Yamaha’s XT Ténéré travel bikes

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My Tenere Travels
1982: XT500 • Algeria
1985-86: XT600Z 55W• London–Dakar
1987-88: XT600Z 1VJ • Algeria
1990: XT600Z 55W • Marseille–Mauritania
2007: XT660Z • Morocco
2018: ‘Tenerised’ XScrambleR 700

I well remember the day in 1983 when I first clocked Yamaha’s original XT600Z Ténéré outside Maxim Motorcycles in Parramatta, west Sydney.

I crouched down for a good look at the machine which appeared to have addressed just about all the deficiencies of my 1982 XT500 desert bike: front disc brake, huge 28-litre tank, monoshock back-end, 12-volt electrics, folding lever trips, oil cooler and a thrifty ‘twin-carb’ set up. And all at around 140 kilos dry.

The 34L XT600Z Ténéré, named after the most gruelling Saharan stage of the Paris-Dakar Rally (see below), was desert-ready right off the showroom floor.

‘Tenere’ – What’s that then?

Tenere – or as the French write it: Ténéré – is one of the many Tuareg words for ’emptiness’ or ‘desert’. The more familiar Arabic Sahra [Sahara] means the same thing, but like the Inuit and their snow, the nomads of the Sahara distinguish between many types of desert and regions. The Tenere is a particularly desolate and waterless flat expanse which fills the northeast corner of Niger (left).

In the Dakar Rally’s 1980s heyday, the crossing of the Tenere from Algeria to Agadez in Niger via the dunes of the Bilma Erg, typically decimated the field and helped establish the Tenere’s already notorious reputation of the ‘desert within a desert’.

In 2003 we rode to the famous Arbre Perdu or ‘Lost Tree’ in the northern Tenere (below) where Dakar Rally founder Thierry Sabine had his ashes scattered following his death during the ’86 rally.
Good French page on vintage Dakar and all the Teneres and similar bikes.

I bought my first Ténéré in London in 1985 to tackle my own London–Dakar adventure. This was the slightly modified 55W version of the original 1983 34L, produced for just one year. The changes were small: front disc brake cover, stronger DID rims, revised chain adjuster, longer, all-red or blue seat and most easily spotted: sloping speed blocks on the tank.
Modifications to my 55W amounted to nothing more than adding thicker seat foam and some Metzeler ‘Sahara’ tyres – a rubbish choice for the actual Sahara, even back then. Using no rack was another mistake which nearly cost me the bike when my baggage caught fire.

In fact, there was so little to do that I went to the bother of moving the oil cooler from next to the carbs up out into the breeze over the bars. And I painted it black because I was still hadn’t shaken off my juvenile Mad Max phase. With my £5 ex-army panniers slung over the back, in December ’85 I set off for Marseille, bound for Dakar via Algeria, Niger and Mali.

85xt60-dakarmap — My 1985-86 route to Dakar in green.

This was my first overland trip which succeeded in actually crossing a few African borders – and it proved to be as eventful as my first Sahara ride on the XT500 (and the Benele quickie which followed). On the way I learned many must-do-next-times as well as several more never-do-agains, all useful material for my Desert Biking guide published a few years later and which evolved into the current AM Handbook.

Blazing saddles near the Niger border

I met Helmut in Tamanrasset and we set off across the Sahara together. Sadly he crashed and burned, never to reach the Niger border. I also had a smaller fire a day or two later, but was thrilled to have finally crossed the Sahara into West Africa.
As I wrote later, reaching sub-Saharan Africa was like switching a TV from black and white to colour.
A few weeks later, with many more adventures and worthwhile lessons under my belt, I shipped my charred Tenere out of Dakar and flew on to Spain to catch up with it. You can read the long version of that trip here.

tenere85 — Camped by the Niger river, Niger

Yamaha’s original 34L and 55W Ténéré was the first proper, well-equipped lightweight travel bikes, created on the back of Yamaha’s success in the Dakar Rally which I encountered on a few occasions out there.
That bike – not the BMW R80G/S everyone goes on about – was a game changer, with the brakes, range, suspension, economy, power and lack of weight which ticked all the boxes. In Europe they absolutely loved them; over a decade the French alone bought 20,000 Teneres; over 30% of all production. They were never officially imported into North America. From 1987 the KLR650 filled the same niche but in Europe the KLR was largely ignored and Suzuki DR600s and 650SEs made a bit more of an impact. A good early-Tenere page.

