It finally went ahead and bought a brand new motorbike... right from a dealer!... Which is something that Ive never done before.
Ive only ever bought used vehicles in the past, and this was my first new vehicle purchase experience ever.
The bike is a Yamaha Tenere 700 and its the epitome of the Adventure Tourer genre... A quick list of the features that make it so "perfect for what I want to do (and have done in the past) is as follows:
Mid size engine capacity - 400 -750cc is my requirement, and this one is 700cc, so its at top end for size and the penalty will be weight and it'll be a pig for off-road, but the advantage will be good highway speed and comfort... In truth I would really like something at the other end of the scale for traveling in Europe where the distances are much smaller, or if I was focusing on mostly off-road riding... But this is good for North America :)
Medium weight - as light as possible is best but my limit is 200Kg and this one is on the limit.
21" front wheel for good off-road control (especially in sand) - many other bikes are only 19".
High ground-clearance and off-road suspension. - Yep and Yep.. Actually a little higher than I need so ill probably lower it a bit to aid maneuvering with feet down..
Good fuel range - preferably 400Km or more - this one is actually only 350 or so - biggest limitation but there are some after-market fixes I can add..
Fuel Injected and water cooled engine - For bomb-proof reliability and startability in all conditions... Carbs are great, but get them wet or leave them unused in salty air for a few days and starting can be a real beast... Fuel injection is without doubt the way to go.
Very reliable engine - Yep, the engine design is known reliable from a couple other Yamaha bikes.
And as Ive said, Im getting ready to leave my employer and do some traveling soon so I decided to get the "bike of my dreams" and start setting it up ahead of time... So I went in and put $1000 down and then had to wait 3 months before the bike came in from Japan... Its not that it was custom built or anything, its just that these bikes are very new to North America and they are very popular and I just couldnt get one sooner... Total cost with all taxes and duties etc was CAD $15000 ... which is a LOT of money for a motorbike as far as Im concerned, but compared to lots of other new motorbikes, its about mid-range.
Anyway, the point of getting it now while Im still at a full time job and cant actually go off touring on it is to get it all set up and ready, rather than doing it in a hurry once I have started taking a longer break between jobs or retired.
And of course, no bike is set-up and ready to go straight off the shop floor, and especially not for Adv-Touring like I do. So Ive been spending quite a bit more money and "adjusting things'...And so far Im about half way through the mod's list I want to get done (and about $1000 extra spent).
Here are before and after pics... Minimal visual difference from the casual glance but believe me its much better prepared for a big trip now than before.
Bike as purchased.
Bike as modified so far.
Things Ive done:
Well first I put a black vinyl coating on the grey tank sections cos I just didnt like the three colour look of the stock bike... Not that Im a huge fan of black motorbikes but it was the quickest and cheapest solution to get something I liked.
Added heavy duty Belly-Pan... Cos they get absolutely hammered when you get into the rough off-road.
Added full front end crash bars... Again, they get hammered in the rough... Its not a matter of if you drop the bike, its a matter of how often and how hard :)
Added "Bark-Busters" to protect the hand controls when the bike gets dropped.
Added rear Side-Racks... To attach 2x large aluminium travel panniers - for all my stuff to go in while I travel.
Added center stand - for ease of tire changes and general maintenance while touring.
Added Windscreen lifter... Cos Im tall and the stock screen is too low which leaves my head in strong and turbulent airflow... not good when you spend all day every day riding like I do when touring.
And the list of things I still need to add:
Rear Panniers - I actually have these but they are sitting over the boarder in the USA waiting for me to come get them when Covid subsides here and they open the boarder.
Rear Rack and Top-Case... For me to put more stuff in
Extended range fuel tank... So I can get an extra 5l of fuel in there to get the range that I want between fueling up.
Handle-Bar risers... to raise the bars 30mm and bring them back 20mm... It doesnt sound like much but having the controls in the right place so you can sit comfortably with a straight back is again incredibly important for long trips.
GPS mount... For obvious reasons.
Heated grips and aux-plug - for cold weather riding... cos you get all sorts of weather when touring, and often all in a single day.
Tire Pressure sensors... I have not used these cos they didnt exist for motorbikes last time I toured but they are very good for letting you know in advance (even by just a few seconds) that you have a flat... better than losing control at highway speeds :)
Voltage monitor... warning for when the battery is getting low... which generally means that the battery is on the way out.
Radiator bug guard... actually more of an issue than you might think... once you get bug bits stuck in the rad its really hard to wash them out and it can really effect radiator efficiency when you are ploughing through deep sand in really hot conditions.
Tubeless tire kit (to convert the existing tubed rims to use tubeless tires).
Spare drive-sprockets, chain, fuel and air filters, brake-pads , and a clutch cable.
Lowering-Links and shorter side-stand... I want good ground clearance but I also need good foot contact with the ground... I think optimal height for my needs is about 40mm lower than stock so I need to adjust the suspension links... and that will mean I need to shorten the side and center stands as well... Its a pain to do these mods but when you are trying to balance a 300Kg bike/luggage combination in rough steep terrain, every bit extra leverage you can get with your feet helps.
Custom seat padding... I need to make the seat far more comfortable than stock... Again, when you ride all day every day you really what a comfortable seat.
So, still a fair bit to do and I have to run the engine in as well... Total of 250Km on the bike so far... I need another 1000 before its fully run-in :)
So, thats my new moto project Im working on.
