Ténéré Tragics

This entry is part 3 of 26 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #4

Everyone loves their bikes, but these guys? Forget about it!

Back in 1983 little Andy Clubb gazed in wonder at an Australian Dirt Bike Magazine review of Yamaha’s new bike, the XT600Z Ténéré.

He was lost in a world of wonder and hope as gazed into the full-colour pages and dreamed of riding a bike like that one.

More than three decades later no-one calls him ‘Andy’ (except his mother, his wife and, curiously, Stephen Gall), and he’s twice been editor of Australasian Dirt Bike Magazine. At 49, Clubby is now an independent publisher in his own right, owns two of the much sought-after XT600Z L models, and has bought to life an annual ride where lovers of Yamaha’s adventure bike meet in March and ride for a few days in bucket-list locations.

“It was about seven years ago,” said TrailZone’s owner. “Adventure riding had been growing in popularity over the last five to 10 years, and something came up online about ‘Vinfari’. There was Vinduro for vintage enduro and VMX for vintage motocross, but someone was talking about getting the old Safari bikes from the 1980s and getting them going.

“I remembered that ’83 Ténéré and I thought, ‘I’m gunna get one!’

“I found one and bought it off ebay. It had a poxy seatcover, poxy muffler and a heap of non-original stuff, so I contacted Yamaha Motor Australia and they had all the OEM parts.

“I ran a couple of stories in the magazine about getting your 30-yearold bike running again, and bang! I got smashed with e-mails and photos from punters who had the same bike. I rode it through the Flinders Ranges and ran photos of the bike out in the desert and bang! More and more Ténéré riders and owners came out of the woodwork. I started to wonder if there were enough Ténérés around that we could hold a ride for just XTZs.

I threw the idea out there in the mag and, bugger me, in 2011 I held the first Ténéré Tragics event, organised by myself, Tania (Clubby’s wife), Lance Turnley and Steve ‘Wolfy’ Smith of Adventure Moto. Yamaha supported it right from the first day, and we went and did three days in the Flinders with 50 Ténéré owners.” That was the start of something.

Rolling on

In 2012 the Tragics hit southern NSW. 2013 had them rockin’ out to Longreach in central Queensland, where Rod Faggotter joined the crew, and pressure began to mount to make room for more riders. For 2014, 77 owners and crew made their way to Mansfield, Victoria, gateway to the high country and some of the best mountain adventure riding in the southern hemisphere. After a generous invite from Yamaha and Clubby, AdvRider Mag loaded its gearbag to head down there and see what this Tragics stuff was all about.

The pine forests are a highlight of any Victorian ride. AdvRider Mag’s editor rode through this intersection several times, despite cunningly marking it.

Gotta love it

Even with entries at the increased cap of 65, some potential Tragics still had to be turned away. There were a couple of nonstarters that were replaced, then juggled and…we forget the circumstances, but 64 official starters turned out at Mansfield for the brisk, early-morning start.

As the bikes rolled in from all over the country – WA, SA, Queensland, NSW and, of course, Victoria – a few things became obvious very quickly.

The first is, this gathering is a little bewildering unless you know and love Ténérés.

There are plenty of enthusiast’s groups for brands and models, but this lot is up there with the most devoted. Fortunately, they’re a little older than some, and a mellow good humour and camaraderie underlines all they do. Quite a few have several different bikes, and although they love the XTZ, they’re not one-eyed about it.

Another part of the Tragics culture is that it’s taken as read that riders on ’83s have special status. They’re considered ‘The Real Thing’. Everyone loves all the Ténérés, right through to Yamaha’s new electronic-suspension 1200 Super T, but the ’83s? Mate. That’s where it all started.

There was a lot of bitumen, but hardly any of it was straight, and the scenery from all of it was spectacular, like this run up to Falls Creek on the second day.

Finally, this group considers it only proper that the bikes are ridden to and from the event.