The next Tenere was the 1VJ model (left and above) with kick and electric start, firmer suspension and the air filter positioned, rally-style, under the back of the tank. But costs were cut elsewhere, it supposedly had over-heating problems and it just didn’t seem as durable as the original kickers. Mine sounded pretty clapped-out by the time I returned from a 3000-mile Sahara trip.
You can read about my 87-88 trip here.

I never owned one, but the classic twin-lamp 3AJ Teneres (above and left), was said to be a better machine, even if it had by now gained some 25kg. There was said to be a 5th gear problem common to other 600 Teneres, but only if you rode them very hard and lugged the motor.

The 5-valve XTZ660 Tenere from the 1990s (left) still looked great but by now had gained even more weight and lost some cred. On top of that, poor electrics and other flaws managed to lose the Ténéré mojo in the face of KTM’s dirt-focussed 640 Adventure (right).
After the 5-valve was dropped, for nearly ten lean years in the Noughties there were no Teneres in production. BMW’s 650 Dakar became popular big single travel bike; Teneres were seen as an 80s throwback.

Then, in 2008 Yamaha’s legendary desert bike returned as the XT660Z. Based on the injected XT660R and X produced from 2004, the fuelling was much improved and again, it ticked many boxes, even if it now weighed over 200 kilos and, at times, felt it. Fuel consumption varied widely but averaged 25 kpl, giving a range of about 570km/360 miles from the 23-litre plastic tank.

I bought a barely used one soon after they came out, did the usual kerbside makeover and set off for Morocco to research the first edition of Morocco Overland. Read about that bike here.

By 2016 ever-tightening emissions regs killed off the hefty 660Z Ténéré. but 2019’s long awaited XT700 Ténéré, based on the brilliant twin-cylinder CP2 motor, as in my 2017 XSR700 has become a worldwide hit (read my early impressions here). Though taller, a T7 is not much heavier than the 660Z and just like the original 34l, is another desert-ready hit right out of the crate.

CFMoto 450MT 11,000km review

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CFMoto 450MT index page

Updated May 2025

• Stock CST Ambro tyres good on dirt, great on road and could have got 10,000km from them
• Smooth, grunty engine easy to manage and great sound
• Zero issues in 11,000km
• Suspension soaks it all up when laden (stock settings changed)
• Seat is low and good for up to 600-km road days
• Standing just about sustainable with 25mm risers on stock pegs (me: 6′ 1″/183cm)
• Lights light up at night like lights should
• Spoked wheels held up very well

• Wet weight can feel high off road when tanked-up and laden (+15kg baggage)
• ~70mpg fuel consumption nothing special for a 450
• Gear change not brilliant
• Jerky throttle at low rpm sometimes (mapped out at 10,000km service?)
• Kenda Big Blocks were no better on the dirt and gave a few moments on tarmac

Review
Back in the UK after leaving the MT in Morocco for the winter, doing two one-month spells on backroads and tracks with groups on mostly KTM 390s, plus a 5-day run along the TMT with big twins. Some rain damaged pistes were quite brutal, but still rideable with outriggers extended, the odd over-balance or best idea of all: stock suspension settings adjusted!

I stuck with the stock CST Ambro 4 tyres (Pirelli Scorpion Rally copies) mostly run at 30psi to protect the protruding tubeless rims which have held up very well. I just tapped the spokes and all are ringing nice and taut. Wet roads, dry trails and everything I’ve encountered in between, I’m impressed the Ambros, and when I changed them at around 8000km, there was a good 1000km left. That wasn’t enough to do one more lap and get me home so I had some Kenda Big Blocks fitted in Marrakech for the Last Tour and the 2000-km ride back.

After 5000km it was definitely time to meddle with the stiff suspension. Result: much better. Now it bottoms out where it should and handles all sorts of rocks and other roughage if taken at appropriate speeds. Prior to that, dropping the tyres to 26psi didn’t really make much difference along stony Acacia Avenue near Foum Zguid.

The grunty engine is so satisfying to use on tight trails and bendy roads. Suboptimal gear? No probs: the engine picks up from low rpm without the shudder of a big single, and the offbeat rat-tat-tat from the pipe adds to the enjoyment you don’t get on a CRF300L. Sometimes I think the kangarooing at low throttle openings has gone away (having the chain tension right helps), at other times it’s there but not enough to make me want to rush to some good internet and upload an OTA remap. Could it be to do with air pressure/humidity/ambient temps/fuel grade? Who knows but a new chain and a full service in Spain made it less noticeable and may have gone altogether.

