Super Tenere vs. '12 Wee-Strom Adv: Why?

Good idea. What is the range on the Tracker and will it run on regular gas?
Will a Tracker even run for 1,000 miles?
I've heard the wiper blades are a weak point.
Tracker is such a cool name. Does in in fact have tracking ability? Can you turn it off?
Actually I'm not really planning on tracking so I hate to pay for that feature.
Thanks in advance for any information.

Warm, warmer........

Oh, now that just ain't true.

And that's just silly.


They can both be great bikes at the same time, y'know.

True, it can only manage 480.

Both bikes are great so just get the one you can afford and does what you want it to do! I had a BMW GS adv and liked it but sold it when the miles put me out of warranty...I bought a 2012 Vstrom just to use as a commuter and planned on getting bike like the Tenere for touring. I started touring on the Vstrom and it and it did everything I wanted it to...distance, dirt roads... easy maintance...etc... so cannot see spending the extra for a tenere at this point. I am sure I would love the Tenere as well but since the Vstrom has taken me on over 22k miles of adventures this year I will be staying with the Vstrom ....

I was just admiring the pics you posted of your last trip on your wee. Looks like a fun trip. How tall are you, if you don't mind me asking? And how do you feel the bike handles extended highway cruising in all different kinds of weather and winds you've encountered?

2 good bikes.

So much good can be said about both.

And 15 or 20 years ago the "value equation" would have made it a ok to have this debate with myself.

But in my 50's, I started to stake my claim to the one thing I would allow myself. Enjoying MY motorcycle habit! The wife, kids, boss.........I will make many compromises to keep them happy. But they don't influence what bike I ride.

I said that to say this:

Screw value! And once you remove that from the equation, this debate suddenly has a much larger distance from one end to the other. And thats because the S10 is a much much nicer bike. It's stunningly good once you get it sorted. (I think any bike requires personal sorting. They aren't F150's with 8 different builds to choose from)

Having said that, the Vstrom doesn't suck! It just can't be an S10. No matter how many times you tell yourself it's just as good.

Still doesn't mean the DL can't make you happy. Be happy.

I wonder, how many car buyers, who are primarily interested to get from place A to place B with the car, doesn´t matter how fast, actually ponder long and hard between a Corolla and a Lexus?

​

I am 5'11" and about 195 lbs... The wee did ok on everything but when I went out west I was loaded up since I camped out the whole time and it was ok on the highway. I live in NY so the ride across to colorado area is boring on any bike. The tenere would probably be better fully loaded and on the highway but I only do that to get where I am going then am usually on back roads and dirt roads, where I would prefer the wee since it is lighter, not a light bike but lighter than the Tenere. Since that trip I have added an Akrapovic pipe and usually just run with a topcase and have never needed more power riding with friends, since I can easily keep up with them in the twisties and where I live there is no extended highway riding without traffic so I prefer the smaller and lighter bike....they are both great so you just need to decide where you will spend the majority of your riding time and pick whichever you can afford that meets those needs... For me I can afford the tenere but prefer the wee for what I am doing with it...pick a bike and ride it like there is no tomorrow....life is short...I usually ride alone anyway but did notice the guy in this pic following me on that trip.lol

I don't think most bike buyers spend that much time usually either.

It's just once you have been through a few that didn't work for you, you just get a bit more careful.

Most of the time it seems to be...

Check HP figures - buy bike.
See long way...Buy bike
See wild hogs buy Harley.

[QUOTE Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="dg-bbcode dg-bbcode-quote"> Originally Posted by Jaeger22
The Strom will get you there and you can run 75 or 80 all day but it feels like it is straining
</td></tr></tbody></table>
Oh, now that just ain't true.][/QUOTE]

Actually it is 100% true. But I admit it is an opinion. It is however based on 85,000 miles of riding one including around 60,000 on long distant trips.
Here are the facts: On my 05 Wee with a 16 tooth front sprocket (one up from stock for 6.7% higher gear ratio), an indicated 80 MPH (72 MPH GPS) was right at 5,500 RPM. With stock gearing, 5,866 RPM (calculated). That was my normal cruising speed and I didn't feel comfortable at much higher speeds because of the RPM. Fine for Florida but a bit slow out West on 75 MPH highways where everyone was running 85.
At the same actual speed on the Tenere it is running right at 3,900 RPM. I can now cruise at any speed I can get away with and never feel like I am abusing the motor.
I know the Wee is a great motor and can take it but I just never liked the idea of the motor spinning that fast all day long. The motor never had a problem so maybe it is just all in my head but I do like the lower RPM of the Yamaha a lot better. As always YMMV.
John

oser

It's all a matter of opinion. Power is subjective. When my wife and I go on a camping trip I never feel like we are lacking power. I pass cars all day with no issues. Previous to the wee I've owned 7 650 singles. So to me the wee makes plenty of power. I think most people will agree that the 650 engine in the wee makes more than enough power.. Once you get past the chest thumping horsepower bullshit.

I don't see how sitting at 6-6.5k for hours at a time is abusing a motor with a redline over 10k and a power peak around 8.8k. Even with the DL650's midrange, cruising below 4k would be counterproductive and then people would bitch about needing to downshift to overtake (you rarely need to in most dotted yellow situations, unless you're making more of a hooligan pass). I'm sure every one of the 100k+ DL650's spent a crapload of time at those speeds on the slab.

That's car thinking.



Now, it is perfectly fine to want more power just because you want more power, but don't try and convince anyone that you need that power to commute or travel on the interstate.

Especially, when the bulk of the thread is in response to the second poster:

Buy what you WANT!!! not what makes sense!!! The bike I lusted for, thought about/etc., was expensive and as some issues. I was ridding a very nice bike, set up the way I wanted for my style of ridding (Russell seat, Ohlin, Givi V35/etc for day trips to 10 day road trips)---FZ1. It made NO sense for me to sell it and cave in to my primal desires! BUT....my girlfriend talked me into it, saying, 'Your not getting any younger'.......I'm 56! So I sold my beloved FZ and bought........................a Ducati MultiStrada!!! I know......expensive and has some problems, but its absolutely the best, MOST FUN, XXX-citing, excillerating bike I've EVER ridden!!! 5000 miles in less then 3 months! What a F'ing M/C!!!!

So.....buy what your heart desires!

"I know the Wee is a great motor and can take it but I just never liked the idea of the motor spinning that fast all day long"

Ok. Better not try an inline-four 600 sportsbike then. Them motors spin plenty fast.

I don't care what you buy, but don't spread BS.

Being from Europe and living in the US, I pretty much think it's "American thinking" (don't drag me into a discussion about that one ).

People in Europe hammer tiny cars with 50 to 90HP on the Autobahn all day long and think nothing of it.

There is absolutely no stress to an engine that is designed to run in these rpm ranges. Complete BS about the "the engine feels stressed" - it's the rider, not the engine. Sure, it's more buzzy up there, though not all too much on the Wee, that engine behaves pretty nicely at higher rpms, in contrast for example to the BMW F engine which completely sucks above 5k.

But, you know, it's the same people which think you need an SUV to get the daughter safely to soccer and back, who think you need a V6 to actually be able to run the AC without noticing power loss, and so on.

It's a mindset and you (and I) are not going to change that. No matter how stupid we think it is.

Windmills?

You get it!!!!!!!

56 helps, don't it? :)