The lack of tractability of the standard engine has been sorted with a stage 2 DNA air inlet and filter, removal of the cat from the exhaust and the 'Kev mod' to adjust fuel mixture.
Extras
Metal Mule pannier frames should take any aluminium panniers designed to fit onto a standard D loop frame.
Custom rear rack for luggage roll. Touratech tank bag.
Yellow Barkbusters hand guards.
Centre stand. Engine bars. Aluminium bash plate.
Centech AP-1 fuse box.
Bit tatty in places, needs a new indicator lens at front, spot lights and heated grips currently not wired up.
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Here's what I had to say about the bike in my May 2012 trip report.
The motorbike is a Yamaha Ténéré XT660Z which is a single-cylinder 660cc bike with long travel suspension, a large 23-litre fuel tank and rally-style cockpit arrangement. It's one of the best 'out of the box' bikes for dual sport use, i.e. the ability to ride fairly long distances at (legal) motorway speeds, yet then take to rough tracks. There are better bikes for the motorway bits and there are better bikes for the offroad bits, the challenge is to get a bike that will do both reasonably well.
There's only three downsides for me. The first is the standard engine is fairly intractable and won't pull from under 3000 rpm in high gears, so you need to be alert to engine revs. The second is the wheels are designed to use tubed tyres with inner tubes, rather than tubeless tyres. If you have a puncture with a tubeless tyre you can mend it with a 'mushroom' plug without having to take the wheel out. With tubed tyres you are into a minimum of 30 minutes struggling with removing the wheel, taking off the tyre, replacing the tube, then putting it all back together again. And then you still have to get the tube mended. The third downside is only noticeable in high temperatures and the problem is that the dual exhaust pipes are both routed up the left hand side of the bike and in extreme heat tend to broil the rider's leg.
Although it only has a five-speed gearbox the ratios are extremely well spread allowing a fairly low first gear whilst at the same time providing a top gear high enough for sustained 75-80mph motorway riding. If only one could couple the Tenere with the tractable 800cc engine from the BMW F650GS twin, plus a wide ratio six-speed box, it would be a world-beater. Or even better, if BMW would do an adventure/rally version of the F800GS with tubeless tyres.
I bought the 2009 Yamaha Ténéré XT660Z with just 1200 miles (1920km) on the clock. At the end of this trip the bike has now done 45650km and a rough calculation shows that since I bought it I have ridden about 5200km in Spain/UK and about 38500km in Morocco, 6000km of which has been on this trip.
I was the third owner on a three month old bike, so obviously the other two owners hadn't understood or liked what they bought. After fitting basic protection such as engine bars, aluminium bash plate, hand guards and a centre stand I had the Ténéré shipped to southern Spain where it's been based ever since with the exception of one 'holiday' in the UK.
I was going to say it's fairly standard, but when I totted up what I have done since it's seems it's now a bit customised. To make the engine more flexible I have fitted a stage 2 DNA airfilter and inlet, removed of the catalytic converter, and added a nifty device that allows me to moderate the fuel mixture (for the previous two changes).
On the electrical side, the fitment of a fuse box wired via a relay enables me to run a variety of electrical devices (mainly satnav, auxilliary lights, heated grips, heated jacket). Oh, and some other bits: AirHawk inflatable seat, the Garmin Zumo 550 satnav, and an internal/external temperature gauge to measure shade temperature.
Security
The bike is fitted with an imobiliser, I have a security disk lock for the rear wheel, a cable lock to secure the luggage roll, and another cable lock that can be used to secure my jacket and helmet if I leave them with the bike. Finally, the tank bag has a hidden catch and the zips are secured with combination locks.
Luggage
Trying to save some money I first bought some secondhand Ténéré OEM luggage but was forever worried about the strength of the plastic fittings and the 'chocolate' lock mechanism. Also there's no securing strut to brace the two panniers together. So for this trip I bit the bullet and bought a set of 37-litre Metal Mule panniers--very expensive, but the best going. I tend to use the panniers for things I won't bring into a hotel room, so one has tools, spares, chain lube and the like, the other has my tent, sleeping roll, sleeping bag, JetBoil stove and similar stuff. The things I want overnight I carry in my luggage roll so this has toilet bag, notebook computer, charging gear, fresh clothes and so forth. Then I have a tank bag for things I want to be able to access whilst riding such as camera, guidebook, sunglasses and trail food. My Krieger hydration pack holds 3 litres of water and I carry more as necessary in the panniers or luggage roll.
