Crash test
 

Organised a Tenere gathering over here in the Netherlands. Here's some impressions:

CLICK=>TransTwenteRally

I'm the one in the ditch :o but no serious damage was done to either the bike or me. It's really well thought over: plastic bolts that hold the windshield will break before de windshield itself does.

Had to replace the clutch lever cos it snapped off, but the Tenere can be ridden without clutch (though it's not easy to get it in first from neutral).

Some electronic glitches occur: the head beam comes on once in a while and my Zumo cradle seems to be ... a bit shortwired?

All with all a good/fun day. The bike is up for it's 10000 km service and the Tourances are worn and will be replaced by Metzeler Enduro 3. The Tenere performs well as my daily commuter and for these little dirt-road adventures in the near surroundings of my hometown. Great bike all together!

HJ

Glad that you and the bike are OK, but I have to ask..........
:103: how did you manage to do that on such a straight, wide and smooth track? :103:

Ouch!! Glad your ok.



Nick.

Combination of:

• over enthousiasm
• off-road rookie
• muddy trail
• worn out Metzeler Tourances (no grip)
• changing track

You can see the track, made by the rear wheel, in the background of this picture:

http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...P0088Small.jpg

HJ

Smile
 

Its good to see you still had a smile on your face....

Those tyres are realy cr@p on wet off road

Look like you certainly had an interesting time there.

Check out that floating bag above your rear seat though, that got to have less vibrations than attaching it direct to the bike :hahaha[1]:

Hy HJ,

Nice to see my bike in the background on the picture!!
Yes, it was an impressive test!
Nice choise those Metzeler Enduro 3. Are you doing the same track again with them. Tell us then how they perform!

not sure if i will.... if i end up in that ditch once more... i'll have no excuses left... other then being a total incapable off-roader :090:

HJ

Believe me, we're very impressed by his high speed cornering. But for some reason, we're quite sure that this route was different from the GPS track ... :smilies0330:

On the other hand, he was a firm leader for the rest of the day and showed us the most beautiful parts (and worst roads ;-) of our country

Thanks again mate.

If you have never been into a ditch you just haven't tried hard enough.. or something like that. =)

If you haven't got the E3's already I would like to suggest the TKC80. Works well for commuting too, and with a pair of those you could go back and own that track.

How did your clutch lever break if you have handguards?

Can vouch for the OE Yamaha handguards - I came off hard at about 40mph and the handguards just dug in the ground and there was no lever damage - wish the same could be said for me though !:crybaby:

I had a bent break lever when i dropped my bike despite having guards (with an aluminium bar). The guards were spun upwards until the lever was exposed. The Yamaha guards connect to where the mirrors are from the look of them so are much less likly to have this happen.

End result was a new break lever and having to bash the guards back into shape (the metal bar bent as well)

I'm considering changing my handgards now, but I'm also looking to get a throttle lock fitted, and with heated grips as well getting a combination that will all work together will be tricky.

The guards shouldn't move at all, else they're no use in saving your levers.

They need to be tightened right up, then a bit more so they're solid.

must admit I much prefer the bike sans gaurds. I have bent loads of bars fitted with heavy duty gaurds now I just use rain deflectors and keep the levers loose enough so that they will spin when hit hard.