just seems like Yamaha Australia is saying it is worth it to sell the Tenere in far less numbers than Yamaha USA is.

Wonder what the minimum number of sales is here before Yamaha would say bring it?

I still think you keep missing the most important point...

In your example Yamaha Australia obviously feels it it worth it to sell those 250 units given their product mix and sales numbers, whereas Yamaha USA doesn't feel selling 1,000 Super Tenere's is worth it given their own product mix and sales numbers. What is so hard to understand about that?

Each gets to make their *OWN* decision about their *OWN* market, just like any dealer here gets to order and stock the bikes he thinks sell best in his market... And that's why some Yamaha dealers here in the USA have never had a Super Tenere on their floor while other dealer have 8 sitting on the floor right now. It's up to them.

Dallara



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[simmons1]

And I've got over 34,000 miles on my Super Tenere now in 25 months.

How 'bout you, Simmons1?

18K on the Super Tenere in the last 25 months. 53K in the last 25 months across my fleet of bikes.

 

[Dallara]

18K on the Super Tenere in the last 25 months. 53K in the last 25 months across my fleet of bikes.

Nice total, but I got a "fleet", too... And more miles total than 53-K in the last 25 months between them all, but I didn't post that to get into a pissin' match with you. Just wanted to point out that I did my share of riding, not just typing... ::001::

...Especially on my Super Tenere!

Dallara



~

 

[snakebitten]

I still think you keep missing the most important point...

In your example Yamaha Australia obviously feels it it worth it to sell those 250 units given their product mix and sales numbers, whereas Yamaha USA doesn't feel selling 1,000 Super Tenere's is worth it given their own product mix and sales numbers. What is so hard to understand about that?

Each gets to make their *OWN* decision about their *OWN* market, just like any dealer here gets to order and stock the bikes he thinks sell best in his market... And that's why some Yamaha dealers here in the USA have never had a Super Tenere on their floor while other dealer have 8 sitting on the floor right now. It's up to them.

Dallara



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My last sentence (question) was what everything else in my post was leading to.

Wonder what the minimum number of sales is here before Yamaha would say bring it?

I wasn't really asking why Yamaha USA thinks 1000 isn't enough. It's obvious they don't. (Whatever the real number is)

 

[hANNAbONE]

...the beat goes on...

 

[~TABASCO~]

not sure if anyone of you caught the post... I was told from a friend at Yamaha there is a new "Tenere" on the way.... I'm guessing it will be a early release 2015 model..

 

[Dallara]

My last sentence (question) was what everything else in my post was leading to.

Wonder what the minimum number of sales is here before Yamaha would say bring it?

I wasn't really asking why Yamaha USA thinks 1000 isn't enough. It's obvious they don't. (Whatever the real number is)

Well, Yamaha USA is certainly a larger company that Yamaha Australia, so their economies of scale are different, too.

Anyway, one would have to think the number Yamaha USA needs is more than the 1,700 or so they sold of 2012 models... I seem to recall that's what they sold of 2012's, anyway, and my dealer told me his rep said far fewer 2013's had sold than that. No way to actually extrapolate on what their break-over point would be without seeing their criteria for model sustainability.

Again, I hope they bring it back... But I'm not gonna' hold my breath.

On another note, what's the collective thought on what this is going to do to Super Tenere resale value in the USA?

In my experience when it becomes clear somebody like Yamaha USA is no longer going to sell a model in this country the resale/trade-in of that bike goes down faster than a New Orleans hooker, not to mention making it very difficult to sell an example of that bike at any price. Just ask Buell owners... ::025::

not sure if anyone of you caught the post... I was told from a friend at Yamaha there is a new "Tenere" on the way.... I'm guessing it will be a early release 2015 model..

I caught it, Jaxon, and even alluded to it in the long, long post above ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^...

I hope you're right and it's an ugraded 2015 Super Tenere, but I don't think so. More likely the 250 or 660, both of which are already in production, and both that would be way, way cheaper than the XT1200Z we've got.

Dallara



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[sail2xxs]

I'm not going to worry about any of this. I love the bike I've got, it's set up the way I want, and the extended warranty doesn't run out until August 2016. I'm 3 days of commuting away from 100k miles on my S10, and have every intention of putting at least another 100k on it after that.

If Yamaha comes out with a smaller bike, great. If it doesn't have shaft drive, they can keep it. A less dirt worthy 1200? They can keep that too.

Chris

 

[snakebitten]

...the beat goes on...

I'm having a ball!

Even a bit of jousting with the master jouster!
Feeling especially ornery today.

 

[Dallara]

I'm having a ball!

Even a bit of jousting with the master jouster!
Feeling especially ornery today.

Hate to tell ya'... But what you're doing ain't "jousting", Snake...

::025:: ::025:: ::025:: ::025:: ::025:: ::025:: ::025:: ::025::

Dallara



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[fredz43]

I think it is a matter of excess inventory of 2013's right now. I know that my Honda/Yamaha dealer, who primarily sells lots of Gold Wings and cruisers, sold 15 2012 Teneres, which was his second best selling single model, after the Wings. He has had 2 each of the white and grey 2013's in stock since they came out, with limited interest in them. If they were to bring a 2014 model here, I don't think he would be ordering any.

 

[snakebitten]

Hate to tell ya'... But what you're doing ain't "jousting", Snake...

::025:: ::025:: ::025:: ::025:: ::025:: ::025:: ::025:: ::025::

Dallara



~

Ah, but in my loose and less exact virtualworld, it is!

My REAL life requires exactness. (IT world of 1's and 0's. so unforgiving)
I come here because it's so much safer to be wrong.
I can be fearless!!!

 

[Dallara]

I think it is a matter of excess inventory of 2013's right now. I know that my Honda/Yamaha dealer, who primarily sells lots of Gold Wings and cruisers, sold 15 2012 Teneres, which was his second best selling single model, after the Wings. He has had 2 each of the white and grey 2013's in stock since they came out, with limited interest in them. If they were to bring a 2014 model here, I don't think he would be ordering any.

Amen, Fred.

There you have it. Sadly, Yamaha USA may have hit "market saturation" point for the Super Tenere literally right off the bat with the 2012 models, and now they, and their dealers, are paying the price for it in excess inventory and unsold units. No importer/distributor, nor dealer, likes that...

And that may very well be what is the true death knell for the Super Tenere in the United States. If there well and truly is a large glut of unsold Super Tenere's here in the USA - either in Yamaha USA's warehouse or on dealer's showroom floors - then the last thing Yamaha will do is bring in a 2014 model, and actually a newer, upgraded model could hurt the sales of the current inventory excess, too. When we'll all know if we ever get a Super Tenere again will be when all those 2013's across the country are gone.

And like Chris/Sail, I intend to keep my Super Tenere until at least when the remainder of my YES expires (like his, in 2016), but I'm still curious what ideas you might have about what this will do to resale value of the bikes here in the USA.

Dallara



~

 

[snakebitten]

Initially, I suppose resale value takes a hit. Makes sense anyways.

But this bike IS so much better than the real-time reports suggest. Sometimes history corrects that. So just maybe, the day might come that this bike is looked at for its legitimate virtues, and as a result, bottoms out on value a bit higher than it would otherwise.

I plan to still own it whether that happens or not.

 

[Reveille]

Plus chicks dig it ::003::

 

[tc9988]

Hoebster had the right idea, he painted his LEMON yellow the day he got it. Did he know something we didn't. ::013:: I for one will never buy a new release model.

 

[iridemotorbikes]

Again the Ténéré is not going away, an updated Ténéré is on the way..