TRAIL MAIL: THE TENERE BUILDS ARE ON!

Hi Clubby: I picked up the Tenere tanks today and the good news is the 34L has been brought back from the brink. Meanwhile the '88 tank I bought in WA had a little bog but was otherwise very good, while the other '88 tank will make a good spare or at least fetch a good price on ebay once painted.

Looking at my list of acquired parts and given it gets a new engine, new plastics and paint, hydro-blasted fork legs and paint, repainted exhaust, replated nuts and bolts, new wheels and brake discs, the only thing that isn't getting done on the '88 is to bead blast the frame and swingarm and repaint!

Do you dare me to go all the way?

-- Lance 'Russ' Turnely, ORE webmaster & Tenere Tragic

Now, Russ, of course I dare you! That's what mates are for. I'm just stoked to finally see some movement in the ORE Garage and some of your fleet of various Teneres showing some progress. You can't possibly argue with me when I say, they have been a long time coming ... Now, as for all you other Tenere Tragics out there building bikes for next year's fast approaching Tenere Tragics Mountain to Mountain Run, let's see 'em! Send us a photo or two and some info on how you're going with the restos and we'll get the details up here for all the Tragics to see. Email me at teneretragics@trailzone.com.au and we'll take care of the rest.

-- Clubby, Tenere Tragic #1

MAIL CALL: FROM THE UK, LOOKING TO HIRE A TENERE

Hi Clubby: My brother in London, who is a bona-fide Tenere Tragic, is asking if he can participate in the 2012 Tenere Tragics Run? He obviously can't bring his XT660 out for the event and was wondering if you would allow him to join on a hired 660 or 1200? So the question now is, do you know of any nice people he could hire a Tenere from for the event, either in Sydney or Brisbane? He had an '85 XT600 which was stolen and he bought a 660 a couple of years ago. He is considering a 1200 at the moment. Look forward to hearing from you mate.
-- Dave Smith, Tenere Tragic #35

Would be awesome to have your brother along for the next Tenere Tragics Run, Dave, for sure, especially if he's coming all the way from the UK. We've put a few feelers out and the only lead we've got for an outlet that hires Teneres in based in Melbourne: just Google Garner's Motorcycles and apparently they have a wide and varied fleet of bikes to hire, which includes both Yamaha XT660Z and XT1200Z models. Best of luck with it!
-- Clubby, Tenere Tragic #1

MAIL CALL: TRAGIC DARRYL WANTS TO SET-UP HIS 1200'S FLIGHT DECK

Hi there Clubby: Thanks for the information pack and rego pack for next year’s Tenere Tragics ride, I can't wait. What I'm after is some information regarding your new 1200. In particular the new handlebars and the Barkbusters. I ride trials, Renthal fat bars and find the standard bars on the Tenere just too wide and just feel strange. I spoke to Waspworks and they mentioned bars and risers, then saw the white ride you have, with the gold bars and new Barkbusters. Can you please help me: the Tenere is an awesome bike, just needs some better feeling bars for me. Any info would be fantastic
-- Darryl Boorer, Tenere Tragic

Thanks for signing up to be part of the Tenere Tragics 2012 ride, Darryl - will be good! Re your questions about the flight deck on my XT1200Z Super Tenere, detailed below is what I did in notes I sent to the crew at Barkbusters HQ in Wollongong, as they have been getting requests from other 1200 riders after reading about my bike. Was not a straight bolt-on operation and some grinding/tweaking involved, but I am more than happy with the result.
Pre-amble: the stock XT1200Z bars were too road-oriented for my liking, too wide and too swept back. After fitting Barkbusters VSBars and risers to our XT660Z Tenere Project Bike last year, I was keen to replicate this flight deck on the 1200. I like to stand up a lot on dirt, and like to get weight forward over the front end of the bike to help steering on the dirt, plus I wanted the 1200's ergos to feel more 'dirt bike' than the stock set-up offered. I was confident the Barkbusters flight deck would achieve the goals I was after.
Bar risers were required to raise the VSBars due to their much lower rise than the stock bars. I was hoping to get a set of those wicked mega-adjustable Rox risers, but they never arrived in time for the 2011 Tenere Tragics ride. Had to make do with a cheap and cheery riser kit from the local bike shop: ended up with full lift via all spacers provided: 35mm lift in all. Note: no issues with cable lengths at all.
On the throttle side of the bars, the stock throttle tube is mega-long, like, road-bike long! So we cut the throttle tube down by 20mm to match the length of the off-road TAG grips I like to run, and with that done and Barkbusters bar end weight used, all controls fitted sweetly and easily on the throttle side of the VSBars. Front brake lever also fitted easily inside the VPS Barbuster alloy bar. Too easy this side!
Little more work required on the clutch side to get all controls to fit: 1). Dr Phil took the grinder to the clutch lever master cylinder and ground off the edge where it buts against the mirror perch mount. Doing this picked up a few millimetres. 2). Dr Phil also took the grinder to the ball on the end of the stock clutch lever and ground away most of the ball end, so as to give us clearance inside the VPS Barkbusters alloy bar. With these mods done, all controls on the clutch side fitted, plus, importantly, we had 5mm clearance of the front brake hose from the inside of the Barkbusters inner mount clamp.
As stated, no issues with cable lengths, and there is also a mountain of clearance beneath the bars from the tank on full lock, and heaps of clearance of the screen at the other end -- note I run the Waspworks/MotorradWorks screen adjuster set-up.
Mission accomplished!
Let us know how you go with getting your 1200's flight deck set-up.
-- Clubby, Tenere Tragic #1

