Yamaha Claims It Will “Change the Sport Motorcycle World” on June 11

[Firefight911]

One could only hope..........

http://homepage.bluewin.ch/nicidesign/http___homepage.bluewin.ch_nicidesign/XT900Z_Adventure.html

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[True Grip]

I get wood every time I watch that video.

 

[dcstrom]

I get wood every time I watch that video.

Oh yeah, just watched it again, I see what you mean. Damn these pants are tight!

I'm thinking that a new "Tenere lite" is not going to happen, just because there would be so much redesign needed to make it "light". For instance, the engine is a lump so you are not going to get there by sleeving it down, you'll need a new engine design. As it happens Yamaha HAVE a new engine. I'm thinking that the narrow, light, 800cc crossplane triple, tuned for lowend power but still with more topend than the current S10, would be a WEAPON. Yamaha will most likely give me a few years to wear out my current Tenere before they introduce it. Fine with me!

A bit OT, but was talking to a salesman at the Kawasaki dealer here in Quito, he was telling me that Kawasaki are working on a KLR replacement (not before time!) - which will be an 800 twin. To come out in 2015. First I've heard of it - anyone else?

 

[TenRider]

Sometimes I don't think these motorcycle company's get it? Dual purpose bikes must be a hard class of bike to market for? I would buy a mid-range Yamaha adventure bike in a heart beat with 21 and 18 inch rims. I don't mind chain to keep weight down. 33lt tank is a stretch though . Give it reasonable adjustable suspension and keep it at a reasonable price and I personal think Yamaha would be on a winner. This is just a personal opinion though.
Look at KTM with their 690 enduro. Their bike has the basis of a fantastic adventure, bike but do they do it? Honda and Suzuki are very road focused. Only two company's have the balls to make a mid sized adventure bike.

Oh well, until then I am sticking with the Blue Bush Pig.

 

[autoteach]

I was talking to my local dealer about this release and he said how dumb it was for Yamaha to dump money into another supersport. He said he sells about 2 R1's per year, whereas he sold about quadruple that in supers. He sells about 200 dirt bikes a year, and is a top 4 snowmobile seller in North America. So, he reasons he can sell a lot more super tens with the updates then he will ever sell of the supersports.

 

[GrahamD]

Oh yeah, just watched it again, I see what you mean. Damn these pants are tight!

I'm thinking that a new "Tenere lite" is not going to happen, just because there would be so much redesign needed to make it "light". For instance, the engine is a lump so you are not going to get there by sleeving it down, you'll need a new engine design.

They already have a TDM motor, that probably needs a bit of emissions work BUT that is it. They just really nee a jacked up TDM with some more refined suspension.

 

[dcstrom]

They already have a TDM motor, that probably needs a bit of emissions work BUT that is it. They just really nee a jacked up TDM with some more refined suspension.

I'm sure that would work, but maybe marketing it might be a challenge, you know, with it being an "old" design and all...

 

[GrahamD]

Sometimes I don't think these motorcycle company's get it? Dual purpose bikes must be a hard class of bike to market for?

I think you have about 10% of GS/A buyers buying because it is suitable for what they want and know the risks and have a good appreciation about what they are buying.
50% probably buy it because it's a safe option in a crowd. IE "Wow Great bike Those BMW's are top notch" and may ride it on some gravel roads and are mainly limited by themselves, but read the conclusions on the reviews. They sww a bit of that and develop a lust for that bike but not a real deep understanding.
The other 40% probably like the idea of being Ewen and Charlie but never take it out much even on road. They buy it because E&C used one on TV. Probably cruise around in nice weather to nice Cafe's for lunch and back home again and bought it because they can afford it now and have no clue either way. They just like the image.

The general public seem to think Cruiser = Harley, Adventure bike = BMW, Race bike / dirt bike = Yamondasukasaki.

Sort of like a young band that just buys all the gear that their idols use just so they can sound like them. Give them 20 years of playing and they develop a real understanding of what they want.

So if you do the real thing, then you will get 10%. If you do lot's of general advertising and build a reputation you may end up slowly building a few more less committed and less sophisticated buyers.

If you spend 10 years educating the general public you may eventually end up with the "image buyer" in the shop.

This is where YAMAHA went wrong. They dropped this class of bike about three years before it started taking off and now have to educate people all over again that BMW wasn't the first or only game in town in the beginning. Trouble is they were for 12 years.