The Yamaha Super Tenere XT1200Z Big Thread

There might not be a new super 10 but judging by the number of new Hondas so far, they must be holding some back for the Milan show - so far they only come up with one prototype, a couple of new mxers and new brakes for the CBRs ... oh and new 125. Surely they can do better than that?!!

Yamaha are holding their EICMA Milan show press conference monday 3,rd november the day before the show opens , and it is somewhere outside the show hall,s i wonder why they are not choosing to have their press conference inside the nice warm clean large exhibition hall,s like everyone else ? . interesting !

I agree - sounds like they have something to reveal, but it might not be a new dualsport. Similarly Honda might well be releasing something new, since they are first up on the press day (who would schedule themselves first and have nothing new to show?). So far the only new Honda has been the sporty CB125, which judging by the engine is nothing new (along with some new MXers and ABS for the CBRRRRRs). Hopefully Yamaha or Honda will release a new adventure bike or are the japanese manufacturers determined to ignore the fastest growing segment of the market this year?? I can understand Suzuki doing this since the Vstrom still sells quite well and they've never pretended to take the Dakar or similar, seriously. Last years "new" Tenere (a sorted heavier XT660R) and Transalp 700 (the 4 year old Vstrom is better) didn't exactly inspire compared with the two new BMW 800 GSs.

Only 3 days to go then but for what ??

Hopefully a decent middleweight, not some tarted up giant tourer.

I agree, if Yamaha have kept something juicy a secret this long my hat off to them. But have they :ddog

Here's hoping, but I'm loosing faith.

i do not see anything to lose faith over , here in europe at least , we have never had it so good , we have a larger range of bike manufacturer,s than ever before , and between them all we have never had such a huge and varied range of bikes on offer . i will be getting a new bike early next year , to replace my wee strom ,and am having a real hard time deciding just what to go for , new bmw f800/650 gs ? triumph tiger ? moto guzzi stelvio ? moto morini scrambler ? the new ducati aperta ? new super tenere ? new ktm adventure ? triumph scrambler ? yamaha xtz660 tenere ? kawasaki versys ?
honda transalp ? aprilia caponord ? the latest kawasaki klr ? bmw 1200gs ?
bmw hp2 ? and of course , the two strom,s . see what i mean ?

Rub it in why dont you.

I see what you mean, we've now got a massive choice but the world's biggest bike makers, Honda and Yamaha, who should really be leading, now seem to be playing catchup. Even their "new" bikes the Transalp and Tenere are essentially rehashes, using old engines. I'll soon be forced to buy Suzuki or even BMW at this rate :eek1

I know the choice is good but I'd like to update my aging '95 Super Tenere at some stage. The only reasonably priced twin adv bike with decent offroad credentials is the BMW 800 GS. I'd like the Japanese to build a spoked wheel, large tank, long travel affordable twin. The 660 Tenere is great, it just needs a bigger brother.

Which is what this thread is all about, if the GS800 was up to scratch it would fill the gap but IMHO it has a number of negatives; small tank, fragile fittings, questionable reliability. These are all important issues on a long trip :huh

I still can't figure out why Japan inc. is dithering about the big D/S market. Sports tourers are out and big trail style bikes are solid sellers. Look at how many guys have gone from VFR style machines to GS'S and Tigers.
Also, the age demographic is a factor. If a manufacturer can give us reliability, performance and quality in an upright machine, then that will sell in significant numbers.

I would suppose it's a pool issue. The pool of cruiser buyers is huge while the pool of d/s is small. The Japanese are NOT boutique manufacturers. They either expect a high volume sales / year like Zook sees with the Gixxer or they expect very long product runs like Yam and the Max, Zook the DRZ or Kwak and the KLR. What KTM or BMW considers a successful model run wouldn't interest the Japanese, apparently.

Also the few tries at bigger trailies the Japanese tried failed or fizzled. Would guys who are BMW or KTM sorts abandon their marques for Honda if Honda made a real competition bike? I'm not sure and in fact doubt many would. So Japan would have to recruit new buyers (more or less).

Look how long it took for metric cruisers to become pop given the HUGE price diff between them and H-D. So winning over brand identity even with a price difference is tough. Now lacking that huge price differential - I suppose the Japanese see it as a wasted effort.

a friend of mine told me he could look at "the thing". just for few minutes. but he confirmed that in Eicma Yamaha will show the new tenerè 1200.
115 hp, the bike that yamaha will show has allu cases.
and, great thing, 21" front wheel.
In two days we will know everyting!!!!
stay tuned with milan eicma show!!!

Now that would be good news, however surprised he would know the bhp from a quick glance at the bike

he said he read the paper for press presentation.
For the style he said: forget the xt660 tenere. it's not that one with bigger engine.
anyway we, me too, have only two more days to doscver the true new big yamaha

Of course I'm welcoming Yamaha into the Big Trailie camp but 112 bhp? Unless there is a switch to soften the delivery, that may be more of a handicap than a benefit if you really ever do take this off pavement. 112 bhp will spin a tire on pavement. It'll be uncontrollable on dirt except for the most skillful riders.

Well, it's nice to see a new entrant no matter what it's like and from one of the Big Four - it's doubly welcome.