2011 TENERE TRAGICS ON MOTORBIKIN' 5 DVD

Attention all Ténéré Tragics: the new Motorbikin' 5 DVD is out and it features a chunky segment on the 2011 Ténéré Tragics Run to the Rocks in the Flinders Ranges.

The segment follows Phil Hodgens and Dalby Moto's Craig Hartley on their mission just to get out to the Tragics event from south-east Queensland, and then their even more eventful return trip home ... in which the aforementioned Mr Hartley Esq manages to punch the guts out of his XT1200Z Super Ténéré in a rocky creek bed not too far from Arkaroola, thus dumping its engine oil.

Then, some time later in the middle of nowhere, he manages to thump a rock and flat-spot both front and rear rims at the same time -- thank heavens he was carrying tubes, huh?

But, of course, the mighty XT1200Z Super Ténéré carries him through and the pair eventually do make it home.

For more details on what is a cracker adventure bike riding DVD and to order your copy of the Motorbikin' 5 DVD, check out the www.motorbikin.com.au web site.

-- Clubby, Ténéré Tragic #1

MAIL CALL: CHAMPIONSHIP STATUS FOR TRAGIC COLIN & HIS '83 TÉNÉRÉ!

On September 17 I rode in the seventh and final round of the SA Reliability Trial Series, the Beryl Pearses Reliability Trial, which was run by the Clare MCC (my local club). It had been 18 years since the Clare MCC had run a reliability trial and everyone was eagerly looking forward to the event. The course comprised six competitive sections ranging from three to 10km in length spaced over a lap of 136km.

Once again I had entered on the trusty ’83 Ténéré, and in the spirit of the event I rode to the Main Control at the Clare Showground instead of putting the old girl on a trailer for the nine kilometre journey. I had drawn number 31, and was the first clubman rider out onto the course at 1:31pm, following hot on the heels of the Expert Solo riders. As I was still nursing a right boot full of broken toes from the Theo NixonTtrial at Mallala a month before, my plan was to just cruise around and enjoy a good day's riding.

The first paddock section was six kilometres in length, and started on a hill which gave a great view out over the section. Having arrived early into the start control I was able to watch a lot of the Expert Solos ride the section. Much of this section was flat-out over open pasture on the side of the hill, with the occasional twisty bit in and out of the gum trees around the creek in the bottom of the paddock. You know it is fast when you see and hear riders approaching turns tapped out in top gear. My riding was a bit more sedate, although I will admit to scaring myself at one point when I looked down at my speedo to find that I was doing over 100kph in fourth gear as I approached one turn.

The second paddock was three kilometres long and was a tight one over some rocky hills through stringy-bark trees. I don’t think I got any higher than second gear in this paddock. It was quite hard work try to muscle the Ténéré through the trees and up/down the hills. Having over 25 litres of fuel onboard didn’t help much either.

Paddock section three was four kilometres of narrow track, twisting and turning through a couple of paddocks on the hills around Barney’s (one of the organisers) house. The high point of this section was a sharp, bumpy right-left combination of turns coming down a steep hill towards Barney’s house. There were hazard markers in place and we were warned at the rider's briefing: get it wrong and you would land on the roof of Barney’s shed and from there fall into his spa. Any bike Barney found either on his shed roof or in his spa would be his!

Paddock section four was five kilometres long and had a true Clare Valley flavour. From the start you made a flat-out run around the edge of a vineyard before heading into a couple of paddocks of rolling grassy hills with the occasional large gum tree used for turning markers. The course twisted and turned up, down and across the hills and was quite fast, with a lot of 'Rollie Rocks' in the grass to keep you on your toes.

Paddock section five, at 10km, was the longest paddock on the course. This section was in an area called Camel's Hump, which is an apt description of the big barren, rocky hills with a covering of native pasture and a few stands of Black Boys. Fast wasn’t the word for this section, there has to be another word that means faster than fast. The only thing that made you slow down, apart from fear, were the numerous wash-outs and small gullies that the course crossed and occasionally ran along.

Paddock section six was eight kilometres of similar fast riding to paddock section five.

At the end of the lap, I surprised the officials and the main control by arriving before any of the Expert Solo riders had clocked in. Being a local, I was asked serious questions relating to cutting the course on the transport section from the final paddock section back to the main control. I just pointed to the Ténéré’s fuel tank, and said that with the fuel I had onboard, I could probably ride three laps of the course without having to refuel. That’s when it dawned on the officials; I had come straight to the control, while all the Experts had gone to the local servo that was the official fuel stop to fill up.

