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Yamaha innovations

The Yamaha XT 1200 Z Super Tenere

For journalists it is a daily experience, in motorcycle construction it only occurs every jubilee: the beginning of a project on a blank sheet of paper. Yamaha dared it when it came time to develop a new Super Tenere more than ten years after the end of the XTZ 750. It was finished just in time for the new season, the XT 1200 Z.

Luckily for them, and sometimes also to their pain, the Yamaha developers did not start out without orientation. Next to the blank was the picture of the quintessential travel enduro, the BMW R 1200 GS. A bestseller for years. What the GS can do, the Super Tenere at least had to be able to do. Occasionally, when one or the other member of the worldwide active Yamaha group of companies had a weak minute, it was heard that the model was difficult to surpass or undercut.

Especially in terms of weight. The final statement seems to confirm this: the Super Tenere should weigh 261 kilograms in running order. That sounds like a lot at first, but it could be put into perspective. Because the Yamaha, the BMW has a tank capacity of three liters (a total of 23 instead of 20 liters) in advance, and the so-called First Edition extras, ie the suitcase set with brackets, the aluminum engine protection and the plexiglass protective goggles for the headlights, were also weighed. With the last validity even Yamaha Germany could not clarify this in the short time. One thing is certain: a GS with standard main stand and engine protection as well as ABS and suitcases as special equipment achieves similar weight regions; the test copy of the comparison test in MOTORRAD 4/2010, additionally equipped with a top case, weighed 263 kilograms.

Yamaha innovations

The Yamaha XT 1200 Z Super Tenere

Yamaha

In this view it is easy to see how far the engineers have moved the engine forward.

So much for the mechanics. When it comes to electronics, the first thing you notice are the two different riding modes, which, like the super athlete YZF-R1, ensure a sharp or smooth throttle response. In addition, the Super Tenere received ABS and traction control as standard equipment. A sensitive combination, since both systems require the same sensors to record the wheel speeds. Long before the new machine was presented, Yamaha had announced a combination brake system, and further details have now been announced. When pulling the handbrake lever, the rear brake is also actuated, depending on the driving speed and load condition with more or less force. Presumably, this adapting brake force distribution works like the old BMW Integral ABS, in that the electronics readjust the control range for each braking, depending on the individual tendency of the front and rear wheels to lock. It is unlikely that the load condition of the motorcycle directly determines the braking force distribution. If the rear brake is applied before the front brake, the combination brake function remains deactivated, even if the rear brake is applied alone, the system does not activate the front brake. Good for sensitive adaptive braking in curves.

Tea traction control works in two stages. In stage one, it should reduce the power as soon as a slipper starts by intervening in the throttle valve, reducing the pre-ignition and interrupting the fuel supply. Level two allowed "an ambitious driving style with light slides", so the press release from Yamaha. If you want to drive even larger drift angles or dig your way through deep sand without traction control, you can also switch off the TCS.

In addition to the goodies already described, the Super Tenere offers a height-adjustable bench seat and windscreen, so it meets the high class standard. It costs 14,750 euros plus ancillary costs. Although the optional equipment cannot be compared one-to-one with BMW, a slight price advantage for the Yamaha is emerging.

Last but not least, the first official photo of the new FZ8 Fazer should be mentioned and shown, which appeared at the same time as the Super Tenere pictures. Unfortunately, the largely black machine hardly stands out from the dark background. Whether that comes from the fact that its beginning wasn’t on a blank sheet of paper?

Technical specifications

Yamaha

The concept is the same as that of the TDM 900 engine, but the 1200 has been completely redesigned.

Two-cylinder in-line engine, bore / stroke 98.0 / 79.5 mm, 1199 cm³, 80.9 kW (110 PS) at 7250 / min, 114 Nm at 6000 / min, steel bridge frame, upside-down fork, Ø 43 mm, two-arm swing arm made of aluminum, double disc brake at the front, Ø 310 mm, rear disc brake, Ø 282 mm, wheelbase 1540 mm, tank capacity 23.0 liters, price 14,750 euros.

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