The MT’s gear change was never that slick from new and was only shown up by the quick-shifting 390s I rode with for a while – let alone the Desert X Rally which was like clicking a dial. Then I had the bright idea to adjust the clutch cable tension at the bar even though it felt fine and guess what: now the gear change is normal. And with a new chain on the way back it was better still, but never that snickey.

With lubes, chain hung in there for 11,000km. Another example of quality consumables, unlike my recent Jap bikes

I’ve been trying to unlearn the clutch habit and change just with the foot and a blip – it’s often seamless up and even down. I really need to try and do that more but a long decade of urban despatching has made clutch use a reflex.

Real-world fuel consumption was nothing special for a 450. All up I averaged 24kpl – 68UKmpg – 56.6US – probably no better than a T7. I did get a suspiciously good 81mpg (28.7kpl) one time without really trying. Sometimes I wonder if my tankside bags create the drag you’d expect. But my 300L had the same set up and got nearly 100mpg, so I don’t think so. Either way, the range is good for 400km, but with 17 litres up high, I try to stretch out the range on the piste.

No complaints about the brakes. One good front disc is all you need for a bike of this weight and power. On the dirt I leave the ABS and TC on. One day on a steep climb I looked back to check on the group and nearly steered myself over the edge (like you do), but the ABS caught me. I had to be pulled back. Similar happened a couple more times when I was too tired to react to yet another bend. The MT’s brakes hauled me up safely.

I did not noticeably activate the TC as the 40-hp cross plane motor just hooks up. That was until one dark night when the 6km track to our lodgings had stretches of deep soft sand. With tyres at road pressures the TC got in the way and I was going down, not forward. It had been a long day and it took me a while to remember and then fumble for the easily accessible TC/ABS kill button on the bars which did the trick. Another time, stalling on a steep climb, the back wheel span then cut with the TC. Again, killing the TC did the trick. I’ll keep the ABS on 24/7 but TC can get in the way on loose dirt. I really don’t think this bike needs it at all.

My unconventional rackless placement of a Kreiga low and forward on the LHS pillion footrest worked faultlessly, even with plenty of paddling through oueds and over rocky sections. I never even noticed it was there. The weight position must be as optimal as it gets and it hasn’t budged. It’s such a neat idea next time I’ll do both sides and ditch that tail pack which, handy though it is, makes getting on and off elegantly a pain.

I fell over once with a 3/4-full tank, inching round a rain-gouged switchback. The bike landed downhill but with all the others ahead, I was relieved to find I could lift it myself, helped by those grab handles at the back. But the Chinese plastic on the aftermarket handguard cracked like an egg. I replaced with proper ABS Barkbuster guards.
There could have been a couple more such falls-overs, but they’re avoidable thanks to the low seat. Yes, the lowness takes a bit more leverage to stand up, but I’ll take getting my feet on solid dirt any time.
On the trail, I’ve lowered the screen and MRA deflector to better see what’s ahead; a 2 minute job. Meanwhile, the bash plate batted back the odd flying stone and I never scrapped the base.

The 450MT was a mini T7, just like they say, but a bit big and heavy for solo trail exploring. Read about following the TMT with a 1250GS and a Ducati Rally X.

CFMoto 450MT – suspension fix

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CFMoto 450MT index page

Once in Morocco I rode a couple of 1000 clicks on tracks and trails before deciding yes, it was time to fiddle with the suspension settings which I’d not touched from new. Some tracks – made rougher by the September floods – were giving me a hammering. The suspension was too harsh as many reviewers attest, especially at the lower speeds I ride at. I did try one stony stage with tyres aired down to 26psi, but it didn’t seem to make much difference, TL tyres being natively stiffer. I didn’t want to go lower on the untried rims – though they’ve since proved to be up to the job. On one ride without my 15kg of travel baggage (above) the bike was nice and agile but even harsher on very rough ground without the extra mass.

The CF has fully adjustable suspension and taking a cue from this ADVRider 450MT suspension thread, I should have started by setting the rear sag – a well-known metric for getting the rear suspension in the ballpark – but I didn’t. I never do. Instead I dialled back the shock’s combined compression/rebound knob (below left; no tool needed; nice) from 11 down to 3. I then backed off the fork rebound (left fork) and fork compression (right fork) by one turn and undid the fork preload with a 14mm by half a turn – and later did another half turn.

This was a definite improvement, especially on the trail. By now I was riding with £22k of top-of-the-range Desert X Rally, and an HP 1250GS with similarly sophisticated suspension. On the roughest trails I was unable or reluctant to keep up with them. Three times more hp may have helped, but the MT’s springs lacked the solid yet plush feel of the Ducati which I rode briefly and which lapped up anything that was thrown at it.

