I’ve not done any of these in the past simply because I’m not all that technical. A kick of the rear tyre in the mornings and a weekly oil check is about my lot really. I prefer to have blind faith in Des rather than get my hands too dirty. So then for my fellow Tenere riders and followers after 50,000 miles and now on his third big trip how’s he holding up? Pretty well is the answer, with his crankshaft replaced by West London Yamaha under warranty just before I left he’s much smoother now than how he was for the bottom half of Africa. Mind you the big single cylinder engine isn’t exactly like a sewing machine and even with his exhaust baffles now in he still makes people stop and stare, which is a good thing in terms of safety. Cruising at 100-110kph he happily chugs along sipping fuel. The other day my reserve came on at 360km and with a proven 158.9km in reserve I was on course for a good 520km from the 25L maxed out tank capacity. Very impressive, with no jerry cans required at all which is a nice bonus. Compared to BJ’s Yamaha TT600R he does seem a bit more dramatic with the throttle being either on or off but on good days on nice roads when everything flows he seems absolutely fine and reliable as an axe. And comfortable too, my longest day of 1200km (18hrs) in Siberia was done with only tiredness. Suspension wise with the pre load wound up he still has his original rear shock when given the serious abuse he’s received before is also very impressive and surprising. Someone once told me that when riding off road you should stop every now and then to let the rear shock cool? Crap.I managed to get hold of an original Yamaha chain and sprocket set before I left and totally thanks to Scott it was fitted and should be good for 16,000 miles as before with a cheap can of chain lube used. Tyres are the Dunlop K750’s that I bought in the US in 2009 very cheaply and although a bit soft are a bit off a mid road/off road tyre and may come in handy further north. Anticipate 7-8000 miles from the rear, much more from the front.
The one complaint that I’ve always struggled to cope with is the wind turbulence. Almost immediately I changed to the Givi touring screen and even fitted the ‘turbulance stopper’ thing under the headlamp but I’ve never really been sure of whether it was an improvement over stock or not. Over the last 5,000 miles or so I’ve found it tiring and very irritating but have just accepted it as a design flaw. Even with ear plugs the noise is deafening and I’ve spent most of the time up on the back seat where it’s only slightly better. The main problem is that the turbulent air hits me at peak level causing it and the visor to vibrate through the helmet. However...the other day enough was enough and after some trial and error and a refit and tighten of my Uvex Carbon Enduro (yes the £550 one, although I only paid £280) the outcome is that my original screen (nicked back from BJ) is not all that far from fine really.
I’m sure both my helmet and the Givi screen are OK but not as a combination. BJ’s Aria Tour X is no problem for example with the Givi screen. For the record I’m 6ft tall. The only ongoing fault Des has is a non operating fan. This is more than likely down to a temporary repair to its relay which my friend Mick made in Burkina Faso and I never bothered to make permanent on my return. This was probably caused by the Leo Vinici exhausts leaving a small gap under the seat area letting in water/mud from where the catalytic converter once sat. Nothing else much really, apart from the odd scratches mostly after my cow incident in Burkina Faso where me and the bike went down hard on our RHS and slid across the tarmac for 20 meters or so. Hardly the bikes fault though!
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