There’s no shame in towing a bike in, but if you’re truly a Tragic, if your heart beats for the 31 years of the bike’s history, you’ll ride in and out. Paul Sitar rode his Ténéré over from WA. That’s the spirit these people embrace.

That and good dualsport riding. Clubby and his crew offered plenty of that.

The six pack

The riders on the 1983 models seemed to personify the philosophy of the whole event. The bikes might’ve looked a tad ancient – so did the riders – but there was absolutely no quarter asked for or given by the senior representatives.

Yamaha’s roving ambassador Stephen Gall was along to give a few tips and take in a very enjoyable ride, and he was a little surprised when chasing Geelong’s Dave Murray. Dave, complete with swag flapping off the back and rear damping that looked suited to a pogo stick, kept his skinny bum firmly planted on the seat and left the four-times Mr Motocross gasping in the dust.

“I chased him,” said Gally in his usual quiet way, “but, mate. He was travelling! And in all that dust I just had to pull out of it and let him go.”

The 1983 guys not only gave nothing away in speed, but their resilience was amazing. Dave Murray’s stator gave up the ghost, but instead of quitting he put the bike on the sweep trailer and texted a mate to find a stator and meet him in Omeo. It all went to plan and Dave missed less than half a day’s ride.

Stephen Gall seemed to enjoy himself.

Barry Bonning, from Newcastle in NSW, said he’d meet us at the photo location. He went in to his room to grab his luggage, but when he returned to the bike he found an oil slick the size of Tasmania spreading across the parking lot from around the countershaft of his 600. He’d already repaired it once, mistakenly replacing a countershaft seal, but realised the problem was a small hole in the case itself. With a world of patience and some Liquid Steel he was up and running in no time. He was there at the end with all the other ’83 riders.

They’re a hardy bunch.

A tour of the Australian Safari Tanks factory was an eyeopener. There’s some serious manufacture going there.

Hot stuff

With all bikes thoroughly checked out and talked about, and the welcoming dinner devoured like distance on a dirt road, it was time for the riding to begin. A mostly shiny, clean crew left Mansfield on a clear morning, to cover the 370km to Bright.

The route was designed so the morning of each day took in a mountain peak or two, and under cloudless blue skies the Tragics wound their way up some sensational bitumen, climbing to the incredibly beautiful Mount Buller.

The village was all but deserted, but the views were staggering and everyone took full advantage of the lack of wandering people to have a good look around

Barry Bonning patched up an oil leak and kept his L model going. Legend.

Graeme Baker from Rockhampton in Queensland doesn’t put stickers on his new Super T, but the panniers were fair game outside the Dargo pub.

From Buller the riders headed down the mountain along more winding roads to punt into Whitfield for fuel and lunch.

Without the elevation of Buller, the clear skies and blazing sun began to make things just a tad warm. Many a thermal was shed and cool beverage consumed in the interests of maintaining a sensible core body temperature as the day wore on.

Fortunately, a stop at Robin Box’ Safari Tanks headquarters offered some time inside and out of the sun, and an interesting and informative tour of the factory and rotomoulding process had everyone enthralled. Those tanks sure are tough bastards.

The Bogong High Plains Road. Awesome.

AdvRider Mag’s editor and one of the Yamaha management team somehow wandered off the route at one stage – although all days were clearly route sheeted so as to allow everyone to travel at their own comfortable speed – and rode around in circles for a while, but that just showed their superior stamina and love of riding.

The pair had cunningly marked one particular intersection with large urine patches as some kind of misguided navigation aid. Thank goodness the sweeps found them or they’d still being riding around and piddling on crossroads hoping for inspiration.

With a reserved blast through Carboor and Myrtleford, everyone was soon settled into one motel or another in Bright, surely one of Australia’s most popular adventure-bike destinations.

Dave Murray’s route-sheet holder was a classic. Just like Dave.

