800GS v Tenere

[Tim Cullis]

Well, mostly road = F650GS.

The Tenere is better at long distance than I had thought it would be, but if you're not planning to go offroad there's no point going for it. Again, there's no point going for the F800GS if you're mainly on road, the F650GS is aimed at this market.

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

but the xt is more modern and 'better' than the F650...but its also a lot taller.

depends on yer inside leg too

 

[Koopz]

I went RTW with Kudu last year, 3 800's, 5 Tenere. The 800s were the best by far re reliability, ok a few niggles but nothing more, the Tenere more of a problem.

The oil consumption became significant towards the end of the trip for all xt's, around half a litre per day, chains and sprockets required changing after approx 5k miles, head bearings failed, wheel bearings failed, cush drives fell apart and had to be repaired with innertube rubber and one bike gave up with total engine failure a week from the end.

I am no BMW flag waver but my experience is that the XT is no long term explorer. Bring back a modern Africa Twin............please

S

 

[EmmettC]

Well, mostly road = F650GS.

I don't post often, but I rarely feel the need to add anything, however to say the 650 is better on road is very subjective. Sure the smaller front wheel may help it on the tarmac, but the extra power of the 800 is VERY noticable when you want to have fun, and I've never had any handling issues with the 800, the chassis, suspension and wheel size are more than capable of handling the power of the engine on even the fastest twisties.

The 650 is a very capable bike, but it was brought out as a budget/beginner bike, the 800 might be too tall/powerful/expensive for some people, but saying it's not as good on road is the same as saying an 1100 is better than a1200, it's entirely a personal opinion, and bound to start alot of arguements.

I say this as the proud owner of an 800 which has covered 19000 miles in almost 2 years, but I've also done 400 miles on a friends 650 in one day.

Also, the 800 is SOOOO much prettier, especially in yellow.

 

[richie]

for me after a year with a 650 single {ok an older one } it should be a no brainer, mainly toad use equals TWIN...HTH

On top of that after three years I wonder which one will have lost the most money...

 

[Ducksbane]

I have never ridden Tenere, but I did sit on one ... very tall, and to be honest it felt "cheap", not bad, just cheap.

For road use I don't think a single is really a great idea. An Australian Magazine that compared the Tenere and GS800 (as a sort of a side bar to individual tests) said that the "BMW is more powerful than the Yamaha by a factor of Infinity". It also suggested that the Tenere is marginally better off road.

Another Australian Magazine rode a whole lot of dual sports and liked both the Tenere and GS, but I noted from their recorded fuel consumption (The 800's was very similar to my average) the 800 had a longer range even though the Tenere has a much bigger tank. The 800 tank is also bigger than they tell you ... actually 17.5 Litres, not 16.

As for 800 vs 650GS, never ridden a 650 but they look pretty good. I have no trouble with the 800's 21" front wheel on the bitumen, so if height and money are not objects I'd go for the 800, looks more "manly", more power, better off road if you want to, suspension not quite as bad as most people tell you. (But I do have Hyperpro springs in the front).

Interesting Hijack ... over at ADVRIDER they are saying that you can change the default ABS startup from ABS on to ABS off and back again by holding down the ABS button while you start the bike ... that should rid the world of much angst, misery and whinging!

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=552509

 

[Maxxx]

A mate of mine rides a '59 plate Tenere and we regularly ride together (I'm on an F800) - so far only black top as he's only had it over the winter and not had a decent opportunity to get it dirty yet.

The Ten is a very nice bike, but even at over 6 foot he thinks it's taller than he would like and has dropped it twice by accident when not thinking how far down his foot needs to go .....

One thing I notice when I've taken it for a ride is that it is VERY viby - it is a thumper after all and the twin of the GS is just soooo much smoother. After spending 2 hours in the saddle the other weekend, his hands were dead.

I don't notice a huge difference in power myself but then he has put an aftermarket can and a power commander which he says made a huge difference from stock (I never rode it as standard).

I personally feel the bike to be a little "insubstantial" ........the GS definately has more "presence" on the road.

