The big hump-backed tank of the Tenere got to me. It was such a sexy, unusual shape that as soon as I saw the bike outside the local dealer/breaker I was sold. The major modification from stock was the fitment of a chrome reverse cone megaphone on the end of the high rise exhaust. It stuck out in a way guaranteed to burn a hole in my leg and was so loud that arrest seemed only moments away.
The dealer seeing my pained expression helpfully offered to fit a second-hand stock exhaust free of charge. £1200 for a four year old, 22000 mile machine seemed reasonable enough and a brief, eardrum shattering blast around the block revealed no obvious horrors. The deal was done and the machine was mine the next day after fitment of a proper exhaust and a full service. For a trail bike the seat height was quite reasonable, allowing me to get both feet firmly on the floor.
The seat/tank interface was more comfortable than it looked as there were cut-outs for my knees and the saddle was wide enough to fully support my backside. The bars were wide rather than tall, making the 325lb bike easy to control. The clutch was heavy and remote, making it easy to stall until I became used to its ways. The gearbox had a BMW-like clunk in first and second but went into gear eventually. There was a lot of churning from the engine balancer at lower revs but between 2500 and 6000 revs the noises went away, although the 595cc engine could never be called totally smooth. It took about two months until the vibes went into the background to the extent that I no longer noticed them. However, if any of the four valves or the carb went out of adjustment the vibes would come churning in again, the pegs being most affected.
A similar effect was witnessed if the engine was revved over 7000rpm when even the tank would buzz a little. It just shows that engine balancers can never be entirely effective but can be made to tune out vibes in certain rev ranges. A big single cylinder engine is always about torque rather than power. The Tenere can't match some old British thumpers low down torque, not beginning to work hard until 3000 revs, but it could hold quite impressive speeds up some steep hills, making 80mph cruising quite a relaxed affair once my shoulder muscles became used to the howling gale. The shape of the tank helped the feeling of security as it was a nice hunk of metal to hold between my legs.
That's just as well because the long travel suspension flops about at high speed, at this kind of mileage the damping was beginning to go off. The trail inspired geometry didn't help to damp down the weaves, neither did the block tread trail tyres. 60mph was relatively safe whilst 90mph had the XT all over the road, with myself feeling like I was going to be arrested for appearing drunk in charge of a motorcycle. No fun.
I didn't have time to piss around replacing the suspension, ended up limiting my top speed to 70mph! This had a beneficial effect on economy, 65 to 70mpg instead of about 55mpg when ridden hard. Oil consumption was high, about 120mpp, which had me thinking the big piston or its rings were on the way out, a not uncommon demise on large Yam singles.
The bike kept going for about 5000 miles before oil consumption became absurd and a two-stroke like cloud of smoke hung over the machine. I was relieved to find that it was just a worn out oil ring. The motor had pulled out of the frame easily and only took half an hour to get down to the crankcase. New gaskets were fitted and the only hassle was one head stud pulling out of its thread. Araldite secured it.
The only other thing to wear out up to that point was the drive chain. lt was some cheap and nasty item that took out the sprockets as well. In the end the gearbox sprocket actually lost a tooth. An O-ring chain and new sprockets were a great improvement, helping with the smoothness of the gear change. I also took the Mono-cross back end apart to grease up the spindles and bearings, although there was still some grease and everything was in good shape - the bike hadn't been much used off road.
Just after these repairs some wet and wintry weather turned up. The highly mounted front mudguard didn't impress, allowing huge quantities of grime over the front of the engine. It wasn’t just the cosmetics that annoyed me because the water also attacked the engine, causing it to cut out. No fun on a thumper. The guard had to go, a proper plastic replacement with a mud flap secured on the fork legs. The back was similarly minimal but did a much better job of keeping the weather off the rider.
The shape of the seat meant that water congregated in my groin, forcing its way through my waterproofs and the flat surface of the saddle made it dead easy for me to slide all over the place, almost ending up on top of the tank under heavy braking. Gripping the petrol tank with true desperation was the easy answer. On wet roads the bike felt a bit finicky and top heavy, the tyres sliding away too easily and the front disc brake having a dreadful amount of lag (the disc was a little warped).
Even on dry roads at low speeds the Tenere felt a little edgy in the early days but it was a feeling that faded with use. I was thankful for the long travel suspension over potholes and pavements, although crazed use of the front brake made the forks feel like they were warping by about half a foot.
After the new oil ring the XT ran for 7000 miles before all the electrics went dead. A duff rectifier was blowing fuses. Hunting around the breakers I was offered a complete bike for £275, albeit one that was half the stock 56 inch wheelbase. It looked like two artics had turned it into a jam sandwich. After a proper inspection I turned down the deal when I saw there was a crack in the crank cases. I bought the rectifier for ten notes instead.
The rectifier went because the wires had shed some of its insulation, shorting out on each other. I suspected that the vibration had caused them to rub against each other, secured them to the frame with insulation tape. The lights and indicators were only just up to town work, prone to exploding when the engine was used hard.
Despite the bike not being used off-road, the rear wheel started breaking up with 34000 miles on the clock. The neat gold anodised alloy rims looked OK but the spokes were pulling out. Tearing off the tyre I found that the rim had corroded where the spokes were supposed to sit. Electrolytic corrosion between different metals was the cause. The front rim showed a similar effect, so I had to have both wheels rebuilt with new rims and spokes! I was lucky, I could've had a wheel break up at high speed! I had the front disc skimmed at the same time. No point taking unnecessary chances.
I ran the XT to 43000 miles, getting in some serious touring as well as lots of commuting, before I decided it was time to move on to something newer. Cycle part finish was still good, it’d still put the ton on the clock and starting was as easy and reliable as when I bought it. I'd guess it’d go to 50000 miles without too much trauma but I managed an excellent trade-in deal that valued the XT at £1600 against the discounted price on a TDM850! After the latter I wouldn't look at an XT600 but they have their uses along the way to motorcycle excess.
Tim Houston