One perfect day

Another beautiful clear day greeted the riders leaving Bright and heading for Orbost, around 370km away. The morning’s mountains were Mount Beauty and Falls Creek, and both were spectacular.

This day was predominantly tar, but with the winding nature of the roads and the awesome scenery, it was still a day to remember.

The guys on the modern Ténérés were able to settle into rubbing a few marbles off the sides of their tyres, and swooping and smooth braking were the order of the day.

There were historic sights along the entire route of the four days, and this day included Native Dog Flat campsite and a skanky junkheap of a deserted garage that the route sheet hinted might’ve been hiding some Ténéré parts. If they were there, they weren’t immediately obvious. Although, when there’s that much junk and scrap laying around, we’re not game to say there definitely weren’t any.

The whole ride was route sheeted. Riders could form groups or ride alone, and no-one had to stand a corner or ride at any particular pace.

Fired

Bushfires have been a huge problem through this region of Victoria for the first part of this year, and on the second day the danger even confronted the Tragics. A section had to be diverted to avoid hazard-reduction work which was being carried out right next to the proposed track, and that meant more winding bitumen. No-one complained about that. In fact, the more winding the bitumen became, the more some very hardened dirt riders looked like they were enjoying themselves.

There were stops scheduled at Omeo and Buchan, and there were numerous other opportunities for coffees and snacks along the way, so it was a very staggered field of hot, happy riders that parked the XTZs and checked in to sign off with Tania Clubb at Orbost that night.

Every rider had to sign in each night, and it was an excellent method of ensuring everyone had arrived safely. It was also a great opportunity to hand every rider his or her route sheet for the next day She’s a thinker, that Tania. A good organiser too, as Clubby is quick to point out. It’s Tania who handles all the logistics for the ride, and you don’t see too many run as smoothly as this one.

Mount Useful was chilly near the top and the fog kept visibility low on the final morning.

Man down

Wednesday morning, the third day, began with overcast skies and high humidity. The day was scheduled to cover just over 400km, and as riders were briefed, it was expected to be ‘very dusty’.

Rain had been forecast, and the riders set off with that in mind, determined to enjoy themselves no matter what.

As it happened the day did yield a few dramas. This was the day Dave sorted the stator on his ’83,and it was the day that yielded the only injury of the event. Grant Merrick, a medic in his day job, had an off that resulted in enough damage to need surgery to his knee. Grant stayed very cheerful throughout the whole ambulance episode apparently, and was given first-class first aid by the Dubbo boys who were on hand at the time, so here’s hoping Grant lines up for the 2015 Tragics with no lasting ill effects.

It certainly did get dusty in places, and here’s where things become a little embarrassing for AdvRider Mag.

Dust was a problem, but every rider had a route sheet, so it was easy to leave plenty of space and find some clear air. Old McLeinster Road on the second day was a good example.

After settling in to a late-breakfasty/snack arrangement at a place called Swift Creek – just beginning the second cappuccino, in fact – Wolfy showed up and began talking about some tracks he knew that were all glorious dirt roads through damp, mountain forests. He raved about the loamy corner ruts and freshly graded uphills, and before we knew it we were roosting along those same roads in a very irresponsible manner. There were no sweeps behind us and the route sheets were used to wipe dipsticks at the fuel stop before departure. So there’s no actual report from the afternoon section of the ride.

We heard it was really good.

A happy crew was settled in to the various accommodations in and around Orbost as the foolishly grinning members of The Wolf Pack arrived, and Stephen Gall was just setting up to host an open discussion on traction and other assorted aspects of adventure riding. Gally will soon be doing specific adventure riding schools, and to get some insight from The Master in such an informal setting was a blast for everyone.

Mountin’ man

Thursday marked the final day of the 2014 Tragics, and there wasn’t a single visible sourpuss as the riders left.Last day or not, there was still plenty of fabulous riding and scenery to be enjoyed, and the riders knew it. In fact, the return rate for Tragics is something over 50 per cent.

