Call them Adventure, Enduro or Dual-Purpose, bikes with long travel suspensions and big, torquey engines are popular these days. Yamaha, given an enormous and successful heritage in long distance off road events – think Paris-Dakar – had to come and join the gang of manufacturers that produce such machines, doing just that for 2010 with the Europe-only launch of the XT1200Z Super Ténéré. The Ténéré is an African desert where Yamaha bikes from twenty years ago established dominance in long distance off-road races.
According to our Moto123.com in-house slip-and-slide specialist, Luc Brière, a proper dirt bike must have the following characteristics: at least a 19in front rim (21in is better for serious back road riding), at least 200mm of suspension travel, a frame that can bend without breaking and can be straightened out easily after a crash, stand-up and sit-down riding ergos, and a narrow-but-comfortable saddle. And if you get on it and never want to get off, in dirt or on pavement, then you are on to something!
On a XT1200Z Super Ténéré, you can sense that you are indeed aboard quite something. This is a clean-slate bike, with all-new everything, and everything you need on it, as befits the latest addition to this rich market segment.
On the XT1200Z, the aforementioned “Everything” means:
An all new over-square 1199cc parallel twin with the usual twin cams, four valves per cylinder, and advanced ignition and injection electronics
A six-speed gearbox and shaft final drive, for smooth and effortless gear changes. The absence of free play in the drive train was another happy surprise
Throttle by wire, to smooth out the bumps and dips in torque delivery from the engine, as well as implement the power cuts commanded by the Traction Control System
Two engine modes: Touring and Sport. The rider can flip from one to the other while moving, to instantly cope with changing weather and riding surface
The “Unified Braking System” (UBS), a brake-by-wire system that lets small electric motors distribute front-to-rear braking effort according to instructions from the ECU, in either linked or independent front-rear mode.
An ABS that works as well on dry pavement as on slippery dirt
Traction control with three levels of intervention, from nil for real dirt riders to maximum for wet pavement
A 23L fuel tank
Preload-, compression- and rebound-adjustable fork, preload- and rebound-adjustable rear shock
Nice, wide and soft rider and passenger saddle
Manually adjustable windshield height, effective hand protectors and side fairings
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