Tenere Tragics

TÉNÉRÉ TRAGICS TRAIL MAIL:

CRAIG HARTLEY’S XT660Z TÉNÉRÉ SET-UP TIPS

Good day Clubby:

Phil Hodgens (Ténéré Tragic #32) asked me to send you a couple of things on what we have done to our Ténéré here at Dalby Moto.

The bike has travelled 18,000km and the motor has run faultlessly. We advise as a precaution that people keep an eye on the cush-drive rubbers on the rear wheel, as we have had to replace a couple of sets and this can relate to the rear cush-drive bearing as well.

We fitted a high guard kit that was a simple modification requiring only a mudguard.

As for tyre choice, a Dunlop K490 or Michelin Starcross HP4 for the front along with a ultra-heavy-duty tube and wheel balance completes the front end, although after some heavy-duty use we have had to fit a new front rim but this is not necessary for most purposes. At the rear, we have found a Mitas tyre is a long-lasting and strong case tyre for the 17 inch rim, as this combined with the ultra-heavy-tube works well -- once again remember to balance your wheels.

For the suspension we have put heavier fork springs in the front with a new valve assembly and in the rear we have fitted a heavy spring, changed the oil and done some minor valving and this works very well considering the bike always has a load.

We have fitted a rear carrier and Dalby Moto pannier racks, along with Andy Strapz bags.

We were successfully running a TK Pipes muffler which has a blank chamber on one side to put tools and the like in, but we are now experimenting with just a single muffler, mainly to see if we could save any more weight, as well as to change the power characteristic a little.

We have fitted an Oxford tank bag which works quite well but after prolonged use it will wear a little paint around the filler cap of the fuel tank, so some clear contact would be a good idea here. Because of the shape of the fuel tank, we use straps on each side of the tank bag down to the plastic tank guards to stabilise the tank bag. This works well, it just means you have to loosen the straps off and move the tank bag slightly to one side to refuel.

Finally, we have fitted weather shield Barkbusters to the bike.

That's about it, while the fuel range of the bike is very good and can regularly run out to the 300 to 400 km range depending on how you ride the bike.

Hope this info is of help to the Tragics -- look forward to seeing you on the ride in March.

-- Craig Hartley (Dalby Moto, Qld), Ténéré Tragic #15

Thanks for all the info on the 660 Ténéré set-ups, Craig, and we're stoked to see you've rounded up a posse of fellow riders for the inaugural Run to the Rocks in March. Looking forward to sharing a quiet drink (!) with you and Philth when we catch up.

-- Clubby, Ténéré Tragic #1