R1200GS vs. Super Tenere

[Mr.Efficiency]

1. I don't think anyone would debate the overall superiority of the BMW R1200GS to its competitors, which only leaves its off-road capabilities and its overall value to question and comparo.

2. If I were going to take a motorcycle on anything worse than a fire road, there are 20 other bikes I'd rather do that with than an R1200GS or a Yamaha Super Tenere. But there is no other bike in the world, I would rather run down 1000 miles of slab, and 400 miles of twisties, then run on dirt and gravel roads and more challenging pathways than an R1200GS.

And yes, I just did this last week. I am not that world-renowned adventure guy, but I do ride a GS as it was designed, to ride on improved and unimproved tracks in a spirited manner.

3. If I were going to ride something other than the best all-around bike in the world (the GS) because I'd rather be eaten by wild dogs than spend $22k on a motorcycle (and I will tell you, there is something seriously wrong with my head and I know that)... there are 20 other bikes I'd pick before the R1200 Super Tenere. KTM, Triumph, Suzuki, Motoguzzi and Ducati all make bikes (or several bikes) that impress me tons more than the superT. That being said the SuperT is a nice bike, I just wouldn't consider replacing my GS with one; whereas The KTM and the Triumph both call my name... and I listen.

4. There's a lot of this on the internet. Go to a dealer with your riding gear and buy the bike that you enjoy riding the most. That bike will be the GS, if you can swing it. Your visits will also say a lot about the service you'll get. My dealer is a clubhouse. I can go there when I'm bored; there are snacks and TV and motorcycles to steal for an hour or so. The Yamaha dealer probably won't have a Super Tenere for you to ride and they will tell you just how fabulous it is and that if you buy one, they will move the heavens and earth and get you one.

And when you get it, you'll see why they don't have one on the floor to compare with a GS, because it's like comparing a Chevy Cruze to an all wheel drive SuperPorsche.

5. The only really great things I've heard about the bike are from owners, and they've all had them for less than a year. I'll wait ten years or 100,000 before I get a verdict.

[JimVonBaden]

Originally Posted by Wandering Nomad

East Germany went out business a couple of decades ago, unless my memory fails me.

It's still there, but the Russians aren't!

Jim

[kikele]

The Super Tenere is made in France! With a friend we exchange bikes for a few miles, I ride a GSA1200 and there are no comparison with the GSA. Supertenere is as heavy as my GSA with a less capacity fuel tank, the center of gravity of ST seems to be higher and it´s harder to turn, you have to lean really hard to make the ST turn. ST breakes sucs, I didn´t like it at all. The engine lacks of fast response. I already tested the Honda Varadero and for me its nearly the same bike with some additional farkles that looks like an Adventure bike but when you try it is just made for tarmac.

At the end my final comment is that the Super Tenere is a good try from Yamaha to get some of the market share that BMW GS´s have but they need to work harder if they want to succeed, the bike was far away from what I expected.

[dcstrom]

Originally Posted by kikele

The Super Tenere is made in France!

That's WAY more ridiculous than saying BMW's are made in East Germany... They are made in Iwata (no, it's not a little town in the Bordeaux region).

[Whip]

Originally Posted by OConnor

I would also say the Yamaha can expect less critical failures, doesn't mean I'd buy one though. I'd rather add a KTM and complete my unholy triumvirate of PIA maintenance.

Welcome to my world.

[Plane Dr]

I haven't riden the new one. My friend has an old one with GSA type mileage with no more problems than being worn. It is a wonderful but uninspiring bike that is thoroughly dependable and will get you anywhere you need to go.

While in Indy this weekend I had the opportunity to sit on the new one and it "feels" exactly as I remember the old one. Unfortunately they would not permit a hooligan to ride one (although KTM does).

The radiator location is a no go for me. I simply cannot concieve sitting in traffic at 110 degrees and not having roasted arm. I am not comfortable with the location for falling over reasons but it does appear well amoured. I have to say the plastic faux aluminium bags suck.

I found the KTM horrendous in heavy traffic as well. Since when stopped the rad dumps all the heat under the fairing onto my legs.

However the perfect bike is like the perfect women (none exist) but the compromise one makes is an individual decision.

[Snownut]

I guess Im fortunate, the dealer closest to me asked me when I first started looking at their Tenere If I wanted to take it for a spin.. They are about $500 under MSRP as well.. Im a Vstrom and KLR owner and have to say I quite liked the Tenere. It didn't feel 100lbs heavier than my strom, had plenty of power, however I wasn't fond of the sport mode. If you look at purchase price, cost of ownership, maintenance etc. it seems like a good buy to me. You can do a lot to the bike as far as farkles and upgrades with the money you would save over a GS.. Im not dissing the GS, its just not my cup of tea.. I like my Vstrom and the Tenere reminds me quite a bit of my Strom.. Thats the one thing holding me back from buying the Tenere.. Seems like I would pay out quite a bit for a shaft drive for the upgrade.. I ride my KLR when I want to go off road but like the ride position of adventure touring bikes. The GSA seemed top heavier to me personally.. Bear in mind I haven't owned either and test rides don't necessarily bring to light the true characteristics of a bike compared to how a person would feel riding it for a month or so..

[bone13]

The Yamaha/Honda dealership I work at just delivered a Tenere about 2 weeks ago. Being as to date I get no Adventure riders I boned up a little on the Yamaha farkles for the ST to help out it's new owner... Here's an interesting note I found in the yamaha accessory catalog:

WARNING:
Accessory Side Cases and Top Case not recommended to be used together on Super Ténéré due to increased risk of overloading the motorcycle.

this even though they show the bike everywhere with both top case and side cases on the bike.... hmmmmm
Things you will NEED to have after looking the bike over... metal skid plate. The plastic one on the ST is a joke. Engine/ crash guards. the radiators sit out on the sides of the bike. One hard drop and I just about guarantee radiator damage. These two items alone made me realize that the engineers at Yamaha didnt really think this bike through very well in the design stages for the bikes "intended" use as a Adventure Tour bike, or Yamaha intends on selling a bunch of accessories just to make it usable for any sort of offroad.

