Man, this is awesome, you are one lucky fellow.

If I had 2 months off and no wife,mortgage,dogs,bills and so on I would love to do that trip on a tenere. (not mine though,it's too clean still):paranoid:

Thanks for sharing

Al

Awesome Trip mate... how easy / costly was it to send your bike to the US ?

Ilkleyal

It was 3 months not two, and I have no job (currently being rectified urgently).

The better half was told not asked - I went without for a while there but the trip was worth it :icon_biggrin::icon_biggrin:. (I've also got a mortgage, sheep, cats and chickens but that never stopped me doing things - i'm paying for it now though, but so what - I did the trip).

I figured I ought to do the trip right now, or one day when the stars lined up, perhaps I would be too old, in a wheelchair or afflicted with a unsavoury disease.

Take the plunge mate and do it now while you can and want to.

Enjoy your shiny machine and get it dirty - she'll love you for it.

Sysie

Shipping to the USA was a right PITA, but now I have done it once it's not that hard.

On the way out to the US I shipped on my own and had to pack the bike so that it could go in with general cargo in a container and have stuff loaded on top of it. This cost around NZD2,500

On the way back I hooked up with the eight other Kiwi guys who were doing the Trans Am Trail and all the bikes went into a single private container and thus did not need the same level of packing and protection. This cost the same as the outward trip, but had I travelled with the Kiwis both to the US and back that cost would have covered both directions. I essentially had to pay for the reserved space I didn't use on the outward journey. This only came about as I wanted to do a lot of travelling around the States prior to the TAT which was the objective of the rest of the Kiwis.

The physical bit was the easiest...
Had to box up the bike to protect it in transit. (Crate can be got from a local Harley dealer free or for a small fee), and I added external bracing and wrapping myself.......


As it shipped out to the US....

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC04095.jpg

and stripped of plastic wrap ready for unloading...

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC04098.jpg

I found that the Ten strips down pretty good and can get under the 1050mm or 1150mm (can't remember which) height restriction without taking the front wheel off.

Essentially I took off the front guard, inserted a prop and pulled the bike down onto the crate with ratchet straps. Then removed the indicator pods, and undid the two bolts holding the front fairing / instrument assembly on. By easing a few cables and turning the whole front assembly upside down, it can be rebolted back in place and the whole thing is securely attached but lower than the top of the fuel tank - bingo - nice one Mr Yamaha.

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC04078.jpg

Finally, took off the bars and again by easing cables etc, I was able to strap the assembly with suitable protective packing along the top of the tank and again keep it below the minimum height.

The battery had to be disconnected and the fuel tank practically empty - just enough to get me to a fuel station the other end.

For the return trip the packing was less and took about two hours from riding into the freight depot to walking away leaving my soul mate of the past three months to the hands of the shippers....

This time I strapped the bars along the right hand fork leg after removing brake assembly....
http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC06053.jpg

and again....

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC06059.jpg

The paperwork side of things was a little more stressful. IMHO it is essential to use a shipper who has actually shpped a motorcycle to your destination and is familiar with all the hoops that have to be jumped through. I thought I had done that, but the staff members at each end were bike virgins and I repeatedly had heart failures when I thought everything was sorted and I kept getting phone calls ... "Urm we need some more documents otherwise the bike can't go on the boat next week, tomorrow, this afternoon ...etc..etc."!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It didn't stop there. I even got the phone call...." Hi .. you know that bike we were shipping for you, well it can't be unloaded tomorrow and clear customs unless ....more sodding paperwork etc. etc." and this hours before I'm getting on a plane for three months away.

The documentation is all pretty straightforward and can mostly be done online and then sent hard copy to the shippers, but do it in plenty of time and there will be no stress.

I started dreaming of my trip in November 2009 (I didn't own a Tenere then) and by the time I had researched bikes, bouhgt it, modified it, planned the trip and arranged all the details, I only just made it to LA for a 1st July 2010.

Allow 3-4 months beforehand minimum to get quotes and arrange shipping and documentation.

