TÉNÉRÉ TRAGICS TRAIL MAIL:

MY NAME IS DAVE & I AM A TÉNÉRÉ TRAGIC

G'day All: Tenere Tragic #7 (Dave) here. The excitement for this event is starting to build. I'll be there on my '97 XTZ660 (see attached photo). This bike was bought at a damaged motorbike auction with only 500km on it, for around $2,000. A couple of plastic panels and a new exhaust and it was registered and on the road. Since then, 35,000 trouble-free kilometers. It's also had a few mods:

+ African Queens centrestand
+ Staintune exhaust
+ Unifilter air filter kit
+ Bikebiz crash bars
+ OEM Yamaha accessory rear rack
+ Hepco & Becker pannier frames
+ Renthal 'Dakar' bend bars
+ RAM GPS mount
+ MRA screen
+ Goodridge braided brake lines
+ Ego Barkbuster handguards
It's had a hard life, doing runs up the Birdsville and Oodnadatta tracks a few times when the mining company had us working in central SA, but is now (regrettably) confined mostly to the city commute. Both the bike and I are looking forward to streching our legs on the way to the Flinders. See you then!
-- Dave, Tenere Tragic #7.

You can’t keep a good Ténéré down, Dave! Thanks for your email and photo. Looking forward to meeting up with you and that shiny black beast in the Flinders ... only a few weeks to go now!

-- Clubby, Ténéré Tragic #1

TÉNÉRÉ TRAGICS TRAIL MAIL:

MY NAME IS PETE & I AM A TÉNÉRÉ TRAGIC

Hi Clubby: my name's Pete and I am a Ténéré Tragic. I'm also a Pommie who arrived in Australia in the early 1980s. My brother-in-law gave me his old XL250 and I discovered the trails go on forever, so I thought all my Christmases had come at once.

I had a break from bikes for about 18 years. Finally, with a big trip planned, I started looking at most of the dual-purpose 650s. More by luck than judgement I ended up with a '96 Ténéré. It's been brilliant and I love it. Wouldn't swap it for anything (except perhaps the latest model I was drooling over in the showrooms recently!).

My trip was up to the Kimberleys, down to the Pilbara, through Jarrah forests in southern WA and then back home. All up it was 16,000km in two-and-a-half months -- how good can life get?!

I'm really looking forward to the Tragics run. I'll be coming up from far south Tassie -- one of the pics is from my backyard: you guys tempted to ride here?).

If I can't make the start of the Getting There ride, I should catch up to you all in Broken Hill.

--Pete, Ténéré Tragic #11

Welcome aboard, Pete, and thanks for reporting in from the Apple Isle. We're stoked to have you onboard and look forward to catching up in far-west NSW. It's shaping up to be a ripper ride and great time away.

-- Clubby, Ténéré Tragic #1

TÉNÉRÉ TRAGICS DREAMING:

JUST LIKE THE BIKE STEPHANE RACED ...

Okay all you Ténéré Tragics, still looking for a ride for our fast-approaching Run to the Rocks ride in March?

Detuned that you can't get your hands on one of those wicked XT1200Z Super Ténéré Worldcrosser concept bikes?

Even more disappointed that you haven't been able to track down a truly classic original '83 XT600ZL?

Then how about snapping up this little beauty?

Yep, it's a dead-set Team Yamaha France factory XTZ850R Dakar Rally race bike in the exact same spec as the bike Stephane Peterhansel raced in the Dakar in 1992/'93.

Check it out via the web link below, then bid like a true Ténéré Tragic ... you know you want it!

http://www.classic-motorbikes.com/Yamaha_XTZ_850_FC19.html

-- Clubby, www.trailzone.com.au

TÉNÉRÉ TRAGICS TRAIL MAIL:

MY NAME IS COLIN & I AM A TÉNÉRÉ TRAGIC

G’Day Clubby: Even though I am really a SR/XT/TT500 nut (pictures of one of my XT500s that I have ridden in the past three SA reliability trial series’, including the 24 Hour, have appeared in issues 19 and 22 of TRAIL ZONE), I have always had a soft spot for the early Yamaha Ténérés.

By coincidence the same day that I bought issue 32 of TRAIL ZONE (in which the Ténéré Tragics ride was announced), I arrived home from work to find my brother’s ute parked in the driveway with his 1983 Ténéré in the back. We had spoken on the phone a few weeks earlier and he mentioned that he was considering selling it, as he hardly ever rode it, and it had an intermittent electrical/ignition problem and I said I was interested. So he brought the bike down from Broken Hill and I became the proud owner of a fairly original, but slightly rough Ténéré (top photo). It was therefore only natural that I send in an entry for the inaugural Ténéré Tragics Run to the Rocks.