[Snownut]

Originally Posted by bone13

The Yamaha/Honda dealership I work at just delivered a Tenere about 2 weeks ago. Being as to date I get no Adventure riders I boned up a little on the Yamaha farkles for the ST to help out it's new owner... Here's an interesting note I found in the yamaha accessory catalog:



[/I]this even though they show the bike everywhere with both top case and side cases on the bike.... hmmmmm
Things you will NEED to have after looking the bike over... metal skid plate. The plastic one on the ST is a joke. Engine/ crash guards. the radiators sit out on the sides of the bike. One hard drop and I just about guarantee radiator damage. These two items alone made me realize that the engineers at Yamaha didnt really think this bike through very well in the design stages for the bikes "intended" use as a Adventure Tour bike, or Yamaha intends on selling a bunch of accessories just to make it usable for any sort of offroad.

My guess would be to alleviate any legal / liability issues.. I know with my Vstrom loaded top and side cases it substantially easier to pull the front wheel off the ground.. Every ATV Ive owned has said no passengers, and even accessory rear bags for ATV's that have a padded passenger seat say not for passengers.. Its obvious they will be used that way, they just don't want to be liable..

[slowoldguy]

the Tenere reminds me quite a bit of [your] Strom..

Couldn't agree more.

[Kyle B]

I don't think there is a bike out there that can do all the things well that a 1200GS can do! I love chasing sport bikes down through the twisties on mine. I also love a good ride in the woods, with the ABS on. I have the ESA, and would highly suggest it as an option.

09 R1200GS

[thecynic]

Wow, thanks for all of the great info. Even a little geography lesson thrown in for good measure.

A lot of the issue for me is the cost. In a perfect world, where money didn't matter I would go with the 1200gs, however the cost issue is a concern. What has anyones experience been with dealers willingness to "deal" on these bikes. I am guessing with the newness of the ST1200, that is going to be minimal, but what is the BMW experience. I had a good experience with the 650gs purchase, but the 1200gs is a higher demand bike. What has the general experience buying 1200gs been?? or

Thanks again for all the great information!!!

[icebox]

I am in the worst place I can think of to own a BMW, nearest dealer is 235 miles one way and 260 miles the other. major PIA. That said the 12 GS is a great bike for where I live. Crappy pavement, mountain passes, thousands of miles of dirt, and Interstate Hwy. for a longs ways to get anywhere. I have a Yamaha dealer 35 miles away, no ST and at the next dealer, 80 miles no test rides. The big test for me with any bike is the ability to pick it up after it falls over, and they all fall over. And the extra 80 ponds that Yamaha added is a turnoff. Almost all bikes feel alright once moveing. But can a 61 one year old bad knee hold it on a off camber gravel road. Or when the GF climbs on a bit off balance, so far the GS works and the ST is a HEAVY unkown. If the bike had been anywhere close to the GS in weight, preferably lighter I might well have given it a shot. The ST would have been killer if it was 500 pounds or less, but at a lot closer to 600 it is almost a cruiser for me. Weight was one of the reasons I never bought a 1150 GS, and I don't care what the yamaha crowd says about how light it rides, I still need to pick it up someday, probably alone, far from home and tired.

[lwm]

As a Yamaha owner as well as a R1200GS owner, thought I'd pass on my thoughts.

I've got a Yamaha WR250R which gets 90% of my riding time these days. Love that bike, loads of fun, my next bike is probably a yz450.

I've also got a R1200GS, 09. Great bike. Really nice. I've looked at the Tenere and it just does nothing for me. Find some videos of guys who fell downhill on a GS and watch them spin the bike around on the head so they can lift up. Try that with a Tenere. I also looked over it at the dealer a few days ago, way too much plastic parts that will go to shit in the field.

I love that ugly GS for what it is, it's a bike that will take a lot of shit and keep going. I'm less than thrilled with how BMW has made more stuff that will go wrong (ABS, ESA, etc) but as an old dude (50) I love all that stuff, saves my ass and my back. I think BMW has done a pretty good job at making a decent all around bike. It's a compromise but man oh man, what a great compromise. I ride the WR for a weekend and get on the GS and pop wheelies at every stop sign (gotta wind up the WR to get any power :)

If the boxer engine doesn't speak to you, oh, well, go buy something else. It speaks to me. Love the grunt, love the design, love it. It's a really good bike and that's coming from a guy who used to ride sport bikes at least better than average. And I ride dirt. In no way would I describe the GS as a dirt bike but I do take it over some dirt that's a mess. Is it as good as a dirt bike? Not in a million years. Is it as fast as a sport bike? Not in a million years. Can it kick ass in the twisties? Hell yes. Can it do some dirt? Yup. Even easy single track.

If you had to own only one bike, I think the GS is up there, I have yet to see another do everything bike that is as good.

Do I think you should own one bike? Nope. My vote is a light dirt bike and a GS.

[Animo]

Originally Posted by Cumminsman76

It felt more comparable to the F800GS to me.

That sums it up.......

Originally Posted by kikele

The Super Tenere is made in France!

Originally Posted by dcstrom

That's WAY more ridiculous than saying BMW's are made in East Germany... They are made in Iwata (no, it's not a little town in the Bordeaux region).