Off road, I have to admit the GS is a bit of a beastie. It's brilliant on green lanes but be carefull how rough you are going to go - it's very heavy to pick up when you go down! I'm going to be very interested to see how the Ten fares off road when the weather improves (OK - I really DON'T like mud as I really DON'T like having to pick up the beastie) - I suspect it's going to be very capable due to it's Dakkar heritage but if you're not going to be spending much time offroad, it's a moot point.

I'm obviously biased as I'm a GS owner - all things considered, I'm extremely happy with the decision that I made and wouldn't change the GS for anything right now!

 

[Dean]

I don't post often, but I rarely feel the need to add anything, however to say the 650 is better on road is very subjective. Sure the smaller front wheel may help it on the tarmac, but the extra power of the 800 is VERY noticable when you want to have fun, and I've never had any handling issues with the 800, the chassis, suspension and wheel size are more than capable of handling the power of the engine on even the fastest twisties.

The 650 is a very capable bike, but it was brought out as a budget/beginner bike, the 800 might be too tall/powerful/expensive for some people, but saying it's not as good on road is the same as saying an 1100 is better than a1200, it's entirely a personal opinion, and bound to start alot of arguements.

I say this as the proud owner of an 800 which has covered 19000 miles in almost 2 years, but I've also done 400 miles on a friends 650 in one day.

Also, the 800 is SOOOO much prettier, especially in yellow.

Hi Emmett C,

Post more it makes the Forum and its nice to here a different point of view

sitting on both feels very similar

to say the F650 is a better road bike is subjective and also hard for the 800 guys and girls to accept but it is widely said they say the gearing is better in fact if you read the April addition of visor down all 8 pages one of the only positive feed backs for the F650GS was page 116 headed I work on them a quote by Ian Street who is the workshop controller and senior technician at the highly respected (alegedly) BMW dealer C W motorcycles Dorchester and he says i quote "I like the 800 but some people prefer the 650 and say it rides better and they prefer the gearing" Not to mention easy puncture fix tubeless tyres...

but I agree the 800 looks the business black and yellow but alpine white how cool is that!

the trouble with the 650 is because it is sold as the entry level comuter, tamer option, more suitable for woman. is that there are instantly many men and woman here who are afraid that certain parts of there man hood ok and woman hood may shrink they just cant do the 650 a lot of the 1150, 1200, 800 cant go to below the 800 there mates would shame them they could not live it down which is and will remain there loss.

ponder this, as to wheels if the 1150GSA is a great bike ewan and charlies first escapade that set the BMW world on fire... but many say to heavy in the off road department then as my F650GS has exacly the same tyre size and lighter does it make my bikethe F650GS more capable than the 1150GSA.

Now as Tim has a much bigger GS and the F650 and is well travelled on his bike and forums, I take my hat off for him for seeing through the fog realising that his balls have not shrunk and enjoying a great bike, i think he should be the Patron saint of the F650 GS twin, arise Sir Tim

still on the pluss sides our little Gem of a bike will hold its price and value better than the wider sold flooded market of 800's

I think the tenere looks fantastic just wish it had more oomph the new 1200 super ten i dont like think because it lost its armour and slimness, looks like a tenere / R1 love child

Dean

 

[jtw000]

The 660 is under powered in the heavy Tenere body but they are both good bikes. The Tenere is not as tough or reliable as it looks though with known regulator faults that blow the entire wiring loom and lots of flimsy added parts. The luggage is fibreglass and my local Yamaha dealer delighted in showing how badly made they are. In my opinion the bike itself suffers from a lot of cut corners which the BMW has less of and I think the Ten is massively over-priced for what it is which is basically a concept with cheap plastic bolted onto it.

 

[Tim Cullis]

Owning both an F650GS twin and a Tenere (as well as a R1200GS Adventure) I'm well placed to compare the bikes. The F650GS twin is particularly well-priced--especially compared to BMW's G range--and so long as you don't go spending money on heated gips, ABS, OBC and Uncle Tom Cobberley and all, the price isn't much more than the Tenere.

