and enjoy the solitude of my commute without any distractions. With no radio or other electronic devices flashing electrons at me I can concentrate on twisting my throttle with syncronized clutch action and wind my way across the city without a care in the world. I find that often I am able to find a solution to things . . . but for some reason today I could only think of the Yamaha Super Tenere that I was so hesitant to dismount whilst at the recent motorcycle show.
Yamaha is not new to producing reliable Dual Sports. My friend owns a TDM800, the last model Yamaha imported into Canada and he rode it to Alaska a couple of years ago, a trip which I was invited to accompany but could not arrange the time off.
I did not find the bike large at all. Actually, it seemed very easy to swing my leg over as compared to my V-strom and it was actually not as tall. The Tenere (nicknamed S10, for short "super ten") was on the side stand and when I mounted and shifted my weight over to bring it to vertical I nearly tossed it over to the right. It was so easy to balance.
The seating position felt familiar to me, sort of V-strom like. Also from what I have read on various forums, like ADVrider.com and a good review vs the GS1200 on motorcycle.com it appears to be a good alternative to the BMW, and also has corrected all the problems which plague the V-strom, most notably wind buffeting
"so all the while, while I make my commute heading towards work, the red devil is saying to buy the Tenere, and the white devil on the other shoulder says NO. Yes, No, Yes , No and so it goes while I make my way to the Lougheed Highway heading towards Coquitlam. It is 4c so I turn on my heated grips and tuck in behind some other traffic so as to keep my speed down. Often I rush hurriedly without regard to the speedometer, but today I am more conscious and aware of my surroundings. Yesterday I was beside a police cruiser and he was giving me the eye."
I will continue with more photos but will not attempt to describe the cutting edge technology. Currently the foremost authority on the S10 is George F who coincidently has rendered his pre-order down payment and has read every publication known to man to familiarize himself with the machine he will receive next May, 2011. Currently he has a severe case of migraine PMS and is buried under 3 feet of snow and is pacing back and forth waiting for May to arrive
From what I have read, it has the finest ABS braking system of any bike on the planet and surpasses the system on the BMW GS1200 . The shaft drive has been redesigned with smaller helicoils to provide better reliability, so NO drive line failures
(4 piston calipers)
"As I cruise down the highway I imagine that my V-strom has transformed into an S10. I slalom through the traffic and twist the throttle and soon I am in the lead."
The following photos may be of interest to George F
There was an S10 minimalistic bike also on display with panels removed
The electronics on this bike are enabled for demonstration purposes. It has self diagnostics, unlike the BMW which must be plugged into a BMW computer at the dealer. The rep showed us how this worked and how to put it into diagnostic mode, as simple as pushing two buttons for so many seconds. From pushing a couple of mode and set buttons on the panel you can test out all the critical circuits and also change your fuel/air mixture.
The S10 is drive by wire. In diagnostic mode you can check the throttle position sensor, when you twist the throttle the readout on the panel shows how many degrees the butterflies are open, and you can also see them open and close physically. You can also check all the fan relays which he did and the radiator fan went on.
There is a plate under the seat which can be installed in two positions to raise or lower the seat. At the low setting I could flat foot and still have a bend in my knee. For rough terrain you may wish to raise the seat to allow your legs for better peg position
(S10: Super Tenere, right case cover removed)
The shock adjustment can be done without tools
The Super Ten uses a special high capacity battery, mounted on the right side of the gas tank
All of the electronics are here and the panel is easily removed using 4 quick turn bolts
"All this thinking about the S10 and I hardly notice that I have made my final turn into our company's driveway and soon I am parked safely outside my office window"
Sunrise will arrive in a few moments, but for now the darkness of night is still in the air. I have posted photos of my bike at work before but Troubadour wanted another one as alluded in his recent post
Here is another shot through my office window
this is where I usually park. There is a handicapped parking spot right outside my window so I want to keep the space clear but in all the time I have worked here, no handicapped vehicle has ever parked here. Sometimes during the summer I park right against the window, like Troubadour does
After work today I took the long way home through Richmond and stopped for this red sunset along Westminster Highway
Sorry if you have PMS, but no PMS for us here on the Wet Coast of British Columbia
