YMA’s XTZ660 Ténéré

This entry is part 10 of 22 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #2

It’s an adventure bike, but YMA’s set-up encourages an aggressive attitude. The bike hasn’t lost any of its easygoing nature on the tarmac, though.

Sean ‘Geeza’ Goldhawk, YMA’s Corporate Communications Manager, is a keen adventure rider.

The current stock Ténéré is a good adventure bike. There’s a lot of things about it that are great. Still, there’s room for personalisation and improvement in every bike, and these days, more and more, owners are hungry for aftermarket equipment and technology. With so much available it’s hard to know where an average bloke should start. But what about someone who’s not average? What about someone who has access to leading-edge technology and first class technical advice? When we heard Yamaha Motor Australia had built two XTZ660 Ténérés we were drooling to find out the details.

The good ol’ Ténéré has been a favourite since Yamaha released a big-tanked trailbike in 1983, just as adventure riding was about to become fashionable.That first Ténéré is now considered a classic, and rightly so, but the latest Ténérés are, predictably, a technological world away from the models which captured the hearts and imaginations of riders all over the world during the 1980s. Fuel injection, hi-tech plastics, and advances in metallurgy and technology in general have monumentally changed the bikes and the expectations of owners. Fortunately, the longing of riders for adventure has remained the same, and the Ténéré is still the ticket to freedom for a huge number of riders worldwide.

Finding ways to improve modern bikes is tricky. There’s any amount of conflicting toss offered on internet forums, and some things are just so frigging expensive most riders will never get the chance to try them.

We figured the guys at Yamaha Motor Australia (YMA) should have an inside line on what to look for and what’s worth having.

Geez. It’s Geeza!

YMA’s Brand Manager is Peter Payne (see page 26) and one of the bikes we’re looking at here is his. Another was built for YMA Communications Manager Sean ‘Geeza’ Goldhawk. The two bikes are essentially the same, except for minor personal preferences.

Peter’s bike – the one we rode and feature here – is a 2012 model. There’s been no major change since its launch in 2008, so there’s no disadvantage in the bike not having ‘2013’ on the compliance plate. The motor, brakes and gearbox are all bog stock, except for the removal of the Air Induction System emissions-control gear on the front of the motor. The AIS is included to meet Euro and American emissions standards and isn’t required to meet ADR. Its removal not only helps save weight, but Geez says the engine has far less popping on overrun without it. A plate was machined to blank off the entry port in tight behind the header pipes.

The seat, wheels, tank and lighting are all stock as well.That makes you wonder what’s been changed then, doesn’t it?

The aim of the game“We wanted to go dirt-bike riding in Australia,” communicated Geez, corporately, “and we wanted to do it on a Ténéré.But, basically, the Ténéré is built in Europe for Europeans, so the bikes aren’t as Australian friendly as they might be. Payne and I wanted to join the Old Bull navigation rides, and even though the Ténéré is a great bike, we thought we could tune it to better suit that type of riding.

Most of the aftermarket equipment on the bike isn’t from Yamaha’s own comprehensive catalogue, but available from Adventuremoto.

Yamaha Genuine parts are great, but they’re generic items designed for a global market,” the YMA guys serioused. “Having ridden with Steve Smith of Adventure Moto and Greg Yager, the Old Bull Trail Boss, we knew the parts they fit to their bikes get a thorough workout in Aussie conditions. So we were confident they were the right parts for the job.

“In addition we enlisted the help of skilled local technicians who understand the type of riding involved.”

Ground control

Starting from the ground up, the Michelin Siracs were replaced with a Dunlop D606 road-legal knobby on the rear and a Geomax Enduro D909 road-legal knobby on the front. The Geomax is Dunlop’s new FIM road-legal enduro tyre.

Next up the suspension was sorted by Nick Dole at Teknik Motorsport.

The stock suspension on the Ténéré is quite soft, so some significant tuning by a professional makes a big difference. The forks and shock were resprung, revalved and tuned to suit the riders and the intended use. Sean’s view: “The suspension is the main change we’ve made to this bike. In stock trim it’s too soft at the front for Aussie adventure riding. The rear’s not too bad, but we’ve had both ends set up to suit the type of trails we enjoy. That means stiffer, but without losing the initial plushness of the original setup. These Ténérés can go most places a WRF can go, and go for longer because they have 23 litres of fuel on board.”

