Its still a year to go so its only a loose outline at present.

As for the pillion thing. Karen is very happy on the back although I am considering widening the rear half of the seat to make it a bit more comfortable for her. We have covered many thousands of miles as rider and pillion but most of that was on Pan European's that have seats like arm chairs. Despite this she is still very happy on the back of the Tenere. It took some getting used to, her getting on and off due to the height and the panniers/top box (she has short legs too). She is now quite happy with it all.

thats a fairly comprehensive reply that is, and certainly shoots down any argument about you not needing the space!

i too am green with envy, as I suspect a lot of people will be :)

crack on mate, you've got work to do!

Mine has cracked on the same place too. The aluminium skid plate has crackes too.

Thats 5 people (on this thread) that have experienced this problem so far. I spoke to me dealer about it yesterday and he asked for photo to send to Yamaha for their info. I will do that now and also refer to this thread.
Thanks OGR

interesting thread --
 

An interesting thread in more ways than one. I retired two years ago and found my needs in a motorcycle changed - hence the purchase of a Tenere.

I inherited a nearly new car as part of my 'retirement' package and trading it in to buy a motorhome would have cost me too much in depreciation for comfort so I bought a caravan instead.

Last year the van was sited in Croatia and I used the gixxer 6 to explore. This year due to the weak pound against the euro the caravan will stay in SW Scotland and I will camp - stay with friends or take an apartment when in Europe.

Regarding the lower engine rails - I have a set on order but after reading this thread I might cancel them and look at what Off-road supply when I am in Germany later this month.

I like the Yam panniers but the locks are criminal. I have tried various lubricants and was surprised to find that sticking the key into a jar of Vick Menthol in desperation before using provided the smoothest operation. Four weeks from new and one of the keys has a twist - only a matter of time before it snaps.

Good luck with your side frames - it's obviously the right area to carry weight - it's just a matter of keeping it there :icon_smile:

Oh and about your trip Stateside - I had it all planned to do the big Niagra Falls to Bar Harbor/Maine to Oregon and right turn to Alaska thing three years ago - bought my steed on American e-bay (a BMW R100GS in Michigan) in preparation then put myself in hospital while earning Brownie Points on some crazy DiY when I should have been flying over there. I even had the use of a log cabin while in Alaska and a buyer for my Beemer lined up so I could fly home afer the mid-summer Dawn till Dusk meet in Dawson City.

The reason I mention it is that although I am fit and well now I can't find insurance cover cos I'm over 65 - hope you have cover sussed or are retiring younger.

cheers - givit

I've had the panniers and top box since July, and although the locks are crap, I have been careful and so far so good.
Bummer about your US trip..sorry to hear that.

What is it you cannot get cover for...is it just the bike or is it towing the caravan or both ?

We are fortunate enough to be retiring early so insurance should not be a problem for a few years.

Does 65 seem to be a cut off for insurance ??

OGR

ditched ---
 

[quote=Old Git ray;89492]I've had the panniers and top box since July, and although the locks are crap, I have been careful and so far so good.
Bummer about your US trip..sorry to hear that

What is it you cannot get cover for...is it just the bike or is it towing the caravan or both ?

We are fortunate enough to be retiring early so insurance should not be a problem for a few years.

Does 65 seem to be a cut off for insurance ??




Since retiring and taking to the road I have ditched most of the paperwork built up for that trip. But here are the nuts & bolts of it.

I bought my BMW in Michigan and had it insured through an outfit that provides cover throughout the States for visiting riders. Reading the small print later I found that cover stops within a hundred miles of the Mexican border. The company providing the cover also have a cut-off point at 65 years of age.

In some states insurance isn't even compulsory but the Canadians are a fussy lot so make sure everything about your bike has type approval if you are riding through there to reach Alaska.

I shipped the bike home in the end - cost less than 400 dollars from New Jersey to Thames Dock using a Californian outfit. The bit from Michigan to New Jersey was the bummer - about 800 bucks for the road transport. Saga insurance wouldn't even refund the cost of my cancelled air fare so the whole deal ate up most of my early retirement settlement.

You win some - you lose some :035:

The caravan isn't an issue as I wouldn't dream of taking it over - anyway I've gone off Yanks - they are all mouth and trousers :icon_joker:

givit

*update*
 

After a pm conversation with the lovely Mr. Bog I've been spurred on to doing some more on this. Don't get too excited as all I've done so far is measure and try things!
Firstly I think as I don't intend to carry more than 2kg up front I will use the four front mounts for the grey plastic shoulders. I can use 16mm tube sleeves to slip into the recesses and bolt through there. I'll do a potatoshop of the design later, but for now I tried a US-5 tailpack (usually lives on my tank) for clearance on the lamp, and also I slotted my rear rack in to give me some sense of scale.
So, first up, the US-5

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...s/DSC00353.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...s/DSC00354.jpg

and now with the rear rack in there

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...s/DSC00355.jpg

It occurred to me that whilst I was there I may as well consider a high front mudguard. I'll see what my local shop can do for me.
More soon*







*possibly ;)

The last picture showing the front rack reminds me of rib eye steak and sausages, and the headlight is perfect for illuminating the steak to see if it's medium or medium rare. It doesn't look to me you can still turn the bike anymore.

Hey josephau, sorry I wasn't clear; that rack in the picture is only rested in there to give me an idea of possible sizes.
The rack is the one I made for the rear of the bike.