A few days after the brother dropped off the Ténéré, I had a chance to take it for a quick ride around the paddock, which revealed a loud and nasty cam chain rattle. So out came the engine to have a look. The cam chain had long passed its use-by date, and the real horror was also revealed: evidence of a previous piston seizure in the final oversize bore (a legacy from the owner prior to my brother). So a major top-end rebuild is now underway.

I also checked the rear suspension linkages, and it was as bad as you would expect of a 27-year-old bike that has spent its life in the bush. A couple of hours with a hacksaw and drill had all the seized pins and bushes out. So for the past few weeks my “new” Ténéré has been spread all over my workbenches (lower photo), while I waited for a whole lot of parts to arrive. Maybe I will be able to convince the wife that all the parts were supplied F-O-C by a benevolent motorcycle magazine who wanted to do an article on the rebuild of an old warhorse ... but quite probably not.

Anyway, I hopefully will get most of it back together this weekend. I will then be able to take it out for a ride and start trying to sort the electrical/ignition problem and get some miles on it to run in the new piston and bore prior to the Tragics ride. If it all turns out okay, I will probably ride up to Broken Hill and join the Getting There ride. It has been a good ten years since I was last in the Tibooburra/Cameron Corner area and will be great to go back there again.

-- Colin, Ténéré Tragic #6

That's the spirit, Colin: endless hours in the workshop bringing an ol' banger back to its former glory ... in fact, that's the true Ténéré spirit! Look forward to catching up with you and that classic '83 Teenéré on the Getting There ride.

-- Clubby, Ténéré Tragic #1

TÉNÉRÉ TRAGICS TRAIL MAIL:

MY NAME IS DAVE & I AM A TÉNÉRÉ TRAGIC

Hello Clubby and all: My name is Dave, I'm from from Brisbane and I'm a confirmed Ténéré Tragic (and yes, looking forward to getting my official number). My pride and joy and trusty steed for the big jaunt is my all original ’83 ZL, hereafter known as “Best Bike Ever Built” (BBEB). I purchased my gem in 1986 after much drooling in Yamaha shops about town and thinking the dollars were a bit much, but finally got my hands on the BBEB and I thought it was the ducks nuts and still do.

Attached are a few photos from a recent tour to the Centre with long-time touring mate Chris, and fellow BBEB owner, who can’t make the Arkaroola trip. On this ride tyre trouble 50km outside Boulia meant an overnight camp and a few ports around the fire. That’s me looking for the end of the tube in one photo, and the Boulia sunset is probably one of my favourite scenes. As for the middle photo, do you think this looks like a great woolly mammoth … oh! and also a big termite mound in the background.

Don’t be too alarmed at our touring set-up: it looks a bit agricultural but has stood the test of time, and we tend to think that if you haven’t got it with you, you’re probably not going to find it at the back ‘O’ Bourke.

Now, a couple of quick questions:

+ Will the young fast kiddies wait for the old fellas?

+ Do you think there should be enough sat phones floating around in the group?

Have just received the latest Ténéré Tragics newsletter and enjoy reading the latest news. I too am meeting the group at Hillston for the Getting There Ride and at this point am riding from Brisbane solo, probably via Dubbo but will keep an eye out for other Tragics en-route. Cheers for now,

-- Dave, Ténéré Tragic #8 and BBEB True believer!

Welcome aboard, Dave, and might I say right up front, you clearly qualify as a Ténéré Tragic of almighty proportions! As I have mentioned before, there are a handful of '83 XT600ZL Ténérés registered for the ride, which is absolutely fabulous, as that's the model that started the whole Ténéré religion (is that the right word? Are we Tragics part of a 'religion'? Or is disease a better word for it?!). To answer your questions, you are Ténéré Tragic #8, the young bucks can ride as fast or slow as they like as we've planned it that everyone ride can ride at their own pace, and I am guessing some riders will be carrying sat phones, but that's only a guess at this time. As stated from the outset, everyone needs to be entirely self-sufficient for the ride, so plan accordingly. Again, welcome aboard and keep giving that marvellous '83 BBEB plenty of TLC and she'll give it right back as you chug-a-lug through the Aussie outback with your 'fellow disciples' in the first week of March!

-- Clubby, Ténéré Tragic #1

TÉNÉRÉ TRAGICS TRAIL MAIL:

MY NAME IS DAVE & I AM A TÉNÉRÉ TRAGIC

My name is Dave, I live in Tannum Sands in central Queensland and I am excited to be part of the Ténéré Tragics Run to the Rocks. I purchased one of the first XT1200Zs in Queensland from Gladstone Motorcycles in late June 2010.

