Tenere Storage Mod
 

Have just finished a 5.6 litre storage mod for the Tenere. A permanent solution to store a number of important items, like tyre levers, rain suit additional tools, first aid kit, spare tubes.
Used the bracket from the stock exhaust, epoxy, Kevlar and Carbon fibre cloth. Its light and very stong.
Just need to do the lid.

With the back shock completely depressed there is still 70mm of clearance.
In the photo's it looks like its touching the exhaust but there is at least 15mm gap.
The finish is not perfect but adequate, at least now I can improve the mould and was using a flash so looks worse than it is.
It cannot readily be seen behind the exhaust.

Well done GStry, I am well impressed. We need ideas like that. Very cool!
:clap: :clap:

now that's a very usefull mod! great work, nice one!

Crossed my mind as well, nice to see someone doing it! I have too many ideas and never get them all done. Pat on the back mate.

nice one thats what yamaha should of done to start with what goods a adventure bike with no storage under the seat

Thanks guys and I agree with tricky, Yamaha should have thought of this in the first place.
As expected my sons want me to help them with theirs so will improve on it.

That looks like a great idea, well done that man! Just think how much space you could have with a single can exhaust? I wonder if anyone will try it...? :115:

Well done mate nice mod. Any dimensions to add to the mod, as I am sure some one will ask when they do theirs. Mod now placed in the XTZ modification index. http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?t=630
:family:

Brilliant idea!!

......

Well done mate, great mod coming from a simple idea. As mentioned above YAMAHA really should have thought of stuff like this as the TENERE is their premier "offroad" bike.....:icon_scoot[1]::icon_scoot[1]: How hard are they to produce? I would be interested in one, even if it meant leaving the plastic part with you for a while......
Crusty

Very good.

Once you get the OE cans off there is no end to the availability of space for this sort of mod.

Thanks Kev. The dimensions are difficult because of the the complex curves/ tapering width. The only way to do it is to make a mould of the mudgaurd and then shape surfboard foam for the outer skin and epoxy the two halves together.
For someone who can work with fibre glass and epoxies its not too difficult, just be prepared to be without your bike for two weeks.

The mould I've got will help me get it closer to what I want and I will have the mounting brackets laser cut, cutting the bracket off the stock exhaust was not ideal.
I will post more pictures as I go along but need to ride my bike for a few days before I start the second and third ones. By then I should be quite good at it
and who knows, maybe I can make a few more :) if there's an interest.

Will do a swap for some custom made pannier rails....... LOL
Crusty

Fantastic !!!

let us know when the final product hit the shelves :D :D

weel done GStry
 

Well done, mooi so....boer maak 'n plan...best mod from SA so far....
GB:031:

I'm impressed. Hope that Yamaha lurks around this forum. This is something that should be part of the 2011 release!

too bad this only works without a standard exhaust

Great mod, make a few , I wa t one;)

Have started the new mould so it will take a few weeks.

Must apologies for the long delay in my final storage mod. I am working on it at the moment, so will have something to show for it in the coming week.

Wow, that is fantastic upgrade man!:clap:

:smilies0942: , hoping that the final mod will make it worth being without my bike for a few weeks.

:023: nice one, interested to see the end result.

hee hee - I had the same idea with the race bike - basically a rear (fuel) tank in the space where the stock exhaust used to sit, and down the right hand side to the pillion footrest brackets on the frame, giving a side panel for race numbers on that side... and then just a matching side panel cowl over the single can on the left...

However, the only problem (which is not insurmountable) is running a dual pressurized fuel system for the EFi... one option I looked at was simply to have a transfer pump from the rear tank into the front main tank, but then you wouldn't have the option to empty the front tank first for example...

However, I have had another idea for the rear of the bike which, once I get this little race out of the way in January, I shall embark on...

Let's just say it doesn't need to be as high - and especially with the +35mm links in place - or indeed as heavy duty if I'm not carrying a ton of luggage or passengers...

Hmmmmmm...

Jx

I'm in need some impetus/help to keep this project going! .
Possibly, posting a few pics and explaining my progress might help.
The mod has really been very difficult to shape and get to fit like a glove under the frame, which it finally does but unfortunately in my greedy effort to find more space, I cut my battery box to pieces, little by little, so there is not much left. Now I need a new battery box to redo the front!.
The way I have it at the moment is fine for me but it would be difficult for others to start hacking away their battery boxes.

My aim for the mod is to make as close to 8 cu litres of space under the seat as possible, as well as include, a not so easy to find, safe spot to keep emergency cash, passports, important papers etc
It doesn't look like much here but was just working with scraps of surfboard foam to see if it would work..