Then allow 1 week to deliver the load and get it consigned to a shipment, 3 - 4weeks from NZ to LAX and a further week to clear customs etc. in LAX and take delivery.

Then go for a ride and enjoy.

Hope this answers.

Excellent report and pictures Tony!

And it looks like you got to ride pretty much every pass in Colorado - certainly a highlight of the trip I imagine?

I'd repeat what you've said - to have a fantastic off-road road trip, you need two things - a Tenere, and a ticket to the USA!

Rock on!

Jenny xx

Everywhere from Trinidad to Crater Lake on the TAT was the highlight for me - unbelievable riding , scenery and get away from it all country. The rest was only a smidgen behind though - Glacier, Yosemite, Grand C, Monumnet V etc.... know what I mean?

Hell I wish I could go back right now - but have to earn a living etc.etc. Tiresome details. :disgust::disgust::disgust:

Hi Tony,
Your tenere looks awesome, I'm hoping mine will be as good when I've finished doing my mods. I was wondering if the single SR Racing exhaust you put on was orderd from 'Off The Road' as I am thinking of putting one on aswell. For long distance touring was it overly noisy?
I am currrently getting my Black 2010 Tenere ready to ship to the US to start a trip from LA to Argentina in February 2011.

P.S. Glad you had an awsome time on your trip, and Great photo's

Hammer 1

Thanks for the comments - you need to post some pics of your mods - I'd be keen to see them???

Yep it was from Off the Road and was the "short version" as used by Jenny Morgan on her machine. When I ordered it, I don't think the noise baffle was standard, but I asked them to include it and I used it in this form all the while, and no it wasn't an issue for noise. Without the baffle it might have been though.

IMHO I reckon the SR Racing single can is the best on the market for looks and build quality - far superior to Leo Vince unit which has a feeble strap going round the can - and way better than any twin can unit. But that's just my opinion.

I did however fabricate a better frame mounting bracket for the end can from a piece of mild steel flat bar and the finished installation was rock solid and didn't fail over 35,000kms. I used a little propane burner to heat the flat bar to cherry red colour and then with a hammer carefully bent the flatbar into the necessary curves. I left the bracket in this "softened" state in order to avoid brittle failures / cracking later on and enable it to be bent back into shape without cracking, in the event of a fall. Finally heated the unit (still able to touch it) and sprayed it with black paint - heat makes the paint stick. Job done.

New bracket in situ.......

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC06369.jpg

The new bracket bolts to the same mounting nuts in the frame cross rail that the original exhaust bolts to....

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC06373.jpg

The removal of the original exhaust leaves a gap in the under seat tray which allows mud and crap to spray up and eventually over the electrics. I then fabricated a small piece of stainless steel to hold down a piece of inner tube to cover the gap and fit up under the plastic cover over the tail section to provide a weather tight seal to the undertray area - it worked in all the worst weather that I threw at it.....

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC06368.jpg


And the same from under the tail....

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC06374.jpg

Hope this helps.:icon_salut::icon_salut:


Hey I would be interested in your plans for the trip to Argentina and how you get on. What's your route and are you doing it on your own?

All the best mate

XT660Z Tenere Rooted head bearings....

Just got the bike back from the shippers and after going over it with a fine tooth comb, found that the head bearings had a definite "detent" notch in the straight ahead position.

I stripped the assembly down and found that the lock nuts had been overtightened by a gorilla at the factory, the steering stem was corroded, the bearings were virtually dry (little or no grease from the factory), and the inner races were marked causing the detent.

Put new bearings in (a right PITA - no thanks to Mr Yamaha :076::076::076:who couldn't have made the job of punching out the bottom outer race any more difficult), generously applied grease and lightly tightened the bearings - and the steering was restored to an orgasm of mechanical perfection.:blob10::blob10::blob10:

Anyone going on a long trip would do well to dismantle their steering assembly and check it is properly greased and not over tightened. Wouldn't want some bush mechanic in Hicksville to have to do what I did today to change over rooted bearings.

Have fun

I had a similar problem with my head bearings, they tend to collect water too.

Strip and grease to death....