After a brief lay-over, I headed out for my second lap at 5:20pm. With the sun going down and darkness approaching my aim was to just maintain steady pace and make it to the finish without hurting myself or the bike. The lap was fairly uneventful, with the exception of losing my lights a few kilometres into the fifth paddock section. Being plunged into darkness while riding cross-country isn’t that much fun, but I managed to pull up with hitting anything. It only took a few minutes to find and fix a broken earth wire and once that was done I pressed on to the end of the lap.

I arrived back at the main control at about 8:40pm, happy to have finished another reliability trial on the Ténéré, and was presented with a commemorative stubby holder. After hanging around the finish for a while chatting with other riders and supporters, I put all my gear back on and rode the Ténéré back home.

So, after seven rounds the trusty Ténéré had taken me to a resounding Class M victory in both the Series and State Championship with the following results;

Second place Class M, Rd 1, The Phil Haydon 6hr Trial

Second place Class M, Rd 2, The Mike Connor 8hr Trial

First place Class M, Rd 3, The Robertstown 2 Day Trial

First place Class M, Rd 5, The Theo Nixon 6hr Trial

First place Class M, Rd 7, The Beryl Pearses 6hr Trial

Even though a 1983 XT600ZL Ténéré is probably one of the most inappropriate bikes to try and ride in these types of event, its shear reliability and indestructible nature saw it survive nearly 2,000km of competition/abuse with nothing more than a broken front mudguard, a bent foot-peg, a broken earth wire and a few more scratches on the fuel tank.

The trusty Ténéré has now been retired from competition. It will be given a full service and prepared for the forthcoming 2012 Tenere Tragics Mountain to Mountain Run.

Looking forward to seeing you all in Bathurst!

-- Colin Jay, Tenere Tragic #6

Congratulations and well done, Colin, on an impressive result! You're an inspiration to all your fellow Tragics: remind me to remind everyone at the Welcome Dinner at Bathurst at the start of next year's Tragics run to shout you a drink - you deserve it!

-- Clubby, Ténéré Tragic #1

MAIL CALL: FIRST-EVER HUSBAND AND WIFE TO JOIN THE TRAGICS!

Dear Clubby: Please find attached registration forms for my husband, Graham, and myself to participate in the 2012 Ténéré Tragics Mountain to Mountain Run. I would presume female riders are able to attend? I have been riding for 30 years and have owned my XTZ660 Ténéré for four years.

Graham and I have just completed a month on the road going out to Innaminka, Camerons Corner, down the Strez, to Hawker and then spending three days riding around the Flinders Ranges, What AWESOME riding! We covered all the tracks you guys did on the first Ténéré Tragics Run. We then rode from Hawker over to Coober Pedy where we put on new tyres (they were a bit worn after 4,500km). From Coober Pedy we headed to William Creek, then Maree, up the Birdsville Track and then, sadly, home. We did 7,333km and I LOVED every minute of it.

I would absolutely love to be part of the Tragics ride in 2012.

-- Janine Hannat, Ténéré Tragic #tba

Welcome into the Ténéré Tragics fold, Janine! And you, too, Graham. If you had such a good time on your outback trip, then you're definitely going to enjoy the ride we've got planned for next March. And hey, congrats on being the first-ever female Ténéré Tragic!

-- Clubby, Ténéré Tragic #1

MAIL CALL: TRAGIC MIKE REPORTS IN

Hi Clubby: I’m completely over the moon that the 2012 Ténéré Tragics Mountain to Mountain Run has finally been announced! Although I am already an official Ténéré Tragic after this year’s ride, I have been waiting and waiting, like so many other potential Ténéré Tragics, to see what 2012 holds.

I have convinced my very good friend Chris to enter for 2012, so here is his entry form all the way from New York, New York USA. Chris is just finalising a classic "The Americas: South to North" adventure ride on his R 1200 GS. He would have preferred a XT1200Z, but they hadn’t invented them when he bought his GS! Chris can’t wait to get back to the land of Oz and head for the Mountains with the Tragics. Anyone interested can catch his blog at wombatstravels.blogspot.com – Wombat is his GS! Here’s a photo of his beloved ’83, which he values so much he wouldn’t leave it with me while he was away!

I love the new 2012 Ténéré Tragics logo (which true Tragics would suggest is now in the ‘correct’ colours – I can hear the debate starting now). I just hope that Yamaha Australia sees the light and eventually brings the Euro white versions of the current Ténérés into the country sometime soon.

I now have to get back to rebuilding the donk in my second ’83 – I keep dreaming of shiny new gearsets, oversized forged pistons and high-volume oil pumps!

Congratulations on the release of details for the 2012 ride: we all know that this only comes after a lot of hard work and trail time. Keep up the great work on TRAIL ZONE, too!

In the Ténéré Spirit,

-- Mike Haysom, Ténéré Tragic #29

Thanks for the news, Mike, and congratulations to your mate Chris on becoming the Ténéré Tragics' first 'international' entrant! We're rapt to have him along and can't wait to hear some stories from his many epic adventures. Okay mate, get back into the workshop and get those '83s firing on all cylinders!

-- Clubby, Ténéré Tragic #1