Super tenere 900 rumour...

It could be just a rumour but there is a bit of chatter on the Supertenere.net forum about the possibility of Yamaha releasing a xtz900.

A video has been posted on youtube that is mainly composed of old tenere clips but towards the end there are a few 'concept' images.
The images seem to have been made by photoshopping the xtz1200 and 660 together.

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Yamaha have all the parts you could wish to see on the 'new' 900, including the TDM(?)900 engine. Hopefully this would make it very competitively priced.
The 900 would fit nicely between the 600 and 1200.
The 1200 started life as a rumour. Now that we have a few midsize factory beasts (tiger, Gs8, wee) could this be the first serious new jap offering?

What would you guy's like to see on your's?

I'd like a up to date one of these....please Mr Yamaha
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Realistically the 660 is probably too trail bike oriented and the 1200 is too big (as in heavy) for the majority of the market. A 750-900cc twin with weight in the low 200kg range would have a lot of appeal to many people but I suspect it would have to be based on the 1200 motor rather than the old TDM900 donk.

Will they ever build it? I guess that largely depends on sales of their existing models and what their perception of the market is. With Yamaha at this stage I'd probably be on the unlikely side of the fence.

i dont think it will ever see the light of day...it will only take sales of the other two bikes If they were gonna do that i think they woulda done it to start with.

They could do a Suzuki and use existing motors with upgrades and bung it in a modified TDM chassis, but they seem to want to do true dual purpose bikes at the moment. The current bike is not very Europe, but very Aus, SA, S America where big distances and crap roads are the norm.

They will not release a new model until they have at least recouped development costs on the current model. This was either developed so that as it is superseded they can trickle down the tech to another bike, which I think will be too much for the 660 or it was a toe in the water to see whether there was enough interest for a Japanese bike in that segment.

I think the way Honda is doing things will suit the Europeans more, because they don't really need true ADV bikes. They may think they do but the amount of tests that come out of, especially the UK, where they do pub crawls on sealed back roads, seems to indicate that the segment is more about jacked up sports bikes than true ADV bikes.

If the Tiger does well and the S10 sales keeps growing you may see it happen. I just hope it is a bit more than a modified TDM, even though that may suit Europe more. That's not knocking the TDM, I just hope it is more like a shrunk S10.

One thing I hope they don't do is make it chain drive. I would like to keep the shaft, even on a 900cc bike. Been done before

Cheers
Graham

Well, we'd all like to see another bike in the marketplace but can Yamaha really expect to sell any at the prices they are asking for the XTZ1200?

I've not seen one on the UK roads yet...and I have been looking! In contrast, the XTZ660s are all over the place. They seem to have hit the mark with that bike with the right price point too.

Jon

I have a xt1200 on order to replace my fjr for long distance riding. If a 900 came out, I would consider adding that to the stable to replace my 950se. I would want everything the 950se is and fuel injection.

yes, because the price in the US is incredibly reasonable. The Prices in mainland europe are not awful either. You happen to live in the UK where they priced it a bit higher, but that's not the case everywhere

I dunno if its just the U.K
The standard bike (no luggage) out the door here in Aus is near as dammit to $AU20k with no sign of Vaseline anywhere.
But then again a GSA at similar spec (no luggage) is around $AU28>30k
Our dollar is pogo'ing between parity and slightly more than yours (history re-written)...
How many American peeps would have signed at $USD20k ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????:eek1

Greg.

Well yes it's assumed that australian prices are high. But that is true for most bikes there. I spit my coffee out when I found out what you poor saps pay for a triumph bonneville. And as you point out, the S10 is still only 2/3rd's the price of a GSA, so that IS a good value for your market.

Australia is a relatively small market though (which is directly related to the high prices there)

Not me.............Price was a definite factor. I was/am ready for a new ADV bike but not at that cost. Probably bought a used GS if that was the case.

They did produce the 250cc, and people were doubting that at the time.....

$AU20k is as near as damn it £13k -- which is the list price in the UK. The bike is no cheaper in continental Europe. The big difference is that a similarly specced GS is slightly cheaper than the Super Tén over here. The BMW has so much momentum that the Yam would have to be a clearly superior bike in order to take sales away from it. Even then I'm not sure it would win out as the UK market is pretty badge conscious and the Cult of BMW (in the bike press and among buyers) is strong...

All of which is not to say that Tén doesn't match up to the GS, as on balance I think it does. But it's a subtle kind of bike inasmuch as its accomplishments become apparent over time instead of immediately grabbing you by the lapels.

I would really dig a mid-sized vertical twin adventure-tourer, but without the electronics of the big, heavy 1200. Like the Triumph Tiger 800's but lighter.

I would love a midsized twin Yamaha that was dead-simple. No electronics would keep the price down, too.

It's funny, the Carpe TDM group are talking about a rumoured TDM1200 using the S10 engine and here you're talking about an XTZ900.

I suppose one of them might happen. One of the mags recently had some vague mumblings about a sportsbike using the S10 engine (sort of like a 21st century TRX850). But 1200cc and 110hp does not a sportsbike make, against what the opposition already has available good sales would be unlikely.

Al

Yeah, to make a good sport bike out of the XTZ1200 motor you'd need another 30hp (at least) and lose 80lb (at least). And no shaft drive. And still wouldn't compete very well with Ducati/Triumph etc. No point really.

A sport-tourer would be a different matter. Sharpen up the motor a bit, keep the shaft and stay the same weight (less would be better of course, but wouldn't HAVE to be). That might be nice.

A 900 Dakar rep would certainly make the trip to Starbucks more authentic

Wow,I suprised this post is not getting more responce.This is the bike I was hoping for.I like the high front fender rally look.Could Yamaha reduce the weight to match the look,good question.I'm crossing my fingers.

You took the words right out of my mouth, that sort of bike is EXACTLY what I'm interested it.

The 1200 is too big, too complicated, and too expensive for my purposes.

Keep the FI, 270 crank, and shaft drive, but drop the WHOLE fly by wire, traction control, ABS, linked brakes, etc crap we don't need to ride a motorcycle. We rode motorcycles for decades without all that and you know what? It was FUN and you didn't need a computer to diagnose it and mortgage to pay for it.

I think it's kinda funny when people start asking if there's a way to turn it all off...... ya, put it on the center stand, rev it for a a bit in 2nd gear..... blah blah..... how 'bout if you just didn't have it to start with?

OK, I'm done with my anti-techno rant..... but just give is bikes that work, we can afford, and let the rider worry about getting down the road.

Ok cross your fingers, but don't hold your breath! No way yamaha could take the 1200 and make it light enough to be competitive with say the KTM 990 (which is the kind of bike I think you're talking about). It would take a whole new design and Yam aren't likely to do that so soon after taking a big gamble on the Super Tenere, and in this economic climate.

Trevor

The Tiger 800 is 94bhp and easily restricted to 47bhp (the new limit under Euro regs for riders under 24). I think some of these 800/900 bikes are planned to adapt to this limit; young riders can buy the bike and - after two years - uncork the full bhp.