I was born in Scotland but spent my youth growing up in Africa, namely Zambia (four years) and Kenya (13 years). In my teens my hobby was riding and fixing up motorcycles for friends. I have ridden numerous brands of motorcycles through this hobby including Honda's MT5 and MB5 to XL185 XL250, XL500, CR480R Elsinore, CB400N Superdream, XR400R and XR650R. I've ridden Suzuki's TS125 and TS185 and Yamaha's GT80, DT100, DT125, DT175, DT250, XT250, XT500, XT600 Ténéré (both the ’83 and ’86 models), XT1200Z and XS750. I also rode a Kawasaki two-stroke triple 900, Norton 650SS and BMW K1000.

I moved back to Scotland in 1987 to start working, where I bought a CB400N and then a 1986 XT600 Ténéré. I emigrated to Queensland in 2000 where I purchased a brand new XR650R. I sold it a few years later and haven’t had a bike since. However I got bitten by the bug after watching Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman on the Long Way Round and Down. I was almost going to buy a BMW GS1200A until I heard that Yamaha was bringing out the Super Tenere in a 1200 version. I waited impatiently -- but I am glad I did! It is a fantastic bike.

My father built and raced motocross sidecar outfits in the mid to late 1960s and was the Scottish champion for five years running before retiring as No 1. He is a Norton man through and through and currently owns a 1957 Norton 650SS. He also has a BMW K1000, a Moto Guzzi 500 and a Honda 700 Deauville. My brother had a ’84 XT600 Ténéré which was unfortunately stolen from outside his flat in London. He has since replaced it with a brand new XT660 Ténéré.

The bikes I have owned are a DT100, XT500G, CB400N, XT600 Ténéré (1VJ model; blue and yellow with electric start), XR650R, and now an XT1200Z. I have always been a Yamaha and especially a Ténéré fan. I always wanted to do the Paris Dakar but never had the guts or money ...

I have enclosed some pics of some of my bikes for your perusal. The top photo shows me and my brother Mike touring northern France on our Ténérés in 1989 (mine is the blue one!). The second photo is my dad piloting his Norton 650 Ian Smith Special during a Scottish Sidecar Championship race. The third photo is my new XT1200Z parked at Sandy Creek near Turkey Beach in central Queensland.

Do you know if anyone is doing the Getting There Ride on the Tragics Run from north or central Queensland? If so can you let me know so I can ride down with them. If not I’ll try to catch up with the Dalby Tragics.

Thanks and best regards,

-- Dave, Ténéré Tragic #35

Thanks for your email, Dave, that's an awesome yarn! Loved the photos! Those first two photos are true classics! The other Queensland riders on the Tragics Run are all based down in south-east Queensland, but I will put the word out in the next Bulletin that you are looking to hook up with other riders. In the meantime I suggest you definitely contact Craig Hartley at Dalby Moto and say g'day and work on joining up with those boys.

Look forward to seeing you out there and talking Ténérés!

-- Clubby, Ténéré Tragic #1

TÉNÉRÉ TRAGICS TRAIL MAIL:

A QUESTION ABOUT FUEL BLADDERS

Hey Clubby: You guys are doing a good job with this Ténéré Tragics ride! Now, I've got just a couple of quick questions: I'm wondering what Luke and my ID numbers are? Also, how big a fuel bladder do you reckon the 660 Ténéré will need?

-- David, Ténéré Tragic

Thanks for your email, Dave. Okay, here's the scoop: 1). You are Tenere Tragic #25 and your boy Luke is Tenere Tragic #26. Awesome that we've got a father/son combo along on the ride! 2). Re the fuel bladder, I just spoke with Steve Smith at AdventureMoto.com.au and he advised the bladders are available in 4, 8 and 12 litre sizes. When not in use they roll up to the size of a Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, so you can stash them in your luggage. Then when you need extra fuel range, you just get 'em out, fill 'em up and because they end up shaped like a pillow, you can just strap them atop your luggage, usually with a small elastic cargo net, or even direct to the straps on your luggage (as Clive is doing in this photo with the fuel bladder atop his V-Strom). As for which size you get, it comes down to what range you need and how thirsty your bike is. I am going to carry an 8 litre bladder for the run from Cameron Corner down to Arkaroola -- where we need around 470km range. After we leave Cameron Corner, I will stop after about 100km and empty some fuel from the bladder into the tank, and then stop again later and empty the balance in, then put the bladder away for the rest of the day. Like I said in the latest Ténéré Tragics Bulletin, the crew at AdventureMoto.com.au are doing discounts for Ténéré Tragics, so make sure you call them on 1300-GO-MOTO and say you are on the ride. Steve also let us know he's doing a special deal on SPOT trackers for just $199 plus subscription fee. If you've got a missus at home who wants to keep track of you and Luke on the ride, the SPOT trackers are a great way of doing just that -- although make sure you send an OK signal each night and turn it off before we hit the pub -- don't want the girls at home thinking we're all parked on bar stools each night for hours on end ... now do we?!

-- Clubby, Ténéré Tragic #1