So the stock set up is far from plush, but just a couple of minutes of easy tweaking has improved things a lot. The back end bottoms out now (as it should on the biggest hits) and the fork has done the same on a couple of fast ditch impacts. When I get back in February I may crank the rear preload up half a turn which should help tighten up the steering and reduce G-outs. Plus try dropping the tyres again to 25-ish.

As it is now the 450MT is not quite as good as my Rally Raid sprung 300L from last year, nor my factory set-up Hyperpro 650 XCountry, but both had €1-2000 of added springware. I’ve spent nothing on the MT, bar a few minutes on adjustments. It all just underlines what a well configured machine the MT is.

Morocco Fly&Ride 2024 gallery

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A few shots from November tours on the new KTM 390s. Severe September floods in the south wrecked many routes, or made them rougher than normal.

A swath of near-new 390 Adventures in Marrakech

But one zero-miler has no brakes so we come back for a 310GS

We set off up the dusty N7 Tizi n Test road

Next day we cross the 2500-m High Atlas watershed

We spend a relaxing evening separating the saffron stamens from crocus flowers.

Group 1 came two years ago so I try a new route on them – A3 from the new book.

Then I rope them in to a crass publicity stunt for the TMT (Trans Morocco Trail)

From Anissi village the track is unused, pretty rough and slow. Many of us over-balance negotiating run-off gullies, even me! Good to know I can pick up my MT450. Above, the Tawzart pass back down to the Issil plain

Not for the first time my instructions to ride ahead are vague and an hour is lost. We ride into the night and top up on fumes

I let Keith ride my 450. He might want to buy it later

I have a blast on the 390 but as expected, I am not thrilled. No worse than a 310 on the dirt, I suppose.

We reverse Route A11 to Agdz – a fun haul road little damaged by the rains

Next day we try Z3 up into Saghro, but it’s now a bone shaker in places. Give it a few months.

It may be the main N9 road but the Tichka pass is a blast and a 390 is just the job.

group 2 and for the first time in a dozen Novembers, we leave Marrakech in the rain. The roadworks up to Ijoukak are messy and rocks are rolling down the hillsides and blocking the road for cars

Evidence of fresh rockfalls (alongside earthquake debris from last year)

The rain fell as snow on the High Atlas summits

We hose the mud-splattered bikes off in Taliouine

And down into the desert – greener than normal after the September rains

Up into the Aguinane valley. Note the plunge pool below the ford gouged out by the rains

RJ and Luke at the top of the dry waterfall

Leaving Assaragh for the last time. Finally found a better place down in Aguinane

We decide to try out the Tinzolin OUT. Now it’s a VOR (Verified Other Route – all explained in the book)

It’s both rough and sandy in places and above takes a big diversion round a washed-out oued bank.
I’m getting beaten up again and need to have a fiddle with my MT’s suspension

The group demands a visit the film studios at Ouarzazate. I watch the bikes in the car park.

Back in muggy RAK. All’s well that ends well.

Quick spin: 2024 KTM 390 Adventure SW

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See also
KTM 890 Adventure R review

In a line:
Small orange road bike confusingly called ‘Adventure’

Quick stats:
• Power: 44hp
• Wet weight 169kg (our bikes: ~173kg)
• Seat: 855mm / 33.5″ (claimed)
• Tank: 14L (claimed)
• Verified consumption / range: 25–29kpl / 360-420km; (71-83mpg / 225-260 miles)

What they say
Gone are the days when going from A to B [missing word]. The 2024 KTM 390 ADVENTURE rewrites the rulebook on what the daily commute needs to be. Merging all-road versatility and proven reliability with real-world performance, not to mention adventure-ready spoked wheels, a proven 373 cc powerplant, and a class-leading chassis, the KTM 390 ADVENTURE not only seeks out new adventures – it leaves no path unexplored.
This motorcycle is designed and developed in Austria, and assembled in India.