A few more pics and some of my ideas.
There is enough clearance for the back wheel, as the mod takes up the space of the standard exhaust box. In the front, I have created an arch where more space is needed for the wheel.
The storage mod is not symmetrical, ie not equal in shape on both sides due to the exhaust positions.
I have (will be) moving my exhausts further back slightly and will need to get my akrapovics pipes changed to suit. I had a hard time deciding about this but in the end it made such a difference to the storage area and also gets rid of the considerable weight of the current exhaust mounting bracket. There are the premade holes in the frame, for the exhausts that were never used!!
I will be using Carbon fibre and Kevelar to keep it as strong and light as possible.
I have ordered the tail light from the US and will post pictures of them tomorrow.
There is still a lot of sanding and filling to go and the back needs to be finished to suit the led tail light and indicators I have bought.
From the side the storage mod is all but hidden from veiw by the exhausts and I have tried to keep the same lines of the bike flowing.... I could have made more space but it would have sacrificed looks, this is a nice looking bike, no point in spoiling it.
Access will be from under the seat so it will be a lockable area.
Want to include a short tail tidy at the back which will help protect the tail light and help stretch the lines a little.
Finally, this is a hobby, I do not do this for a living and doing the best I can, if you have any advice, or other ideas which will help please give it, I'm all ears.
Hopefully the plug will be ready to be cut into two for the moulds soon.

nice! :thumbsup:

can't wait to see what it looks like when it's all done.

Looking good, cant wait to see the final product

Update. Still working on the plug for the mould and as you can see still a lot to do.
A few pics showing a rough tail tidy (tail piece/mudguard) I've added to see what it looks like.
Have added exhausts to give an idea of the overall look.

Any idea's or suggestions welcome.

Really excellent work Gstry - that is such wasted space once the stock exhaust has been removed...

If you want some observations, I'd like to make the following suggestions -
I appreciate you already have a pair of twin cans, and this may be a project primarily for yourself? - but if you were considering making this commercially, it might be work considering building the design around a single can? as the Akropovics are very expensive in addition to the cost of the storage unit? - If you used a single can, you could also use the space on the right hand side for more storage?

I think the ideal of incorporating a tail tidy is great - the stock unit is big and bulky once the rear cans are removed... It might be worth considering using a tail light unit that has indicators built in (to protect them from damage should the bike be dropped) - something from another model perhaps (Clear Alternatives in the USA do loads of different lights for current bikes that have combined tail and turn signals), and consider the different size of number plates, should you wish to sell the unit in other markets...

Jx

JMo, thanks for the input, it's appreciated.

I have bought the tail lights from Custom Dynamics in the US. Actually really struggled to find something and finally settled for two LED Light Bars. One bar has the tail running light, brake light and indicators, as you mention and the other bar light is a running light and brake light. http://www.customdynamics.com/index.htm
They are 6" long and will fit under the tail tidy. I'm still waiting for them to arrive so will need to change the design slightly on the tail of the mod to accomodate them. Will take a look at Clear Alternatives and see what they have.
Regarding the number plate, I have been thinking about it and not sure of the law in other countries regarding the size and also the angle of the plate. The UK and SA should be similar but I'm sure its policed more there.
Trying to streamline the plate and still make it legal at the same time, it's raked up a little from standard but not by much. My standard number plate fits between the exhaust but its tight. If other countries have larger plates they will have to move the plate down to make more room.
Have not considered making it for a single can but have been thinking about the current looks on a single can bike. So thanks for pointing that out, I will take a look at that...maybe make two moulds :icon_wink: .
Not sure if you noticed but have also moved my Akro's back from the original mounting point, so my exhaust will need to be modified. It was a hard choice but made a big difference to the storage mod and also got rid of the bulky stainless mounting braket.

Hope you're feeling better.

Just for your info - a full size UK plate *will not* fit between the Akra cans.

uberthumper thanks, what is the size of a UK plate?

Legally, a UK motorcycle plate should be 9 inches wide by 7 inches deep, although a good number of riders tend to fit a slightly undersized plate such as a 7x5.5 inches, which you can just about get away with without getting a pull from the police.

Jx

Actually, there's not, strictly speaking, a standard or minimum size - there's a standard size for the letters, and a minimum spacing between and around them. The plate just has to be big enough to meet these criteria

Non-personalised plates will almost consist of seven characters, the four on the first row determining the plate width, and the fact there's two rows determining the height. And this works out around about the size JMo said.

If you were to spend a ridiculous amount of money buying the reg no 'A1', or similar, you could have a plate that was about 4x3", but still perfectly legal.

Pedantic, moi? :D

Not at all... I wasn't going to go into such detail that's all x

Like you say, a typical UK bike reg is 7 characters, which when spaced correctly works out to be 9 x 7 (including a bit spare for the dealers name & postcode etc.) and the 'official' dealer supplied plates tend to come in that size as standard...

I have a 5 figure reg. number (2 and 3) on my Ducati for the very reason you mention!

Jx

Thanks, for the info, my plate is 210 X 150 (8.26" x 5.9") so there should not be a problem there.
My new batt box arrives tomorrow so can do some work on the front this weekend.

The Mold for my Storage Pod is finally finished and it's been a painstaking 6 months.
As I have said before, it's been made esentially around Akrapovics, not ideal for the average Tenere owner, but will look good with any exhaust combination and add 10cu/L of space under the seat. Wheel arch clearance is the same as the standard bike, exactly.
It will have access from the back and a secure access from under the seat with a bulkhead seperating the two areas.

I will shortly start a pod with the extra storage on the right hand side for single exhaust Ten's, which should easily double the storage area.

Me like!!

Me might want one!