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2012 Super Tenere - First ride report

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bobkee

bobkee

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Sep 12, 2009
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Location
Kerrville
Yesterday afternoon, the freight truck brought our dealership four Super Tenere's, one of which was my personal demo. A couple of the guys stayed late and started putting the bikes together, and by ten this morning all four were built. We delivered one of the customer units shortly after lunch. Around 2pm, things were fairly quiet, so I took mine out for a 70 mile ride. Here are my comments:

Pros:

The bike feels like it weighs 400 lbs once rolling. I've ridden FJR's since
2003 and next to an FJR, this bike feels really light and tossable.

The bike has tons of power, particularly in the sport mode. Very good roll-
on without any twin cylinder chug of note.

Handling is very predictable with quick turn in and easy cornering initiation without counter steering being needed.

Smooth ride at 80-90. Most of the ride was on twisty two lanes with a lot of cattle guards, but the last ten miles were on interstate.

The bike has enough grunt to "power loft": if you hit a bump or rise in the road in second gear and roll on the throttle, it will loft the front tire two to three inches. The first time I did it, the loft was unintentional. The second time produced a large smile inside my helmet.

Lean angles are very much like a super moto, as steep as you dare. In fact, if you've ridden a DRZ400SM, imagine that bike with more comfort, better "planted" feel, and LOTS more power.

Cons:

The left side radiator mounting produces a fair amount of heat on a 95 degree day. Some mods may be in order.

The stock seat may not be my friend long term. I didn't find the "pebble" surface texture all that butt friendly.

I hope to get a chance to find some time to hit the dirt roads up by Llano this weekend to see how it does off road.

I think, based on the mpg readout, that once broken in it should yield about 47 mpg on a trip.

Bob
 
Rich saw 48mpg on his on the pie run.

you can hear the fan two bikes away, good= you always know the fan is working, bad= it sounds like mosquito on meth. LOL

sounds good, 270 crank makes it sound like a V-twin

reverse spoke wheels use a interesting flange system to allow use of tubeless tires without huge flange like BMW GS adventure uses.
 
Thanks for the ride report Bob.

Have you ever accidentaly lofted an FJR front wheel ? This info used soley for my judgment of test rider. :trust:
 
Hotboot said:
Thanks for the ride report Bob.

Have you ever accidentaly lofted an FJR front wheel ? This info used soley for my judgment of test rider. :trust:
Click to expand...
Yes, several times in third exiting corners on full throttle.

My cardiologist recommends the activity! (Honest, he rides an FJR!)

Bob
 
leekellerking said:
And when will this demo bike be for sale??? :trust:
Click to expand...
My demo won't be available for a while, but I do have a blue Super Tenere that the owner will not be able to take delivery on as a result of a bad wreck he is still healing from. That bike is in my showroom now.

Bob
 
Yes, we had a 95° day in Kerrville. But, the best part of living here is, even if it's 103° in the daytime, it cools off to 70° to 74° at night. And the highest Bob ever lofted his FJR front wheel was up the hatch door of a Blazer.
 
>>And the highest Bob ever lofted his FJR front wheel was up the hatch door of a Blazer.

Very tacky, my friend!
 
bobkee said:
My demo won't be available for a while, but I do have a blue Super Tenere that the owner will not be able to take delivery on as a result of a bad wreck he is still healing from. That bike is in my showroom now.

Bob
Click to expand...

What's the list on a Super Tenere?

(I can dream, can't I?) :giveup:
 
So.....would you replace the FJR with one of these, or simply supplement the garage?

Thanks for the comparison to the DRZSM, had one of those before and loved it.
 
Since my FJR has gone to the great boneyard in the sky, thanks to an inattentive 20yr in Austin, who hit me from behind last April, I will have a one bike fleet for the time being.

I'm taking a trip to Cloudcroft with the Super T in three weeks to cool off at 9,000 feet, so after 2k miles of riding, I should have a better idea of what sort of sport touring platform the bike makes.
 
Ah, that does suck. I'll be interested in your ride report. My wish list has an FJR and an ADV bike for my future garage. It'd be interesting to see your comparison on a longer trip.
 
bobkee said:
Lean angles are very much like a super moto, as steep as you dare. In fact, if you've ridden a DRZ400SM, imagine that bike with more comfort, better "planted" feel, and LOTS more power.
Click to expand...

I really need to quit reading about this bike...
 
Mellow said:
Mine showed up last Friday as well... nice bike, really having fun with it.


I did a comparison to the ST1300 over at ST-Owners for anyone interested....
I know the two bikes are not in the same class but it's more for those that have one of the bikes and interested in how the other compares. Besides, I'm not jumping any dirt mounds with this any time soon.. LOL
Click to expand...


Boy you post all over the place! LOL
 
My demo is here at the store and available for test rides to qualified riders (current MC endorsement and experience in kind).

Give me a call (830-896-2453) and make sure I'm here and we can get you a good 10 mile ride on some nice twisty roads here near the dealership.

Don't forget that I have a new 2012 ST in blue for sale.
 
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