But with the Tenere you get the rallye cockpit, the large tank, the adjustable front suspension and so on. The F800GS with its higher suspension and 21-in front wheel is probably a better comparison against the Tenere despite the fact the suspension is not adjustable, but it's an awful lot more money even before extras are added in.

In some respects the Tenere is quite basic--the electrics is one area where the CanBUS-equipped F-GS is far superior, but on the other hand the Tenere is very easy to work on and has so far proved very much more reliable than either of the F650GS twins that I have owned. There are very few complaints on the XT660.com site about reliability whereas there have been problems on the F-GS side with chains, radiator hoses, fuel guages, wheel bearings, headstock bearings, ignition switch, side stand switch, side stand itself, and so forth. I appreciate some owners have suffered none of these problems, however some unfortunate owners have encountered multiple problems.

What would make a lovely bike is a Tenere with the twin cylinder engine from the F-GS coupled with a wide-ratio version of the F-GS six-speed gearbox. Oh, and with tubeless tyres for ease of puncture repair.

As standard the five-speed Tenere is way over geared which explains how it manages motorway cruising fairly well. But despite being way down on power compared to the F-GS, outside of Europe the Tenere doesn't come across as needing more power. To answer EmmettC, if someone is considering either the Tenere or the F800GS the fact the F650GS is very slightly down on peak power over 7000 revs compared to the F800GS wouldn't affect the fact that the F650GS still has a load more poke than the Tenere.

The plastic/aluminium panniers on the Tenere and the plastic vario panniers on the F-GS are both fine for road use, but when it comes to rough tracks neither are as sturdy as Metal Mule or similar aluminium panniers.

Tim

 

[Ducksbane]

The Tenere is not as tough or reliable as it looks though with known regulator faults that blow the entire wiring loom and lots of flimsy added parts.

I am a farmer and have had many ATV's. I stopped buying Yamahas after I had 5 (3 different models) and Every one of them had regulator and/or battery and/or stator faults. What really stopped me buying them was the way that they never upgraded the faulty parts, they just kept giving you the same ones which failed again.

To be fair I have a TTR250 as well as the 800GS and it has been very reliable.

 

[jacko63]

I just sold my 09 Tenere a month ago after a year and 6000 miles to buy an 800GS;
The Tenere is agreat bike;comfy great looking and apart from a few bits (spokes are cheap and nasty) well built.I had np problems with the bike but having come from a 950 Ktm and then a 1200GS the lack of power got frustrating.Not all the time but I found that when you needed that extra bit for a quick overtake it wasnt there.As Tim said outside Europe not a problem and if I was doing RTW trip I'd happily take one.
I'm six foot tall but it was TALL.
So far after just 4 weeks I'm much happier with the Engine on the 800GS.
Weight , riding postion etc are very similar but being a fraction lower makes the 800 feel more relaxing.
When the Tenere came out it was a much cheaper alternative but now the difference has shrunk so for me its a no brainer if you're riding is here and in Europe:the 800GS wins.
If you're not worried about the power though the Tenere is a cracking bike to ride and I would say the better looking.
Cheers
Paul

 

[finn]

OK I've also done a similar post on XT660,

Finally sorted out my problem with my KTM 990 Adventure after three years of toroid ownership.

To replace I have narrowed it down to Two Bikes,

New 09 Tenere (last one in the shop)

A demo 800GS with 398 miles

ridden both and like both although the power drop on the Yam is noticeable a lot more.

BMW £7250 Yam £6800 with full luggage, apart from that similar spec.

Unlike to do any major off road with either.

You pays your money you takes your choice

Any ideas ????

if you go for the ten dont get the luggage panniers are rubbish and ordered some verns with TT rails only £200 extra but will be a world better
£6800 i paid 5200 for an 09 frame on a 10 plate so shop around (no change from 09-10)
only extras i have now are yam hanguards(rubish for the money) get something else they have no wind protection but I havent tried to bash them yet but have a look at metal mule extras, screen £50 sightly better than stock and handguards look better

Tried the 800 didnt get on as well as i did with the ten as long as you can stay off motorways and know how to get the best from the single i think its a better buy

 

[Hannu]

if you go for the ten dont get the luggage panniers are rubbish and ordered some verns with TT rails only £200 extra but will be a world better
£6800 i paid 5200 for an 09 frame on a 10 plate so shop around (no change from 09-10)
only extras i have now are yam hanguards(rubish for the money) get something else they have no wind protection but I havent tried to bash them yet but have a look at metal mule extras, screen £50 sightly better than stock and handguards look better

Tried the 800 didnt get on as well as i did with the ten as long as you can stay off motorways and know how to get the best from the single i think its a better buy

Hmm thanks for that.