What I think:

• Light
• Nice gear change (Quickshifter+)
• Great range from 25kpl up
• Adjustable WP APEX suspension
• A 390 Adventure X (right) came out in 2025

• Grabby front brake
• Tubed tyres
• Very pessimistic fuel warning (loads left)
• Small display figures illegible on the move
• Engine rougher than a 310GS
• Seat is hard – and wide at the front
• Bars way too low for sustained standing
• No USB port, but there is a 1980s-style 12-v cig plug
• Negligible wind protection for an ‘Adventure’ styled bike
• Not a look I warm too

Review
I’ve led a few tour groups riding KTM 390 Advs late 2024/early 2025 and tried one for a couple of hours on the open road. I didn’t expect to get on with it. On paper it never added up to any kind of bike that suits my riding, and coming off my CFMoto 450MT twin just enhanced that impression. My twin’s creamy, low-down torque which makes it so easy to ride is entirely absent from the KTM, as you’d expect. A 400 single can be torquey, but only a 410 Himalayan takes that route, losing out on higher speeds.
First impressions: the seat is hard and wide at the front, splaying the legs uncomfortably when still (and I’m 183cm). It is wide and spacious at the back where it needs to be, but after a short while the butt gets sore. Standing up an hour in for some posterior relief, I found the bars way too low: just wide bars clamped to a stock Duke chassis/headstock. A 50mm rise (more than the stock cables have to give) is a minimum needed. All the riders large and small complained about this.

It’s really a quick-shifting road bike and feels like a supermoto or a scrambler, but without a latter’s cool retro looks. While the 170-mm of WP APEX suspension travel is firm, adjustable and well damped (one good thing about all KTMs off the shelf), the stance is all wrong for off-roading, despite the wide bars. The same can be said for the six-year-old BMW 310GSs which these bikes replaced at the Marrakech rental agency, and we got used to those too. The returning group I was guiding rode 310s last time, and one rider was given a 60,000-km example when his unridden, zero-mileage 390 developed a front brake problem leaving the garage.

Part of the reason is the 390’s grabby front brake would need careful operation on the dirt, or just mean you have to take it easy. I didn’t feel inspired to try a 390 on the trails; it would be too tiresome managing the stock Conti TKC70 tyres, touchy brake and stance. Actually I did for a few hundred metres and thought something was bent. We did navigate some sandy and rough tracks in the Anti Atlas and everyone got through with a few fall overs. There, and on easier trails I did notice myself pulling ahead on my 450MT. I suspect the group couldn’t relax and flow on the stock tyred 390s like I could on my grunty CFMoto, even with a 25-kilo penalty. Most in the group who’d been before recall preferring the 310GS.

For me my 450MT trounces a 390 road or dirt, despite the 25-kg penalty and poorer economy. Pic: Keith Betton

There’s leaning ABS and traction control, though I didn’t sense activating either; maybe they worked seamlessly as I suspect they on on my MT. I always leave ABS on and the TC helps keep the rear tyre in line leaving loose bends with barely any annoying intervention. A 390 hasn’t go the controllable, low-down grunt to do that, and anyway ‘Off Road’ mode disables the TC a bit. But some riders found using Off Road stopped the ABS stalling the engine – if that’s possible. Road or trail, good luck trying to see how well the cornering ABS works.
It’s hard to see any benefit of this ‘Adventure’ 390 SW over a road bike. I don’t even know what ‘Adventure’ signifies any more, but for travelling I’d happily take the extra 2 kilos of the cheaper, tubeless, cast wheel version, even if the good suspension might inspire some to hammer the wheels harder. That apart, both these 2024 models seem identical, but Triumph’s Scrambler X looks like much more fun to own, once you raise suspension to KTM levels.

With some amazement, we all decided KTM’s Quickshifter+ was fitted and working, though annoyingly I kept using the clutch out of habit. I know that on bigger KTMs quickshifting (and other added features) cut off 1000km from new after which you to have to pay to unlock it. Presumably Quickshifter+ is supplied free and permanently on these Moroccan-sourced 390s as it’s hard to see the rental place paying extra for it. Anyway, clutchless changing helps keep the engine in the sweet spot and when standing off-road, makes up for the awkward stance. I wish my CFMoto changed gears like that.

My eyes aren’t great but the tiny text on white screen is impossible to read on the move. It’s not great on my 450MT either, but white text on a black b/g works better. You wonder why they bother with the waist high screen which merely funnels the wind blast into your face at adjustable angles.

You can get used to anything, including the Chinese 125 mules every local tools about on in southern Morocco. But if you like exploring gravel tracks there are better small travel bikes out there – and more on the way, including KTM’s 2025 390 Adventure R (left) you’ll have read about and priced at just £5700.
About time they did that; hopefully Triumph will follow now they’re back into MX. That’s what any bike calling itself an ‘Adventure’ should have been all along, instead of just lamely pandering to the buzzword de jour. I recall I didn’t take to the 890R first time but then I did. If I ended up riding a 390SW again, I might come round to it, but I doubt it. These 390 SWs are just not suited to the sorts of tours I like to run in Morocco.

Adventure Motorcycling Handbook

The Website of the Book