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2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride Photo Gallery

The engine, while it feels sort of bland, it offers good fuel economy at 43-44mpg and as a result, it has a range of around 250 miles. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

See photos of the new 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere during our First Ride evaluation in the Super Tenere First Ride photo gallery and read the full story at 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride.

The radiator is placed on the left side of the motorcycle which allows the engine to be placed farther forward in the chassis. 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

A toggle button on the left side of the dash allows you to change the settings or turn the system off, but the motorcycle must not be stopped, running or not, in order to make the change. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The most important piece of protection though, is the aluminum skid plate. This tasty morsel is vital to protecting the exposed underbelly of the engine. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

Gear driven twin axis balancers help smooth out engine vibration to a point, but not so far as to eliminate all character from the parallel twin. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

Yamaha took a small sample form the MotoGP development and built the Super Tenre engine with a 270-degree and 450-degree firing order that creates easy, smooth and manageable power. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

In order to make the shaft drive unit as small as they needed it to be, the hypoid gear was positioned off center from the ring gear so they could both be smaller and compact - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The frame is a high-tensile steel tube (Yamaha calls it pipe) design that uses the engine as a stressed member. An aluminum sub-frame helps reduce weight. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The Super-Tenere we tested with the Adventure Touring-accessory package would run you $15,420 - is a set of knobbies and 3-gallons of fuel away from challenging the $20,495 Premium Package equipped GS Adventure as an off-road oriented adventure bike. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The windscreen works fine but adjusting it is a pain in the ass - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The steel tube frame guard is powder coated black and provides an added level of protection from crashes and debris. It wraps around the sides of the engine and runs up along the leading edge of the bodywork. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

Power arrives at the rear wheel through a slim, compact shaft-drive down the rider’s left hand side of the cast aluminum swingarm. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

Since the mill is a stressed member of the frame and it sits low in the chassis there are no under frame rails to protect the cases. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

An easy to adjust rear shock with 7.5-inches of travel is adjustable for pre-load and rebound without any tools. A handy knob located off the side of the shock allows for easy changes. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The Super-Tenere comes equipped with an ABS equipped Unified Braking System (UBS) that features a pair of 310mm wave rotors up front and a 282mm wave rotor in back. The ABS pickups are neatly concealed within the wheel hubs to help keep debris out and the look clean. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

A slick-shifting 6-speed transmission is a welcome partner to the mellow engine. With a light clutch pull, the tranny slips smoothly into gear. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

Wind protection was decent from the adjustable windscreen and the stock hand guards are a nice way to protect the riders’ hands from the elements, not to mention the levers in the case of a mild tip-over. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The optional heated grips come at a price. Besides costing $399 the switch looks like it doesn't belong on the bar - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The right side switchgear houses the Drive Mode selector switch - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

A fully adjustable long-travel 43mm fork with 7.5-inches of travel takes care of suspension duties. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The seat has a one inch range of adjustability and it provides a very nice perch from which you can log some serious miles. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The connection between the bike and those roads came courtesy of a set of deeply grooved Bridgestone Battle Wing tires that are purposely designed for the Super Tenere. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

We didn’t spend any time on wet or icy pavement, but we would assume that as well as it works on the dirt, there is no reason to believe it would not be as good in those conditions too. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The mirrors provided an unobstructed view although they did vibrate a bit at speed so it was a wee-bit blurry. If you’re over 40, you might not even notice. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

Yamaha’s objective was to create a bike well suited for road touring and durable enough for off-road so the suspension is set on the soft side in stock trim. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

It is always a surprise when a big bike like this works well in the dirt - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The power is a little soft and the gearing a bit tall but there’s enough bottom end that it chugs off the line just fine. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

We didn't get to ride much after dark, but when we did the lights seemed to be pretty good - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The foot pegs have a soft rubber pad that compresses when the rider stands up, allowing the serrated foot pegs to grip the bottom of your boots. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere is heavy and has a soft engine but the fact is, this is a capable off-road touring bike.

A knobby would be a necessity if you plan to ride exclusively off-road but for a street tire I feel the Battlewing offered decent grip in the dirt. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

Where do you wnat to go today? Where ever it is, the 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere can get you there.

A compact engine design helps maintain a lower weight and low center of gravity. This helps make the bike feel well balanced in side to side transitions. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

For a $1000 you can buy the side cases on their own or fork over another $500 and get the Adventure Touring Kit our test bikes were equipped with - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

Sundown in Sedona is a beautiful thing - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride

The bike looks like it came right off the dunes of Dakar and the basic electronics package, including ABS, selectable drive mode and traction control systems are on par with the new Multistrada S Touring and like the GS it is a capable off-road motorcycle. - 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere First Ride