Sure enough, Clubby had saved the best for last.

A brisk run on what was a surprisingly chilly morning had everyone churning their way through the gorgeous eucalypt forests and climbing the steep, winding sides of Mount Useful.

This was all dirt road, so the dust was thick, but as the altitude climbed, the temperature dropped. Fast. Soon it was a testicle-shrinking nine degrees according to the well-equipped instrumentation of the Super Ténéré, and the fog began to get serious. Visibility dropped down to just a few metres, and, seriously, riders began to worry about damage to their reproductive organs. It can be a tad scary when they’re no longer visible.

At times the climbing road broke free of its shroud allowing a breathtaking glimpse of silhouetted snow gums and valleys holding thick, heavy fog like huge bowls of white fairy floss glistening in the sun.

But those glimpses were all too brief. Mostly it was shrunken ’nads and trembling like a dog pooping razor blades.

Just near the summit of Mount Useful a group gathered to watch Andrew Dawson repair the headlight mount on his modern 660.

Boned!
Troy (left) and Clive. Top blokes and ace sweeps.

“I guess with the hard-core riding style that I do,” zip-tied Andrew, “it’s broken the second one of these.” There were smiles all ’round, so we weren’t too sure whether Andrew was being fair dinkum about his riding or not. He was a happy bloke, though, and that’s always good value.

The 2014 Tragics. Everyone received a couple of T-shirts, a cap and a bag of goodies.

Dust busters

Once off Mount Useful and clear of the fog the end of the ride was in sight. The dust along the busy dirt road in and out of Woods Point was crook, and for once leaving big gaps didn’t help much. There was enough traffic, mainly four wheel drives, that it was hard to find clear air no matter what you did.

Still, that was all part of the adventure, and swooping and diving along as the road followed the Goulburn River was a ride to remember. The sun shone, the water was clear, and any riders too lazy to remove liners sweated like warthogs.

A great part of the joy of the ride is to just pull up for a yarn somewhere.

There was another fall in the late afternoon of the final day. Justin Hayden from Orange in NSW got a bitenthusiastic on a bitumen corner and decked his Super T. Despite shredding his Dragon Jeans and snapping off a rear footpeg, Justo was unhurt. He grabbed his bike, flipped it on to its wheels and did his best to get going before any of his mates could catch up and see what had happened. He might’ve got away with it too, except he did it right in front of Clubby, and Clubby gave him an award at the presentation dinner that night. The scrapes on the bike would’ve been hard to explain, but Justin’s a pretty resourceful bloke. He’d’ve come up with something for sure.

Stephen Gall shared some valuable pointers with a rapt audience.

All over…for now

That was the 2014 Ténéré Tragics.

It was a good-fun, good-natured bunch of riders as we’ve ever ridden with, and the passion surrounding the Ténéré badge was uplifting. The ride was in the very best spirit of dualsporting, and we’re pretty sure this is one of those events that will become something every rider will want to have done.

We’re just glad we had the chance to ride one. Next year the show heads to northern NSW. If we can swing it, we’ll be there. To miss it would be… well…Tragic.

Justin Hayden had an off on the bitumen. Have a look at what’s left of those tweeds, but Justin rode away unhurt.

Thanks!

A huge thankyou to Yamaha Motor Australia for introducing us to this brilliant ride, and for the incredible hospitality shown by Geeze and Mr Clean. It was a very great pleasure to spend a few days with such genuine gentlemen.

Another big thankyou to Clubby and Tania for being broadminded enough to invite another magazine along on a ride they’d started and built for their own title. A special thanks to Tania for her excellent organisational skill and calm handling of just about everything.

Finally to the crew who looked after us so well: Wolfy and Pete, Troy and Clive. Cheers, blokes. We hope we see you next year. AdvR.

Socialising is a huge part of a Tragics ride. The farewell dinner is especially good fun because of the awards. There’s a few serious ones, but there’s far more embarrassing and humorous ones as well.