That exact suspension package – tuned to suit individual rider weight and riding style – is now available to Ténéré owners from Teknik Motorsport

Retyrement

Next up was a genuine Yamaha centrestand. Geez didn’t choose to have one fitted to his Ténéré because it adds weight and he jokes there’s always an adventure rider keen to practice his tyre-changing skills on the trail, but Peter Payne prefers to have it there.

The standard footpegs are narrow, so a pair of Aussie-made PivotPegz bolt straight on, and a brake-snake secures the brake pedal alongside a snug bashplate and engine-protection rail from a company called G-it (GuardIt). G-it also makes the luggage rack, by the way.

A Barrett muffler is the second big mod.

Jason Barrett is another Aussie making premium product, and the fitting of his can allows the removal of the catalytic converter from beneath the pillion seat. With a mass of around seven kilograms, that cat converter is a swinging pendulum right up high on the bike, almost behind the rear axle. You can bet it has a major effect on the bike’s feel. It actually makes a big difference to the bike’s appearance as well. Without the twin exhaust, large muffler box and pillion ’pegs, the 660 starts to look the business, even though the exhaust volume is noticeably increased. It’s not obnoxiously loud, but it’s a hefty growl compared to the whisper-quiet stock arrangement.

Barring injury

The radiator hoses are given some shielding with cut-up grips, and then what Geez calls ‘the flight deck’ is fitted out to suit the riders. The BarkBusters brand VSBar (Yamaha YZ-bend) ’bars are raised 50mm and fitted with TAG full waffle grips, grip heaters and BarkBusters VPS handguards. On the ’bars is a RAM mount for a Garmin Zumo 660 – a GPS being essential equipment for the navigational rides.

The Brake Snake, ’bar risers, grip heaters, various special tools and Clic glasses – for the mature rider – are all Ballard’s items.

And the motor?

“The motors are super reliable, torquey and very tractable,” said Geez, firing on every fourth stroke. “We like to just leave them alone.”

Dishing the dirt

Riding the YMA XTZ is like a breath of fresh air. This bike has been transformed.

Compared to the stock bike this one feels like it’s half the weight and has gobs more power.

That’s just the feel. It probably doesn’t have any more horsepower, and its mass still needs to be respected, but the throttle response is far, far sharper than standard, and with the louder exhaust and significantly reduced weight the bike gives a very strong impression that it’s a slingshot. Cracking open the throttle gets a throaty roar from the pipe and, one way or the other, the rear wheel starts turning. If traction’s a bit iffy it churns and spins. If traction’s good, the front wheel leaps skyward.

It’s the type of throttle response that fills a rider’s helmet with a huge grin.Matched to that motor is suspension that just plain works.

Both wheels track true and the rider’s connection to the feel of the ground is excellent. The wallowing, disconnected aura of the stock bike is replaced with much sharper, more precise steering and a bike with a far stronger tendency to track in a straight line, even over choppy, rutted ground where we thought we were going to be in big trouble. We were able to hold the throttle open and let the suspension take care of what we expected to be a potentially nasty situation.

Of course some of the smooth ride and city-boy softness have been sacrificed to achieve the result, but it’s a very small price to pay. We rode a chunk of bitumen and couldn’t find any disadvantage except the pipe being louder. Off road, the improvement in the bike’s performance was huge.

Not much to talk about

We couldn’t help but be a bit starry-eyed at the marked improvement in off-road performance of the YMA Ténéré, but really the most surprising thing is how little was actually done to get that result. Pipe and suspension are the biggees, and that’s most of it.

Personal changes like ’bars, ’pegs and various comfort items will vary from rider to rider, but we’ll never believe there’s a Ténéré owner who wouldn’t grab his knobby with excitement at the thought of this kind of performance gain, and it’s available to everyone.

YMA Yamaha XTZ 660 Ténéré
Web: www.yamaha-motor.com.au Rec retail:$13,999+ORC(stock bike only)

Engine type: Liquid-cooled, four-stroke, single cylinder, four-valve, SOHC
Displacement: 660cc
Bore/stroke: 100.0mm x 84.0mm
Compression ratio: 10.0:1
Lubrication system: Dry sump
Fuel management: Fuel injection
Ignition: TCI
Starter: Electric
Fuel tank capacity: 23 litres
Final transmission: Chain drive
Transmission: Constant mesh, five-speed
Length: 2246mm
Width: 900mm
Height: 1477mm
Seat height: 865mm
Wheelbase: 1500mm
Brakes front: Dual discs, 298mm
Brakes rear: Single disc, 245mm
Tyre front: 90/90-21 M/C
Tyre rear: 130/80-17 M/C
Ground clearance: 260mm
Wet weight: 209kg with 23 litres of fuel