AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 57Y AMAHA XT 660 TÉNÉRÉ
Dole says they did a signifi cant revision
of the suspension in 2010 and now have
a package that he believes will suit the
most aggressive and heavy rider.
Basically, they replace the standard
.44 springs with straight-rate springs
between .50 and .65 and keep the same oil
weight. “If we change the oil weight and
the owner takes the bike to their local
dealer sometime down the track when
their oil seals start to leak, the mechanic
won’t know what oil weight we put in
so they will probably use the standard
recommended weight and then it won’t
work properly,” he says.
Nick also uses the standard Yamaha
rear shock a er testing many other
models. “I think the Yamaha performs
quite well. We just revalve it and I reckon
the modifi ed standard shock is just as
good as the bo om-of-the-range Euro
a ermarket shocks.” The result is a
bike that handles the rough stuff , keeps
the power down over corrugations and
doesn’t translate the big hits through the
seat or the handlebars to the rider.
The next thing adventure riders will
change will be the road-biased dual-
purpose standard tyres. Yamaha has
chosen the popular and quite aggressive
Dunlop D606 knobbies, which seem
to tackle most terrain quite well with
enough of a block gap for clinging mud,
a good spread for sand and even some
road grip, although they do howl on the
highway and lack in braking bite and
steering feel on the tar.
While many owners have been happily
commuting Ténérés to work thanks to their
high position and slimline lane-spli ing
design, the bikes are also suitableto the new muffl er.
Performance doesn’t seem to be greatly
enhanced, although it revs a li le freer
and from about 4500rpm it gets quite
lively. The Barre muffl er has a wet-fart
MX thumper sound that doesn’t become
an annoying drone on the highway and
has some entertaining burps and pops on
the overrun.
It doesn’t make much diff erence
to the fuel economy, which was just
under 5L/100km on my 1800km test ride
through Central Queensland’s back roads
and trails.
The word “thumper” suggests massive
vibration and rough running, but this
robust mill has limited vibration that
doesn’t ra le your teeth. It also leaves
a stable image in the rear-view mirrors.
Speaking of which, the test bike arrived
with the le mirror removed. Many
adventure riders remove the le mirror
to save breaking it in a fall. However, it’s
illegal in most states to ride without two
mirrors and since my test would take
me for short blasts on major highways, I
thought it prudent to fi t a second mirror.
At least it showed that the standard
mirrors have be er vibration absorption
than a cheap a ermarket unit.
The biggest and most important
modifi cation in the Australianised pack
is the suspension. In its standard form,
the Ténéré feels too plush for off -road
riding, although it has long enough travel
to avoid bo oming out in all but the
biggest hits. Yamaha turned the bike over
to Teknik Motorsport in western Sydney
who have been doing a lot of work on
the modern Ténéré since the model
returned in 2008. Teknik owner NickQUICKSPECS
Model: Yamaha XTZ660 Ténéré
Price: $13,999 ride away
Modifi cations:- Bark Buster VSB handlebars
$79.95 - Bar Risers adapter clamps
$55 - Bark Busters with wind
defl ectors $165.95 - Guard-It engine protector
combo CB0023 $389.95 - Pivot Pegs $239
- B&B Off road Engineering
rear rack $180 - Dunlop D606 tyres $250
- Tag handlebar grips $30
- Barre single outlet
exhaust $495 - Teknik front and rear off -
road suspension $990
Accessories total: $2874.80
Engine: Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke,
single cylinder, 4-valve, 660cc SOHC
Bore x stroke: 100 x 84mm
Compression: 10:1
Fuel tank: 23L
Transmission: 5-speed, chain drive
Length: 2246mm
Width: 900mm
Height: 1477mm
Seat: 865mm
Wheelbase: 1500mm
Clearance: 260mm
Wet weight: 209kg
Frame: Steel tube diamond shaped
Suspension: Telescopic forks,
monocross swingarm
Brakes: 298mm discs (front), 245mm
disc (rear), Brembo calipers
Tyres: 90/90-21 M/C; 130/80-17 M/C
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