Already decided to go for the Trax boxes, Yam bits seem very expensive for what they are.

I have ridden both bikes and at 5ft 8" the Yam is tall. however I did feel more at home on it. So a trip to maxton to get it lowered, a set of aftermarket cans, K&N filter and a power commander and we have a bike that does most things for most men. But we just raised the cost to that near the F800gs that we would possibly not recover.

Decisions decisions


Half of me hopes that the last 09my Tenere will have been sold by the time I go to the dealer this weekend because at £6500 the 10my bike is just too expensive.
In saying that and after having come from a bike with loads of issues do I really want a F800gs with all the potential problems that Tim talks about

Oh bring back my Africa Twin

 

[finn]

Hmm thanks for that.

Already decided to go for the Trax boxes, Yam bits seem very expensive for what they are.

I have ridden both bikes and at 5ft 8" the Yam is tall. however I did feel more at home on it. So a trip to maxton to get it lowered, a set of aftermarket cans, K&N filter and a power commander and we have a bike that does most things for most men. But we just raised the cost to that near the F800gs that we would possibly not recover.

Decisions decisions


Half of me hopes that the last 09my Tenere will have been sold by the time I go to the dealer this weekend because at £6500 the 10my bike is just too expensive.
In saying that and after having come from a bike with loads of issues do I really want a F800gs with all the potential problems that Tim talks about

Oh bring back my Africa Twin

http://www.metalmule.com/suspension/

lower kit

 

[das boat]

09 tenere.

OK I've also done a similar post on XT660,

Finally sorted out my problem with my KTM 990 Adventure after three years of toroid ownership.

To replace I have narrowed it down to Two Bikes,

New 09 Tenere (last one in the shop)

A demo 800GS with 398 miles

ridden both and like both although the power drop on the Yam is noticeable a lot more.

BMW £7250 Yam £6800 with full luggage, apart from that similar spec.

Unlike to do any major off road with either.

You pays your money you takes your choice

Any ideas ????

Look at used, you could have my 8 month blue ten with 1500 miles for £4,500.

 

[das boat]

09 ten.

Think I've made a boo boo with the content of above post, have tried to edit it but it seems i have no edit facility, so apologies.

 

[everywherevirtually]

In saying that and after having come from a bike with loads of issues do I really want a F800gs with all the potential problems that Tim talks about

Oh bring back my Africa Twin

Tim has an F650GS. Not an F800GS. Myself and Micky have over 70,000 trouble free miles between us. We both dealt with the few minor niggles at the beginning but it was never anything that stopped me. Most fixes were preemptive and done at service time. I've never had to have the bike recovered.

It has also endured an Austrian winter and the battery is still good.

 

[Dave Ett]

My F800 has done 14,000 miles, and about 12,000 of those have been done abroad - the first 8,500 riding to Cape town.

Been crashed about ten times, and the only problem was clutch burn out due to crap skills off road somewhere in Kenya...

 

[Tim Cullis]

Tim has an F650GS. Not an F800GS. Myself and Micky have over 70,000 trouble free miles between us...

As I said, not everyone has had problems, and I'm really glad that you are still enthusiastic about ownership, however the problems I listed--chains, radiator hoses, fuel guages, wheel bearings, headstock bearings, ignition switch, side stand switch, side stand itself--seem to be common to both bikes. Indeed, most of the chain failures affected F800GS models.

The reality was Micky reported a broken chain at 6,000 miles. He also spent some time trying to overcome his radiator hose problem, including a roughened surface/superglue fix.